The Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, will ordain Cirilo Barlis priest at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Wellington at 10:30 am on Saturday.
Cirilo came to Wellington from the Philippines in August 2014 and joined St Benedict’s Church community in Khandallah to prepare for seminary studies.
He attended language school in Wellington and in 2015 he went to Holy Cross Seminary in Ponsonby, Auckland.
in 2015 He spent some time on pastoral placement at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
Barlis was ordained Deacon in September last year together with three men from the Christchurch diocese, Alister Castillo, Graeme Blackburn and Anthony Huynh Tran.
Since then has been ministering in Parish of Te Awakairangi at Ss Peter and Paul Church, Lower Hutt.
In an interview in the New Zealand Catholic, in 2015, Barlis said having friends encourage him to be a priest seemed the way he discerned his vocation. “When I was in college, I have this priest friend who encouraged me to take the exam in the seminary.”
“Initially, I was attracted because of the seminary’s sports facilities. But as the seminary formation went on, I finally realised what it was to become a priest,” he said.
“And my relationship with God grew.”
Barlis said there was no mysterious voice calling him. “The people around me felt that I had a vocation. They sensed that I had a vocation to priesthood. That’s where I discovered
my vocation,” he said.
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