Aspirants 2021 in Catholic Archdiocesan Centre
By Seminarian Yosef Jup
Feb 23 2021
Kota Kinabalu – “Why do you want to become a priest?” This question was asked by Archbishop John Wong in his first address to the 21 young men comprising new aspirants and seminarians who have come forward to begin their journey towards the priesthood vocation.
The Aspirancy formation program is traditionally held at the Catholic Archdiocesan Centre (CAC) located in Penampang, while the Initiation Year seminarians will begin their priestly formation from St Peter’s College Kota Kinabalu.
At the opening Mass for the new Academic Year of CAC Aspirancy and Initiation Year Seminarians, Archbishop John highlighted that the priesthood is not a career but rather a commitment towards the life of prayer and pondering upon the word of God. This is the foundation of the priesthood and should be the guide to answer the question which he posed to them.
Initiation Year seminarians in St Peter’s College Kota Kinabalu
Prior to his address, the Archbishop in his homily, invited the seminarians and the aspirants to reflect on the importance of Jesus as the center not only in the journey towards priesthood but also in their daily life.
Joining Archbishop at the altar were Fr Mattheus Luta (Director of the Initiation Year), Fr Isidore Gilbert (Director of CAC Aspirancy), and Fr Paul Lo.
The opening of the Academic Calendar was held at St Peter’s College Kota Kinabalu on 16 February 2021.
This Year was unique as the church complies with the SOP protocol imposed by the government to flatten the spread of COVID-19. The event was only celebrated among the seminarians and formators without any outside guests.
