In 2006 six students of Corpus Christi College will be ordained to the priesthood. Two, Fathers Matthew Thomas and Jeff Kleynjans, were ordained earlier this year for their dioceses (Ballarat and Sale respectively.) On Saturday September 16, 2006, at 10 am, four priests will be ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. All are warmly invited to attend the ordination of Fathers Eugene Ashkar, John Joel Vergara, Thinh Xuan Nguyen and Justin Ford.
Please keep these men in your prayers.

Message from Archbishop Hart
Together with the Bishops of Victoria and Tasmania, who are the Trustees of Corpus Christi College, I extend warm congratulations to the men being ordained to the priesthood in 2006.
In my thirty-nine years of priesthood I have found that a priest has a direct relationship to Jesus Christ from whom he receives his mission. Priests continue the praise that Jesus gives the Father. Through their teaching and ministry they draw people closer to Jesus and as a leader they help us to realise how we are united with each other.

Our priests rejoice in being with families of their parish in joy and sorrow and being a friend to so many. Formed by the truth of Jesus and being able to assist in people's spiritual and other needs, we are instruments of comfort, help and encouragement. Our own human families have shaped us, together with the priests who have trained us, and after years of study and prayer we open our hearts to Jesus Christ and are instruments of his love for people.

Please pray for these young men that others also may follow generously and embark on
the most wonderful vocation in the world.
+ Denis J Hart
Archbishop of Melbourne

The Ordination Class

Rev. Justin Ford was born in 1965, the third of four children. Justin grew up in Bentleigh attending St Paul's Primary School and St Kevin's College. He worked as a structural engineer after studying at Melbourne University, later also gaining degrees in philosophy from the same institution. Over the years of his studies and work Justin discerned that it was in priesthood that God was offering him the fullness of life. The example of his family helped give him the desire to spend his life in service of Christ and his Church, and to help lead people closer to God through nurturing faith and celebrating the sacraments.
All are invited to Justin's ordination on Saturday, September 16 at St Patrick's Cathedral at 10:00am, and his Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, September 17 at St Paul's Church, Bentleigh at 3:00pm.

Rev. Eugene Ashkar completed his senior year of school in 1979. He began studies in Melbourne for the Redemptorists in 1984, later discerning that God was not calling him to this order. Returning to Brisbane, Eugene entered the Queensland Ambulance Service and rapidly attained national registration as a Paramedic. While on holidays he met and later joined another religious institute where he remained as a Brother for eleven years. In 2000 Eugene entered Corpus Christi College, and began again his discernment towards the Priesthood. Throughout the last six and a half years he has studied Latin, Philosophy, Church History, Theology and Scripture, as well as engaging in active pastoral ministry. On July 24, 2004, Eugene was ordained a Deacon, and on September 16, 2006, he will be ordained a priest.
Father Eugene's Mass of Thanksgiving will be at Saint Gerard's Parish, 71 Gladstone Road, Dandenong North at 10:30 am on Sunday September 17.

Rev. Thinh Xuan Nguyen was born in 1973 in Saigon in South Vietnam. One of thirteen children, Thinh's family moved to Australia in 1985 before settling in Heidelberg Heights where he attended Redden Catholic College in Preston. He undertook tertiary studies and went on to work for a consulting engineers firm before entering Corpus Christi, Carlton in 2000 to study for the priesthood. He has enjoyed travelling overseas for missionary work, most recently to parishes in PNG and Philippines. Thinh sees that priests are called to be living sacramental images of the Good Shepherd, who comes to serve and not to be served.
All are invited to Thinh's ordination on Saturday, September 16 at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 10.00am. Father Thinh's Masses of Thanksgiving will be on Sunday, September 17 at St. Vincent Liem Centre, Flemington at 11.30am, and on Sunday September 24 at Holy Family Parish, Mt Waverly at 10.30 am.

Rev. Matthew Thomas was born in 1975 to Margaret and Kevin Thomas. Matthew is the eldest of four children, he has two brothers Sean and Ben and a sister, Kate. Born and raised in Geelong, Matthew was educated in the local Parish Primary School, Christ the King in Newcomb and later attended St Joseph's Christian Brothers College in Newtown. Through year 12 he was asked if he had considered the vocation to the priesthood. Recognising the Lord's call, he responded and Matthew entered Corpus Christi College Seminary in 1998. In 2003 he changed dioceses from the Archdiocese of Melbourne to the Diocese of Ballarat and during that year completed his Bachelor of Theology with a Graduate Diploma in Theology the following year.
Father Matthew was ordained on the feast of St Patrick, March 17, at St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.

Rev. John Joel Vergara, 28, was born in Pulilan, Bulacan, in the Philippines. His father, Ceferino, and his mother, Patricia, brought up John Joel and his sisters Hazel, Marsha and Maricon in a strong Catholic family. His friends in high school and his devout grandmother had a major influence on his vocation. In 1994, John Joel began his study for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in the Diocese of Malolos. After visiting his relatives in Australia in 1999, he felt God's calling to serve Him in a foreign land. In 2001, he entered Corpus Christi College to study for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. John Joel is enthusiastic about meeting people and helping them through bringing them Christ and his values.
All are invited to John Joel's ordination on Saturday, September 16 at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 10:00 am, and his Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, September 17 at St. Peter Chanel Parish, Deer Park at 12:00 pm.

Rev. Jeff Kleynjans was born in Berwick in 1967, and is one of four children. He attended both St. Michael's primary school in Berwick and St. Agatha's primary school in Cranbourne, where he began to experience the call to priesthood. Jeff then attended St. Francis Xavier College in Beaconsfield, after which, he began a career in the Florist and Nursery Industry that lasted for sixteen years. Towards the end of this career, Jeff's vocational call was rekindled, and he entered Corpus Christi College, as a student for the diocese of Sale, in the year 2000. Jeff sees commitment to prayer and discernment of God's will, by himself and his family - both immediate and extended, as foundational influences for his vocation.
Father Jeff was ordained on Saturday, May 27th at St. Agatha's in Cranbourne at 10.30am.