Today, May 13th, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City, ordained seven diocesan seminarians from the Pontifical International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae (PCIMME) and six Legionaries of Christ at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter in the Vatican Basilica.

The celebration, part of the 25th Anniversary of PCIMME, was attended by a large number of Legionary priests and some diocesan and religious priests, PCIMME seminarians, Legionaries from the communities in Rome, consecrated members of Regnum Christi, and lay consecrated persons living in Rome, as well as family members and friends of the new deacons and some members of Regnum Christi in Italy.

The new deacons are: from the diocese of Neyyanttinkara, India, Fathers Bruno Xavier and Lijo Francis Saji Pushpam; from the Archdiocese of Trivandrum, India, Fathers Davidson Jestus and Manish Peter; from the Work of Mary Mother and Queen of Unity, Ecuador, Father Eddy Alejandro de la Torre Hurtado; from the Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria, Father Peter Ehinomhen Okojie; from the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro, Colombia, Father Sebastián Toro Toro; from the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, Fathers Michael James Baggot (United States), José Rigoberto Cano (Mexico), Sadrac Salvador Hernández (Mexico), Marcos Gerardo Salazar Márquez (Mexico), Rodrigo Martínez Murillo (Mexico), and Luis Gustavo D’Suze Santos (Venezuela).

We thank God for the gift of these new deacons for His Church. The Lord, who guides our steps and our history, knows well the meaning of this celebration, in which we remember the efforts, work, sacrifices, and generosity of these new deacons and their trainers and companions, commented Father Óscar Turrión, rector of the Pontifical College Maria Mater Ecclesiae.

The photo gallery of the diaconal ordinations can be seen here

Below is the Spanish translation of the homily delivered by Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

The Evangelist John, at the end of his admirable prologue, states something that at first glance seems impressive, but is true. John says: «No one has ever seen God» (Jn 1:18). And it is true. We can see the traces of God, the effects of God’s presence, but we cannot see God’s face.

There is a psalm, Psalm 18, which says: «The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.» A great scientist, Isaac Newton, used to say that just looking at the star-filled sky was enough to be enchanted by the universe. You need to be blind not to recognize the author; you need to be naive not to worship Him. We see the effects, but we do not see God’s face. Carlo Linnaeus, a great botanist, perhaps the greatest of all time, said: «When I study flowers, I see God’s signature and almost glimpse God’s step.» But God is not visible.

John said: «No one has ever seen God; the one who has revealed Him is the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.» He has told us about God. He has revealed God to us. Jesus, and this is the heart of our faith, is the Son of God who became man, took on our humanity to tell us, with His humanity, the mystery of God, to make it visible to us.

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus has revealed to us a characteristic of God that no one could have imagined; He has made known to us a characteristic of God that no religion could have thought of at all. Jesus has revealed that God is humble. This is an impressive characteristic of God.

As early as Isaiah, in the Old Testament, we find a question, a query from God: «To whom shall I look?» (Is 66:2). And God answers: «On the humble» (Is 66:2). Clearly because God and humility are naturally attracted to each other. The life of Jesus is a whole revelation of God’s humility. Humility that is part of love. It is an unrenounceable characteristic of love.

In Bethlehem, we see Him full of humility. The angels tell the shepherds to go to Bethlehem: «And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger» (Lk 2:12). This is the throne on which God has appeared in the world, because God is humble.

At the Last Supper, Jesus also began to wash the disciples’ feet. Peter himself was unprepared for this gesture and reacted by saying to Jesus: «You will never wash my feet!» (Jn 13:8). That is, I do not accept you in this humility. But Jesus responds: Peter, «if I do not wash you, you have no part with me» (cf. Jn 13:8). That is, if you do not accept this characteristic of God, which is unrenounceable, you understand nothing of God. Peter experienced difficulty, but he managed to accept the mystery of humble God.

Dear deacons, you have the task of reminding us of this characteristic of God. We are all tempted; pride is always at the door. The diaconate has this wonderful mission: to remind us that God is humble, to remind us that Jesus came to serve and to give His life. How important this mission is! And the diaconate is the foundation of all priesthood. And it is a characteristic that must always remain in all manifestations of your life.

