Father Peter was ordained to the priesthood, with two other priests and two deacons, on January 25 in China. He is the first to be ordained for the Missionary Society of St. Columban from Mainland China. This is a momentous event for the Columban Missionaries after a hundred years of responding to God’s call to mission.
FULFILLMENT OF A CALL
by Mary Joy Rile-Servicio
Joy used to work with the Columbans as Editorial Assistant of “Misyon” from November 2008 to April 2013. Then she came back in August 2015 and became the Assistant Editor in June 2017 when the “Misyon” office moved to Manila from Bacolod City.
“My father was the backbone in molding me to the Catholic faith. You are also my backbone, supporting and encouraging me in this journey to the priesthood,” expressed Fr. Peter Dong during his Thanksgiving Mass held at the Columban house in Singalong on February 20, 2019. Father Peter couldn’t help but shed tears of sadness as he recalled the presence of only one Columban priest on behalf of the Society during his ordination. However, he remains grateful and understands very well that inasmuch as many of the Columbans would like to join him on that very important event in his life, the risks of foreigners attending his ordination in China were quite high, for everybody including Father Peter.
Fr. Peter Lichun Dong, SSC
Father Peter was ordained to the priesthood, with two other priests and two deacons, on January 25 in China. He is the first to be ordained for the Missionary Society of St. Columban from Mainland China. This is a momentous event for the Columban Missionaries after a hundred years of responding to God’s call to mission.
Father Peter attended the formation program in the Philippines. He was sent to Chile in 2015 for a two-year First Mission Assignment. He speaks Mandarin, learned Tagalog and Spanish, and now has to learn Urdu for his new mission in Pakistan this year. To be in a country that is predominantly Muslim may be another challenging task for Father Peter, but his faith will see him through.
It is tough to learn different languages, adapt to new ways in a new culture and to keep a firm heart, while dealing with people of different faith traditions, but these are all parts of becoming missionary. It is by God’s grace that enables one to fulfill the call.
Father Peter, thank you for your kindness, for the friendship and for the valuable time you spent with us while on mission here in the Philippines. God bless you on the next chapter of your missionary life.
Picture taken after the Thanksgiving Mass of Father Peter at Singalong House in February 2019