Bishop Giuseppe Bertello with the 42 deacons and Fr Álvaro Corcuera, LC, in the chapel of the Center for Higher Studies.

Rome, July 4, 2011. Bishop Giuseppe Bertello, apostolic nuncio in Italy, ordained 42 Legionaries of Christ to the diaconate this past July 2, the liturgical feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

A video clip of the diaconal ordinations can be viewed at this link.

The ceremony began at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel of the Center for Higher Studies in Rome. Along with the Legionary communities in Rome and family members, friends, and various ecclesiastics and religious, the ceremony was attended by Fr Alvaro Corcuera, LC, Fr Óscar Náder, LC, territorial director for Italy, and the formators who accompanies the new deacons in their final years of formation.

Bishop Bertello began his homily by reminding the 42 ordinands that “you are already consecrated to the Lord since the day you consecrated your life in the Legion of Christ. But today the Church calls you so that this first degree

	Bishop Giuseppe Bertello gives the Gospels to Michael Maciborski, L.C. (from the United States).

of the ministry will be something more than service.” Referring to the first reading (Is. 61:9-11), he emphasized that they should be “full of enthusiasm to offer the service of the diaconate, which means joyfully putting oneself at the Lord’s service.”

Commenting on the Gospel passage (Lk. 2:14-51), specifically on the question Mary asks Jesus (“Why have you done this to us?”), the nuncio invited the religious to “think about the difficulties you had to overcome. Perhaps at the beginning your vocation was not understood […] but you understood that the Lord was calling you. Jesus’ dialogue with Mary reminds us of that identity, a deep self-awareness: your particular contribution is that you said “present.” Saying that you want to leave your whole life at the service of the Church means renewing what you have already done with the profession of vows: it means being always and only God’s.”

Finally,

	Fr Alvaro Corcuera, LC, helps place the vestments on Fr Tamás Fejéregyházi, the first Hungarian Legionary to be ordained.

Bishop Bertello said, “If we do not nourish the Lord’s presence, our link with God wears thin. That is why we must always fill our hearts with Christ because we want to proclaim the mystery of salvation to mankind.”

The 42 new deacons come from 7 different countries. There are 15 Mexicans, 14 Americans, 5 Brazilians, 4 Colombians, 2 Italians, 1 Spaniard, and 1 Hungarian. Among them, there are two pairs of brothers (Juan Pablo and Andrés Botero, from Colombia, and Jason and Michael Mitchell, from the United States). The first Hungarian Legionary to be ordained was also part of the group.

The priestly ordination of the deacons is planned for December 12, 2011, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Rome.  We invite our readers to keep these men in prayer as they prepare to become new priests who will carry the sacraments to souls throughout the world.