Six former seminarians of the Sedes Sapientiae have received priestly ordination in recent months, and they are joined by two other former students who have received diaconal ordination.
Chronologically, Francisco Sampieri inaugurates this list, having been ordained a priest in Puebla (Mexico) on February 9th. The Archdiocese of Puebla de los Ángeles, to which he belongs, covers a territory where over five million Catholics live, served by about 740 priests.
On March 4th, Brandon de León was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Los Altos, Quetzaltenango-Totonicapán (Guatemala). Don Brandon is now one of the 75 priests serving 700,000 Catholics in that region.
About two weeks later, on March 20th, Cresencio Hernández received priestly ordination in the Diocese of Tabasco (Mexico). This diocese has nearly two million faithful attended to by two hundred priests.
In the Archdiocese of Guayaquil (Ecuador), Luis David Zambrano was ordained a priest on April 29th. With two million and two hundred thousand Catholics, this archdiocese has a clergy composed of about three hundred priests.
Moving from the Americas to the African continent, we head to Ghana, where on June 24th in the Diocese of Damongo, Rutilos Logyaa received priestly ordination. His diocese has 40 priests serving 30,000 Catholics, a minority of less than 10% in a predominantly Muslim region.
Returning again to the Americas and more specifically to Mexico, Orlando Alvarado was ordained a priest on June 27th in the Diocese of Ciudad Victoria. There, along with 60 other priests, he already works to serve the half-million Catholics residing in that territory.
Turning to the deacons, Ítalo Alcívar received the diaconate ordination from his bishop, Bishop Cristóbal Kudławiec, in the newly created Diocese of Daule (Ecuador) on April 22nd.
And, to conclude this list full of joys and dearly beloved people, Ryan Santos was ordained a deacon on June 11th in the Diocese of Laoag (Philippines).
Our warmest congratulations go out to all the new priests and deacons. We pray for them, that they may respond generously to the abundant pastoral work that awaits them and that the Lord may bless them with a ministry full of apostolic fruits.