Presbyteral Ordination

 St. Peter's Cathedral, Rockford, Illinois, USA

May 17, 2003

 Most Reverend Thomas G. Doran, DD, Presiding

The candidates process in at the beginning of the ceremony. The candidates' names are called; Fr. Pajarillo is second on the left. The ordinandi listen carefully to the exhortation of Bishop Doran. The ordinandi prostrate themselves on the santuary as the choir intones the Litany of the Saints.
The powers of the Orders are transmitted in an unbroken line of succession from the Apostles to the ordinandi by the imposition of hands. Bishop Doran intones the Prayer of Consecration. Bishop Doran anoints Fr. Pajarillo's hands with Holy Chrism. Bishop Doran binds Fr. Pajarillo's hands with the maneturgia.
The ordinandi wait for the hands to be anointed with Holy Chrism. With hands bound with the maneturgia, the ordinandi wait until the last candidate's hands are anointed. The newly ordained priests are presented to the people and their families. Fr. Pajarillo, together with his classmates, concelebrate the Holy Mass with their Bishop for the first time.
The newly ordained, together with their Bishop and the presbytery, celebrates the Holy Eucharist. The Bishop and the newly ordained processing out of the sanctuary at the conclusion of the Mass. Escorted by Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, the newly ordained process out of the cathedral. The Ordination Class of 2003 immediately before they are called in to receive their first appointments.

After long years of training, the most awaited moment in our lives arrived on May 17, 2003 with our ordination to the Sacred Order of Presbyters. Our ordination class is composed of eleven clerics, the largest Ordination class in the history of the diocese. The composition of our class is very diverse - there are three Filipinos, one Mexican, one Nigerian, and six from the United States - but sharing one thing in common, and that is our desire to serve the people of God as his faithful ministers in the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois.

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