Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RJP)

Udupi, May 11: The gathering at St Mary's pro-Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand was overjoyed to witness Br Jean Marie, an engineer from Udupi, raised to the dignity of the sacred priesthood recently.

Fr Jean Marie with his proud mother

With aunt

Bishop Basil Meeking, the Emeritus Bishop of Christchurch conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders on Br Jean Marie in the religious ceremony in the old Latin rite.

Fr Jean Marie, FSSR, formerly Earl Jude Lewis, graduated as an engineer from MIT, Manipal, before joining the seminary.

Fr Jean Marie, the son of Darryl Lewis and Flossie Lewis was born in Udupi and grew up in Bandra, Mumbai. He studied at St Stanislaus High School in Bandra and later completed electronics and communications engineering from MIT, Manipal.

His grandparents on his mother’s side, Sebastian and Zita D’Souza, were from Thottam, Malpe, while his grandparents from his father’s side Ignatius and Maud Lewis were
from Kallianpur and Mumbai.

Fr Jean Marie later on joined the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer in the diocese of Aberdeen, Scotland which is a new religious order in the Catholic Church that says the Old Latin mass and has a redemptionist spirituality.

The ordination of a priest is the only time that a priest concelebrates in the extraordinary form. Fr Jean Marie concelebrated the Holy Sacrifice with Bishop Meeking, assisted by Fr Anthony Mary, FSSR.

After the ordination, Fr Jean Marie thanked each one who helped him to become a priest His mother was present among others.