By US Conference of Catholic Bishops -
Photographer: FILE PHOTO
Franciscan Father Juan Rumin Dominguez, new rector, National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity
Members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Charity stood out among the crowd that welcomed Father Rumin, their medals a reminder that we must continue to live out our motto: �To Jesus through Mary, charity unites us.� His warm greeting was met with a rousing applause that sent the message, �Welcome, Father Rumin!�
Father Rumin was born in Havana, Cuba, on Feb. 8, 1965 to a Christian family, who were present the afternoon he was introduced at the Shrine. At a young age, he got involved at the youth group in his parish, St. Clare, in Lawton, where he met Father Loredo and got to know the Franciscan family, which he admired for its simplicity and rich spirituality.
Later on, he felt a calling to become a Franciscan priest. Initially, his superiors sent him to study philosophy at the seminary in Santiago de Cuba, near el Cobre, where his devotion to Our Lady of Charity, which he learned at home, grew. He was later transferred to the historic Seminary of San Carlos y San Ambrosio in the Archdiocese of Havana, where he finished his philosophy studies and began his theology studies.
The Franciscan order sent him to the seminary in Mexico, where he finished his studies and prepared to become a priest. In 1994, he was given permission to be ordained a deacon in front of his family, at a ceremony right here at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity. As I ordained him to the diaconate, I did not dream that he would eventually become our rector. How mysterious and hidden are the Lord�s plans!
The following year, in 1995, he became a priest at the Cathedral of Havana, ordained by his eminency Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino. Both ordinations took place among the Cuban people, on the island and outside it. He later went to Rome where he received a degree in moral theology. During his years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami, he has served at the parishes of St. Rose of Lima in Miami Shores and St. John Neumann in Miami.
On Oct. 17, while taking part in the Mass in his honor at the Shrine, I thought about his Franciscan motto � �Peace and goodness and holy joy� � which he will now live out in this holy place dedicated to the mother of God, appropriately titled in our litanies: �Cause of our joy!�
This past May, we celebrated 35 years of the Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Paul VI, Gaudete in Domino (Be joyful in the Lord), where the Holy Father, making a distinction between earthly joy and heavenly joy, invites us to grow in Christian joy, living it as Mary did throughout all the mysteries of Christ. Her joy did not depend on the world but on the Lord, which is why she was able to say: �My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;� a joy that depended on the Mighty One who did great things for her.
In all shrines, as in this one dedicated to Our Lady of Charity, thousands of pilgrims pass through with joys and human sorrows. Parents come with their newborn children, smiling as they bring them from the hospital where they were born. Cuban boat people come, some smiling because they arrived safely, others crying because their family members perished at sea.
Father Rumin, as we call him, can revive here his Franciscan spirit and offer the holy joy of Mary to all, to give them the peace of Christ, deliver them from evil and guide them toward good. I am certain that at the Shrine, he will generously offer comfort and holy joy to the pilgrims who come bearing their pain of this valley of tears, so that they may go out into the world to bring peace and goodwill.
Welcome, Father Rumin.
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Agustin A. Rom�n
October 21, 2010
