Every class of newly ordained priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has some kind of bond, formed through an experience that most couldn’t understand.
The 2026 class, the smallest class in years, clearly shares a special solidarity and joy in how close they have become.
“I always joke about it: If I met them outside, I would never be their friend because our personalities are very different,” said now-Father Shengda “Martin” Zhu. “Yet I think through our formations, we really bonded together by understanding where we are coming from, but also understanding where we are and to share the difficulties, but also share the joys together. So there is a genuine friendship.”
Zhu, Father Jerick Alenton, and Father David Zamora were the three men ordained during a May 30 Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in front of hundreds of their family members, friends, loved ones, and supporters.
After ordination classes of eight new priests in 2022, 2023, and 2025, plus a substantial 11 in 2024, this year’s moment felt more intimate.
The Mass began with the trio processing down the aisle one by one before taking their place on the side of the altar, hands clasped in a prayer position. They were followed by dozens of priests in attendance, bishops, and finally, Archbishop José H. Gomez.
As with past ordinations, there were signs of each man’s culture and heritage: The first reading was proclaimed in Cebuano as part of Alenton’s Filipino background, while the second reading was done in Spanish in honor of Zamora. The responsorial psalm and several songs were sung in Chinese for Zhu.
Following the Gospel, the three priests-to-be were called to stand for the Election of the Candidates, answering “present” in their native language. Archbishop Gomez formally asked Father Leon Hutton, rector at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, whether the three men had been found suitable for ordination.
They received the first of many standing ovations.
In his homily, Archbishop Gomez pointed to the record number of converts coming into the Catholic Church, both locally and nationwide — the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had more than 8,000 for Easter this year — and said priests specifically had a responsibility to shepherd these new believers.
“It is both a sign and a responsibility for the whole Church, and especially for the priests,” Archbishop Gomez said. “We have to care for these new souls in our midst. We have to encourage them, strengthen them, increase their faith, and deepen their friendship with Jesus.
“As priests in this new world, you are being anointed and sent out like the prophet in the first reading, to bring good news and liberation to people whose hearts are divided and captured, to people who are confused and oppressed. We need to bring them the truth that will set them free so that they can see the beauty of God’s plan for their lives.”
After the Promise of the Elect, in which the three knelt in front of Archbishop Gomez, the men then prostrated themselves face down in front of the altar as those in the pews sang the Litany of Saints.
Later, other priests helped the trio put on their new stoles and chasubles, and the men received anointing of their hands and a final kiss of peace from Archbishop Gomez, signifying that they had officially been ordained as priests. They were seated among the throng of their now-brother priests.
They received a lengthy standing ovation.
Archbishop Gomez and the other bishops received blessings from the new priests, who then went to their families in the pews to do the same, with hugs thrown in for good measure.
Zamora had a particularly lengthy group hug with his family, wiping away tears as he went back to his seat.
“Just gratitude and love,” Zamora said, reflecting on the moment. “They've just supported me all this time, and I think that it was just a moment where it was not something just for me, but it reminded me that it was for the whole Church.”
Following the Mass, those in attendance waited on the cathedral’s outdoor plaza to receive first blessings from the newly ordained priests.
As he looked out at the three long lines stretching out with those waiting to be blessed, Zhu was especially thankful to his family and loved ones who came all the way from China and the East Coast.
“I’m very grateful to see all the people I have journeyed with, and have been supporting my formation in many different ways,” he said. “Just being there for their prayers and their living, how they live their life, has been impacting me and supporting me to be in this vocation.
“Now it’s time to go to work.”
Standing off to the side were Zhu’s parents, Yong and Liping, along with his aunt, Zhen Zhen, who was the one responsible for his adopted name, Martin. As the story goes, when Zhu came to the U.S., speaking no English, he wanted to be called Matthias, which was his saint name at baptism.
“My aunt looked at it and said the name is too difficult,” Zhu said. “Nobody’s called Matthias here. Just use Martin. I was like, ‘OK, here I am, Martin.’ ”
And now Zhu is the next in a line of Chinese Catholic leaders in their family, including his great uncle, who’s a bishop.
“What we wish as a family for Martin is for him to follow in the footsteps of his forebears,” Zhen Zhen said in Chinese. “And most of all, to follow God's will and follow the path that he has chosen, and stay faithful.”
Miguel Zamora, Father David’s dad and a deacon at Our Lady of Grace Church in Encino, was looking forward to his son’s first Mass, where they would stand at the altar together.
“That was one of my prayers always that one day God would give us that blessing to serve both on the altar, he as a priest and me as a deacon,” Miguel Zamora said. “So that's going to be a blessing.”
For Alenton, who has wanted to be a priest since he was practically an infant, there was a relief that the waiting to fulfill his dream was over, and enthusiasm for what’s ahead for his priesthood.
“Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to become a priest. Now it’s finally here,” he said. “All I can ask for is prayers, and hopefully remain faithful to God, and the ministry has given me now. So it’s excitement, looking forward to what will happen next, but trusting in God's providence and grace.”
