On April 29, 3 deacons received priestly ordination and a seminarian was ordained a deacon at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle in Guayaquil.
Newsroom(04/30/2023 19:54, Gaudium Press) The ceremony began at 10am and was presided over by Archbishop Luis Cabrera, archbishop of the city.
The postulants to the priesthood were Gerhald Nevil Burnham Villacreses (26 years old) and Luis David Zambrano Cortéz (27 years old), from Guayaquil; Víctor Rolando Contreras Andrade (35 years old), from Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, who pronounced their “yes” to God on the eve of the feast of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
During their year of service in the parishes, the future priests have carried out tasks such as preaching, celebrating baptisms and weddings, collaborating in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and supporting the parish Caritas as a fundamental dimension of pastoral action.
For his part, the future deacon, from Guayaquil, César Lema Castillo, 29, will serve for a year in his Stella Maris community.
The future priests received their formation in the Major Seminary Francis Xavier of Garaycoa, especially in philosophy and theology, and they also studied languages, music and communication, for seven years, in order to exercise the priestly ministry. In a community environment, they matured humanly, spiritually, doctrinally and pastorally.
About the Major Seminary
On April 20, 1975, Monsignor Bernardino Echeverría Ruiz, founded the Major Seminary “Francisco Xavier de Garaycoa”. It received this name in memory of the first bishop of Guayaquil and first archbishop of Quito.
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
