Rome, Italy -- On June 30, 2012, Bishop Lorenzo Leuzzi, auxiliary bishop of Rome, ordained deacons 34 religious of the Legionaries of Christ. The ceremony began at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel of the Center for Higher Studies of the Legionaries of Christ in Rome. (Click here for photographs of the event.)

At the start of the mass, Bishop Leuzzi greeted those present and expressed the joy he felt at having the opportunity, his first, to confer diaconate ordination.

“This is the first diaconate ordination that the Lord grants me. I have thought of the future of the Church which today is enriched with 34 new deacons, future priests and religious with perpetual vows. You present yourselves here with humility, knowing that you are the future of the Church. We pray that your hearts will be pure and free to welcome the Word of

	Bishop Leuzzi ordains Brother Peter Huynh, LC

Christ and we pray that the Church can trust in you.”

On June 30 the Church celebrates the feast of the first martyrs of Rome. During his homily Bishop Leuzzi linked the theme of martyrdom with the diaconate. “It is beautiful to think that this solemn celebration takes place on the day the Church celebrates the memory of the first Christian martyrs. It helps us see what is truly hidden beneath this event, the reason why today 34 receive the diaconate,” he said. “Behind this is the sacrifice of the first martyrs, of so many martyrs who have made the Church fruitful. The blood of the martyrs, their testimony, makes possible the gift that the Church receives today from the Lord, these 34 deacons, a great mystery that involves each of our lives. The blood of the martyrs that brings us here is a sign that the love of Christ is still present.”

Moments later, pointing out that their reception as deacons shows a loving welcome on the part of the Church, he said, “Dear deacons, you have already experienced in the religious life a love you would never have imagined, a love which today becomes even greater. You have offered your lives to the Lord and today the Lord offers you his Church, and the Church welcomes you and puts her confidence in you. The Church trusts in you. The Church wants to continue her path through history by means of your service.

“To be an ordained minister today, and to live the religious life, has an even more challenging meaning in a time of conflict, a time when so many alternatives to the Gospel are offered, a time of false prophets even within the Church. The Gospel announced by the martyrs is the only Gospel that can help to build a community. Jesus is not afraid to tell his disciples that all of this will not be easy but that we can count on his indestructible love. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ…We must know and experience that our faith will never fail if it is built on Christ.” 

Finally, Bishop Leuzzi reminded the deacons what the martyrs’ faith was based on and how they drew strength from their faith to grow in love. “The blood of the martyrs is not based on human attitudes, but on the Church. We can share in this celebration with immense joy in our hearts. We renew our gratitude to the Lord for his love. Let us say together to the deacons and to the Church, ‘You can trust in me, I will be with you.’  The Church founded on Peter and Paul is our mother to which our friends entrust their lives today. Let us be one with them. The Lord wants to bless these resolutions.”

Family members of the new deacons came from various parts of the world to attend the ceremony. The Legionaries and the consecrated men and women of Regnum Christi present in Rome also attended, along with Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, L.C., the general director of the Legion.

The new deacons come from the following countries: Brazil, Puerto Rico, the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Italy, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, England and Romania. 

Among those ordained was a pair of brothers of Vietnamese descent, Jason and Peter Huynh, as well as the first Legionary from Romania, Csaba Szász.

In the past few weeks, other Legionaries have also been ordained deacons in Cancún,

	The Huynh Family

México; Rome, Italy; São José dos Campos, Brazil; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Atlanta in the United States. This coming July a few more religious will be ordained deacons in León, México.

These deacons will receive priestly ordination in mid-December 2012 in the basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome.

Following are the names of the Legionaries who received ordination in Rome on June 30:

Louis Frederick Melahn, United States

José Luis Emmanuel Horta García, Mexico

Csaba Szász, Romania

Juan Jesús Riveros Lizama, Chile

James Mark Shekelton, England

Juan Fernando Jaramillo Patiño, Colombia

Jason Khang Huynh, United States

Vicente David Yanes Cuevas, Mexico

Peter Khuong Huynh, United States

Rodrigo Bitencourt, Brazil

Lorenzo Maria Curbis, Italy

Brian Gregory Coe, United States

Jeremy Desmond Lambert, United States

Mark Brian Thelen, United States

Stephen Paul Dardis, United States

Michael Patrick Moriarty, United States

Mariusz Kazimierz Kielbasa, Poland

Luis Bernardo Rebollo Arana,Mexico

Luis Rodrigo Núñez Jiménez, Mexico

Vagner Luis Bonafé Laska, Brazil

Alessandro Magnoni, Italy

Raúl de Praga González Sánchez, Mexico

Ricardo Rocha Villalobos, Mexico

Jesús Arnaldo Rodrigues Figueira, Venezuela-Portugal

Juan José Hernández Rodríguez, Puerto Rico

José Antonio Guzmán Díaz, Mexico

John Angelo Pietropaoli, United States

Andrew Dana Dalton, United States

Christian Adrián Sánchez Güémez, Mexico

José Eduardo Sánchez Álvarez, Mexico

Régis Beggo Silveira, Brazil

Fernando Muñoz Zamora, Mexico

Adrián Canal Vallejo, Mexico

Ivan Lopes Do Nascimento, Brazil