On Saturday, 21 February 2026, Jude Lontum Mbiydzenyuy, Sch. P., was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Pedro Aguado Cuesta, Sch. P., in the Piarist Basilica of Maria Treu in Vienna, Austria. Together with Fr Zsolt Labancz, Sch. P., Piarist Provincial in Austria, twenty international concelebrants celebrated the Mass of ordination, including Fr Moses Kongmi, Sch. P., Lontum’s home Provincial from Central Africa, Fr Alex Djousse, Sch. P., Secretary General of the Piarist Order, Fr Jacek Wolan, Sch. P., General Assistant for Europe, and Fr Clemens Pilar, COp, Prior General of the Calasanzian Fathers. The Mass was live-streamed for Lontum’s family and friends, and for the worldwide Piarist family.
Born in Cameroon in 1996, Lontum joined the Piarists after graduating from secondary school in 2014. He made his first profession in 2016, completed teacher training and a degree in philosophy, and came to Vienna in 2022. Here he quickly learnt German, celebrated his perpetual profession in 2023, and is completing his theology studies at the University of Vienna this year. In the parish of Maria Treu, the musically gifted Lontum is mainly involved in the liturgy and in ministry with children.
Bishop Pedro, who knew Lontum as a boy, was Superior General of the Piarists until his episcopal ordination last year. From the very beginning, he expressed his great joy at now being able to ordain his brother Lontum personally as a deacon. In his homily, he placed Christ at the centre of the diaconate: “Lontum is not receiving this ordination simply because he wants to help and teach. He is being ordained because he believes in God. … Christ is always at the centre.” He mentioned clay as another key word and asked for the prayers of the faithful for deacons and priests: “This great treasure, this gift of service, is placed in a fragile vessel. Your priests are fragile people made of clay. They need your help, your prayers.” He named service as the third important aspect of the diaconate: “We must grow in humility, in being able to serve. The priesthood never abolishes the diaconate; the diaconate is something eternal. It sets the direction for us: to be servants—for the poor, for children, for the community, for the proclamation of the Gospel.” He added that all young men who are about to be ordained carry a big, unspoken question in their hearts: will I be able to carry out my ministry throughout my whole life with the same love and enthusiasm that I feel today? Bishop Pedro referred to Fr Pius and Fr Rudolf, two ninety-year-old Piarist fathers who were present, and said: “Their passion and joy are still the same. It is possible, Lontum! You can live this strong love your whole life—and it will even grow.”
The ordination vow, the ordination itself, and the episcopal blessing—spoken in Latin—were solemn, deeply moving and very authentic moments. Deacon Gerhard Schmitt clothed Lontum in the vestments of the diaconate, and Bishop Pedro embraced the newly ordained deacon like a proud father embracing his son. During the Eucharistic celebration that followed, Lontum was already able to carry out his duties.
At the end of Mass, he thanked not only all the clergy present for the wonderful celebration, but also his family and the many people who had accompanied him over the past years, as well as those who had helped to organise the liturgy. “A person is a person because of other people. Today I understand this saying better than I did before. Because when I stand here today, I am not standing alone. I am standing here because of you, with you, and for you. … My prayer remains: Teach me, Lord, to do your will, for you are my God!”
During the meal that followed in the summer refectory of the Piarists of Maria Treu, around 120 people celebrated the newly ordained deacon. Lontum’s brothers, friends and relatives delighted the guests with African music and dance. Bishop Pedro presented Lontum with a kitchen apron. With a smile, he said: “I am giving you a special garment as a sign of service. You can still wear it as a priest, bishop, and even pope.”
Angela Ringhofer
Communications Office Austria
The entire sermon:
Sermon by Bishop Pedro Aguado SP at Lontum’s ordination as a deacon on February 21, 2026:
Beloved sisters and brothers, today we have a bilingual sermon, so it will be brief.
I would like to share with you what we are celebrating here today. Lontum, it is an incredible joy for me to preside over your ordination as a deacon. It may be that the bishop who ordains a young man does not know him very well. But I know Lontum very well. I met him when he was still a boy. I sent him here to Vienna from Cameroon. He made his perpetual vows before me. And now I have the great joy of ordaining him as a deacon.
