"You belong to the Lord and to his holy people"

25 faithful of Opus Dei have been ordained to the diaconate by Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-siken, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, in the Basilica of St. Eugene (Rome). The text of the homily, remarks by Mons. Fernando Ocáriz, and a photo gallery.

Diaconal ordinations in Rome

The new deacons were ordained by Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy. The ceremony took place in the Basilica of St. Eugene (Viale delle Belle Arti, 10, Rome).

In his homily, which you can read in full here, Cardinal You Heung-siken told the deacons that "in order to restore hope to this wounded world, we must start from our desire to identify ourselves with Christ, to serve our neighbour with the heart, the gaze, the gestures and the words of Jesus. To the extent that we feel that we are looked upon lovingly by Him, we will be able to help others, moved by an authentic charity."

At the end of the ceremony, the Prelate of Opus Dei spoke to the deacons, their families, and all those present: "I thank God because he continues to send “laborers into his harvest,” in particular to this small family among God's people that is the Work."

The 25 deacons come from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.

These are their names:

  • Sylvanus Sobechi Elias Asogwa (Nigeria)
  • Rodrigo Ayude Puga (Spain)
  • Alejandro Bertelsen Simonetti (Chile)
  • Giancarlos Candanedo Páez (Panama)
  • Íñigo Cortés Elorza (Croatia)
  • Juan Esteban de Sas Rosero (Costa Rica)
  • Héctor Devesa Santacreu (Spain)
  • Pablo Espinosa Malpartida (Spain)
  • Daniel Alberto Flores González (Mexico)
  • Francisco de Castilho Monteiro Gil Serrano (Portugal)
  • Roberto Edgard Hernani Gómez (Peru)
  • Juan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner (Chile)
  • Borja Lleó de Nalda (Spain)
  • Alexandre Madruga da Costa Araújo (Brazil)
  • Javier Marrodán Ciordia (Spain)
  • José María Martínez Ortega (Spain)
  • Philip Moss (United States)
  • Vitus Chekwube Ntube (Nigeria)
  • Jorge Oliveira (Portugal)
  • Agaba Simon Otache (Nigeria)
  • Ferran Parcerisa Pujol (Spain)
  • Uxío Rojo Otero (Spain)
  • Pablo Taberner Sanchis (Spain)
  • Pablo Osvaldo Tevere (Bolivia)
  • Rodrigo Vera Aguilar (Mexico)

► Download the ceremony booklet here.