BY GEORGIA BULLETIN STAFF

ATLANTA--Five new priests were ordained for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in the first two weeks of June and they will bring a diversity of languages and ethnic backgrounds to their ministerial service.

On June 7 Archbishop John F. Donoghue ordained Father Guyma Noel, a native of Haiti, Father Samuel Porras-Gomez, a native of Colombia, Father Gordon Sidler, who grew up in Jonesboro, and Father Tuan Quoc Tran, a native of Vietnam, in a Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta.

The next week he flew to Ireland and on June 15 ordained Father Darragh W. Griffith to the priesthood at St. Pius X Church in Templelogue, a Dublin suburb. He was joined by Msgr. Don Kenny, archdiocesan vocations director, Father John Murphy, pastor of St. Peter's Church, LaGrange, and Father John Kieran, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Conyers. Father Griffith will be coming to the U.S. in July to serve at Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta.

The new priests bring a variety of gifts and experiences to their service of the church. Father Noel speaks French, Spanish and Creole in addition to English. Father Sidler is the second in his family to join the priesthood. His widowed father, Father Fred Sidler, became a priest of the Diocese of Dallas several years ago and admits he now argues with his son about theology.

Father Tran is one of four siblings in his family able to escape from Vietnam who now live in Morrow. His parents and seven other brothers and sisters remain in Vietnam, but 72 relatives came from the U.S. and Canada for his ordination.

Father Porras-Gomez hopes to serve in a bilingual capacity in the growing and increasingly Hispanic archdiocese where he has already experienced parish work. Father Griffith has experienced the charismatic renewal movement through his family background in Ireland.

In his homily at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Archbishop Donoghue chose a quotation from the priest-confessor, St. John Vianney, as a focus, saying, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus Christ."

"I hope you will never forget those words," he told the men to be ordained. "The love of Christ flows forth in the eucharistic banquet and it is to us that the eucharistic banquet, the Mass, is entrusted...The love of Christ also pours forth in our preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every priest must speak to the people of God with certainty."

Words spoken at the ordination Mass reflected the languages of those present. The first reading was given in French, the psalm in Vietnamese with an English response, and the second reading in Spanish.

In the solemn sequence of the ordination, the four candidates were first called forward and accepted by the archbishop and the congregation with applause. Then each knelt before Archbishop Donoghue, pledging respect and obedience to him and to his successors as chief shepherd of the archdiocese.

The four then prostrated themselves in the main aisle of the cathedral while the choir and congregation asked for the intercession of the saints on behalf of their priesthood.

Then in silence the archbishop placed his hands on the head of each individually as they knelt before him, conferring ordination upon them. This gesture was repeated by each priest present for the ordination and was followed by a prayer of consecration spoken by the archbishop.

Each new priest was then helped into his vestments by chosen friends and family members. Now garbed as priests, their hands were anointed by the archbishop and they were given the offertory gifts brought to the altar by their families. "Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered to Him," the archbishop prayed.

After this prayer, the new priests were embraced by their brother priests and joined the archbishop on the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.

The congregation which filled the cathedral to capacity was a lively mixture of ages, languages and dress.

Hoang Anh Tran and Hoa Tran, sisters of Father Tran, said quietly, "We are so proud of him." Although his parents were unable to leave Vietnam, more than 70 relatives came and 10 Vietnamese priests from throughout the U.S. also came to support his priesthood.

Marlene St. Juste, a cousin of Father Noel from Trenton, N.J., said that the priesthood "was the dream of a little boy and he accomplished it. That is the best way to put it."

"He has a lot of determination, he studies hard, he has a great personality, he gives people a lot of support," she said. "I am older than he, but when I have problems and talk to him, I feel he is older than me."

Martha Porras, a sister of Father Porras-Gomez, traveled from Puerto Rico and was joyful to have experienced her brother's ordination.

"It's an honor to be here and I give thanks to God that he's become a minister," she said. She recalls him always telling her that his biggest dream was to become a priest, and she remembers him going to church daily as a youth. She also said their mother was a strong spiritual guide to him.

Dr. J.A. Lazzarini and his wife, Liberty, both members of St. James the Apostle Church, McDonough, attended the ordination out of a deep fondness for Father Porras-Gomez, whom they met five months ago when he worked for two months with their parish.

"He was so well liked down there. We really missed him when he left. He did such a wonderful job, especially with Spanish community," said Dr. Lazzarini.

"He's a very humble individual," he continued. "I think he has chosen the right vocation."

Liberty Lazzarini gratefully recalled, "When he arrived there we (Hispanics and Caucasians) were kind of divided but he had the ability to unite people. He arranged many activities for these families."

"I think he was born to be a priest."

Hector Santiago, a Hispanic parishioner at the Church of St. Joseph, Dalton, eagerly anticipates the arrival of Father Porras-Gomez.

"We are very excited to have him being that he is Spanish-speaking and we have such a large Spanish population. We know that it is going to be very beneficial."

Cass Catroppa, a member of Christ Our Hope Church, Lithonia, has similar feelings of pride and gladness regarding the ordination of Father Sidler.

"Gordy's wanted to become a priest ever since he was 13 years old," she said. "I'm extremely pleased and proud of Gordy. It was a long haul for Gordy. He had to go through a lot of adversity to get here and I'm very proud he's done it."

Father Fred Sidler said he and his priest-son are not as unusual a happening in the Catholic church as one might think. And some things for fathers and sons never change, he revealed. "We argue theology every day."