On February 14, the Feast of the great Slavic missionaries Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Damian Gonsalves, IVE, was ordained a priest of Christ in Charity, Guyana at St. Francis Xavier Church. He is the first Guyanese IVE vocation to be ordained to the priesthood.
Father Damian is the fifth IVE priest ordained this year in the Province of the Immaculate Conception. Last week, four were ordained in Washington, DC, but Father Damian was able to return to Guyana in order to be ordained in his own country in the presence of his family and friends.
The Mass of Ordination took place in the parish of St. Francis Xavier in Charity, on the Essequibo Coast and was celebrated by Bishop Francis Dean Alleyene, OSB (Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana) and concelebrated by many priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word as well as other priests who came in from Georgetown. It was indeed a moment of great joy not only for our Religious Family and for the universal Church but also for the local Church in Guyana.
In his homily, Bishop Francis reminded Father Damian that he is called to lay down his life as Christ did. At the end of the Ordination Rite, the bishop placed the Chalice and Paten in the hands of the newly ordained and exhorted him: Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.
We ask you to join us in praying for Father Damien Gonsalves, that he may faithfully “understand, imitate and conform” himself to Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Lujan, pray for him!