We didn’t even need to ask him the question that Fr. Zsolt asked him in Latin: the question of whether he is worthy. No one is worthy. No human being is ever worthy. No one is worthy of being a deacon, priest, or bishop. But I know his deepest desire: to give his life for his vocation. When we take our vows as members of a religious order, we choose a religious name in addition to our baptismal name. Everyone chooses a name. Lontum has chosen a very beautiful name: “Lontum of the Will of God.” That is his name. In the Piarist Order, he is called Lontum of the Will of God. I know he will devote his life to this task. He will always try to be faithful to God’s will. Thank you for your vocation, Lontum!
In this sermon, I would like to highlight three points. I have chosen three key words: 1. Center, 3. Service. And in between there is another word, but I will explain that in more detail later.
Regarding “center”: We must understand one thing very clearly. Jesus Christ is always at the center of the diaconate. There is no other center. Your center, Lontum, is Christ. Lontum is not only receiving this ordination because he wants to help, support, teach, and instruct. Wonderful things! But more importantly, Lontum is being ordained because he believes in God, because he wants to obey Christ and His will.
We know that the task Jesus Christ has entrusted to us is not easy. You have experienced this firsthand. Your path has not been strewn with roses, simple and easy. How often have you implored God and asked him for help? How often have you placed your calling in his hands? How often have you had to learn that not everything works out or goes well? You will encounter many more challenges in your life. You will meet people who do not understand at all why you want to be a deacon or priest. You will meet people who say, “Faith and God, that makes no sense.” There will be many people who do not understand what you are about, but you will also meet many people who love, support, and understand you. But you receive this ordination because of Christ. When everything goes well, thank him! And when things get difficult, ask him for his help! Christ said it very clearly, there is no doubt: this task is difficult. And that is why we are so grateful to you for your vocation. Jesus Christ is always at the center. He died on the cross, and yet he gives us full life through his sacrifice.
The second word that I did not mention at first is the word clay – in the sense of mud – and I would like to explain that a little now. The diaconate, the priesthood, are gifts that God gives us, but he wraps them in a clay pot. That is why I want you all to always keep this in mind: your priests are fragile people made of clay. They need your help and, of course, they need God’s will. It is God’s will that this great treasure, this gift of service, be placed in such a fragile vessel. These are not gold or silver jars. They are made of fired clay. That is why we need your prayers. That is why we are here. We want to promise Lontum that he can rely on our prayers. He will receive a very great gift, the diaconate. He knows that he is a person made of clay, a simple, humble person, and as such he will receive this gift. Accept him as he is in your parish—as a person who wants to give his life for this community.
All young men who are about to be ordained probably have a secret question in their hearts. A question preoccupies them, and I believe that very few would dare to ever say it out loud: “Will I be able to carry out this ministry with the same enthusiasm throughout my whole life, with the enthusiasm that I feel right now? Will I grow tired, will I become discouraged? Will I fall into a routine? Will I be able to keep alive the love I feel today with the same strength until the end of my life, the joy I feel now at this moment, the passion? And here is my answer: We see Fr. Pius and Fr. Rudolf here. They are both 90 years old. And the passion with which they carry out their ministry is still the same. It is the same joy, and their ordination was more than 50 years ago. Lontum, it is possible! You can live this strong love your whole life. The love will even grow!
Center. Clay. And now the third point: serving. The diaconate is serving, serving the poor, serving the altar. It is serving the Gospel, serving the community. Serving, being small, being humble. What will be your goal, Lontum? You must grow in being small. It sounds like a contradiction in terms: growing in being able to be small. But that is the goal of ordination: we must grow in being small, in being able to serve. For it is God’s will—and we are sure of this—that one day you too will receive priestly ordination. But the priesthood never abolishes the diaconate. Some may forget this, because as soon as they become priests, they no longer want to wash dishes. The diaconate is something eternal. It sets the direction for us: to be servants. We are to serve the poor, the children, the community, all of them. The proclamation of the Gospel, the proclamation of Jesus Christ – if necessary, also with words. Pope Francis has always emphasized this: we must always proclaim the message of Jesus, proclaim Christ – if necessary, even if only with words. What truly proclaims the Gospel is our life.
You are witnesses to an ordination. Please pray for him. We must all pray for him, that God may give him the strength to be faithful as a deacon, and that God may send us more people who have a vocation to be deacons, priests, Piarists. I have two dioceses in Spain, and I have introduced a new ministry – the ministry for the promotion of vocations. Maria Treu, we must work to ensure that there are young people who want to become priests, who want a spiritual life. It is a challenge, but there is no challenge more beautiful, more inspiring than this.
Lontum of the Will of God. May God grant you the grace to always be faithful to your ministry, to your gift! Thank you for your patience – bilingual is always longer…
