Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez with the new Legionary deacons and with Fr Jesus María Delgado (back row, 2nd from lef) and Fr Enrique Tapia (back row, 2nd from right).

Salamanca, Spain. June 21, 2010. A group of 6 Legionaries of Christ were ordained to the diaconate this past July 19 in a church in Salamanca, Spain called La Clerecía. Archbishop D. Ricardo Blázquez of the Spanish archdiocese of Valladolid presided over the ordination. He was also one of the five apostolic visitators to the Legion of Christ.

The 6 new deacons, all Spanish, are José Ignacio de la Barreda Manso (from Madrid, age 32), Francisco Javier Mariana Torrecilla (from Navalón, Cuenca, age 50), Jorge Carlos Ranninger Hernández (from Madrid, age 33), Pablo Redondo Crespo (from Valladolid, age 31), Arquímedes Sánchez Ginés (from Plasencia, Cáceres, age 31), and Cristóbal Vilarroig Martín (from Castellón de la Plana, age 30).

About 500 guests attended the ceremony, including the deacons’ friends and family members, Legionaries of Christ, Regnum Christi members, diocesan priests, and other people from the city.

A New Situation of Hope

During his homily, Archbishop Blázquez told the deacons and guests that “we will soon

	Fr Cristobál Vilarroig, LC, gives the Eucharist to his family members.

enter into a new and immensely hopeful situation” and that the Legion of Christ’s communion with the Pope, which has been “purified in fire and strengthened” will be a “guarantee” of it.

He also expressed his gratitude for the trust that the Holy Father placed in him “to help the Legion of Christ in this complex situation, one which no one was looking for, and which entailed a cross that was at times very heavy,” for the “welcome” that the Legionaries gave him during the months of the apostolic visitation, and for the “communication and transparency” that they demonstrated.

He recalled that “faith breaks man’s solitude in relation to God” and also in relation to others. “When the situation gets more complicated, we have to stand by one another,” he said. He recalled that sometimes hope can be “buoyed up by euphoria, by enthusiasm,” but that our hope “is in God, not in favorable conditions, nor in men or women, nor in how supportive the authorities can be… no. We lean on the Lord.”

Archbishop Blázquez also emphasized God’s special presence in difficult times when our weaknesses are apparent to us. “Christ bends over us especially when our fragility is most evident” he

	A view of the diaconal ordination ceremony in La Clerecía church in Salamanca, Spain.

said, encouraging them to grow in their trust in God. “We can only take the next step forward if we rely on God, not on ourselves, for we are all very weak. And it is very good for us to experience our own weakness. It makes us more humble, more realistic, and most trusting in the one who is the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He invited them not to be afraid when the situations are harder. “The Lord continues in the boat which is the Church,” he said. “In the Church, we are never alone.”

For those who speak Spanish, Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez’s homily is available in audio at this link. A transcript of the complete homily is published in Spanish here.

Upcoming Diaconal Ordinations Worldwide

In the upcoming weeks, a total of 60 Legionaries will be ordained to the diaconate in the following places:

Mexico City (June 17)

Brixen/Bressanone, Italy (June 27)

Rome (June 30)

Mérida, Mexico (July 3)

Guadalajara, Mexico (July 3)

Cozumel, Mexico (July 17)

San Cristóbal, Venezuela (July 17)

Cornwall, Canada (July 24)

Cheshire, Connecticut (USA) (August 7)

Río de Janeiro, Brazil (August 15)