Deacon Ordination in Spain

On July 6, Mons. Antoni Vadell Ferrer, auxiliary bishop of Barcelona, ordained Deacon Father Rafael Pou, LC, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In addition to Father Rafael’s family, present at the ceremony were a group of Legionaries, students from the Vocational Center of Valencia, several lay members of Regnum Christi, consecrated women and consecrated laypeople. Joaquín García Mauriño, a permanent deacon and member of the adult section in Madrid, served at the altar during the ceremony.

In his homily, Mons. Antoni emphasized the need to preach Jesus Christ in today’s world and, using the passage of the sending of the 72 disciples, mentioned that the deacon becomes an ambassador of Christ with the mission to help people encounter the Lord.

After the celebration, Father Rafael went with his parents to the Virgin’s Shrine to give thanks to Mary in the same place where he was presented and offered to the Virgin after his birth. “I feel very blessed by God for being ordained in this sanctuary alongside so many friends, families, and above all, so many Legionaries who have accompanied me since childhood, in the ECYD and in the Kingdom. Others were my trainers during the internship period and in Rome or fellow students, and I am very grateful to God for His closeness and support,” said Father Rafael.

More can be read about Father Rafael Pou, LC’s ordination here.

Deacon Ordinations in Germany

This same day, Fathers László Erffa, LC, and Wolfgang Dichgan’s, LC, were ordained deacons by Mons. Nicolas Thevenin in a ceremony held at the Basilica of Saint Anne in Altötting.

Referring to the deacon ordination, Father László commented: “God calls me to serve men. The year as a deacon is very important to better understand this call. As a deacon, one is primarily a servant, and this does not end with ordination but is something to be applied throughout life.”

Father Wolfgang said: “This is, first of all, a big step toward priesthood, but it is also the beginning of a new stage […]. As a deacon, I want to be a servant, a friend of God and men.”

Deacon Ordinations in the United States

A few days later, on July 27, Kramer Cameron, LC, Christopher Gronotte, LC, and Kevin Gillis, LC, were ordained deacons by Mons. Donald Joseph Hying at the Church of Notre Dame in Michigan.

“One of the most meaningful moments of the ceremony was the words of Father John Connor, LC, who said that we must serve like Jesus with a towel in hand. I was also very struck by the Bishop’s words: ‘Today the Church sends you out to do all the good you can,’” commented Father Kramer Cameron, LC, after the ordination.

Father Andrew Gronotte, LC, brother of the newly ordained deacon Christopher Gronotte, also shared these words: “I am proud of my brother and very happy to see him ordained deacon. It was a very special grace to help dress him during the ceremony. I am also very grateful to God that He has allowed our relationship to be not only by blood but also through the sacrament of ordination. It is a very special grace.”