On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, inside St. Peter’s Basilica, something extraordinary happened: Deribe Belay of Ethiopia was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history and the first to have served as a missionary since St. Peter.
Father Deribe was one of 14 seminarians from the Pontifical Urban College, funded by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies, ordained by Pope Leo XIV during the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests—a day dedicated to renewing the sacred call of the priesthood.
For Father Deribe, the path to that altar had been marked by hardship, danger, and unshakable faith.
He grew up in a remote village in the Apostolic Vicariate of Harar, where Catholics are a tiny minority in a country where Christianity can be a cause for persecution. His parish had no resident priest. Sometimes, the doors were locked on Sundays. Still, he went—alone, if necessary—hoping the priest would arrive.
“I didn’t know what it meant to be a priest,” he remembers, “but I knew the sorrow of not having one.”
He’s also known the cost of being a Christian. He was once attacked simply for attending Mass. And during a pastoral visit with his bishop, he witnessed violence so brutal that it left some paralyzed, others blind, and many dead.
“They came after us, killing some and severely injuring others. I had never witnessed such cruelty: Some were burned alive. Others had their eyes ripped out. Others had their backs broken and were left paralyzed in the middle of the road,” Father Deribe told us weeks before his ordination.
Let yourselves be shaped by grace
In his message to the new priests, the Holy Father urged them to remain close to Christ’s Heart:
“The Lord does not look for perfect priests,” Pope Leo said, “but for humble hearts that are open to conversion and prepared to love others as He loved us… Let yourselves be shaped by grace, and guard the fire of the Spirit you received on the day of your ordination.”
Father Deribe’s formation took place at the Urban College, an institution of the Dicastery for Evangelization where hundreds of seminarians, priests, and religious from mission territories live in community while studying in Rome. This year, the college welcomed 168 students in formation.
“They have experienced this opportunity with profound gratitude toward God and the Church,” said Father Armando Nugnes, the seminary’s rector, “feeling the responsibility to bear witness to the richness of Catholicism in their countries through the generosity of the service that will be asked of them.”
Father Deribe’s path to the priesthood was made possible through a scholarship funded by The Pontifical Mission Societies, which each year provide support to 82,000 seminarians—one in every three seminarians worldwide.
Now, Father Deribe prepares to return to his homeland—a place where many Catholics still wait weeks or months between Masses, and where simply living the faith can be a danger. “This is not feasible by my strength,” he says, “but I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)
