Thirteen Jesuits, two of them from Vietnam, ordained deacons in Rome

Two Vietnamese Jesuits were among 13 Jesuits ordained deacons by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church on April 6 at the Church of Gesù in Rome.

13 newly ordained deacons from 9 countries are Árpád Jancsó (Hungary), Carlos Manuel Vieira de Miranda (Portugal), Dominic Mutuku Musyoki (Kenya), E Didier Cimalamungo Bahizire (Congo), François Xavier Chambounaud (France), Ivan Junušić (Croatia), Ivars Juhņevičs (Lettonia), Anthony Trần Khắc Bá (Vietnam), Luka Ilić (Coroatia), Nirmal Minj (India), Vincent Vũ Tứ Quyết (Vietnam), Samuel da Silva Afonso (Portugal), Tomislav Vujeva (Coroatia). All of them are studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, concelebrated the ordination Mass with Fr. Luis Orlando Torres, SJ, Rector of the Jesuit Community of Collegio Internazionale del Gesù in Rome, Fr. Johan Verschueren, SJ, Delegate for Interprovincial Houses and Works, and other Jesuits.

From left: Rev. Anthony Ba, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Rev. Quyet.

The new Vietnamese deacon, Vincent Quyet, 32, was born in Nam Định Province. He graduated in Mathematics from the Hanoi National University of Education before joining the Jesuit candidacy program in 2010. He was admitted to the Sacred Heart Novitiate in 2011 and subsequently studied philosophy at Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Ho Chi Minh. He did his two-year regency in Vatican Radio before starting his theology studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, living in the Collegio Internazionale del Gesù.

One of the two new Vietnamese deacons, Ba, 38, was born in Nghe An Province. He obtained a BSc in Physics from Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City – University of Science before joining the Jesuit pre-novitiate program in 2005. He was admitted to the Sacred Heart Novitiate on May 31, 2006, and subsequently studied philosophy at Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Ho Chi Minh.  He did one-year regency as assistant to the chief of the Social Office of the Vietnam Jesuit Province, in Ho Chi Minh. He was then sent to London for further study in philosophy; and in 2017, he was sent to Rome, starting his theology studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, living in the Collegio Internazionale del Gesù.

After their ordination on Tuesday, the new deacons were received by Pope Francis in His Library in Papal Palace, after his Wednesday General Audience.