Deacon Ajani Gibson: A special homecoming

► Age: 27

► First assignment: St. Peter Claver, New Orleans

► First Mass: St. Peter Claver, June 6, 3 p.m.

► Mass of Thanksgiving: June 12, 4 p.m., St. Pius X, New Orleans

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Of the 110 parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to which Deacon Ajani Gibson could have been assigned for his first ministry as a priest, Archbishop Gregory Aymond decided in April to create a homecoming story of sorts: The young man whose vocation was nurtured and supported by the parishioners of St. Peter Claver Parish in Treme will be going back “home.”

One day after Deacon Gibson is ordained to the priesthood on June 5 at St. Louis Cathedral, he will celebrate his first Mass at his childhood parish.

“There’s definitely an excitement in going home to a place that really fostered my vocation,” Deacon Gibson said. “If it were not for the example and prayer of the people of St. Peter Claver, I wouldn’t be a priest. I’m excited and grateful.”

Deacon Gibson also acknowledges that “going home” can provide a double-edged dynamic for a young priest.

“I’m a little nervous about going back because it’s always interesting when the homeboy goes home, they know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and they don’t have a problem pointing that out,” Deacon Gibson said, smiling.

Deacon Gibson said, as an altar server, he was struck by the way in which his former pastor, the late Edmundite Father Michael Jacques, celebrated Mass. He was the only altar server for about six months after Katrina, when Mass was celebrated in the cafeteria.

“I got to learn a lot and I took great pride in that, to be that close and seeing everything happening in front of me,” he said. “The Mass was brought to life for me, not only through (Father Jacques’) preaching, but also in the way he prayed.”

He also appreciated Father Jacques’ ability to inflame lay participation in every aspect of the parish.

“The mandate, to make disciples of all nations, is the baptismal mandate that everybody has,” he said. “I have to know when I need to step back and allow them to do what they have a responsibility to do.”

Deacon Gibson went on to study at St. Augustine High School, where he was deeply influenced by the Josephite priests. Recently, he attended a Mass at the school where priests and students prayed over him after Communion.

“St. Aug provided me with an example of the possibility of there even being Black priests,” he said. “Even having a space where African-American men are formed in virtue and formed to contribute to the world in an impactful way was influential, because that’s not always a narrative that can be portrayed in the church. To see this lived out in a real, joyful, authentic and charismatic way was wonderful.”

As a priest, he will pray “for the grace to be open to every new culture, every new moment that the priesthood brings. I think it’s important to pray for the grace to see how the Lord is working in us and through us, and how he is inviting us as priests to be an instrument.”