New priest Fr Felipe Fernandez was called to be a man of prayer, a man of courage and a man of humble service to God’s people during his recent ordination to the priesthood.
Ordained by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Friday 2 June 2023 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Fr Felipe is the second priest to be ordained this year, in addition to two diaconate ordinations.
Joining Bishop Sproxton as concelebrants for the ordination was Vicar General, the Vry Rev Fr Peter Whitely VG, Redemptoris Mater Seminary Rector, Fr Michael Moore SM, Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey, assisted by Deacon Jason Yeap.
Some 20 priests from across the Archdiocese were also present for the occasion, with the Mass also livestreamed for Felipe’s family and friends in Colombia to be able to join in the celebration.
His parents, Maria-Rocio and Diego, travelled to Perth from Colombia for the occasion, together with his sisters, Isabel and Ana-Lucia and brother Diego, who is a seminarian of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in in Amsterdam.
Also attending from Colombia was Felipe’s Parish Priest Fr Yormen Rua from Popoyan Colombia, in addition to Felipe’s uncle and other friends.
Continuing his homily, Bishop Sproxton said that the priesthood asks of those who are called to go on a pilgrimage with God.
“This journey is one of discovery and learning, growth in faith, and it’s lifelong. From that first moment of feeling a call, God draws close to us in a very special way,” Bishop Sproxton said.
“The mystery which is ourself, is gradually open to us at the same time as the mystery of God is revealed to us. This is the experience and has been the experience of people of faith. It must happen for each of us, so that we can take up the Ministry of teaching, sanctifying and shepherding,” he said.
Hailing originally from the town of Popayán, Colombia, 30-year-old Felipe trained at Perth’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary, arriving in 2012 at the age of 19.
At the age of 13, he listened to a catechesis of the Neocatechumenal Way in his parish of Iglesia Espíritu Santo, Popayán.
“I joined [the Neocatechumenal community] at the time because my mother said it would be good for my life,” Felipe explained, in a special interview for The Record.
It was during his rebellious teenage years that Felipe recalled he experienced a moment of enlightenment, asking God to intervene.
God certainly intervened, with Felipe “standing up” to offer himself for the priesthood during a vocation call in 2008 at a youth pilgrimage for the Neocatechumenal Way in Bogota.
He then went on to stand up again at a national meeting of the Neocatechumenal Way in 2010.
Felipe says he quickly dismissed the call and didn’t think about it too much at the time.
Felipe went on to complete secondary school and was looking to become a forensic scientist or chemical engineer, completing one year of university in the town of Cali, some 140kms from Popayán.
“I never thought to become a priest,” Felipe exclaimed.
“I was concentrating on everything else around me – friends, parties, my studies,” he said.
A conversation with his catechists of Cali from the Neocatechumenal Way in 2011, shortly before World Youth Day in 2011, had a profound impact.
They had invited him to a meeting with young men who were thinking about a vocation to the priesthood.
This was followed by a meeting with seminary formators in Medellin, where he commenced his first year of training at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Medellin.
Several months later, Felipe was sent to Perth, Western Australia, after being chosen, together with some 30 other young men – to undertake their formation overseas.
For Felipe, the parable of the prodigal son particularly resonates with his life.
“God really protected me, guided me, and showed me a much greater plan for my life than I could have ever created,” he said.
“I am really so very grateful, and I hope that through him I can be a sign of his love and mercy to other young people.”
Felipe’s ordination, continued Bishop Sproxton, reminds the bishops, the priests and the deacons of the Archdiocese, that their ministry and service is Christ’s, just as the Church and its mission is Christ’s.
“To ignore this is to miss the mark, and to get in the way of Christ,” Bishop Don said.
“Your experience of the power of the Word of God ensures that you will continue to listen with more and more trust to the voice of the Spirit.
In turn, I pray that you will be a true guide and a model to others of the way of conversion and transformation,” he concluded.
Fr Felipe has been assigned to the Parish of Port Kennedy as Assistant Priest.