Fr. Jhobany Orduz, CSV

by | Jul 12, 2018 | Meet a Viatorian

Fr. Jhobany Orduz, CSV, discerned God’s invitation to the Viatorian Community after seeking a religious life that reflected his interest in social justice.

He was already a trained civil engineer, with a master’s degree in roads and infrastructure, and a specialization in education administration, working in his native Cúcuta, Colombia, near the Venezuela border. “I was working with poorer communities, building homes for people out in the countryside,” Fr. Jhobany said.

Jhobany professed perpetual vows in 2018 in Colombia.

The chance to empower these people with new homes opened his eyes to the needs of the marginalized, so he sought a way to make a difference for more people. Fr. Frank Enciso, CSV, introduced Br. Jhobany to the Viatorians in 2010.

One year later, he began formation, including his novitiate through the Council of Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile. He returned to Bogotá in 2014 and professed his first vows. He is the sixth of seven children and the second religious vocation in his family – his oldest brother is a diocesan priest.

During this period, he was a teacher and administrator in the Civil Engineering School at Uniminuto and then at Universidad Católica de Colombia in Bogotá. He also assisted with catechesis at Parroquia Santa Inés de Guaymaral on weekends.

Fr. Jhobany earned his master’s degree in financial management from Universidad Ean in Bogotá.

In January 2018, Jhobany came to the US to study English intensively while living with American confreres on the third floor of Saint Viator High School, which proved to be a valuable experience. “Everyone’s been so welcoming, so friendly,” Fr. Jhobany said at the time. “I feel really comfortable with everyone, and much more confident in my religious life.”

Fr. Jhobany returned to Colombia in 2019 and served as director of the newly professed in Bogotá while working at Colegio San Viator. That same year, he also began two more master’s degrees: a master’s in financial management as well as a master’s in divinity at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago with a view to ordination. In January 2022, he moved back to the US to continue his master’s in person at CTU. “I am happy to be here because it is a new experience,” Fr. Jhobany said. “I believe that this better connects the Viatorian service of religious people in both regions, Colombia and the US. We all are Viatorians, and we are part of the same province.”

In April 2024, he was ordained a transitional deacon and, like many brothers before him (and now after him), served his diaconate year at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Bourbonnais. In February 2025, he returned to Colombia for his ordination to the priesthood. Bishop Christopher Glancy, CSV, ordained Jhobany a priest at Parroquia San Viator in Bogotá, before a big congregation of friends and family. It included one of the largest gatherings of professed Viatorians in the modern times of the province, in support of a brother whose formation and religious life spanned the two countries of the province.

The full group of professed during Fr. Jhobany’s ordination weekend.

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Fr. Jhobany (left) joined SVHS Campus Ministry for the 2025-26 school year, alongside Campus Minister Associate Cathy Abrahamian, Chaplain Fr. John Eustice, CSV, and VP of Viatorian Mission and Identity Associate Ann Perez.

His first full-time assignment as a priest is as campus minister and assistant chaplain at Saint Viator High School, where he had interned during studies at CTU. “I can’t believe that it’s already eleven years [in religious life]. I have a life in front of me, and the Lord is the only one who can guide my steps. I have been working where God has sent me,” Fr. Jhobany said, following his ordination. “All these years have been a growing process of learning and faith in God’s mercy,”

More on Fr. Jhobany from Viatorians.com:

This article was updated by Associate Dan Masterton on November 25, 2025.