One is From California and the Other From Michigan -- Both Will Serve in Mission in Hong Kong

Contact: Mike Virgintino, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, 914-941-7636 ext 2219

OSSINING, N.Y., May 22, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Father Daniel Siwoo Kim of Cerritos, California, and the Diocese of Orange and Father Peter Latouf of Detroit, Michigan, and the Archdiocese of Detroit soon will travel to Hong Kong as they begin their service in mission following their ordinations into the Maryknoll Society.

Photo: Father Daniel Siwoo Kim (left) and Father Peter Latouf (right)

Father Kim, 34, and Father Latouf, 32, were ordained on Saturday, May 20, at the Maryknoll Society Center in Ossining, New York. The Mass of Ordination at Maryknoll's Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel was celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Frank Joseph Caggiano of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Maryknoll Superior General Father Raymond J. Finch, M.M., was a concelebrant along with more than 50 priests from the Maryknoll Society and other religious organizations. Later in the day, Father Kim and Father Latouf received their missionary crucifixes at the Maryknoll Sending Ceremony that presents candidates to the world as Maryknoll missioners.

Blessed by Pope Pius X on June 29, 1911, the 106-year-old Maryknoll Society, also known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, follows Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in more than 20 countries that include the U.S. As the foreign mission society of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, the Maryknoll Society shares God's love and the Gospel in addressing poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism and confirmation, and Maryknoll's mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the country engages U.S. Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers.

Father Kim and Father Latouf each celebrated his first Mass at Maryknoll on Sunday, May 21. Father Kim celebrated at the Chapel of the Annunciation of the Maryknoll Sisters and Father Latouf celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel of the Maryknoll Society. Father Kim will celebrate Mass in his home parish of St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center in Anaheim, California, on May 28. Father Latouf will celebrate Mass in his home parish of St. Sharbel Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on June 17.

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Father Daniel Kim

Father Daniel Kim is from the Catholic Diocese of Orange. He entered Maryknoll during August 2009, soon after graduation from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. His first oath occurred during May 2011 and his perpetual oath occurred during May 2015.

Father Kim was ordained a deacon on August 29, 2015 at his home parish of St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center in Anaheim, California. He earned a master's of divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago during 2016.

Father Kim's immediate family resides in California. His father, Inyoung, is an aerospace engineer and his stepmother, Veronica Lee, is a small business owner. Father Kim's mother is deceased. She was a high school art teacher who was working on her MA/PhD in education. A younger brother, Stephen, is a captain in the United States Army. He served in Iraq and now is a sheriff's deputy and member of the Orange County, California, SWAT. He and his wife have three children.

"My vocation to Maryknoll began during a summer 2005 pilgrimage to Europe," recalled Father Kim. "One of the first visits of the trip was at Taize, France, and during my first day there the founder of the Taize Ecumenical Community was killed by a deranged woman right before my eyes. Needless to say, this had a lasting impact on my perspective of life and death, triggering a strong desire to search beyond the worldly things of this life. Soon after, I met a Maryknoll priest, Father Alfonso Kim, M.M., and became interested in mission service."

Father Kim has learned about and experienced his faith during many contemplative opportunities that have included the study of the Mandarin language in Taiwan and China during his overseas mission training program. He also is fluent in Korean.

"I cannot contain my excitement," added Father Kim, "to return to Asia and serve the people of God there as a missionary priest."

Father Peter Latouf

Father Peter Latouf was baptized in the Maronite Catholic Church, and he continues to maintain connections with the Maronites. While he received an indult, or dispensation, from the Maronite Church to be ordained in the Roman (Latin rite) Catholic Church, Father Latouf hopes to seek the option to become a bi-ritual priest. Father Latouf is associated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

Father Latouf's father, Ronald, is a steel plant worker for an auto supplier and his mother, Donna, is a Detroit police officer. A younger brother, Thomas, works in Detroit. Father Latouf has two younger sisters. Lori is in nursing school and Lisa recently graduated college with a degree in criminal justice.

Father Latouf entered Maryknoll during August 2010. His first oath occurred during May 2013 and his perpetual oath occurred during May 2016. He was ordained a deacon on August 20, 2016 from his home parish of St. Sharbel Church. Father Latouf's overseas mission training program occurred in Taiwan and Mainland China from 2013 until 2015.

"My vocation to Maryknoll began with a college trip to China in the summer of 2004," said Father Latouf. "My university offered a summer teaching opportunity in northeastern China that I thoroughly enjoyed. After returning, I decided to study Mandarin Chinese for three semesters, which I further improved upon during my two years of overseas training."

Father Latouf is a 2006 graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, with a bachelor's degree in psychology and Asian studies. He earned a master's of education degree in educational psychology from Wayne State University during 2008 and received a master's of divinity degree specializing in world missions from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago this year.

Father Latouf has traveled to numerous countries, including various trips all throughout Asia, Africa, North America and South America, Europe and Australia. He contacted Maryknoll through the recommendation of a diocesan vocation director to whom he expressed an interest in the missionary priesthood.

Father Latouf arrived at Maryknoll after a career in family entertainment. From 1998 until 2008, he was a program coordinator for the Michigan State Fair. From 2008 until 2010, he worked with the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Florida. Father Latouf also appeared as a contestant on the television game show "Jeopardy!"