An ethnic Nepalese Jesuit priest from India has been ordained in the country’s poorest parish. Father Samuel Simick, 32, was ordained on December 31, in Maheshpur parish, around 600 kilometers east of Kathmandu, by Nepal’s apostolic vicar Jesuit Bishop Anthony Sharma. He 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 fromIndia, and over 500 other Catholics from acrossNepalattended the ceremony despite a series of transport strikes gripping the country. The ordination of Fr Simick, who hails from northern West Bengal, increases 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.
