A LAGMORE man has been ordained to the priesthood at a service in St Peter’s Cathedral.
Fr Dawid Aksenczuk from the parish of Christ the Redeemer in Lagmore was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Down and Connor on Sunday (August 27) by Bishop Donal McKeown, Apostolic Administrator of Down and Connor.
Fr Dawid was born in Poland before coming to live in Belfast at a young age. Family and friends of Fr Dawid – including his grandparents – travelled from Poland to be present at the ordination.
The Aksenczuk family arrived in Ireland in 2007 and moved to Lagmore in 2017 after a period living in East Belfast.
Fr Dawid studied for seven years at the diocesan seminary in Belfast and at St Patrick’s College Maynooth.
Speaking back in January as he was made a deacon, Dawid said: "The process of becoming a priest is long but begins in your heart, with God.
Fr Dawid with clerical colleagues and family, some of whom travelled from Poland for the ordination 
"It is a vocation and involves a significant period of discernment, a decision-making period, as well as six years study in the seminary in Maynooth.
"I’d like to thank my home parish in Lagmore, Christ the Redeemer. Everyone in the local community, family and friends, have been incredibly supportive and welcoming.”
In his homily on Sunday, Bishop McKeown said: "Dawid, you are not just being ordained a priest today.
"You are being called to be a priest in Down and Connor beginning in 2023, with all its concrete challenges and opportunities. You are called to follow Jesus wherever He may lead you and however the circumstances of your mission change over the next decade.
"Preaching and witnessing to the Gospel of Jesus has always been tough. It will continue to be so. But only through love and generous sacrifice will the Kingdom of God be victorious over evil.
"Avoid ecclesiastical culture wars. Nourish people with divine mercy and not merely with human anger. Meet people where they are and walk with them. Bring them to Christ and not just to yourself. For that mission is the rock on which Jesus wants to build His Church."
