From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Wed Jul 22 2009 - 11:08:21 EDT
AFRICA/ERITREA - 12 priests ordained: highest number in the history of
the Church in Eritrea
Agenzia Fides 21/7/2009)
Asmara (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Church in Eritrea is celebrating
the ordination of 12 priests. According to a report sent to Agenzia
Fides from Fr. Kibrom Tseggai, Director of the Office for Social
Communications at the Eritrean Catholic Secretariat, on July 18, 2009,
Bishop Kidane Yebio of the Eparchy of Keren ordained six priests from
the national major seminary of Asmara, in the Cathedral of Saint
Michael.
Also during this time, another six deacons from the same seminary of the
Eparchy of Asmara were ordained in their parishes, by Bishop Menghisteab
Tesfamariam.
The ordination of the 12 diocesan priests, in a country where Catholics
are a minority, is significant. It is also a record for the Major
Seminary of Asmara, which until now has never seen the ordination of 12
priests in one year.
In its history, the Seminary has had a turbulent history from the moment
of its foundation by S. De Jaccobis in Guala, in 1845, nearly 164 years
ago, amidst persecutions and other difficulties. In 1869, the seminary
was moved to Keren and in 1959 it returned to Asmara.
The highest number of ordinations of diocesan priests from the seminary
(10) dates back to December 25, 1889 in Keren; and the third highest
number (8 priests) was registered in March 1936 in Keren.
What makes the ordinations of 2009 even more historically significant
is the fact that since the structuring of the Catholic Church in Eritrea
into three dioceses in 1995, this is the first time that the Dioceses of
Asmara and Keren each ordain six diocesan priests, and it is for both
dioceses the highest number of priestly ordinations thus far. (LM)
(Agenzia Fides 21/7/2009)
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=24738
<http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=24738&lan=eng>
&lan=eng
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