Last Saturday, August 8, 2026, the Redemptorist Province of Curitiba experienced a moment of profound joy and hope. Guided by the biblical motto, “He has sent me to preach the Good News to the poor” (Luke 4:18), six new deacons generously responded to the Redeemer’s call to dedicate their lives to the service of the Church and the charism of Saint Alphonsus Liguori.
The solemn Eucharistic celebration took place at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Curitiba (PR), and was presided over by Bishop Antônio Braz Benevente, Bishop of the Diocese of Jacarezinho. In the presence of the confreres of the Province of Curitiba and other units, religious and diocesan priests, the Provincial Superior, Fr. Edilei Rosa, and a large gathering of the local community, family, and friends, the following were ordained deacons: Fr. Andrey Reimer de Melo, Fr. Aurélio Soares Rodrigues, Fr. Dennis da Cruz Souza, Fr. Juan Carlos Castillo, Fr. Pedro Gabriel Duarte Leon, and Fr. Vinicius da Rosa dos Reis.
The culminating moment of the liturgy occurred when the Church begged the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them so that their ministry might be exercised faithfully. May the evangelical virtues shine forth in them: sincere love, concern for the sick and the poor, discreet authority, simplicity of heart, and a life according to the Spirit. Thus, imitating Christ on earth—who came not to be served, but to serve—they might bear witness to the Gospel in their daily lives.
Celebrated during Vocations Month, this ordination renews the missionary zeal of the entire Congregation and reminds us that vocation is a precious gift, born from the loving heart of God and nourished in community life. For the Redemptorist charism, every vocational response, every “yes,” guarantees the continuity of the proclamation of the Abundant Redemption to the poorest and most abandoned, keeping alive the prophetic and missionary flame of Saint Alphonsus in our day.
For the Church, it is a living sign that the Gospel continues to flourish at the hands of young people willing to serve with love, humility, and dedication. It is through the hands, voices, and hearts of these young people that the Gospel takes on new faces and reaches the existential peripheries.
As the Lord himself asks us in Scripture: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mt 9:37-38). May He continue to bless the Church and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer with holy, steadfast, and committed vocations to proclaim the Good News to the poorest and most abandoned!
May the example of detachment of these new deacons inspire many other young people to courageously listen to the Lord’s call, willing themselves to serve with joy, dedication, and love in the heart of the world.
Fr. Dionatan Grieger Dutra, C.Ss.R.
