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 The 2007 ordinandi from St. Augustine’s Seminary and Redemptoris Mater were feted March 6. From left: Leo Llames; Giuseppe Scollo; Jorge Lopez; Zachary Romanowsky; Jorge Aviles; Kelly Boyden and Ivan Camilleri. (Photo by Joseph Sinasac)

That was the invitation the archbishop issued March 6 to 1,300 people gathered to celebrate the 2007 Ordinandi Dinner. For Archbishop Collins, the priesthood and consecrated religious life, despite their challenges, are joy-filled and awesome vocations.

“It’s a marvellous and wonderful calling,” he said. “Take the plunge. You’ll never regret it.”

The archbishop was only one of the many people who took the microphone to talk about the rewards of religious life. But at the heart of the occasion were the seven men who will be ordained as priests this spring as they graduate from St. Augustine’s Seminary and Redemptoris Mater.

The ordinandi, as they are called, were: Leo Llames; Giuseppe Scollo; Jorge Lopez; Zachary Romanowsky; Jorge Aviles; Kelly Boyden and Ivan Camilleri. Romanowsky will be ordained for the archdiocese of Halifax and Boyden for the military ordinariate of Canada. The rest will be priests of the archdiocese of Toronto, though Aviles, Lopez, Llames and Scollo are also from Redemptoris Mater and are members of the Neo Catechumenal Way.

The ordinandi were celebrated at the annual dinner, which is organized by the Serra Clubs of Toronto. Serra is an international movement that encourages and prays for religious vocations.

The dinner also marked the 50th anniversaries of 20 priests in the archdiocese of Toronto and recognized the solemn profession by Sr. Haydee Librojo for the Canossian Daughters of Charity and Sr. Dorothy Schweitzer for the Sisters of St. Joseph.

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