Viatorians in Colombia were faithfully serving the holy altar in special ways during this year’s Holy Week.
As part of his visit, Br. John ministered as a deacon in parish liturgies for Easter.
Br. John Alexander Avellaneda, CSV, traveled to La Parroquia San Carlos Borromeo (St. Charles Borromeo Parish) in Villavicencio, about 100 miles southeast of Bogotá. Villavicencio is a poor community with greater poverty, fewer work opportunities, and inconsistent utilities services, including issues with clean water.
This visit fell during Br. John’s last few weeks as a deacon. With his ordination to the priesthood coming up on April 25, he took a few days at the start of Holy Week for a retreat to reflect before resuming ministry mid-week. He now serves alongside Coordinator of Vocation Ministry Fr. Juan Carlos Ubaque, CSV, on the vocation ministry team, so he helped lead vocation outreach activities for Villavicencio youth on Wednesday of Holy Week and then assisted the parish in its Easter Triduum liturgy.
Fr. Juan Carlos was serving the holy altar and underserved communities by leading Holy Week liturgies and prayer for Catholics in the Cauca region, about 400 miles southwest of Bogotá. Fr. Juan Carlos served La Parroquia de El Tambo (The Dairy Farm Parish) and nearby villages, coordinated with Los Misioneros Montfortianos (Montfortian Missionaries, or Company of Mary). Their mission ministry serves this agricultural community, whose staple crops are coffee and sugarcane.
Fr. Juan Carlos ministered around the Cauca region, collaborating with the Company of Mary missionaries (bottom right).
“It’s important that Viatorians are present in different places where we can demonstrate the vitality of our congregation,” Fr. Juan Carlos said. “From the inspiration of our founder, we continue to announce Jesus Christ and His Gospel in different local and social contexts. We witness the faith of these people, even in so much difficulty. It’s a call to keep refining how we follow Jesus Christ.”
Here, Andrés (left) assists with Holy Thursday foot-washing and Ángel (right) poses with two altar servers.
As his brothers served further afield, Pre-Novitiate Director Fr. Dan Lydon, CSV, accompanied his Casa San Justo (Saint Just House) pre-novices in Holy Week ministries in their Bogotá parishes: second-year pre-novice Andrés Rozo Fontecha in Parroquia San Basilio (St. Basil Parish) and first-year pre-novice Ángel Felipe Vázquez in Parroquia San Juan Crisóstomo (St. John Chrysystom Parish).
“In Holy Week, I felt renewed working with the children of the parish, doing catechesis through activities such as our Seder meal and participating in liturgy as an acolyte,” Ángel said.
“My experience in the parish has been profoundly rewarding. Day by day, we attempt to align our lives to what God has entrusted to us,” Andrés said.
Cardinal Chomalí (left) and Br. Julián (right)
And Fr. Dan was not just a spectator. “I concelebrated with the pastor of St. John Chrysystom at the Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Easter Vigil liturgies. I got plenty of practice with the Spanish version of Eucharistic Prayer I,” Fr. Dan said – sure also to enjoy some Easter treats with the parish community and then back home with his pre-novices after the busy ministry week.
Meanwhile, Br. Julián Camilo Torres, a former resident of Casa San Justo, was serving the holy altar in Chile, where he is in novitiate. Br. Julián served as an acolyte at the Mass of ordination to the diaconate of Br. Tomás Villalobos, CSV, of Chile. Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, Archbishop of Santiago, was the ordaining bishop, and Br. Julián served Mass with him.
Quotes from Fr. Juan Carlos, Andrés, and Ángel are via interpretation from their original Spanish.