“Called to do the will of the One who sent him,” said Archbishop Costelloe SDB

Mass with Choristers Ribbon Award Ceremony

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB celebrated the Ordination to the Priesthood of former St Charles Seminary student, Nicholas Diedler. This Ordination to the Priesthood was one of three happening in Perth this year.

Joining Archbishop Costelloe for the occasion was Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General the very Rev Fr Peter Whitely VG, Episcopal Vicar Education and Faith Formation, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn, Vicar for Clergy, the Very Rev Fr Minh Thuy Nguyen, St Charles Seminary Rector, Fr Francis Nguyen, Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey and assisted by Deacons Jason Yeap and Errol Lobo.

Some 50 clergy from across Perth also joined the Archbishop for this joyous occasion. In his Homily, Archbishop Costelloe explained that it is God who has given us the gift of the ordained ministry as an indispensable ministry of service to God’s holy people.

“It is God who has stepped into Nicholas’s life, forming and shaping him for what is about to take place in his life this evening. And it is God, in the mystery of his providence, who has given Nicholas the grace he needs, and the people he needs, to help him say yes to the Lord who calls. Tonight, I hope and pray that the question of the psalmist – how can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? - is both on Nicholas’s lips and in his heart,“ said Archbishop Timothy.

Perth born 28-year-old Nicholas grew up in Kingsley and attended the Cathedral Parish, joining St Charles Seminary in 2014 at the age of 19. He was ordained to the (Transitional) Diaconate Saturday 12 March 2022 at St John Paul II Church, Banksia Grove Parish amidst the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking about his vocation journey, Fr Nicholas said that for him, growing up in a strong Catholic family and having the privilege to serve as an altar boy with his brothers prepared the foundation of his journey towards the priesthood.

“I am so very grateful to my parents who said yes to the will of God in giving me the capacity to live our faith at home. From my earliest days as an altar boy, I grew to love serving God in the liturgy which has progressed to me now being ordained a priest with an open heart and mind to listen to the will of God.

I had begun to consider seriously a priestly vocation in the last few years of high school, and then after engaging various career opportunities, I made the choice to enter the seminary and there seriously pursue this vocation and discern the will of God,” Fr Nicholas said.

Continuing his homily, Archbishop Costelloe proposed to the congregation to question what it means for a priest – and what will it now mean for Nicholas – to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus?

“It means that as a priest, Nicholas must realise and make real each day that he is being called not to do his own will, but the will of the One who sent him.

Part of this, of course, will be his generous and wholehearted embrace of his promise of respect and obedience to his bishop. But it is more than that: ultimately it is obedience to God himself in all the ways He makes His will known,” said Archbishop Costelloe.

• Fr Nicholas has been appointed Assistant Priest to the Parish of Yangebup.