Zaitzkofen: Cassocks, Tonsures, and Minor Orders - 2023
February 2 and 3, 2023 were days of beautiful ceremonies at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Zaitzkofen, Germany. On February 2, 20 seminarians received the clerical habit, the cassock, and seven others received the tonsure. The next day the four minor orders were conferred.
20 Receive the Cassock
On February 2, 2023, on the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, also called the feast of Candlemas, 20 seminarians received the cassock and seven others received the tonsure.
The reception of the cassock ceremony took place after the solemn blessing of the candles and the procession. The seminary church was full. The 20 newly vested seminarians come from Germany (6), Poland (8), Austria (1), Croatia (1), Denmark (1), the Netherlands (1), and Hungary (1); among the tonsured were two Germans, two Poles, as well as a Dutchman, a Belarusian, and a Hungarian.
Is the priestly cassock an obstacle to the apostolate, as some claim? On the contrary, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais emphasized in his homily how the cassock arouses the interest of people and makes souls accessible. It is urgently needed in our world that is far from faith. To the new clerics, the bishop sent a message that was both joyful and serious: the cleric no longer belongs to himself, he now belongs to the Church, as the liturgical formula reminds us.
May all these seminarians, both those who have been clothed in the holy habit and those who have been tonsured, meditate on the mystery of today's feast: they have offered themselves to the Lord in the Temple, like the child Jesus. This will be the guide for their whole life.
Minor Orders
On Friday, February 3, 2023, Friday of the Sacred Heart, patron of the seminary, H. E. Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais conferred minor orders on eight seminarians.
These orders are four in number: Porter, Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte. They are normally conferred in two stages: the first two then the other two the following year. In his sermon, the bishop stressed their deep meaning and the graces linked to them.
Two Germans, a Pole, an Australian, and a Belgian were ordained Porters and Lectors; two Swiss and a German received the order of Exorcist and Acolyte from the Holy Church.
In the ordination prayers for the acolytes, it is asked of God that the candidates shine like lights in this world. Let us pray that all these seminarians can one day work within the Church as priests and preach the One who is the Light of the world.
(Source : Priesterseminar Herz Jesu – FSSPX.Actualités)
