From: Julian Malinowski
Date: August 8, 2025 at 9:28:24 AM PDT
To: …
Subject: Dearest Benefactors – Canon Julian Malinowski
Dearest Benefactors,
Laudetur Iesus Christus!
I have the immense joy of writing to you as a priest, ordained a month ago with five confreres by His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Leo Burke.
I extend to you all my sincerest thanks for your constant support in prayer throughout my years of seminary! Your fidelity has helped me to persevere, and I have completed the race the Lord had put before me. This is, of course, only the beginning, as the combat now truly begins. I implore you to not let up in praying for your priests, for the Pope, and for Holy Mother Church!
The ceremonies of ordination were beautiful and unforgettable. I have to admit that it’s difficult to express exactly what made the Mass of Ordination so beautiful. It’s like trying to explain what is beautiful about the Mass itself—everything about it is beautiful, and everything is relevant.
Perhaps something that struck me in particular was the laying on of the hands of all the priests present, immediately after the bishop. After His Eminence laid his hands on our heads, all the priests entered the sanctuary, and imposed their hands, one by one, on our heads. Although this rite took a long time, it was a beautiful testimony to the unity of the sacrament of Holy Orders. There is, in fact, only one Priest: Christ, and we participate in His priesthood solely by the unmerited grace of being configured to Him through an indelible character imprinted on the soul. Although all Catholics are members incorporate of the mystical body of Christ, the priests are like the hands of Christ, which sustain the other members of the body by Christ’s sacramental grace.
I’m not particularly prone to strong emotions, by nature. Nevertheless, there were multiple occasions during the Ordination Mass in which I had to strain to keep myself from tears. During the consecration of the hands, as the Cardinal spread the Holy Chrism over my extended hands, I was particularly moved. At the end of the Mass, as my confreres and I followed the Cardinal out the doors, I felt as if I had received a second baptism. Ordination being such an immense grace, all I could do was meekly follow in the footsteps of Christ’s Apostle. I can imagine that feeling being comparable to that of the apostles when they had their feet washed by the Master.
I was graced by the presence of a little over twenty family and friends who made the trip to be with me on this important day. After the ceremony, we went to a restaurant for lunch, before making our way back to the seminary for the Te Deum. There followed a grand banquet on tables set in our courtyard, and all along the moat. I am grateful to our cook, Signora Innocenti, and all the seminarians who carried out the table service with efficiency. At the end of the evening, there was a firework show prepared by professionals from Naples, as is the custom at our seminary. Deo gratias!
The following morning was my first Mass, in the seminary chapel. There is a dictum that says that the priest ought to celebrate every Mass as if it were our first Mass, our only Mass, our last Mass („ut primam, ut unicam, ut ultimam.”) I suppose one rarely knows if a Mass will be one’s only Mass, or one’s last Mass; if one did, it would certainly put the importance of the sacrifice, as a whole, in perspective. If the Mass were my only Mass, I imagine I would celebrate it with particular attention to the ceremonies, seeing as I’d only go through them once. If I knew the Mass were my last, I imagine that I’d celebrate with a certain gravity, and a nostalgic desire for the heavenly home. I know that I celebrated my first Mass with a certain meekness and awe. What an unspeakable grace it is, to be designated to call down Almighty God down to His altar. Deo gratias.
Shortly after the ordinations, I was invited to celebrate a first High Mass in Livorno, where I spent my year as a candidate, prior to seminary. I then had two weeks’ vacation in Poland, where I was able to celebrate two more first High Masses: one in Warsaw, and one in Lublin. I then flew out to Italy, to help out with our summer camps in the Alps, which I’ve been doing for the past few summers. Pastoral responsibility in that context entailed many things, including celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and giving spiritual conferences. I’ll admit that it was a bit intimidating, being on the other side of the confessional screen!
I’m currently back in Ireland, where I will be for three weeks’ time. It is a privilege to be able to return to the places where I’ve been on apostolate, to be able to give back to the faithful who have supported me in my vocation. I will be celebrating three more High Masses in Limerick, Belfast, and Ardee, before heading back to the seminary for the annual chapter meeting. It is during the chapter that the Canons discover where they will be assigned for the year. I’m excited to learn what God has in store for me! His Eminence Cardinal Burke will visit the seminary during the chapter to celebrate his 50th anniversary of sacerdotal ordination. Please keep him in your prayers, as he is a capital figure in the defense of the usus antiquior of the Roman Rite. Please also pray for the Pope, that he may swiftly resolve the confusion and turbulence surrounding the legitimacy of liturgical Tradition.
This year was a special year to be ordained for a couple of reasons: It is the 100th anniversary of the encyclical „Quas Primas”, which instituted the Feast of Christ the King, in 1925. It is also the 1700th anniversary of the council of Nicea, which gave us the substance of our Creed, defining Christ to be consubstantial with the God the Father. The reign of Christ as God-Man ought not only manifest itself within the confines of liturgical ceremony, but within all spheres of human life. Please pray for us newly ordained canons, that by giving ourselves, first and foremost, to the service of Christ as King and High Priest, we may always nurture a beautiful and majestic liturgy. In so doing, the graces of Christ’s Kingship will of necessity flow from the altar down to all the concentric domains of human existence. Deo gratias!
Trusting in your devotion, I give thanks to God for the gift of His Church, and the communion of its members in the great union of prayer.
In Christo Rege,
Canon Julian Malinowski
“Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum” – RM 8:28
P.S. I’m attaching a few photographs, for your visual enjoyment!
