The Diocese of Brownsville will welcome 43 new permanent deacons on Saturday, Feb. 3. Bishop Daniel E. Flores will confer the sacrament of ordination at a 1 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine.<\/p>\n
The public is invited to attend the ordination for the largest class of new deacons in the history of the diocese.<\/p>\n
A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups, or \u201corders,\u201d of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops, presbyters and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came \u201cto serve and not to be served,\u201d according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.<\/p>\n
Permanent deacons, who can be married, are ministers of the Word, which means they can proclaim the Gospel during Mass and preach and teach in the name of the Church. Their sacramental ministry includes baptizing, conducting prayer services, serving as an official Church witness to marriage and conducting funerals services.<\/p>\n
Those being ordained and their home parishes: Carlos Aguilar of Sacred Heart Parish, McAllen; Jos\u00e9 Aguilera, Queen of Peace Parish, Harlingen; Alberto J. Aldana, San Martin de Porres Parish, Weslaco; Jos\u00e9 Bernal, Christ the King Parish, Brownsville; Henry Camacopa, Holy Spirit Parish, McAllen; Cruz Carlos, St. Luke Parish, Brownsville; David Carre\u00f3n, Sacred Heart Parish, Elsa; Santos Chapa, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, McAllen; Le\u00f3n D\u00edaz, San Martin de Porres Parish, Weslaco; Javier Escobar, San Cristobal Magallanes y Compa\u00f1eros Parish, Mission; Arturo Escobedo, St. Ignatius Parish, El Ranchito; F\u00e9lix F\u00e9lix, San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin Parish, McAllen; Guadalupe Garcia, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Brownsville; Jos\u00e9 Javier Garcia, San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin Parish, McAllen; Romeo Garcia, Jr., Immaculate Conception Parish, Rio Grande City; Rodrigo Garza, Jr., San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin Parish, McAllen; Brigido Gonzalez, Our Lady of St. John of the Fields Parish, Mission; Juan Gonz\u00e1lez, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, McAllen; Gabriel Hernandez, Holy Spirit Parish, McAllen; Jes\u00fas Hern\u00e1ndez, St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish, Brownsville; Jorge Hinojosa, St. Anne Parish, Pe\u00f1itas; Julio Ibarra, Holy Family Parish, Brownsville; V\u00edctor Lara, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, McAllen; No\u00e9 Longoria, Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy Parish, Brownsville; Richard Longoria, Holy Spirit Parish, McAllen; Juan Carlos Ortiz, St, Pius X Parish, Weslaco; Benigno Palacios, Queen of Peace Parish, Harlingen; Jos\u00e9 Peralez, III, Sacred Heart Parish, Edinburg; Rosvel \u2018Ross\u2019 Pruneda, Sacred Heart Parish, Escobares; Josu\u00e9 Ramirez, Holy Family Parish, Brownsville; Miguel A. Ramirez, Holy Family Parish, Brownsville; Rom\u00e1n Ramos, St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish, Brownsville; Ra\u00fal Rangel, Sacred Heart Parish, Edinburg; Jos\u00e9 Humberto Rios, Our Lady of Refuge Parish, Roma; Francisco Rugama, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish, Mission; Michael L. Seymour, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Harlingen; Lorenzo Soto, San Martin de Porres Parish, Weslaco; Jos\u00e9 A. Torres, Sacred Heart Parish, Mercedes; Florencio Trevi\u00f1o, St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus Parish, Edcouch; Luis A. Trevi\u00f1o, Holy Spirit Parish, McAllen; Jose G. Vargas, San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin Parish, McAllen; Miguel Villarreal, Sacred Heart Parish, Escobares and Juan Zamora, Queen of Peace Parish, Harlingen<\/p>\n
The men, who have completed an extensive, four-year formation program in preparing for this ministry, come from various backgrounds and careers. Among the new class are doctors, business owners, coaches, architects and information technology specialists.<\/p>\n
With the 43 new deacons, the total number of permanent deacons in active ministry in the diocese stands at 107.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Congratulations, brothers, and welcome! Ad multos annos!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is that a stunning picture, or what?\u00a0 This appeared on the Diocese of Brownsville Facebook page this afternoon. Details, from the diocesan website: The Diocese of Brownsville will welcome 43 new permanent deacons on Saturday, Feb. 3. Bishop Daniel E. Flores will confer the sacrament of ordination at a 1 p.m. Mass at the Basilica […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":276632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-mind"],"yoast_head":"\n
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