Four new archdiocesan priests expressed heartfelt gratitude to local Serra Club members and all who supported their vocations at the 56th annual Ordinati Day luncheon held Sept. 13 at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City.

Close to 200 Serra members and invited guests attended the event hosted by The Serra Club of San Fernando Valley. In her welcoming remarks, club president Ann Meyers offered a prayer that the new priests' ministry "would provide special fruits for them and for the people they serve."

During the invocation, archdiocesan director of vocations Father James Forsen said the new priests ordained June 3 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels were "a reason for hope" in a troubled world. "May we have the grace to walk with them so that they will know that they are never alone," said Father Forsen.

The newly ordained priests "are a great gift from God to our local church," said Cardinal Roger Mahony, noting that while the quantity of new priests is not high, "we have great quality."

Vocational recruitment in this "electronic age," he added, must take advantage of the latest in digital communication. "I'd love to see a podcast on each of our four newly ordained. Just doing a little spot, maybe 45 seconds, could be very effective," said the cardinal.

Coincidentally, noted vocations director Religious Sister of Charity Kathy Bryant, one of the ordinands --- Father Francis Ilano --- first connected with the archdiocesan vocations office via cyberspace. "We always talk in vocation work about casting the net to catch the fish, and the net we caught him in was the Internet, so we do need to be out there," said Sister Bryant.

Father Ilano, a former software developer, elicited laughter when he admitted to the Serrans that, before entering the seminary, he thought Serra Club "was an environmental group." He thanked Serra members for their prayerful support and said his first assignment at St. John Vianney in Hacienda Heights has been very interesting. "Every day is different. It's a privilege to be able to be a witness of the relationship between God and his people."

In introducing Father John Paul Gonzalez, Msgr. Helmut Hefner, rector of St. John's Seminary, noted that the new priest's mother, Carmen, attending the event with her husband, Ed, has recently been elected president of a local Serra Club.

"The Serrans have been part of my seminary life and continue to be part of my life each and every day. Thank you very much," said Father Gonzalez. He later told The Tidings that he enjoys "being there for parishioners" during both their joyful and troublesome moments in his ministry at St. John of God in Norwalk.

He acknowledged his parents' support in his vocation by adding, "Parents have such an important role in responding to one's vocation. It's our parents who raise us and help discover ourselves and pass on the faith to us, helping us to respond to what God is calling us to in our lives."

Recently-ordained Fathers Paul Griesgraber and Paul Velásquez Martin, assigned to St. Andrew in Pasadena and St. Mariana de Paredes in Pico Rivera, respectively, also thanked family, friends and Serrans for their support.

"I'm very happy to be part of our church. We're definitely in this together," said Father Griesgraber. His first few months as a priest have been "an expansive experience. It seems more than I'm capable of receiving."

John Spillane, a San Fernando Serra Club member since 1973, said it has been gratifying to aid seminarians along their journey. "We continue to look for young men, helping them become soldiers for Christ," he declared.