The Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Assumption College in Worcester, MA was the scene of great joy and celebration on Saturday, April 2nd, as Brother Vo Tran Gia Dinh, A.A. was ordained to the priesthood. In the presence of his family, former seminary classmates from Australia and Vietnam, brother Assumptionists, students, colleagues, the extended family of Assumption and friends, Br. Dinh was called to ordination by his Provincial Fr. Marcel Poirier, A.A. and presented to Bishop Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, as the Rite of Ordination began.
The congregation responded with a acclamation of· great jubilation. In his homily, Bishop McManus addressed Br. Dinh and the congregation on the role of the priest as sharing in Christ’s priesthood as teacher, priest and shepherd for the service of God’s people and as celebrant of the sacraments, especially through Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
Further, the priest is exhorted to believe what he reads, teach what he believes and practice what he teaches. With a joyful heart and genuine love, he leads God’s people to the Father, with Jesus through the help of the Holy Spirit. Following the Litany of the Saints, Laying on of Hands and Anointing of Hands, Fr. Dinh was welcomed into the Order of Priest by each priest present. Following the Eucharist and at the conclusion of the celebration, Bishop McManus expressed his gratitude to all present, for the significant contribution of the Assumptionists to the diocese of Worcester and most importantly to Fr. Dinh’s parents for the gift of their son to the Church.
The beauty of the entire celebration was profoundly enhanced by the proclamation of the first reading in Vietnamese by Fr. Dinh’s sister, Sr. Vo Tran Ngan Ha, RNDM, the offering of the gifts by his other sister and her family and the music provided the Vietnamese Community of Worcester.
Following the liturgy, Fr. Dinh thanked everyone for coming to celebrate with him and asked for continued prayers. As gifts, he requested love, smiles and flowers because, as he stated, “My ordination is just the beginning, as I continue to fall in love with my vocation, a mystery of love, peace and beauty…”
The celebration was followed by a joyous reception in the Testa Atrium on campus and later in the day, at a dinner in Hagan Hall when he introduced each of his family members, his seminary classmates with whom he began his journey to priesthood in Vietnam, his special friends and expressed his deep love and gratitude to all his Assumptionist brothers.
As one colleague of Fr. Dinh’s stated earlier last week, “…he is a man of deep faith, who has a keen sense of beauty and a true gift for pastoral ministry. Having worked with him closely for three years now, and knowing him as a student prior to that, I can confidently day that I know Dinh will be a humble, generous, and well-respected priest. I look forward to watching him grow in his identity as an ordained Assumptionist .” These and similar thoughts and sentiments were echoed throughout the day by those who have come to know and love Fr. Dinh, A.A.