The saints understand this wonderfully. Think that Saint Augustine, in Book VI of his Confessions, wrote that he found it difficult to find Jesus because he was not seeking Him from humble to humble. And Augustine also said that demons were born because of pride. God created all good, including demons, who were created as good beings, angels. Pride has transformed them into demons.

Think of Saint Francis, who said, in his praise of virtues, that on earth, one could not find a person who had a single virtue without first having humility. And while praying silently, he reached this exclamation, addressed to God: «You are humility.»

Dear future deacons, you have a great task in the Church. A task that you must always perform in a lively and strong way: to remind us of this characteristic of God so that we can also always follow this path, because it is the path in which we can find God and manifest God with our lives.

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THE NEW LEGIONARY DEACONS

Father Michael Baggot, L.C. He is from Houston, Texas, United States, born on May 18, 1985. He entered the novitiate in Cheshire, United States, on September 20, 2008, and in December of the same year, he moved to the novitiate in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. A year later, he transferred to the novitiate in Dublin, Ireland, where he made his first religious profession on September 12, 2010. He completed apostolic practices in the United States as an assistant on the fundraising tour and as a teacher at Pinecrest School in Atlanta. In 2014, he obtained a license in philosophy from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum and that same year, he began his bachelor’s degree in theology.

Father José Rigoberto Cano, L.C. Born on November 21, 1978, in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. He entered the novitiate in Monterrey on September 15, 2009, after studying medicine. He made his first religious profession on August 14, 2011. In October 2013, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and in 2014, he began his bachelor’s degree in theology at the same Athenaeum. During his apostolic practices, from 2013 to 2014, he was a member of the auxiliary team of the youth section in Hermosillo and an instructor at the Irish Institute of Hermosillo. He is currently in his third year of a bachelor’s degree in theology.

Father Luis Gustavo D’Suze, L.C. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on September 19, 1986. He was a member of ECYD and Regnum Christi in Barquisimeto. He joined the Legion of Christ in 2003 and did his novitiate in Monterrey. He studied two years of classical humanities in Salamanca, Spain, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in Thornwood, United States. His apostolic practices were carried out from 2009 to 2012 in Mexico City and then in Chihuahua, where he collaborated as an assistant on the fundraising tour, territorial secretary assistant, and later as a formation instructor at Colegio Everest, also supporting ECYD and Regnum Christi sections. He made his perpetual profession on August 15, 2011, in Mexico City. In 2012, he moved to Rome to continue his philosophy studies, obtaining a license in philosophy in 2014 from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. That same year, he began his bachelor’s degree in theology and is currently in his third year.

Father Sadrac Hernández Ramírez, L.C. Born on April 16, 1987, in Mexico. He did his novitiate in Gozzano from 2004 to 2006. He studied the two-year course of humanities in Salamanca, and in 2008, he was assigned to Thornwood to study philosophy. He went on apostolic practices in 2010 and was a discipline prefect at the La Joya Vocational Center for three years. In 2013, he received the mission to be a formation instructor at the Cumbres Institute secondary school in Mexico and a member of the auxiliary team of ECYD in the western part of Mexico City. In 2014, he returned to Rome and is currently in his third year of theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum.

Father Rodrigo Martínez Murillo, L.C. Born on September 5, 1984, in Mexico. He studied at the León Vocational Center from 1997 to 2001. He entered the novitiate in Monterrey on September 15, 2001. He made his first profession on August 24, 2003. He completed a two-year course of humanistic studies in Salamanca and later studied a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. In 2007, he began his apostolic practices as a formation instructor at Colegio Cumbres in León and a member of the ECYD auxiliary team, in addition to collaborating for a year in vocations promotion in the Bajío area. He made his perpetual profession on August 26, 2012. In 2014, he obtained a license in philosophy from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, where he is now in his third year of a bachelor’s degree in theology.

Father Marcos Salazar Márquez, L.C. Born on April 4, 1983, in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He is an alumnus of Cumbres de Aguascalientes. He entered the novitiate in Cheshire on September 15, 2006, and a month later, he transferred to the novitiate in Cornwall, where he made his first religious profession on September 6, 2008. From 2008 to 2009, he studied humanities in Cheshire, and in 2009, he began his bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. In 2011, he began his apostolic practices as a member of the auxiliary team of the youth section in Monterrey and a formation instructor at the Irish Institute of Monterrey. In 2014, he returned to Rome to begin his bachelor’s degree in theology.