Ordination to the Priesthood of Deacons Sinh Le, Darren McDowell & Joseph V. Nguyen
Date: Saturday 13 December, 2025
Time: 10.00am
Venue: All Saints Catholic Church, Shellharbour City Centre
The Diocese of Wollongong warmly invites you to celebrate the ordination to the priesthood of Deacons Sinh Le, Darren McDowell and Joseph V. Nguyen, to be conferred by Bishop Brian Mascord.
10am, Saturday 13 December 2025 All Saints Catholic Church, Shellharbour City Centre 19 College Avenue, Shellharbour City Centre
This is a moment of great grace for our diocese. With three deacons being ordained together, a large congregation is expected and seating will be limited. To welcome our wider diocesan community, as well as family and friends joining us from interstate and overseas, the ordination Mass will also be livestreamed. A viewing link will be shared here closer to the date.
Thanksgiving Masses
You are warmly invited to attend one of the Thanksgiving Masses celebrated by our newly ordained priests on the evening of the ordination and the following day. These liturgies are an opportunity to gather, rejoice and pray with them as they begin their priestly ministry.
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Unanderra
Time: 6pm, Saturday 13 December 2025 Principal Celebrant:Fr Joseph V. Nguyen Concelebrants: Fr Sinh Le and Fr Darren McDowell Address: 48–50 Princes Highway, Unanderra NSW 2526
St Mary MacKillop Church, Oran Park
Time: 10am, Sunday 14 December 2025 Principal Celebrant:Fr Sinh Le Concelebrants: Fr Darren McDowell and Fr Joseph V. Nguyen Address: 94 Oran Park Drive, Oran Park NSW 2570
St John the Evangelist Church, Campbelltown
Time: 5pm, Sunday 14 December 2025 Principal Celebrant:Fr Darren McDowell Concelebrants: Fr Joseph V. Nguyen and Fr Sinh Le Address: 35 Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown NSW 2560
Let us pray for our deacons
As Deacons Sinh, Darren and Joseph enter these final days of preparation, we keep them close in prayer, trusting in the Holy Spirit’s guidance as they draw near to their ordination.
Prayer for the Ordinandi
Almighty and ever-living God, look with love upon your servants Sinh, Darren and Joseph as they draw near to the day of their priestly ordination. Kindle in them a heart aflame with love for you and your people.
Make them gentle in compassion yet firm in faith, humble in service yet courageous in preaching the Gospel.
Purify their minds and hearts, strengthen them in fidelity to the promises they will soon make, and let the joy of Christ be their constant strength.
May they become living reflections of your Son, shepherds who lead with wisdom, holiness and hope, so that all who encounter them may encounter Christ himself.
Amen.
Venue
All Saints Catholic Church, Shellharbour City Centre
Street Address
19 College Avenue, Shellharbour City Centre
Service Agreement
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The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Wollongong (the Fund) is required by law to make the following disclosure: The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for investors to support the charitable, religious and education works of the Diocese of Wollongong and for whom the consideration of profit are not of primary relevance in the investment decision. The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and any investment of the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed at www.cdfwollongong.org.au or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
Our diocesan logo is theologically rich and very succinct. As a hand, it depicts our mission as a diocese and as individuals within the diocese, of bearing (bringing, carrying) Christ’s love to one another and to the world around us. In this, we are the hand of Jesus Christ, and we are offering ourselves to him so that he might work through us.
We can be the bearers of his love only as a response to his call and in the strength of his grace. We are reminded of this in two ways—through the symbol of the dove (the Holy Spirit) also present in the logo, and by the incorporation of the cross that segments the logo. The presence of the cross is a reminder that bearing the love of Christ will inevitably cost us if we live it authentically. However, in the way that the Cross is the portent of redemption and life—an echo of the tree of life in the book of Genesis—so becoming bearers of the love of Christ will also bring us to life.
The four fingers of the hand also represent the four regions of our diocese. The first is bluerepresenting the beautiful water of the Shoalhaven. The second is a blue and green combination representing the waters and escarpment of the Illawarra. The third is greendepicting the hills and plains of the Macarthur. The fourth is dark green illustrating the forests of the Southern Highlands.
