Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley will be honored at the first annual Gala Dinner for the Redemptoris Mater archdiocesan missionary seminary which will be held at the Pastoral Center on May 16.

“Especially in this Year for Priests, we feel it is important to honor Cardinal Seán who is a priest with a missionary heart -- something which is very close to the formation of these men who will serve the archdiocese in years to come,” remarked Father Antonio Medeiros, rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

Also honored at the Gala Dinner will be John and Margarete McNeice for their commitment to supporting the formation of priests for the New Evangelization.

The evening will begin with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal O’Malley followed by a cocktail hour and dinner, according to Father Medeiros. During the meal, there will be a brief multimedia presentation on the mission and the nature of the seminary.

Five years ago “the Archdiocese of Boston officially welcomed the creation of the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation, a seminary for men who have come from all over the world, and have generously responded to the Lord’s call to serve as missionary priests in Boston and beyond,” said Cardinal O’Malley in a letter announcing the gala.

The seminary is currently forming 16 men for Boston originally from nine different countries including Italy, Poland, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S.

According to Father Medeiros, the Redemptoris Mater is as an international seminary which is both diocesan and missionary.

“It is international not so much because of the many countries represented in our seminary, but by the fact that these men are assigned to this seminary,” he explained. “It is missionary in that upon ordination, they must be willing to serve the Church in any place the ordinary sees fit.”

In addition to Boston, there are Redemptoris Mater seminaries in the U.S. dioceses of Newark, Washington DC, Dallas, Denver and Guam.

In 2009, Cardinal O’Malley ordained the Boston seminary’s first graduate, Father Israel Rodriguez, a native of Spain, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Father Rodriguez is currently serving as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Marlborough.

For more information on the Gala Dinner contact Father Medeiros at seminary@rmsboston.org, or contact Christine Ohman, Gala Dinner Committee chairperson at 617-959-3596.