Ordination of ethnic priest in Nepal

(January 03, 2012) The Jesuit community of Nepal recently received a new priest from an ethnic Nepali community. Nepal’s apostolic vicar Jesuit Bishop Anthony Sharma ordained Father Samuel Simick, an ethnic Nepali, on December 31, in the country’s poorest parish of Maheshpur some 600 kilometers east of Kathmandu. The 35-year old priest joins three other priests, a diocesan and two Jesuits, who were ordained there by Bishop Sharma last year. The ceremony, concelebrated by about two dozen priests, was held at the Moran Memorial School in Maheshpur, which is set amidst tea gardens. Family and friends of the priest from India, and over 500 other Catholics from across Nepal attended the ordination ceremony. With the ordination of Fr Simick, who hails from northern part of India’s West Bengal state, has brought the number of priests working in Nepal to 68, eight of whom have been ordained by Bishop Sharma since being made apostolic vicar in 2007.