The seven men, who will be ordained in 2014, shared stories of their path to the priesthood with the sell-out crowd.
Five of the seven will serve in the Archdiocese of Toronto. They are: Neiman D'Souza, Scott Birchall, Michael Simoes, Marijan Šiško and Omar Hernandez. Dave Walter will become a priest for the Diocese of Hamilton, while John Perdue will serve in Peterborough.
“It is a joy to be present this night and to be able to give thanks to the Lord for the many things that the Lord has done for me,” said Deacon Omar Hernandez, who will be ordained as a Redemptoris Mater priest for the archdiocese of Toronto.
“I wish my family was here today and I wish my father was here today but unfortunately they are back home in Colombia. I wish they were here so that we could give thanks to the Lord together because this is not an occasion that is my own; this is something that belongs to us all.”
It was an evening for the ordinandi to tell their personal stories, but the audience also heard from Cardinal Thomas Collins.
“I had the wonderful joy of calling the five deacons from our dioceses to the priesthood,” said Collins. “It is a blessing for us all. This is a moment in a person's life that is really, I find, very moving.”
This crop of ordinandi was one of the "most entertaining" groups in the history of the event, said Mario Biscardi, founder of the Ordinandi Dinner and Serra Club member. It was also one of the youngest, he said.
“The average age must have been in the low 30s,” he said. “Everyone I spoke with spoke very highly of the Class of 2014.”
The average age worked out to 32 years old, with Šiško, 37, the oldest and Perdue, 28, the youngest.
“The Ordinandi Dinner is helping to raise the awareness of the need for priestly vocations in our community and planting the seeds of a vocation to religious life to those men and woman who may be have an inkling of a vocation,” Biscardi said. “What better way (to do that) than to hear the testimonials first hand, and listen to the inspiring vocation journeys of the Ordinandi.”
Earlier in the day the organizers hosted the Ordinandi Lunch. It drew 770 students from 70 Catholic schools representing six Catholic school boards.
“Next year I think we'll have to have an Ordinandi breakfast to fit in another couple hundred of people,” Collins quipped.
Walter said the Ordinandi were moved by the affection and support they received at the lunch and the dinner.
“Your support and prayers mean more to us than you'll ever know,” he said. “It is indeed a great privilege for us to be able to share our vocation stories and how God is working in our lives.”