Seven seminarians publicly declared their intentions to pursue Holy Orders. They were officially accepted during the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders at a special Mass celebrated by Most Rev. Michael Barber, SJ, Bishop of Oakland, in the Main Chapel of St. Patrick's Seminary & University on February 27th. These candidates come from the Archdioceses of San Francisco and Agaña and the Dioceses of Honolulu, Santa Rosa, and Suwon, Korea:
- Cameron Ross Pollette - Archdiocese of San Francisco
- Br. Francis Joseph Mary Coyne, of the Most Holy Trinity - Archdiocese of San Francisco Contemplatives of Saint Joseph
- William Mamangun - Archdiocese of Agaña
- Ese'ese "Ace" Tui - Diocese of Honolulu
- Alan Mauricio Acevedo Cabello - Diocese of Santa Rosa
- Beomjung "John" Hwang - Diocese of Suwon
- Jumin "Paul" Park - Diocese of Suwon
During his homily, Bishop Barber spoke about the commitment that these young men were making and how the ceremony used to include receiving a clerical tonsure. A tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. While the seminarians made it through the ceremony with their hair intact, they still made a major step towards eventually receiving the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Also present were Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes of the Archdiocese of Agaña and Bishop Clarence Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu in addition to various vocation directors and members of the St. Patrick's community. There was also significant groups of visitors from the Contemplatives of Saint Joseph and local Korean communities.
A slideshow of the Holy Mass is below:
