At Ordination of First African Priests as Pontiff, Pope Cautions against “superficial models of Success, prestige”

Referring to those who have previously served the Lord with “faith and dedication”, Pope Leo XIV urged the 32 Deacons to “learn about their stories, study their lives and works, imitate their virtues, let yourselves be enkindled by their heaven, and frequently and insistently invoke their intercession.”

In his June 27 homily at the Priestly Ordination, he presided as part of Priests’ participation in the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched  on the Eve of 2024 Christmas, the Holy Father went on to underscore the importance of Sacraments and a life of prayer on the part of Priests.

“Love God and your brothers and sisters. Be generous, fervent in the celebration of the Sacraments, in prayer, especially in adoration, and in ministry,” Pope Leo XIV appealed in his homily on June 27, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

He insisted on availability and closeness to the flock “without holding back, without making distinctions, as the pierced side of the Crucified One and the example of the saints teach us.”

In an interview with Sr. Victoria Wambui Mweu of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP/Pauline Sisters/Daughters of St. Paul) outside St. Peter’s Basilica, newly ordained Fr. Joseph Mutisya said he was “so happy to be ordained by the Pope, and so grateful because of the chance I got to come here so I can be ordained (a Priest).”

A Clergy of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Kitui, Fr. Mutisya thanked all those, who have been part of his journey to the Priesthood, singling out his mum, who he said made “innumerable” sacrifices to ensure he receives formal education.

“She brought me up singlehandedly, and she’s a woman I can say I dedicate my life to her; and this Priesthood, it’s thanks to her because she brought me into the Church,” Fr. Mutisya told Sr. Victoria at the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV also ordained Fr. Hilary Izuegbunam and Fr. Jude Okoye from Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Onitsha.

He also ordained Fr. Blaise Ofoe Mankwa, a Ghanaian-born incardinated in Kingston Catholic Diocese  in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an archipelago of islands situated in the Eastern Caribbean at the southern end of the Windward Islands chain. 

Fr. Gilbert Tika from Ghana is also among the first Africans Pope Leo XIV ordained as Priests.

Earlier, ahead of his Priestly Ordination, Deacon Gilbert had to told “EWTN News Nightly” that “it’s something wonderful to be ordained by the pope, Pope Leo. I think it’s a special gift that God is giving me and the other brothers that will also be ordained.”

“Being a priest for me means I have to be a sign of hope for the people with whom I live, with whom I will minister,” he had said, adding that he is happy to practice “the habit of looking at things with the eyes of Jesus Christ ... helping others to look at the world through the eyes of Christ and let the people feel they are still loved by God.”

In his June 27 homily, Pope Leo XIV addressed Priests from around the world, who were part of the Jubilee of Seminarians, Priests, and Bishops, urging them to root their Priestly ministry in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ and to become instruments of healing, unity, and hope within their communities.

“Immerse your baptismal and priestly garments in the Heart of the Savior,” said the Holy Father, adding, “To speak of the Heart of Christ in this setting is to speak of the entire mystery of the Incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Lord.”

This mystery, he said, is “especially entrusted” to Priests so that it may be made present in the world. He urged Priests “to live pastoral charity with the same heart as the Father.”

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“It is an invitation to be intimately united with Jesus, sowing concord among our brothers and sisters, carrying on our shoulders those who are lost, offering forgiveness to those who have gone astray,” he said.

The Holy Father went on to encourage the members of Clergy to become bridges of reconciliation, especially in societies torn by conflict, including ethnic divisions. He said, “The priestly ministry is a ministry of sanctification and reconciliation for the unity of the Body of Christ.”

He continued, “This is why the Second Vatican Council urges Priests to do all they can to lead everyone to unity in charity, harmonizing differences so that no one may feel like an outsider. It recommends that they be united with their Bishop and with the presbyterate.”

Pope Leo XIV emphasized that the deeper the unity among the Clergy is, “the more effectively” they will be “able to lead others to the fold of the Good Shepherd, to live as brothers and sisters in the one house of the Father.”

“Let us walk together in His footsteps, humbly and resolutely, firm in faith and open to all in charity,” he appealed, and continued, “Let us bring the peace of the Risen One into the world, with that freedom that comes from knowing we are loved, chosen, and sent by the Father.”