There was a marked laetare spirit on Saturday, March 16, for the Congregation of Holy Cross in the District of Chile-Peru as Fr. Gabriel Adrián Fuentes Velasco, C.S.C., was ordained to the priesthood at Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Andacollo Parish in Santiago, Chile. The Most Rev. Jorge Izaguirre, C.S.C., the newly installed Bishop of the Diocese of Chosica, Peru, presided at the Ordination Mass.

On the eve of the Ordination, a prayer service was held at the chapel of the Santa Cruz House of Formation. Fr. Aníbal Niño, C.S.C., Pastor of El Señor de la Esperanza Parish in San Juan de Lurigancho, Peru, presided and was assisted by religious from the House of Formation. During the prayer, the chasuble, chalice, and paten that Fr. Gabriel received at his Ordination were blessed.

Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Andacollo Church was filled for the Ordination. In addition to Gabriel’s family and friends, many people from the Congregation’s parishes and schools in Chile joined in the celebration. There was also a contingent from the Congregation’s El Señor de la Esperanza Parish, where Gabriel had served as a deacon.

Learn more about the history of Holy Cross in Chile

Fr. Alfredo Hernández, C.S.C., Superior of the District of Chile-Peru, presented Fr. Gabriel for Ordination. Also present was Fr. José Ahumada, C.S.C., who had been District Superior for most of Fr. Gabriel’s time in initial formation.

The Holy Cross religious of the District of Chile-Peru were also joined by a number of their confreres from other countries, including Fr. Gabriel’s three Novitiate classmates: Fr. Antonio Wanderley, C.S.C., and Fr. Rivaldo Oliviera, C.S.C., from Brazil, and Fr. Ángel Lázaro de la Cruz, C.S.C., from Mexico.

After the Mass, there was a celebratory reception in the patio at Nuestra Señora de Andacollo School. Fr. Gabriel celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving the next day, March 17, at San Roque Parish, together with the Holy Cross community, the parish community, and his family.