'What God wanted happened'

By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

Photography: Tom Tracy & Ana Rodriguez | FC

MIAMI | Father Fenly Saint-Jean had one last chance to change his mind.

As his uncle, Father Kidney Saint-Jean, processed past him to take his place in the sanctuary for the ordination Mass, the uncle said he asked his nephew: “Are you sure? Are you ready?”

“He said ‘yes,’” said the elder priest, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in North Lauderdale.

In a way, it was a repeat of a conversation the two first had more than a decade ago, before the younger Saint-Jean, 29, completed high school. He had just told his uncle he wanted to be a priest.

“I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’” Father Kidney Saint-Jean recalled. He advised his nephew to go back to Haiti, finish his studies and return to Miami, then “we’ll see what can be done.”

What came to be done was the work of the Lord, not just for Father Fenly Saint-Jean but for two others � Father Iván Rodríguez and Father Matías Hualpa � who also rose from their pews May 24 and responded “Present” to the call of the Church.

A few minutes later, Archbishop Thomas Wenski laid hands on them, calling down the Holy Spirit and ordaining them priests of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Inside a standing-room-only St. Mary Cathedral, the new priests were surrounded by family who had traveled from their native land to be present at the emotional, tradition-filled ceremony. Also in attendance were representatives of the communities that inspired and nurtured their journey to the priesthood: the Neocatechumenal Way in the case of Father Rodríguez, and the Schoenstatt Movement in the case of Father Hualpa.

“He found his vocation in our shrine,” said Sister Miriam López of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary who staff the shrine in Homestead. “I’m very happy to be here.”

“What God wanted happened,” said Sebastián Rodríguez, 32, brother of Father Rodríguez, 29.

Although Iván Rodríguez initially pursued another dream � becoming a professional soccer player � Sebastián Rodríguez said he was not surprised by his brother’s ultimate choice.

“You could see that he liked it,” Rodríguez said of the priesthood. “It’s a call from God.”

All three Rodríguez brothers joined the Neocatechumenal Way as teenagers, following in the footsteps of their mother. Eventually, their father joined as well.

“He wanted him to be a soccer player,” Rosario Rodríguez said of her husband Luis’ dream for their son. “But the Lord called him to the Church, to write a story of salvation for the whole family.”

“I never would have imagined anything of what I’m living. Because God wasn’t in my plans,” she added. Thanks to the Neocatechumenal Way, “we have been able to experience that God is the one who has chosen us.”

“We couldn’t believe it,” said Mariela Hualpa de Alonso of her brother’s decision to enter the seminary after a promising career as a systems engineer with IBM and American Express. In fact, he turned down a promotion with American Express to enter the seminary. “We told him he wouldn’t get used to it. He said he had tried everything and nothing made him happy. He was sure this was his vocation.”

“We were surprised,” agreed Lilia Posleman, Father Hualpa’s mother. “But then we saw that it was the best thing for him and that he was happy.”

Happy to the point of tears as he blessed relatives and friends after the ceremony.

“When I blessed my family, I was quite moved,” admitted Father Hualpa, 40. Since they live in Argentina, he said, they had not really been able to be part of his formation process. “To have them here (today) is a great blessing.”

“I feel such a great emotion,” said María Moreno de Jaime, Father Hualpa’s cousin, whose family introduced him to the Schoenstatt movement. Father Hualpa is her son’s godfather.

“I am just so grateful to God for giving us Matías, who is like a brother,” she said. “I just ask God to bless him and protect him always.”