Seminarians admitted as candidates for Holy Orders

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Following the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders Nov. 3 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Bishop Oscar A. Solis embraced the three seminarians who were admitted: Jamie Zuazo, Kenneth Rey Parsad and José Luis Gómez Díaz.

SALT LAKE CITY — On Nov. 3 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders for three of the diocesan seminarians: Jaime Zuazo, José Luis Gómez Díaz and Kenneth Rey Parsad. Concelebrating the Mass were Father Martin Diaz, the cathedral rector; Fr. Joseph Delka, the diocesan vocations director; and other priests of the diocese as well as Fr. Efrain Razo, parochial vicar of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Tigard, Ore. Deacon Scott Dodge assisted.

Parsad is expected to be ordained a deacon in January of 2025; the other two are expected to be ordained to the diaconate in August of that year, Fr. Delka said.

“My dear friends in Christ, we gather tonight with joy and thanksgiving in this beautiful Cathedral of the Madeleine for the precious gift of priestly vocations,” the bishop said as he began his homily. “Our seminarians and brothers José Luis, Kenneth and Jaime will come forward before this congregation to express publicly their intention before me as their bishop to be officially admitted as candidates to the priesthood, or sacred orders.”

The rite was a formal recognition of the seminarians’ intention to respond to God’s call and “to dedicate their lives totally to the service of God, to the Church and his people,” he said.

Addressing the seminarians, the bishop said, “Your call to discipleship and admission [to candidacy] is both a blessing and an incredible challenge, especially during these times. It demands a continual renunciation of yourself, of your personal needs and interests in imitation of Christ, who came to serve and offer his life for others. And as Christ has done, so you must do.”

God will help the men accomplish their ministry, the bishop said, noting that the readings of the day (Jer 1:4-9, 2 Tim 3:10-12, 14-15 and Luke 5:1-11) were a reminder of God’s love and fidelity.

The bishop urged the seminarians to always be conscious of God’s presence in their vocational journey, to frequently spend time before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer, to develop a devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother, to pray unceasingly and to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom, courage and perseverance.  

The bishop also asked those present and all of the faithful of the diocese to pray that all of the seminarians will grow and persevere in their vocation, and that God will send the diocese more priests.