For the pass & to come

Fr. Victor Agius and Fr. Joseph Cho will be leaving our parish on April 10. I would likve to thank them for their service to our parish for the past 2 years. The main reason the recently retired Cardinal Ambrozic brought these two non-Chinese priests to serve pastorally at the Chinese Martyrs Parish is because they belong to a spiritual organization and can mobilize the sense of unity of the parish. Because of the difference in language and culture, I believe they had many difficulties to overcome. Fr. Agius will serve in Rome and Fr. Cho will serve in Phillipines. May the Lord continue to keep them. For myself, I will be returning to serve in Hong Kong in September.

The Congregation of John the Baptist has already accepted the Archdiocese of Toronto’s invitation and will be assigning two priests to serve as pastors in our parish, Fr. Bernardine Ding and Fr. Andrew Deng. Fr. Ding is originally from Gan Xu, and graduated from the Collegium Theologium Ecclesiae Catholicae in Beijing in 1989 and was ordained in 1994 in Argentina. He joined the Congregation of John the Baptist in New York in 1997. After his profession of first vows he’s been serving in Argentina. After he professed his final vows in 2002, he obtained the Master of Divinity in the US. He’s been serving the Chinese community in New York since graduating in 2005.

Fr. Deng is originally from Shaan Xi, graduating from Shaan Xi Province Major Seminary in 1994 and was ordained in the same year. After serving his parish for 5 years, he studied at Beijing University in Information Management and Religion. In 2002, he went to Phillipines to study English and theology. He joined the Congregation of John the Baptist in 2004 and professed his first vows in January 2007. He current does pastoral work in Phillipines.

Both priests will be moving to Toronto shortly. May the Lord bless them.