On Saturday, August 29, Bishop Salvador Gonzalez Morales, auxiliary bishop, moderator and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Mexico, ordained seven Legionaries of Christ and eight deacons to the priesthood in the Insigne y Nacional Basilica of Santa Maria de Guadalupe. The Holy Mass was concelebrated by sixty Legionaries of Christ, among them the territorial director of Mexico and Central America, Father Alberto Simán, L.C.
In previous years it was in the city of Rome where all the Legionaries of the world gathered to be ordained priests, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that this year each one would be ordained in his country of origin or destination. Due to health regulations, the ordination was attended only by the closest relatives of the ordained, some consecrated laity and consecrated women and men of Regnum Christi. The celebration was transmitted live from the official website of the Basilica of Guadalupe, through the Catholic.net portal and the Legion of Christ's Facebook page with a reach of more than 50 thousand people.
In his homily, Bishop Salvador Gonzalez affirmed that: “The love of God is something concrete and serious that excludes no one; Jesus commands us to live a love that has Him as our model”. He added that religious life “is a very special gift of the Spirit that demands that they be faithful witnesses of holiness for the Church and for the world”.
He said that as religious priests and deacons they must be one body with each other and with the diocesan communities where their apostolic work takes place and that their first mission will be to work and pray for their people.
He concluded by recalling Mary's role as an example of dedication and guidance: “Do not fail to turn to Mary. She will be your teacher and your companion; she as mother and you as parents and shepherds. She will help you to live in purity. Like her we can say ‘let it be done to me according to your word’”.
During the ordination rite, after the imposition of hands and anointing of the ordained with the Holy Chrism, the parents of each deacon and priest went up to the altar to vest them with their new vestments.
At the end of the celebration, Father Alberto Simán, L.C. thanked Bishop González for having ordained seven priests and nine deacons, since it is a very special gift that they received on this day. He mentioned that when he was a formator in the seminary, he had several of them as students, and it is a source of pride to see them now ordained.
During these days, the new priests and deacons will spend time with their families and then will go to their new assignments to work in evangelization, formation, education and social work in Mexico and Central America.
The seven new legionary priests are: Joaquín Saínz (originally from Puebla), Juan Pablo González (originally from Guanajuato), Emmanuel Ortiz (originally from Mexico City), Rodolfo Jiménez (originally from Tlaxcala), José́ Enrique Anaya (originally from Michoacán), Santiago Mejía (originally from Colombia) and Luis Felipe Guzmán (originally from Michoacán).
The Legionaries who received diaconate ordination are: Stefan Wise (originally from Australia), Daniel Preciado (originally from Veracruz), César Fernández (originally from Hidalgo), Ernesto Simroth (originally from Querétaro), René Gómez (originally from Oaxaca), Eduardo González (originally from Durango), Diego Trillas (originally from Mexico City) and Alejandro de la Garza (originally from Monterrey).
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