The new deacons with Bishop Víctor Ochoa Cadavid, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Medellín, Fr José Manuel Otaolaurruchi, LC, territorial director for Venezuela and Colombia, and Fr José de Jesús Rodríguez de la Torre, instructor of novices.

Medellín, July 22, 2008. On Saturday, July 19, the first three Colombian Legionaries of Christ were ordained deacons. The ceremony took place in the parish of San Joaquín, in the city of Medellín, and was presided over by Bishop Víctor Manuel Ochoa Cadavid, the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Medellín. Fr José Manuel Otaolaurruchi, LC, the territorial director of Colombia and Venezuela, concelebrated, along with Fr José de Jesús Rodríguez de la Torre, the instructor of novices, and another 18 priests, 13 of whom were Legionaries.

The ceremony was attended by about 800 people, including relatives, friends, Regnum Christi members, and benefactors, as well as all of the Legionary religious who carry out their apostolic work in Colombia.

The new Legionary deacons are John Jader Vanegas, Luis Alberto Henao Arbeláez, and Guillermo Herrera, LC. All three come from the Colombian department of Antioquia, and range from 30 to 32 in age.

The three Colombian deacons are part of a larger group of about 50 Legionaries ordained to the diaconate in various places over the summer. On December 20, the entire group will be ordained to the priesthood in the Roman basilica of St Paul Outside the

	Bishop Víctor lays hands on new deacon Luis Alberto Henao, LC.

Walls.

During the homily, Bishop Víctor Ochoa encouraged the new deacons to put Christ in the center and be “Credible witnesses of the Gospel” (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Deus caritas est, n. 31).

He also referred to their responsibility as Legionaries of Christ, as “inheritors of a great spiritual legacy” and exhorted them to seek love for Christ, total self-giving to the Church, as well as love for their pastors and for the Holy Father: “This is your path of holiness and Christian life. It is a challenge and an effortful response to God,” he said. Before concluding, he entrusted the first fruits of the Legion of Christ in Colombia into the hands of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The ordination of the first Colombian Legionaries of Christ was held on the 15th anniversary of the foundation of the Legion of Christ and of Regnum Christi in Colombia. It is currently present in 10 cities, with a network of schools and apostolates, including the Cumbres Schools in Medellín and Bogotá and the Helping Hand School in Bello, Antioquia, which educates children from poor families. The Regnum Christi Movement in Colombia currently organizes about 8,500 volunteers and benefits

	Deacon Guillermo Herrera greets the bishop after his ordination to the diaconate.

more than 50,000 people with its programs, especially its formation and social work outreach programs for poor children.

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The newspaper “El Colombiano”, one of the main Colombian newspapers, published an article on the ordination of the first Colombian Legionaries of Christ. It can be viewed at this link.