Six different calls, six new deacons

By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

Photography: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC

MIAMI | One heard the call while sailing on the Sea of Galilee. Another heard it through his wife. Yet another heard it from his fellow parishioners. And two others found the courage to pursue it through the example of other deacons.

On Saturday, the five — all married men with children — joined the ranks of the deaconate in the Archdiocese of Miami when Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordained them at St. Mary Cathedral. They were joined by a single man who is in his final year of studies toward the priesthood. (See their biographies here.)

The ordinations are the same, “just two different paths,” explained Deacon Victor Pimentel, director of the archdiocesan Office of Deacons.

Deacons who do not go on to become priests — known as permanent deacons —can be married at the time of their ordination. If unmarried, they take a vow of celibacy. Deacons ordained on their way to the priesthood are known as transitional deacons.

Here are the stories of the archdiocese’s newest deacons.

 

‘GET OUT OF THE BOAT’

Deacon Francisco Alvarez-Gil, a native of Cuba who grew up in Miami, heard the call in 2016, while sailing on the Sea of Galilee and listening to a talk by Catholic evangelist Jeff Cavins. The talk concerned Jesus calling Peter out of the boat and telling him to walk on the water.

“God called me for several years” before that moment, said Deacon Álvarez-Gil, a medical doctor with three children and eight grandchildren who is a member of St. Hugh Parish in Coconut Grove.

“I’ve always been tethered to the Church,” he said, but an Emmaus retreat 12 years ago “put a new lens in my eyes.” He felt called to do more. He started going on medical missions to underserved communities abroad.

All the while, he kept hearing, “You may want to do something else,” he recalled. But “I sort of kept turning off that little voice.”

Until that boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. “We said, you know what? Stop reading so much about your faith. Get out of the boat and do something about it,” Deacon Álvarez-Gil said, referring to himself and his wife of 45 years, Alicia Marie.

Even then, he thought he might be too old: He was 60, the cut-off age for entering the five-year formation program. But he made it.

“My wife was so supportive. It really is about my wife being part of this journey,” he said after his Dec. 18, 2021 ordination.

 

WIFE’S VISION

Deacon José Mercado’s “call” actually came through his wife, Ana María.

While on a retreat hosted by the Siervos de Cristo Vivo community, “I had like a vision of him at the altar as a deacon. And I told him.”

He demurred. But five years later, the Colombia native, father of three and member of St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches, entered the formation program, which culminated in his ordination.

“I’m happy but also nervous about what’s coming — it’s a much stronger commitment to the Lord,” Ana María Mercado said. “And well, I have to let him go. He is no longer mine alone. He belongs to the whole Church.”

 

DEACON’S EXAMPLE

At the simple reception which followed his ordination, an emotional Deacon Erick Cinco hugged Deacon Jose Manuel Gordillo of St. Mark Parish.

“He was like the Lord’s instrument for me to say yes,” said Deacon Cinco, a native of Nicaragua and member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Miami. “His example as a deacon motivated me to say yes to the call of the Lord.”

The two got to know each other through their involvement in Impactos, an archdiocesan movement for parents with young children. Deacon Cinco said he had been involved with the Church all his life: youth group, Charismatic Renewal. He began to think about doing something more after he got married.

“Over time, that desire kept growing in my heart,” he said. “I fell more in love with the Lord.”

Deacon Gordillo’s example and encouragement provided the final push.

 

‘THAT’S THREE CALLS’

For Deacon Emilio Infante, a native of the Dominican Republic and member of St. Stephen Parish in Miramar, the call came through his fellow parishioners. He was a leader in the Emmaus retreat movement and, after giving a talk to parish leaders one night, a couple of parishioners suggested he might make a good deacon.

Deacon Infante also is a graduate of the archdiocesan School of Ministry’s two-year formation program for lay ministers. After one of the classes, the deacon who taught it told him: “What are you waiting for?”

He recalled his wife, Doris, simply pointing out, “That’s three calls.”

He finally heeded them.

After his ordination, one of his three daughters also surprised him with the news that he was going to be a grandfather for the second time.

 

UNCLE’S INSPIRATION

Deacon Ramón González, of All Saints Parish in Sunrise, had been interested in serving at the altar since his childhood in the Dominican Republic. His inspiration was his uncle, Deacon Luis González.

Deacon González remembers his uncle celebrating the Liturgy of the Word in a mission chapel, and he, as a nine-year-old, walking alone to join him at the service.

“When I was little, I would say that I wanted a family, but I also wanted to serve at the altar,” Deacon González said. “God wanted it to happen in God’s time.”

“He always told me he had the desire to be a deacon,” said his wife of 26 years, Yudis. She added that she is very proud of her husband “because of the love he has for his family and for the Church.”

The father of two also is set to become a grandfather for the first time in June.

 

‘IN DUE TIME’ A PRIEST

As Archbishop Wenski said in his homily, Deacon Enzo Prendes “will, in due time, be called to the priesthood.”

The 29-year-old from Good Shepherd Parish in Miami is on track for ordination next May and thus considered a transitional deacon.

Those present at his deaconate ordination were members of his “parish families” from St. Hugh, Good Shepherd in Miami and Little Flower in Coral Gables, he said. His blood relatives, including his mother, remain in his native Cuba.

But “thank God” they were able to watch his ordination via YouTube, through the livestream provided by the cathedral.

“I’m very happy,” Deacon Prendes said.

FIND OUT MORE

Deacons’ ranks thinned by COVID

The Archdiocese of Miami currently has 132 active deacons — including the five new ones — according to Deacon Victor Pimentel, director of the Office of Deacons.

Over the past year, 14 retired and 31 went on leave, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their advanced age, or to protect immuno-compromised family members, such as elderly spouses or parents.

In addition, “since the start of the pandemic, during a 14-month period, we have had 20 funerals of deacons,” most of whom died of COVID, Deacon Pimentel said. “We lost quite a few” before the vaccines became widely available.

Many of them were older men who were “very vulnerable.” But one of those who died was only 50.

Deacon Pimentel has served as director of the Office of Deacons since 2004, when the archdiocese also adopted the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, issued that same year. The archdiocesan program requires five-and-a-half years of formation.

Permanent deacons preach and teach, assist priests and bishops in the celebration of the Eucharist and oversee ministries of charity and justice. Deacons can baptize, witness marriages and administer Communion, though they cannot consecrate the Eucharist, hear confessions, or give absolution.

In the Archdiocese of Miami, the permanent diaconate is open to both married and unmarried men between the ages of 31 and 60 with a strong Catholic faith and a solid reputation and character. Candidates must be in full communion with the Church.

Men interested in the permanent diaconate should contact their parish pastor who is responsible for the nomination phase of the application process.