On Sept. 12, the diocese rejoiced with the entry of nine new seminarians into St. Junipero Serra House of Formation. They are Jacob Ponce, Jesús Navarro Castañón, Jonathan Lopez, Rafael Martinez, Jose Hernandez-Olea, Christian Ramos, Nick Prudhomme, Felipe Pascual, and Thinh Duc (Vincent) Nguyen.
Bishop Alberto Rojas presided over the Seminarian Commitment Mass at Christ the Redeemer Church, Grand Terrace. At the Mass, the nine men made their commitment, formally entering and being recognized by the bishop as full members of the Serra House community. This comes after a year spent in a propaedeutic (preparatory) program at Emmaus House of Formation in San Antonio, TX. This stage provided them with human and spiritual formation through deep prayer, affective maturity growth, and deeper discernment of calling to ministry.
“I felt a deep sense of peace, gratitude, and spiritual renewal,” Pascual said of the Commitment Mass. “It was a profound moment of grace that allowed me to detach from material concerns and reorient my heart toward God’s call. I felt truly supported by the community and filled with joy to surrender my life to this vocation.”
Added Nguyen, “I felt grateful because I thought about the love and support of so many people for us. They had worked hard and made many sacrifices, including their time and health to support us.
“I felt happy because my parents, relatives, and friends attended my Commitment Mass that day. Lastly, I felt zealous during the Mass, especially during Bishop Rojas’s homily. I was very thankful because he taught me many valuable things.”
During the Commitment Mass the nine new seminarians received the Liturgy of the Hours book to ground them in daily prayer from Serra House Rector, the Very Rev. Dr. Javier Gonzalez-Cabrera, who also concelebrated the Commitment Mass.
The new seminarians now begin the discipleship stage that is focused on philosophy studies as well as discerning and confirming their vocation to priesthood which concludes with the call to candidacy by the bishop. This stage generally takes two to four years.
“It feels amazing to begin this formation year in this great Seminary house of Formation,” Navarro Castañón said. “I am very excited, and I can speak on behalf of my brothers; the formators are awesome. We are surrounded by priests who truly love what they do; they bring a lot of hope and lots of joy to aspiring priests, and their love for the people of God is both radiating and contagious.”
The nine seminarians hail from across the diocese. Their home parishes are:
Felipe Pascual: Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, Riverside; Jose Hernandez-Olea: St. Frances of Rome, Wildomar; Jonathan Lopez: Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Bernardino; Rafael Martinez, St. George, Fontana; Jesus Navarro-Castañon: San Salvador, Colton; Thinh Duc (Vincent) Nguyen: St. Adelaide, Highland; Jacob Ponce: St. Frances of Rome, Wildomar; Nicholas Prudhomme: Sacred Heart, Palm Desert; Cristian Ramos: Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, Riverside.
Please continue to pray for our diocesan seminarians during their priesthood formation.