Ordination to the Diaconate

When the Catholic Church was able to regroup and operate in the open again after the Khmer Rouge, there were no Cambodian priests left. All had died under the Pol Pot regime. Because every society needs its own priests, an accelerated seminary program was begun and in 2001 five young men were ordained. There have been no ordinations since then, until today when two men were ordained as deacons.

Almost all the priests of the whole country were at St. Joseph Church this morning for the long ordination ceremony. Here the bishops and priests began to assemble in procession in preparation for the entrance into the large tent used for the ceremony. Deacon Joseph Moung Ros is from the Battambang Diocese and Deacon John Mary Pha Borey is from the Kampong Cham Diocese. They are transitional deacons, meaning they will serve as deacons only during a period of training before they are ordained as priests. Here they are questioned by Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, the ordaining bishop.

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