info@santhomparishmelb.org.au 

+61 418 630 088

Holy Orders

Parish Priest: Msgr. Francise Kolencherry 

M: 0408 267 777

E: vicar@santhomparishmelb.org.au


Assit Parish Priest: Fr. Joyis Kolamkuzhiyil CMI

M: 0411 572 106

Email: assistvicar@santhomparishmelb.org.au

Holy Orders

The man who is ordained receives a gift of the Holy Spirit that gives him a sacred authority that is conferred upon him by Christ through the bishop. Being a PRIEST does not mean just assuming an office or a ministry. Through Holy Orders a priest receives as a gift a definite power and a mission for his brothers and sisters in faith.


A baptized, Catholic man who is called by the Church to be a DEACON, PRIEST, or BISHOP can be validly ordained to that ministry. The priests of the Old Covenant saw their duty as mediating between heavenly and earthly things, between God and his people. Since Christ is the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:5), he perfected and ended that priesthood. After Christ there can be an ordained priesthood only in Christ, in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and through a calling and apostolic mission from Christ. A Catholic PRIEST who administers the SACRAMENTS acts not on the basis of his own power or moral perfection (which unfortunately he often lacks), but rather “in persona Christi”. Through his ordination, the transforming, healing, saving power of Christ is grafted onto him. Because a priest has nothing of his own, he is above all a servant. The distinguishing characteristic of every authentic priest, therefore, is humble astonishment at his own vocation. In priestly ordination the BISHOP calls down God’s power upon the candidates for ordination

It imprints upon the souls of these men an indelible seal that can never be lost. As a collaborator with his bishop, the PRIEST will proclaim the Word of God, administer the SACRAMENTS, and, above all, celebrate the Holy EUCHARIST. [1562-1568] During the celebration of a Holy Mass, the actual ordination of priests begins when the candidates are called by name. After the bishop’s homily, the future priest promises obedience to the bishop and his successors. The actual ordination takes place through the imposition of the bishop’s hands and his prayer.


Jesus lived as a celibate and in this way intended to show his undivided love for God the Father . To follow Jesus’ way of life and to live in unmarried chastity “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:12) has been since Jesus’ time a sign of love, of undivided devotion to the Lord, and of a complete willingness to serve. The Roman Catholic Church requires this way of life of its bishops and priests, while the Eastern Catholic Churches demand it only of their bishops. [1579-1580, 1599] Celibacy, says Pope Benedict, cannot mean “remaining empty in love, but rather must mean allowing oneself to be overcome by a passion for God”. A PRIEST who lives as a celibate should be fruitful inasmuch as he represents the fatherly character of God and Jesus. The Pope goes on to say, “Christ needs priests who are mature and manly, capable of exercising a true spiritual fatherhood.


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