Ordination to the Priesthood

«Priests are no less important than angels, and if there were no priesthood, what would we do without the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?» (St. Vincent de Paul)

Congregation of the Mission welcomes another Missionary to its ranks. On June 24, 2023 Petro Mazur СM was ordained to the rank of presbyter by the Bishop Leon Dubravsky OFM, Ordinary of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Diocese, and on June 25 his First Holy Mass was held. The ceremony took place in the town of Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia region, in the native parish of Father Petro, where Fr. Serhiy Yakubovskyi MIC is the Parish priest.

Although the war continues still and we all compete in the fight against evil, this did not prevent us from rejoicing at this wonderful event in the neo-presbyter’s family and in the Vincentian family, in the Catholic Church. Visitor of the Vice-Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius Fr. Leonid Kuklyshyn CM, Director of the seminary Fr. Mykhaylo Talapkanych CM, Bishop Leon Dubravsky OFM, many priests and nuns from different parts of Ukraine, as well as relatives, friends and acquaintances of Father Petro came together to experience this celebration. Those who could not come to the ceremony in person could attend the event through the broadcast on the Credo website.

Father Petro is the seventh child in the family of Mykola and Maria. The two older sisters live a consecrated life in the Congregatio Jesu congregation, and the son’s vocation was a great gift and joy for the parents. The study lasted 8 years: he graduated from the Higher Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in city of Vorzel, defended his master’s thesis at the Catholic University named after John Paul II in Lublin, Poland.

During the ordination ceremony, the bishop said the words that emphasize and convey the meaning of the life of priest Petro, which he chose: “…Through Baptism you will join people to God’s people, in the sacrament of Reconciliation, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church, you will strengthen the sick with holy oil. You will perform holy rites, in the hours of the day you will raise praise with thanksgiving and prayers not only for God’s people, but also for the whole world, remembering that you were taken from among people and ordained for people in actions of God. Always fulfill the mission entrusted to you by Christ the Priest with joy and sincere love, not seeking your own benefit, but for Christ’s sake.

And finally, the most beloved son, fulfilling your part of the service of Christ – the Head and the Shepherd, submitting to the bishop and being in unity with him, you should learn to unite the faithful into one family, so that you could lead them through Christ in the Holy Spirit to God the Father. May the example of the good Shepherd always shine before your eyes, he came to serve, but not to be served; he came to seek and save the lost ones…”

We will pray for the necessary graces for neo-presbyter Petro Mazur so that he was a good shepherd!