Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, instituted 37 seminarians of the Pontifical North American College in Rome as acolytes during a celebration of the Eucharist on March 11.
Among the seminarians was Joseph Gill of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who is in his second year of theological studies at the College. These seminarians have received both the ministry of lector and acolytes in anticipation of their diaconal and then priestly, ordination.
“It’s not merely a question of deciding to continue (in formation) but of continuing to decide what sort of priest you want to be,” said Cardinal Pell who went on to encourage the seminarians to cultivate a life of prayer in order to sustain them in their ministry.
Pictures of the Mass will be available on the college’s Web site, ww.pnac.org.