Thinking ‘outside the country’ for new vocations

Homegrown vocations are a cherished goal of every bishop. But in the case of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, providing sacramental and pastoral care to an increasing population of Spanish-speaking Catholics – without the benefit of a deep roster of Spanish-speaking priests – requires some outside-the-box thinking. It also may mean, at least temporarily, some “outside-the-country” thinking.

In February, Dominican Father Sergio Serrano, director of the archdiocesan Hispanic Apostolate, and former Notre Dame Seminary rector Father José Lavastida visited four dioceses in Colombia, located on the northwest tip of South America, to meet five men who may be candidates to enter Notre Dame Seminary in August.

If everything goes well, the men, who range in age from 23 to their mid-40s, would begin theology studies at Notre Dame Seminary in the hope that one day they would be ordained as priests of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

“We need Hispanic seminarians,” said Father Steve Bruno, vocations director for the archdiocese. “The archbishop (Gregory Aymond) and I both agree I need to be more proactive in recruiting and not just waiting for guys. In the last 20 years, we’ve been overly cautious. There are risks, but Archbishop Aymond is willing to take those risks to bring in guys willing to come here and be formed and to assimilate to the culture. He wants seminarians.”

Father Serrano, a native of Colombia, agreed to lead the trip. Father Lavastida, a native of Cuba, speaks Spanish and was rector-president of Notre Dame Seminary from 2007-12.

The two priests met with men in four dioceses – Bogota, Medellin, Socorro y San Gil and Bucaramanga, Father Serrano’s home diocese. They visited first with the bishop of each diocese, giving him a letter of introduction from Archbishop Aymond. Father Lavastida conducted two-hour interviews with each man.

“I was very pleased with the visit,” Father Lavastida said. “I think it offers great possibilities to bring in a few seminarians. The idea is to begin working with them to see about the possibility of them studying for the archdiocese.

“In my opinion, I would recommend four of the five men immediately. There is one man who is a lawyer who probably needs some time to finish up his business in Colombia. I was very impressed with the candidates, and I certainly think they could do well. My impression is that they were very open to the idea and very mature.”

Lots of Latinos in N.O.
Exact figures are difficult to determine, Father Serrano said, but there are about 80,000 Hispanics living in the Greater New Orleans area, and about 70 percent of those would be Catholic.

“The number of Latinos that have moved into the city is big, and we don’t have enough services in Spanish, so they are moving into Protestant groups,” Father Serrano said. “We have some priests who speak Spanish and are willing to serve the community, but people are looking for somebody to understand them in their own cultural and traditional way of expressing their faith. Speaking the language is not enough to respond to what people are seeking.”

Archbishop Aymond also has welcomed several Latino priests to do ministry in the archdiocese:

➤ Father Benjamin Sanchez of Colombia works for the Hispanic Apostolate and also does ministry at Holy Guardian Angels in Westwego and Immaculate Conception in Marrero;

➤ Father Angel Diaz of Puerto Rico does Hispanic ministry at St. Jane de Chantal Parish in Abita Springs and Washington Parish;

➤ Oblate Father Julio Caesar Narvaez of Mexico celebrates Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Immaculate Conception in Marrero and Ascension of Our Lord in LaPlace.

“Father Sanchez and Father Diaz came as a response to the needs of the Hispanic population in the archdiocese,” Father Serrano said. “I contacted them and did all the paperwork, and they were accepted by the archbishop and assigned to those ministries.”

Seminaries filled in Colombia
The seminaries in Colombia have such high enrollments that some bishops have decided not to accept anyone over the age of 30, Father Lavastida said. The candidates interviewed by the archdiocese were not currently studying for any diocese. Some have been in U.S. seminaries before discontinuing their studies.

“That usually requires that we consult with the formators in the other seminaries,” Father Lavastida said. “The issue many times has to do with not being able to adjust to the weather – some of them went north, and it was too cold for them – or the language problems.”

Father Bruno said because of the cultural differences, Archbishop Aymond believes recruiting Hispanic seminarians is a better path to take rather than bringing in priests because “he knows it takes them some time to adapt.”

“He wants guys to come in, spend time in the seminary and not just learn English or theology but assimilate to the culture,” Father Bruno said. “It’s tough, but it can be done.”

Father Serrano said the seminarians would come to the U.S. on a student visa. The hope would be that after ordination, they would qualify for a “religious worker” visa, followed one or two years later by a residency card, and then eventually they could become U.S. citizens.

Father Bruno said the cultural differences that exist among Hispanics from different countries can be overcome, just as deciphering different Spanish dialects can be overcome.

“There are people in Tennessee who I am sure can’t understand me, and there are some people in Tennessee I can’t understand,” he said, laughing. “But I think we’ll be fine with that.”

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected]