On Sunday, 29 June 1975,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

ordained over 350 men as

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

s in an open air ceremony in St. Peter's Square in what has been considered the largest ordination in history. Sixteen of the ordinands would go on to be consecrated bishops, and three of them would be elevated to the cardinalate.

Ordination

In 1973, Pope Paul VI declared that 1975 would be a Jubilee Holy Year. The Central Committee for the Holy Year announced the ordination would be a part of the celebration. Those to be ordained came primarily from seminaries in Rome, though some ordinands traveled to Rome. While there had been questions about what participation levels in the Holy Year would be like due to societal changes, by the ordination over 3 million pilgrims had been to Rome, twice the number as 1950. The ordination took place on 29 June 1975, the

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Chri ...

and the eve of the 12th anniversary of the coronation of Pope Paul VI. Twenty bishops concelebrated the Mass. In his sermon, the pope called the ordinands to be " the salt of the earth and a light to the world", and urged them to be close to the poor. Over 350 men were ordained from 50 different nations, and an estimated 100,000150,000 people attended. Thirty-five ordinandi were from North America, thirty-four were from Africa, thirty-six were from Asia, fourteen from Latin America, three from Oceania, and 226 were from Europe. It was reported by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

as the largest ordination in history. The lengthy ceremony took 3 hours. The crash of

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled flight from New Orleans to New York City that crashed on June 24, 1975, while on approach to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 of the 124 people on board. Copy at ...

killed the father, stepmother, and an uncle and aunt of Deacon Millard Boyer, who was to be ordained for the

Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana (Latin language, Latin: ''Dioecesis Lafayettensis'', ) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church in the United States. It is a suffr ...

. They were on their way to the ordination. The pontiff expressed his sorrow about the incident during the homily. Boyer's ordination was delayed, as he returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to identify the bodies.

Notable ordinands

*Cardinal

Raymond Leo Burke Raymond Leo Burke (born June 30, 1948) is an American Catholic prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2014 to 2023. He previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008 and ...

Archbishop of Saint Louis (20042008), Prefect of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

(20082014) *Bishop Michael Richard Cote Bishop of Norwich (20032024) *Bishop

Luis Alberto Fernández Alara Luis Alberto Fernández Alara (born October 26, 1946) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires from 2009 until 2013, when he became bishop of Rafaela. Life Born in Lomas de Zamora, Fernández Alara ...

Bishop of Rafaela (2013present) *Bishop Bishop of Guarenas (19972020) *Cardinal James Michael Harvey

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the

Prefecture of the Papal Household The Prefecture of the Papal Household (''Prefettura della Casa Pontificia'') is the office in charge of the Papal Household, a section of the Roman Curia containing the Papal Chapel (''Cappella Pontificia'') and the Papal Family (''Familia Pontif ...

(19982012),

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

of the

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (, ) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Ch ...

(2012present) *Bishop

Michael Joseph Hoeppner Michael Joseph Hoeppner (born June 1, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota from November 30, 2007, to April 13, 2021. After a Vatican investigation concluded that ...

Bishop of Crookston (20072021) *Bishop Jacinto Jose Bishop of Urdaneta (2005present) *Bishop Bishop of Jayapura (19972002) *Bishop Bishop of Andria (2015present) *Archbishop J. Michael Miller Secretary of the

Congregation for Catholic Education The Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study) () was the pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or non-ecclesiastical depende ...

(20032007), Archbishop of Vancouver (20092025) *Bishop Michael Mulvey Bishop of Corpus Christi (2010–present) *Bishop Glen Provost Bishop of Lake Charles (2007present) *Cardinal

Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith (; born 15 November 1947) is a Sri Lankan Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Colombo since 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2010. Ranjith previously served as auxiliary bishop of Colombo (1 ...

Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (20052009), Archbishop of Columbo (2009–present) *Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil Bishop of Surat Thani (20042024) *Bishop

José Raúl Vera López José Raúl Vera López (born 21 June 1945) is a Mexican friar of the Dominican Order. He was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo from 2000 to 2020. He is known as well for his struggle for human rights and social justice. Bio ...

Bishop of Saltillo (20002020) *Bishop Patrick Zurek, Bishop of Amarillo (2008present)

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

AP Archive - POPE PAUL VI ORDAINS 354 PRIESTS - Youtube

1975 in Vatican City Jubilee (Christianity)