The Diocese of Columbus gained one new priest on Saturday, May 27, with the ordination of Father PeterClaver Kasasa Kiviiri to the priesthood.
The ordination, celebrated at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, was a joyous occasion for the diocese as it was the first time in two years that a priest was ordained in the diocese. Last year, the diocese had no ordinations to the priesthood.
It was also a special occasion for Bishop Earl Fernandes: his first time ordaining a diocesan priest since his ordination and installation as the 13th bishop of Columbus on May 31, 2022.
The ordination to the priesthood, formally known as the Ordination to the Order of Presbyter, is one of three levels of ordination celebrated in the sacrament of holy orders. The first is the Ordination to the Order of Diaconate, when a man is ordained a deacon, and there is also the Ordination to the Order of Episcopate, when a priest is ordained a bishop.
Assisting Bishop Fernandes in the celebration of the Mass were Bishop Frederick Campbell, bishop emeritus of Columbus; Father Robert Kitsmiller, rector of the cathedral; and Father Brian Kiely, rector of Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts.
Father Kiviiri, 43, attended that seminary, which is for older men studying to become a priest. He is originally from Uganda and moved to the United States in 2006. He came to Columbus in 2010.
The Rite of Ordination began with the election and presentation of the candidate. Speaking aloud before the congregation, Bishop Fernandes said, “Let the one who is to be ordained come forward.” Deacon Kiviiri responded by saying, “Present.”
Father William Hahn, the director of vocations for the diocese, testified before the bishop and the congregation that Kiviiri had been found worthy to be ordained a priest.
In his homily, Bishop Fernandes addressed those present and those live-streaming the Mass, including Father Kiviiri’s family in Uganda.
The bishop recalled the second reading, St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, which was read at the Mass by Jude Ssempungu in Luganda, one of the major languages of Uganda.
“‘Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins,’” the bishop said, recalling St. Paul’s words. “This idea of being set aside resonates with what happened with Aaron (the brother of Moses) and his sons. Aaron did not take the honor of being a priest upon himself; it happened only when he was called by God.”
The bishop spoke of the sacred oil that he would use in the Mass to anoint Father Kiviiri’s hands. In the Bible, Aaron and his sons were also anointed with oil, by which they were to be an “extension of the sanctuary” and “became a living locus of the presence of God.” Bishop Fernandes said newly ordained priests, who are anointed with sacred chrism oil, “are set aside and consecrated for God’s purpose.”
“We should reflect on the stream of blessing that flows from the hands of priests – your hands, the hands of your brothers, the hands of those who preceded you in the sacred ministry and who helped you grow in faith, the hands of priests interred at Auschwitz and Dachau, the hands of the priests from the earliest times to the present, who poured out their blood in witness, the hands of the priests who baptized and catechized the Holy Martyrs of Uganda,” who were executed for their faith in 1887 and canonized in 1964.
The bishop told Father Kiviiri that each time he washes his hands he should reflect on the blessings that would flow through his hands as a priest: “the power to forgive sins, the power to protect the Eucharist, the power to give life.” The bishop said Father Kiviiri will have the “power to bless, sanctify and consecrate.”
Bishop Fernandes reflected on the first reading of the Mass, from the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Paul said his farewell to the presbyters, or the priests, of Ephesus at Miletus. The bishop said that St. Paul is “interested really in just one thing, drawing more people into the truth and protecting them from those who would pervert the truth.”
Speaking to Father Kiviiri, Bishop Fernandes said that, as a priest, Father Kiviiri, too, must be a defender of the truth. The truth is not an abstract idea, the bishop said, but it is the “person of Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Fernandes also reflected on the reading from the Gospel of John (Chapter 17) proclaimed at Mass, in which Jesus reminded His Apostles that they belong to Him and His Father. Being conformed to Christ means being conformed to His cross, Bishop Fernandes said, with which priests “bless and are blessed.”
After Bishop Fernandes’ homily, there was the promise of the elect and the pledge of obedience. At this part in the Rite of Ordination, Kiviiri responded “I do” to a series of promises read aloud by the bishop. The ordinand, or the man to be ordained, promises to serve the people of God as a priest. Kiviiri also promised obedience to the bishop and his successors.
During the litany of supplication, Kiviiri lay on the floor of the cathedral before the altar. The congregation repeated after the cantor, asking for God’s mercy, as well as invoking, or calling upon, of the saints, in which the congregation asked the holy men and women of God to “pray for us.”
This was followed by the “laying on of hands.” Kiviiri knelt before Bishop Fernandes while the bishop laid his hands on the head of the ordinand. In silence, the bishop called upon the Holy Spirit. Then, priests from across the diocese who were present for the ordination came forward one-by-one and placed their hands on the ordinand.
The bishop prayed the prayer of ordination. At this part in the Rite of Ordination, Father Kiviiri was ordained a priest.
As a newly ordained priest, Father Kiviiri was vested, or dressed, with the priestly stole, a liturgical vestment worn around the neck that is a sign of the office of priesthood. Father Kiviiri was also vested with the chasuble, the primary liturgical vestment worn by priests for the celebration of the Mass.
The investiture with the stole and chasuble is an outward sign of the ministry Father Kiviiri will fulfill. The priests who vested Father Kiviiri with the stole and chasuble were Father Kiely; Father Dan Dury, the pastor of Sunbury St. John Neumann Church; and Father Denis Kigozi, the pastor of New Albany Church of the Resurrection, who was also born in Uganda.
Bishop Fernandes then anointed Father Kiviiri’s palms with the sacred oil the bishop had blessed and spoke of in his homily. The anointing with oil signifies that Father Kiviiri will share in Christ’s sanctifying ministry, serving the people of God as Christ did.
There was then the “handing on of bread and wine.” Gifts of bread and wine were brought to Bishop Fernandes. The bishop presented the gifts to the new priest, asking Father Kiviiri to accept them from the people and offer the gifts to God.
The Rite of Ordination concluded with a “fraternal kiss of peace.” Bishop Fernandes extended a greeting of peace to Father Kiviiri, a sign that the newly ordained is now a co-worker in the ministry of the Church. All priests in attendance came forward to give a sign of peace to Father Kiviiri, welcoming him to the Order of Presbyter.
Following the Mass, members of the congregation could come forward to receive a blessing from Father Kiviiri, his first blessing as a newly ordained priest.
Bishop Fernandes announced that Father Kiviiri’s first parish assignment will be as parochial vicar at Gahanna St. Matthew Church. Father Kiviiri will begin his assignment in July 2023.
