May 13, 2017
Back to Galleries
An image of Our Lady of Fatima is carried into St. Mary Cathedral before the start of the ordination Mass. Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordained nine men to the priesthood, the largest archdiocesan class in decades, on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, May 13. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Deacon Alex Rivera holds his mother's hand as the ordination Mass begins. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Father Jesus "Jets" Medina greets fellow Filipino and soon-to-be-priest, Deacon Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos, during the entrance procession. Between them is Father Joseph Long Nguyen, administrator of Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission in Hallandale. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)A joyous Deacon Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos stands next to his aunt, Guadalupe Urmaza, and one of his sisters, Alexandra De Los Santos, at the start of the ordination Mass. (TOM TRACY | FC)The deacons stand and respond "Present" as their names are called. From left: James Arriola and Joseph Maalouf. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)After standing and responding "Present" when their names were called, the nine deacons prepare to make their way to the sanctuary. From left: Luis Flores, Juan Carlos Salazar, Oswaldo Agudelo, Luis Pavon, Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos, Alexander Rivera, Mathew Padickal Thomas, James Arriola and Joseph Maalouf. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski preaches the homily at the ordination Mass for nine men, the largest archdiocesan class in decades. The priesthood ordination ceremony coincided with the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, May 13. (TOM TRACY | FC)View of the ordination Mass from the loft of St. Mary Cathedral. The soon-to-be-priests lie prostrate in the sanctuary while the congregation prays the Litany of the Saints. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father James Arriola, a native of Guam. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Norma Flores wipes away tears as her son, Father Luis Flores, is ordained. His father, Luis Flores, Sr., is standing next to her. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Miami Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora, Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino, and retired Uruguayan Bishop Luis del Castillo lay hands, invoking the Holy Spirit, on the newly-ordained, as archdiocesan priests follow suit. (TOM TRACY | FC)Father Victor Cortes, left, and Father Michael Davis, right, help newly-ordained Father Luis Pavon put on his chasuble. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Newly-ordained Father Luis Flores is helped to put on his new vestments by his former pastor, now Bishop Fernando Isern. "He influenced me by his example of what a priest is and should be - very loving, very kind, very present to the people," Father Flores said. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Newly-ordained Father Juan Carlos Salazar stands in St. Mary Cathedral after putting on his priestly vestments. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Father Steven O'Hala, left, and Msgr. Seamus Doyle, right, help newly-ordained Father Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos vest in his priestly robes. "He's the one who started everything," Father De Los Santos said of Msgr. Doyle, his longtime pastor at St. Rose of Lima, Miami Shores. Of Father O'Hala, pastor of St. David in Davie, the new priest said, "I can see myself in him." (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Father Oswaldo Agudelo is congratulated by the two priests who vested him with his priestly robes, Father Jose Luis Menendez, left, pastor of Corpus Christi Church in Miami, where Father Agudelo served his pastoral year, and Father Jordi Rivero, former pastor of St. Raymond in Miami, the first priest Father Agudelo spoke to about his vocation. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Father Curtis Kiddy, left, pastor of St. Jerome in Fort Lauderdale, smoothes newly-ordained Father Joseph Maalouf's hair after helping him put on his chasuble. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Servants of the Pierced Hearts help translate the ordination Mass into sign language. From left: postulant Alyssa Eaton and Sister Grace Marie. One of the new priests, India-native Father Mathew Padickal Thomas, will be working with the Dominican Missionaries for the Deaf and Disabled. (TOM TRACY | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski anoints the hands of Lebanon-native Father Joseph Maalouf with the oil of chrism. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Newly ordained Father Oswaldo Agudelo, front, and Father Mathew Padickal Thomas, wipe the oil from their hands, which were anointed wtih chrism by Archbishop Thomas Wenski. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Newly ordained Father James Arriola wipes the oil from his hands, which were anointed with chrism by Archbishop Thomas Wenski. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)The nine newly-ordained priests wait to return to the sanctuary of St. Mary Cathedral for one of the last parts of the ordination rite: receiving the bread and wine, in the form of a paten and chalice, from Archbishop Thomas Wenski, as a sign of their role as consecrators of the Eucharist. From left: Father Luis Flores, Father Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos, Father Alexander Rivera, Father Juan Carlos Salazar, Father Oswaldo Agudelo, Father Mathew Padickal Thomas, Father James Arriola, Father Luis Pavon and Father Joseph Maalouf. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski hands the bread and wine, in the form of a chalice and paten, to newly-ordained Father Luis Pavon, as a symbol of their role as celebrants of the Eucharist, which Archbishop Wenski called "the center of our priestly life." (TOM TRACY | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski congratulates Father Joseph Maalouf at the conclusion of the ordination rites. (TOM TRACY | FC)Newly ordained Father Edgardo "Gary" Santos, left, is congratulated by Father Wilfredo Contreras, pastor of St. Martha Church in Miami Shores. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Family members of the new priests take up the offertory, from left: Martha Lucia Gomez, mother of Father Juan Carlos Salazar; Norma Flores, mother of Father Luis Flores; Paula Beatriz de Agudelo, mother of Father Oswaldo Agudelo; and Mary Maalouf, daughter of Father Joseph Maalouf. (TOM TRACY | FC)Newly ordained Father James Arriola, left, and Father Luis Pavon recite the Eucharistic Prayer during the Mass. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski kisses the hands of Father Juan Carlos Salazar after receiving the new priest's first blessing. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski receives the first blessing of newly-ordained Father Luis Pavon. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Newly ordained Father Joseph Maalouf blesses his daughters, Mary Maalouf, left, and Angie Maalouf, after the Mass. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)Newly-ordained Father Alex Rivera blesses Mariano, the unborn son of Nicole De Leo. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Father Mathew Padickal Thomas blesses well-wishers at the reception that followed the ordination Mass. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Father James Arriola, a native of Guam, gives one of his first blessings to classmates from Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary in Miami, a seminary of the Neocatechumenal Way. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Gabriel de Jesus Aguelo kisses the forehead of his newly-ordained son, Father Oswaldo Agudelo, after the ordination ceremony. Looking on at right is his older brother, Gabriel, who will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn next year. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Newly ordained Father Luis Pavon poses with his namesake and grandfather, Luis Rodriguez Iznaga, who was celebrating his 98th birthday the day of his grandson's ordination. The elder Luis had considered the priesthood when he was young, but said circumstances interfered. Now his grandson will fulfill that dream. (ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC)Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordained nine men to the priesthood, the largest archdiocesan class in decades, on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, May 13 at St. Mary Cathedral. From left: Father James Arriola, Father Alexander Rivera, Father Luis Flores, Father Edgardo "Gary" De Los Santos, the archbishop, Father Oswaldo Agudelo, Father Joseph Maalouf, Father Mathew Padickal Thomas, Father Luis Pavon and Father Juan Carlos Salazar. (MARLENE QUARONI | FC)