The ordination of two new Seychellois priests, and a new deacon within days of each other in August has given hope to the Roman Catholic Church in Seychelles, after years of no new persons interested in this religious vocation.

Recently Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan met Father Christian Toulon, Father Emmanuel Boniface, and Deacon Aubrey Pon Wayne at State House. The head of state congratulated the clergymen on their recent ordinations, commending their dedication to serving the community. Ramkalawan also reaffirmed the government's commitment to supporting their initiatives as young Seychellois leaders.

In this week's buzz, SNA presents you with the four new men who have joined the Diocese of Port Victoria, in the western Indian Ocean nation of Seychelles, in the last two years.

Deacon Aubrey Ponwaye

Ponwaye's journey to becoming a member of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church in Seychelles started in 2010 when he left Seychelles for Quebec, Canada, where he joined the Roman Catholic community of spiritual brotherhood and sisterhood of 'St Famille Marie-Jeunesse'.  

Ponwaye was ordained as a deacon on July 14.   

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Father Christian Toulon

A graduate of the University of Malaysia, and a former electrician, Toulon was ordained as a deacon in December 2023. Prior to that the young man had joined a Catholic group called "Cherche ton étoile" ("Search for your star"), a platform, where young people meet to deepen the question of vocation.

It was through these meetings that he chose the vocation of priesthood and was ordained on August 5.

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Father Emmanuel Boniface

A former teacher from Bougainville, Boniface who is musically talented with a passion for the guitar, did his studies and training at the Seychelles Institute for Teacher Education.

After he graduated, he worked as a primary teacher before pursuing his other vocation and left for theology studies in Tanzania, Kenya and France.

Boniface was ordained as a deacon in Orleans, France, in December 2023.  Aged 31 years old, he was ordained as a priest on August 11, at the Anse Royale parish of Saint Joseph.

(Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

Father Romeo Bonne

Bonne, who was ordained in July 2022, is the first Catholic priest from Seychelles to join the Spiritan congregation. His ordination came 13 years after that of Father Collin Underwood in 2009.

Right after his ordination, he left for Cape Verde for his first missionary post.

Bonne joined the Spiritan congregation in 2017 after studying in Senegal. The Spiritan congregation is a Roman Catholic religious community founded in France in 1703, formally called the Congregation of the Holy Spirit.

He was ordained a deacon in Dakar, Senegal, in August 2021. 

(Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY