By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

MIAMI | Had he waited four more years, Lt. Elkin Sierra could have retired with a full pension from his $160,000-a-year career at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

But having been asked to “consider the priesthood” in 2006, he decided not to make God wait any longer. He entered St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami in 2010, and returned for good in 2013.

“I would not inspire anybody as a priest if I told them I made God wait for four years to get a little more money,” he told the Florida Catholic before his ordination, May 11, 2019.

It seems God couldn’t wait either. Father Sierra died around 7:30 a.m. this morning, April 11, 2023, after battling a stomach cancer for less than a year.

He was 58 and had served at two parishes in his brief priesthood: Our Lady of Guadalupe in Doral, from 2019 to 2022, and St. Louis in Pinecrest since June 2022.

His death hit those who knew him very hard.

“I am personally heartbroken at his loss to our local Church, but filled with Easter faith that Father Elkin is now enjoying the ultimate focus of his priestly life: the joy of seeing the risen Lord and being with him forever,” Father Michael Davis wrote in an email to the Florida Catholic.

Father Davis is pastor of St. Gregory Church in Plantation and the priest whose suggestion, “consider the priesthood,” changed Father Sierra’s life. The two had known each other since the mid-1990s, when Father Davis began celebrating weekend Masses at Father Sierra’s home parish, Our Lady of Lourdes in Kendall.

“I will miss him terribly,” said Father Davis, who vested Father Sierra at his ordination and preached at his first Mass.

“Since then, I observed him to be a joyful priest, an energetic servant of the Lord, a man who loved the ministry, and felt so fulfilled being a priest. He exuded almost a bubbly giddiness of enthusiasm about the privilege he had in ministering to God’s people. His homilies were superb. He was adored by his parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe. His energy and sincerity were infectious,” Father Davis said.

“It’s hard, of course,” said Msgr. Kenneth Schwanger, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes. “He grew up here. His family is here.”

But he noted the “blessing” of Father Sierra’s brief illness: He had enough time to prepare himself and his family for eternal life while being spared a longer period of suffering.

“He was clearly prepared to embrace suffering, to join in the cause of Jesus and offer it for the world. He saw that clearly, that it could be part of his call as a priest, this journey to death,” Msgr. Schwanger added.

Indeed, Archbishop Thomas Wenski visited him in the hospital on Easter Sunday, and recalled Father Sierra telling him that whatever God’s will, “it will be a win-win.”

Still, he hoped to be healed, and had gone on a personal pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, last month.

“He wanted to be healed,” Msgr. Schwanger said. But he also said if that wasn't part of the plan “that’s ok. If my part in the plan is to embrace this cross for God’s people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Msgr. Schwanger, who also vested Father Sierra at his ordination, noted that he considered it “a huge grace and blessing to be a priest.” When it happened, “there could not be a happier priest in the whole Archdiocese of Miami than Elkin.”

He recalled Father Sierra telling him that, as a paramedic, “he was helping to save lives but now he was helping to save lives forever. That really meant a lot to him.”

Father Sierra was born Aug. 2, 1964, in Miami, to Jose and Stella Sierra. He was the oldest of three, followed by a brother, Luis, also a firefighter/paramedic, and a sister, Ana, all of whom live in South Florida.

After graduating from Miami Southwest Senior High in 1982, he earned an associate degree in science in emergency medical services in 1994 from Miami-Dade College. He worked as a firefighter/paramedic for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue for 21 years, including as the department’s public information officer – the one who briefs the news media and public at accident or disaster scenes.

Father Sierra was very close to his father, he wrote in a “seminarian profile” for St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, where he studied from 2015 until his ordination. “We truly were best friends. Had I gotten married in his lifetime, he would have been the best man.”

But his father died June 8, 2004, and two years later, Father Sierra found out that a pilgrimage to the Holy Land would be taking place from June 6-15, 2006. “I had to go on this pilgrimage! I had to be on holy ground on June 8th. My brother Luis and I signed up for the trip,” he wrote.

Father Davis led the pilgrimage. He recalled: “While on the bus and traveling throughout Israel, there was a moment when I saw then-Elkin, my parishioner, sitting by the window, taking photographs in abundance and being in awe of every detail of the Holy Land experience. He had an empty seat next to him, so I decided to sit next to him and chat. He was ever the inquisitive one, eager to learn about his faith, eager to absorb as much information as he possibly could. As part of our conversation that day on the bus, he suddenly asked me the question, ‘Father, what made you decide to become a priest?’ This question launched us into quite an elaborate and long-lasting spiritual reflection on ‘the calling,’ on ministry, and on my love of the Church.”

The week after their return, Father Sierra recalled, Father Davis pulled him aside and “uttered three words that would change my life: ‘Consider the priesthood.’ My first thought was: ‘No wonder I haven’t gotten married yet.”

Then he said he started Googling, to research what the priesthood entailed.

“He started calling me regularly for meetings. He had a voracious appetite to want to know as much as he could about Holy Orders,” Father Davis recalled.

The two even traveled to Rome together and “shook hands” with Pope Benedict at a papal audience.

“When he finally decided to enter the seminary, he had a driving passion to make it the objective of his life,” Father Davis said.

After his cancer diagnosis, Father Sierra wrote an update on his condition for parishioners at St. Louis, which was published in the parish bulletin. He thanked them for their prayers, and concluded by saying: “My family, I miss all of you very much. I am eager to return to this loving flock as soon as Jesus Christ permits it. His will be done!”

Memorial Masses will be celebrated tonight at 7:30 p.m. at both Our Lady of Lourdes, 11291 S.W. 142 Ave., Miami, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, 11691 N.W. 25 St., Doral.

The viewing is set for this Friday, April 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe, followed by the funeral Mass at noon. The Mass will be livestreamed on the parish website and the archdiocesan website. 

'NOW IT'S MY TURN TO SUFFER'

Father Elkin Sierra wrote this message to St. Louis parishioners after being diagnosed with cancer in July 2022.

My dear St. Louis Family,

I cannot thank you enough for your prayers! Daily, I am told of a prayer group or individual offering prayer on my behalf or that a Mass intention for my healing was requested. Thank you!

Allow me to share what I have been experiencing regarding my health. A few weeks ago, I developed mild and intermittent abdominal discomfort. Consequently, I made an appointment with a gastrointestinal specialist. On the eve of my appointment, my sister noticed I was pale. This development elevated the urgency of my condition, compelling me to visit the emergency room immediately. That night a CT scan of my abdomen was performed. Unfortunately, I did not expect the following results: an ulcer caused by a tumor within the stomach’s lining.

The tentative treatment plan is to treat the tumor with chemotherapy initially. Sometime later, surgery — lastly, a final round of chemotherapy. Then, pray the cancer does not return.

My friends, I write this piece with a dual purpose: to inform you of my current state and to share how my faith has served me during the most challenging time of my life. When the physician initially mentioned “cancer,” I instantly surrendered to God’s will. I did not complain, nor did I doubt for a moment how much God loves me. Instead, one of the first thoughts that followed was: “Now it’s my turn to suffer.”

Friends, every homily I have preached about suffering, I now preach to myself. Each word of consolation I have shared with the dying and their families, I apply to myself. It is all the same truth: Jesus suffered and died for us and conquered death.

My favorite Scripture verses regarding suffering are:

Romans 8:18: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Acts 14:22: They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

My family, I miss all of you very much. I am eager to return to this loving flock as soon as Jesus Christ permits it. His will be done! God bless you.

Father Elkin