LOUIE Jimenez will have his family watching by live stream from the Philippines when he and fellow Brisbane seminarian Sean Woods are ordained as deacons on Friday.
The ordination Mass will take place at the Holy Spirit Seminary chapel, in Nundah.
“I am really excited to be embracing the ministry, but at the same time it’s overwhelming because it has been a long, long journey,” 30-year-old Mr Jimenez said.
His father, siblings and extended family will follow the ordination Mass from their home in Valenzuela, a highly-urbanised city within Metro Manila, where Mr Jimenez grew up and worked as a nurse before joining Holy Spirit Seminary.
Both Mr Jimenez and Mr Woods are completing their sixth year of seminary formation.
In Mr Woods’ case, his home parish is Banyo-Nundah, where Holy Spirit stands. Many congratulatory messages ahead of his ordination to the diaconate have come from the Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish in Springfield, where he spent his year-long pastoral placement in 2020.
For his Masters in Theological Studies thesis, Mr Woods explored the topic of ‘suffering’ for his thesis – a difficult subject, but one his seminary housemates have recognised as “conscientious application” to the task at hand and setting a good example for their own endeavours.
Mr Jimenez will spend his pastoral year as a deacon in the Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish.
