Archdiocese of New York Seminarian among 18 Ordained at North American College in Rome
By: The Good Newsroom
A native of the Bronx, Gjergji served his pastoral year at St. Columba Church in Hopewell Junction
An Archdiocese of New York seminarian was among 18 seminarians from the Pontifical North American College who were ordained to the transitional diaconate during a celebration of the Eucharist.
Viktor Gjergji, a native of the Bronx, was ordained at a celebration of the Eucharist on Thursday, September 28, 2023. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Paul Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City, was the ordaining prelate at the Ordination Mass, celebrated at the Altar of the Chair of Saint Peter, in the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican.
Gjergji served his pastoral year at Saint Columba Church in Hopewell Junction, assigned there by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Archbishop Coakley said in his homily to the Deacon Candidates that they would be serving in a church that has more in common today with the early apostolic period of the church than the period church that was known as the period of Christendom when church and society were interwoven.
During the ordination, the new deacons promised to live a life of prayer, celibacy, and obedience to their diocesan bishops. The new deacons will have an additional year of theological studies and spiritual formation before being ordained to the priesthood in their home dioceses. They now join the eight members of their class who have already been ordained transitional deacons in the preceding months.
The Pontifical North American College serves as the American seminary in Rome. Founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX, the College has formed over 5,000 priests near the heart of the Church for service in dioceses around the United States, Canada, and Australia. The College strengthens the bonds between Rome and local Churches worldwide, and it allows its students to study the Church’s rich religious and cultural heritage at close range.
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Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan
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