A dream come true for a father in faith

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Click here for a video with reactions from newly ordained Fathers John Yike, Sylvester Adoga and Luis Duarte.

Bob Yike turned 87 just a couple of weeks ago, but no one could tell him anything he didn’t already know.

His son John, age 62, was becoming a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and one very proud father was there in St. Louis Cathedral May 30 to soak up the profound beauty and significance of the Mass of Ordination celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

“I’m crying,” the elder Yike said, sitting in his wheelchair near Jackson Square following his son’s ordination, along with newly ordained Fathers Luis Duarte and Sylvester Adoga. “I’m happy. Oh, yeah, it’s overwhelming.”

In 2000, when John Yike traveled to Rome to attend World Youth Day, his parents thought their unmarried son might be considering a vocation to the priesthood.

“I was right,” Yike said, smiling. “My wife and I thought he was going to come back (from Rome) and commit then, so he was a little late in committing.”

But God’s time arrived, 20 years later, on May 30.

At Communion, the newly ordained Father Yike walked over to the front pew, where his father was seated, and offered him the Body of Christ, the Eucharist he had consecrated as a concelebrant for the first time with Archbishop Aymond.

“He’s just grinning,” Father Yike said after meeting with his father following the Mass. “A little tear or two – we shared in that. The first Communion I gave out was to him, so that was very special. It was great that he could be here.”

The Ordination Mass was different from others over the last several decades because the congregation in St. Louis Cathedral was severely limited in size due to social-distancing precautions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Relatives and friends of the three ordinands spread out widely in the 950-seat cathedral.

A priesthood ordination usually attracts nearly 200 priests, but the mandated restrictions on large public gatherings severely limited that number.

Archbishop Aymond noted that the Mass was able to be livestreamed and broadcast by WLAE-TV, which he said was a special blessing for the families of Father Adoga in Nigeria and Father Duarte in Colombia.

Addressing their missing relatives, Archbishop Aymond said, “You may not be here physically, but I can assure you that you are in our hearts. We thank God for you. We thank God for the support you have given to these men, and we ask you to continue to pray with us."

Archbishop Aymond said Jesus’ message proclaimed in the Gospel from the 17th Chapter of St. John – “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” – was a particularly apt model of life for the new priests.

“I beg you, as a shepherd, to seek out the lost and the wounded – those who are away from the church, those who have been hurt by the church,” he said. “As Jesus said in the Gospel, may your life say, ‘As the Father loves me, so I love you.’ At the end of each day, if you want to check to see where you are in ministry, use those words, ‘Lord, did I say to your people today, “As the Father has loved me, so I love you.”’ 

“I beg you to give up on no one. Jesus did not. Follow the advice of St. Peter, ‘Tend the flock, not for your own profit and in no way so that you will be noticed; do not lord it over them in an authoritarian or oppressive way. Be humble and patient.’ That's who Jesus was as the Good Shepherd.”

After the Gospel was proclaimed, the three ordinands were presented to Archbishop Aymond in the sanctuary, and they lay prostrate for more than six minutes as the Litany of the Saints was intoned.

In noting the symbolism of lying prostrate before the altar, Archbishop Aymond said it represented the men’s total emptying of themselves for service to God and God's people.

“God has spoken to your heart, and that’s why you are here,” Archbishop Aymond said. “We thank you for saying yes, and we ask you humbly to daily empty yourself so that Jesus can fill you. He can only fill what is empty, and as we die to ourselves, and as we surrender ourselves, he will continue to fill you every day with that priestly spirit that you are given as a gift today.”

Father Adoga, 45, had for many years discerned the priesthood in his native Nigeria, but he came to the U.S. several years ago, first hoping to study for the Josephites before coming to the archdiocese and entering Notre Dame Seminary. 

“It is an overwhelming joy,” Father Adoga said. “In the truest sense, I would say, ‘This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ It has happened. It is real. I recall the words of the holy apostles: ‘I have been made the servant of the Gospel by the gift of grace from God, who gave it to me by his own power. So, I am glad that God has considered me for the priesthood.”

Father Duarte, a native of Colombia, said he was overwhelmed by his ordination.

“This is the most beautiful day of my life,” he said. “I’m so happy because I received the strength of the Holy Spirit, and I’m so happy today. I am so grateful to God for what he has done for my life. 

“Even though my family couldn’t come, I received the love of these people of New Orleans, and I received the love of my brother priests. Please keep praying for me so that I can be a holy priest and offer the sacrifice of the Mass and of my life for your sanctification and for the greater glory of God.”

For Bob Yike, seated outside St. Louis Cathedral, it was the fulfillment of a dream to see his son ordained a priest.

“It means God is still with me,” he said.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].