Bishop Mark Seitz and the Office of the Permanent Diaconate of the Diocese of El Paso announced Friday the ordination of 17 men to the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese.
The ceremony is set for 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark Catholic Church located at 11700 Pebble Hills Boulevard; the ordination will also be streamed live via the Diocese of El Paso’s Facebook page.
Officials with the Diocese say they have been forming these 17 men for the permanent diaconate over the last 5 years.
Along with ordination to the permanent diaconate, these men will be receiving a Masters in Ministry studies from either St. Mary’s Seminary, or St. Thomas Seminary, both located in Houston. These men all received their formation via long distance learning.
The original cadre of men that began formation to the permanent diaconate 5 years ago included an 18th member.
Retired Lt. Ruben Flores, former EPFD chaplain and deacon candidate who passed with COVID-19 in January of this year, along with his wife, will have a place along with the other 17 men in honor of what would have been his diaconate ordination.
“The Deacon candidates were all in the middle of their last formal retreat when they heard the news about Ruben Flores’ passing from COVID-19,” Deacon Jesus Cardenas, Director of the Permanent Diaconate said.
“The candidates all decided that as a group they wanted to honor Lt. Flores with a place right along side them during this ordination.”
Deacon Cardenas expressed his joy at being able to add 17 more men to the permanent diaconate.
“These men have been working hard during the last 5 years to get to reach the summit of their formation through ordination,” he said. “Its an exciting time for them and their families and we look forward to having them as ministers in our diocese,” he ended.
The Permanent Deacon Odrinands and their assignments are as follows:
Daniel Bejarano – St. Rapahel Parish
Luis Alberto Buena – St. Mark Parish
Julio Cesar Diaz – San Judas Tadeo Parish
Ruben Jasso Gomez – St. Thomas Apostle Parish (Monahans, TX)
Dagoberto Gonzalez – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish
Jose Marcos Gonzalez – San Antonio de Padua Parish
Wade Stevens Horsch – Our Lady of Assumption Parish
Oscar Marruffo Machuca – Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish (Pecos, TX)
Arturo Rolando Medina – Cristo Rey Parish
Victor Adolfo Rubio – Queen of Peace Parish
Andres Ruvalcaba – St. Patrick’s Cathedral Parish
Lucio Alfonso Sandoval – St. Francis of Assisi Parish
Luis Angel Santos – St. Matthew Parish
Alfredo Lorenzo Solano – St. Raphael Parish
Karl Andrew Twichell – St. Luke Parish
Carlos Omar Viesca – St. Luke Parish
Rudy Ochoa Villegas – Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish (Pecos, TX)
+ Ret. Lt. Ruben Flores – El Paso Fire Department
A Deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops, presbyters and deacons.
The Second Vatican Council decreed that the diaconate, when it was restored as a permanent order in the hierarchy, could be opened to “mature married men,” and later clarified to mean men over the age of 35.
As ministers of Sacrament, deacons can baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church’s resources to meet those needs.
Deacons are also dedicated to eliminating the injustices or inequities that cause such needs.
For more information, visit the Diocese of El Paso; for our previous coverage, click here.
