Two new priests are ordained for Maryknoll and assigned to mission in Asia at the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers headquarters.
Maryknoll celebrated the ordination to the priesthood Saturday of Matthew Sim and Patrick Okok at the Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel on the Maryknoll campus in Ossining, New York.
Ordaining the two new priests, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso invoked the memory of the late Maryknoll Father John E. Bergwall, who served in Tanzania. The bishop, who is from the same hometown of Hartland, Wisconsin, called Father Bergwall “a wonderful model.”
Father Bergwall — a medical doctor before entering Maryknoll — could have had a career in medicine, Bishop Seitz said. Yet he felt called to do more: “to make God known, to make God present in a way that only a priest could.”
While as priests they may accomplish “many wonderful things, there is nothing more important than to celebrate the sacraments and to celebrate the Mass,” the ordaining prelate said in his homily. “From there, you and the Church that you serve will find the strength that it needs, and the vision that it needs, in order to serve the people of God.”
This message resonated deeply with Father Sim. “Through our constant nourishment of ourselves and our communities in the sacrament of the Eucharist, we encourage ourselves to become more and more like Christ,” he says.
For Father Sim, 45, who is from Singapore, the most significant moment of the ordination rite was when Bishop Seitz asked if the ordinands were worthy: “To hear my rector proclaim that, through the inquiry of the different people that we have worked with, the parishes, the communities that we have served, our fellow brothers and sisters and other Maryknoll missioners who have crossed our lives, we are worthy.”
Left to right: Maryknoll Father Patrick Okok, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, and Maryknoll Father Matthew Sim applaud along with the congregation at the end of the Mass of Holy Orders held at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel on June 7, 2025. (Octavio Durán/U.S.)
As Maryknoll priests lined up to bless Fathers Sim and Okok during the laying on of hands, Father Okok felt deeply moved. “I got very emotional,” he said. “It meant a lot for brother priests to lay their hands on me and to welcome me to the brotherhood of priesthood and what that means to continue God’s work of salvation.”
In preparing for the occasion, Father Okok, 34, from Kenya, chose two close friends to represent his parents who were unable to attend because their visas were denied. Florence and Jospeter Mugambi, a married couple living in Chicago, met Okok through their Small Christian Community while he was a seminarian there.
“When his parents were not able to get visas, Patrick asked me and my husband to step in for the parents,” Florence said. The couple had spoken to Okok’s parents by phone about their wishes for their son’s ordination ceremony.
“They expressed that this is a fulfillment of a desire in the family,” Jospeter said. “One of Patrick’s uncles wished to become a priest several years ago, but he died early. So, the parents are very happy and excited that this is an incarnation, if you will. A fulfillment of that desire.”
Father Sim’s father, Sang Hee Sim, traveled from Singapore with his wife and daughter to proudly witness his son’s remarkable milestone. “I am very proud of who he is as a priest,” said the older Sim. “I am happy that my son is going to different places to preach the Word and to share about Maryknoll.”
Lai Har Choy, Father Sim’s mother, added, “I want to give my blessings to him for achieving his dream of becoming a priest.”
Martin Ng, a longtime friend of Father Sim, says that as a teacher in Singapore, Father Sim already possessed the qualities of service and charity that would define his calling. “I believe it was God guiding him along the way. It’s been an amazing journey that I have witnessed from the beginning.”
At the closing of the Mass, Maryknoll Superior General Lance Nadeau addressed the guests in attendance as well as those who were watching the livestream from Kenya, Tanzania, Taiwan and Bolivia.
Sending a personal message to those watching in Kenya, including Father Okok’s parents, Father Nadeau spoke in Swahili. “Your contribution is immense,” he said. “For raising these children and releasing them to walk in God’s way, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Despite the rainy weather, the atmosphere remained festive as the newly ordained priests gave their first blessings in English and Spanish under the corridors of the Our Lady of Maryknoll quadrangle. Then, joined by Maryknoll sisters and members of the Catholic Women Association from Kenya, the two priests led a singing procession back to the chapel for their mission sending ceremony.
During the sending ceremony, Maryknoll Father Raymond Finch reminded both priests that mission is about going “beyond ourselves and our borders, beyond our own interests and needs. It’s at the heart of what it means to follow Christ. It’s the lifeblood of what it means to be Church,” he said.
Immediately following the ordination Mass, Maryknoll Fathers Matthew Sim and Patrick Okok confer first blessings on the Our Lady of Maryknoll quadrangle at the Maryknoll Society headquarters in Ossining, New York. (Octavio Durán/U.S.)
“Patrick and Matthew, you have a lot to offer the people you’re going to serve,” Father Finch said. “You have the richness of your cultures, your faith, your studies and your experience. With all of that, God’s calling you to discover and discern … among the people that you will minister to.”
Bishop Seitz presented the new priests with their mission crosses, and Father Nadeau announced that Fathers Sim and Okok will be sent to Taiwan in mission.
Maryknoll Father Joyalito Tajonera, superior of the Asia region, welcomed the two priests to Taiwan. He advised them to keep in mind three things: connect with nonbelievers, stay in the peripheries and, most importantly, never forget that “no matter how difficult our mission work of going to a foreign country, you fall in love over and over again with the place we are assigned to.”
Father Sim said this new assignment to Asia is significant to him for more than geographical reasons. “I will have a chance to study the Taiwanese language, which is very similar to Hokkien, the language that my father speaks. I think it’s a grace for me to work harder, to be able to communicate in my father’s language and to communicate with the people I serve heart-to-heart,” he said.
“In this wounded world, we have to start in the Church,” Father Sim said, “and together become a Eucharistic witness to the world of God’s love and invite all into this space of love.”
Father Okok said he prays for clarity to serve faithfully in his assignment to Asia. “The main challenge, which is also a blessing, is that in community we live with people from different backgrounds and contexts,” Father Okok said.
“I pray to God to give me the grace to be a priest who listens and has a vision — a people’s vision. I pray that wherever I’m sent, God helps me identify how I am to be one of the people,” he said.
Lynn F. Monahan contributed to this article.
Featured image: Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, presides at the Mass of Holy Orders held at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel in Ossining, New York, on June 7, 2025. Having completed their seminary preparation, Fathers Matthew Sim, right, and Patrick Okok, left, were ordained as Maryknoll priests. (Octavio Durán/U.S.)
