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Fr. Dan Lydon, CSV has quite a sense of humor.
Last month, Fr. Dan wrote to the parishioners of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois. He served there as parochial vicar from 2018 to 2021 and lived there during part of his sabbatical this past year. In his note, Fr. Dan joked about returning to ministry: “I tried my best to fly under the radar of my Viatorian superiors. Well, they remembered that I was alive and well, and asked me to take on a new assignment.”
Next month, Fr. Dan will move to Bogotá, Colombia to begin as Director of Pre-Novices for the Foundation of Colombia.
Ever on the Way
Viatorians are missionary disciples. From our origins in France, on to Canada and then Bourbonnais, and now across the US and Colombia, Viatorians go wherever the People of God need ministers committed to a lively and enlightened faith by serving the Word. This can mean new ministries for the community, such as Sacred Heart Church in Pembroke Township, Illinois, as well as new placements for professed men.
Fr. Dan SVHS ’73 met Viatorians like Fr. Robert Erickson, CSV (top) while he was a student, and 20 years later, he’d become a Viatorian educator himself.
Fr. Dan’s Viatorian way started at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He’s an alumnus of the class of 1973 taught by Viatorians. About 20 years later, with experience in Christian Brothers schools in Hawaii, Michigan, and California, president Fr. Charlie Bolser, CSV hired him to teach at Saint Viator.
Across several years on faculty and in administration, Dan discerned a call to the Viatorians. In 2006, he committed as a Viatorian associate, and then Dan joined the congregation as a novice in 2009 and professed first vows in 2010. He went on to seminary studies at Viatorian-sponsored Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and, after professing perpetual vows in 2013, Dan was ordained a transitional deacon in 2014 and a priest in 2015.
Yet, before Fr. Dan became a priest or taught theology, he studied Spanish! Dan earned a BA in Spanish from Lewis University, and much of his classroom experience is actually as a Spanish teacher. In priesthood, Fr. Dan celebrates Mass and preaches in both English and Spanish.
Considering Colombia
Viatorians originally went to Colombia in the 1960s, heeding the call of Pope St. John XXIII, who encouraged religious communities to consider new ministry in Latin America. It started with three American Viatorians, who went to Bogotá and founded Colegio San Viator. The foundation now includes several schools, parishes, and chaplaincies and a growing community of Colombian brothers, priests, and associates.
Over the years, American Viatorians have continued ministering in Colombia, including Fr. John Peeters, CSV, who was a formation director there, and the late Fr. John Pisors, CSV, who spent the last several decades of his life in Colombia as a teacher and principal. Additionally, Colombian men serve in the US, including Br. Carlos Flórez, CSV, Director of Catholic and Viatorian Identity at Cristo Rey St. Viator College Prep in North Las Vegas, NV; Fr. Edgar Suárez, CSV, incoming pastor for St. Viator Catholic Community in Las Vegas, NV; Fr. Jhobany Orduz, CSV, recently ordained a priest and next year joining campus ministry at Saint Viator High School; and Br. John Avellaneda, CSV, who continues theological studies and is nearing his ordination to the transitional diaconate.
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial (top, left, in red vest) tours Casa San Justo with his brothers as they prepare to establish the community there, with Fr. Juan Carlos Ubaque, CSV, as house director with Fr. Dan and three pre-novices in residence.
In February, Fr. Dan had a meeting scheduled with Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial, to discuss transitioning out of his sabbatical. “I was prepared to tell him that I would be more than happy to continue living in Bourbonnais and helping with sacramental ministry in semi-retirement. I would do some spiritual direction and retreat work. I would have time for prayer and physical exercise,” Fr. Dan said. “Little did I know that Mark had a proposal for me.”
A religious superior must consider simultaneously the ministry needs of the province as well as the gifts and welfare of his men. Fr. Francis had in mind our new community house in Bogotá – Casa San Justo (St. Just House) – and the need for a pre-novice director, as Br. Edwin Barreto, CSV steps out of this role to focus on theological studies. “We needed someone with experience to work with the three pre-novices there, and as a former Spanish teacher, Dan is fluent in Spanish. His theological specialty is spirituality, and his studies focused on Fr. Querbes,” Fr. Francis said. “So, it was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to ask Dan if he would be interested in this ministry.”
Fr. Francis proposed this idea ahead of a planned trip to Bogotá – for Fr. Jhobany’s ordination. So, Fr. Dan utilized the time before, during, and after the ordination to get to know the Colombian Viatorians and men in formation better and immerse in the possibility of this new placement.
Tackling the Transition
Viatorian brothers and priests profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. That third vow means that, ultimately, a professed Viatorian’s placement is decided by his superior. Yet, Viatorians strive to decide assignments by dialogue and shared discernment between individuals and superiors. Our constitution says, “The service of authority requires an active and responsible participation, a co-responsible obedience, that commits all of us to fraternal love. Such love is the foundation of genuine unity in the Congregation” (No. 42).
A large American contingent traveled for Fr. Jhobany’s ordination, and Fr. Dan (standing, third from left) enjoyed quality time with Colombian and American Viatorians and men in formation during this trip.
While Fr. Dan initially imagined a placement in Bourbonnais, his brothers in leadership had another idea. So, this moment became a time to pause and pray. Having spent several months on sabbatical, he could discern from a calm place. “While I was a bit surprised, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that it would be a great challenge – and perhaps a way I could be of service to the community that I’d never considered. Working with the pre-novices would be a form of spiritual accompaniment, helping them enter more deeply into a life of prayer and some sort of ministry experience,” Fr. Dan said. “After several of weeks getting to know the young men who would be residing in the house, I knew that this was a challenge and mission I had to accept. At a gathering of Viatorians on February 23, I shared my decision to accept.”
Fr. Francis was there with him, and he appreciates the process and outcome. “Along with the Province, I am very grateful for his willingness to serve in this important role,” Fr. Francis said.
“I am excited about this next chapter in my life. Although there will be some new experiences for me, I am ready,” Fr. Dan said – but, you know, he had to add a joke, too. “The biggest obstacle will be driving in Bogotá, but I will take it on.”
So, Fr. Dan now moves to Casa San Justo, named for the bishop with whom St. Viator loyally ministered. As he begins this new ministry in Bogotá, we pray for St. Viator and St. Just’s intercession, that, on his way, God may bless Fr. Dan, our pre-novices, and our Viatorian Community.