On Friday, June 4, a special holy hour will be held at the Cathedral of Christ the King, beginning at 7:30 p.m. All in the community are welcome to join in prayer to support the three men who will be ordained to the priesthood the following day: Rev. Mr. Fabio Alvarez, Rev. Mr. Cyril Chae and Rev. Mr. Diosmar Natad.

Father Ricardo Bailey, ordained in June 2003 and now a parochial vicar at St. Joseph Church, Marietta, will be the presider and homilist. The liturgy will begin with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and continue with vespers. Following the service, light refreshments will be served.

Father Brian Higgins, director of vocations for the archdiocese, started this tradition of a holy hour the night before ordinations in 2003. He said that he first attended a similar holy hour in Metuchen, N.J., and decided that this would be a great support for new priests here in Atlanta.

“The event brought it together for the family and friends of the priests,” he said. “We pray for vocations all of the time, but here in these ordinations we see in physical form the results of our prayers.” Gathering for this holy hour is a great support for the men being ordained, Father Higgins noted. “What better way to start your priesthood?”

Father Higgins intends this holy hour to be a yearly event, and each year one of the priests ordained the previous year will be invited back to lead this holy hour supporting the men. All priests of the archdiocese are invited to join in this liturgy and renew their commitment to their vocations. Seminarians from the Archdiocese of Atlanta are also invited to attend.

As Father Higgins said, the holy hour is brief but important, illustrating Jesus’ invitation to “pray one hour with me.”

All in the community are also invited to attend the ordination Mass on Saturday, June 5, beginning at 10:30 a.m., at the Cathedral.

The Vocations Office regularly sponsors a holy hour for men and women discerning God’s call in their lives at two locations. St. Peter Chanel Church in Roswell has a holy hour every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Cathedral also has a holy hour the third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. in the D’Youville Chapel.

Everyone is invited to come and pray for priestly and Religious vocations.