Mumbai: Alton Extros, Anthony Rodriques, Ashley Vaz, Cajetan Mendes, Christi Gonsalves, Christopher Fernandes, Clinton Rayer, Conrad Pereira, Joyous Koreth, and Melborn Poshapir were conferred in the evening ceremony by the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias.
They were serving as deacons, a post lower to a priest, at churches in Powai, Panvel, Kalina, Juhu, Uttan-Chowk, Malwani, Kandivali, Ghatkopar, Bandra, and Uttan respectively. Deacons rank lower than priests and can perform most religious services except the mass, confession, and some other sacraments.
The ordaining was received with much joy among members of the Roman Catholic Church, especially since the number of men entering priesthood has been declining. One church member said that it was after a long time that the number of ordainings touched two digits, especially after the covid-19 epidemic.
A news agency in Vatican, the headquarters of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church recently reported that while the numbers of members has increased, the number of priests has remained stable, even declining in some parts of the world.
