26 Oct 2020
Heeding the call of God
The Southern Cross | October 26 2020
The ordination of the Archdiocese’s newest priest, Pasquale (Pat) Lopresti, at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on Saturday was an opportunity to celebrate the “great generosity of God”.
Describing it as a “joyous and wonderful day” for the Adelaide Archdiocese, Archbishop Pat O’Regan gave thanks for Fr Pat’s response to the “insistent call of God” which came later in his life.
“We celebrate the generosity of God today and Pat may you continue to know the Lord’s generosity in your life and by doing so imitate that each and every day of your life,” Archbishop O’Regan said.
“Your mission is to befriend those who have no-one, to give voice for those who have no-one, to sing the praise of God, to bless God’s holy people, to walk with them in communion.”
Archbishop O’Regan said it was important for Fr Pat to continue to ask the question of how to preach the gospel to the “women and men of today”.
“Pat, keep one foot in the church and one foot in the main street. Get your boots dirty because the life of service is one in which we draw close to those whom we serve, not in some unattainable perfect world but in this imperfect world, the one upon which God looks with love.”
A Blackfriars Priory School old scholar and former lawyer with the Adelaide Crown Solicitor’s Office, Fr Pat was living and working in Sydney when he began to discern a vocation in the priesthood. He was well into his fifties when he started his studies at Pope St John XXIII National Seminary in Boston in 2016.
Also read:
Pat's call to serves comes later