Presbyteral Ordination

Photos by Jonathon Francis

Members of the community gathered at St. Thomas on Saturday, July 6 to witness the Presbyteral Ordination of Deacons Perrin Atisha, 26, and Rodney Abasso, 28.

The St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Diocese shared brief backgrounds on both priests before leading up to the ordination.

Before entering the seminary, Atisha, the son of Steve and Ibtihal Atisha, was studying Psychology at Wayne State University and assisting in his father’s store with things like bill payments, Western Unions, and check cashing. Through this all, he was also quite active within the church.

He was very involved at St. Thomas serving Masses, teaching Catechism, and leading the CLC youth group.

The idea of becoming a priest was not a new one, but rather one Atisha had given thought to from an early age. As an altar boy, he thought about priesthood as young boy.

He began serving as an altar boy at Mother of God Church when he was just 5 years old. Fr. Boji and Fr. Frank were the priests at the time. A year later, Atisha approached his mother, telling her he wanted to do what the priest was doing.

Throughout his childhood Atisha recalls wanting to become a priest.

When Atisha made the decision to enter the seminary and pursue priesthood, he was met with love and support from his family. Entering the seminary did not come without its hardships, though.

Overall, Atisha’s family was supportive of his decision to enter the seminary. His mother, however, took this the hardest.

Despite this, though, through the last seven years, Atisha has had nothing but love and support from his family.

While the newly ordained priest will miss the seminary and his brother seminarians, he is excited to love and serve God’s people.