By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -
Deacon Javier Barreto stands next to his mother, Ana Rosa Medina, at the start of the ordination Mass.
Deacon Phillip Tran stands next to his parents, Dinh Tran and My-Van Tran, at the start of the ordination Mass.
A Vietnamese religious claps as the deacons approach the sanctuary at the start of the ordination rite.
The deacons stand in the sanctuary after being called by name and found worthy of ordination; from left: Deacon Javier Barreto, Deacon Julio De Jesus and Deacon Bryan Garcia.
Deacon Julio De Jesus, 43, pledges obedience to Archbishop Thomas Wenski and his successors.
The deacons lie prostrate on the sanctuary as the congregation prays the Litany of the Saints.
The deacons lie prostrate on the sanctuary as the congregation prays the Litany of the Saints.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Bryan Garcia.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Michael Garcia.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Julio De Jesus.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Yamil Miranda.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Javier Barreto.
By the laying on of hands, Archbishop Thomas Wenski ordains Father Phillip Tran.
Following Archbishop Thomas Wenski, bishops in attendance call down the Holy Spirit by laying hands upon the heads of the newly ordained. From left: Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino, Vietnamese Bishop Tuoc Nguyen of Phu Cuong, and Jesuit Bishop Luis del Castillo, retired of Melo, Uruguay.
Following Archbishop Thomas Wenski and the bishops, fellow priests lay hands upon the heads of the newly ordained.
Following Archbishop Thomas Wenski and the bishops, fellow priests lay hands upon the heads of the newly ordained. At right, Father Israel Mago with Father Javier Barreto.
Father Joseph Long Nguyen, pastor of Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission in Hallandale, lays hands on newly-ordained Father Phillip Tran, the first Vietnamese American to be ordained for the archdiocese.
After ordination, Father Bryan Garcia is vested with his stole and chasuble by Father Paul Vuturo, pastor of St. Louis in Pinecrest.
Father Jaime Acevedo, pastor of Mother of Our Redeemer Parish in Miami, and Father Mariouz Koch, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, vest newly-ordained Father Julio Enrique De Jesus.
Bishop Tuoc Nguyen of Phu Cuong, Vietnam, helps Father Phillip Tran dress with the stole and chasuble that denote his priesthood.
After being vested, the newly ordained take their place in the sanctuary. From left: Father Bryan Garcia, Father Michael Garcia, Father Julio De Jesus, Father Yamil Miranda, Father Javier Barreto, Father Phillip Tran.
Father Michael Garcia washes his hands after receiving the anointing from Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
Father Bryan Garcia receives his paten and chalice from Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski exchanges a kiss of peace with Father Julio De Jesus.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski exchanges a kiss of peace with the newly-ordained.
Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora gives a congratulary hug to newly-ordained Father Michael Garcia.
Newly-ordained Father Yamil Miranda is congratulated by Miami Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino.
Following Archbishop Thomas Wenski and the bishops, fellow priests exchange a congratulatory hug with the newly-ordained.
Newly-ordained Father Julio Enrique De Jesus gets a hug from Father Jaime Acevedo, his pastor at Mother of Our Redeemer Church in Miami.
Father Phillip Tran, left, and Father Lesly Jean, pastor of St. Helen Church in Fort Lauderdale, look toward the Tran family during the traditional greeting and congratulations of the newly-ordained. For many years, the Vietnamese community in South Florida made its home at St. Helen.
Father Carlos Cabrera, right, congratulates newly ordained Father Javier Barreto.
Vietnamese girls perform a liturgical dance as part of the offertory procession.
Vietnamese girls perform a liturgical dance as part of the offertory procession.
The mothers of the newly-ordained priests take up the offertory, from left: Ana Rosa Medina, mother of Father Javier Barreto; Delvia Perez, mother of Father Yamil Miranda; Ozema De Jesus, mother of Father Julio De Jesus; and My-Van Tran, mother of Father Phillip Tran.
The mothers of the newly-ordained priests take up the offertory, from left: Ozema De Jesus, mother of Father Julio De Jesus; and My-Van Tran, mother of Father Phillip Tran; Ana Garcia, mother of Father Bryan Garcia; and Dalila Garcia, mother of Father Michael Garcia.
The newly-ordained take up their place in the sanctuary during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Father Michael Garcia distributes Communion at his ordination Mass.
Father Phillip Tran distributes Communion at his ordination Mass.
Newly-ordained Father Phillip Tran gives Communion to his mother, My-Van Tran.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski kneels after the ceremony to receive the first blessing of the newly-ordained, in this case, Father Bryan Garcia.
Official photo at the end of the ceremony shows, from left: Father David Zirilli, vocations director; Msgr. Roberto Garza, rector, St. John Vianney College Seminary; Msgr. David Toups, rector, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary; Bishop Fernando Isern, emeritus, Pueblo, Colo.; Archbishop John C. Favalora, emeritus, Miami; newly-ordained Fathers Julio De Jesus, Javier Barreto and Phillip Tran; Archbishop Thomas Wenski; newly-ordained Fathers Yamil Miranda, Michael Garcia and Bryan Garcia; Bishop Peter Baldacchino, auxiliary of Miami; Bishop Tuoc Nguyen, Phu Cuong, Vietnam; and Bishop Luis del Castillo, emeritus of Melo, Uruguay.
Father Yamil Miranda gives his first blessings to family and friends after ordination.
Father Bryan Garcia gives his first blessing to his parents, Eddy and Ana Garcia.
Father Bryan Garcia blesses Sister Euphemia Kimario and Sister Marietta Kimaro, Holy Spirit Sisters who work at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Key West.
Father Julio De Jesus gives his first blessings to family and friends after his ordination.
Father Javier Barreto gives his first blessing to his mother, Ana Rosa Medina, after his ordination.
Photography: TOM TRACY and MARLENE QUARONI
MIAMI | On Mother’s Day weekend, six women stood by their sons the way Mary stood by Jesus. As their sons shouted “Present” when their names were called, more than 1,000 witnesses beheld the sweet sacrifice of priesthood.
May 9 was ordination day for the largest ordination class since 2008 in the archdiocese. More than 1,000 people inside St. Mary Cathedral � and hundreds more watching online � witnessed Archbishop Thomas Wenski “lay hands” on their heads and call down the Holy Spirit, ordaining them “priests forever.”
“My heart seems like it’s exploding at the rim,” said Ana Garcia, mother of Father Bryan Garcia. “I feel joy, excitement, humility and euphoric. Simply euphoric.”
The Garcias often hosted the six at their home during their years in the seminary, giving her and her family a vantage point from which to watch them grow into their new roles.
“Pope Francis said priests need to be shepherds that smell like their sheep,” said Eddy Garcia, Ana Garcia’s husband. “I think these guys will be a reflection of that.”
Father Javier Barreto’s sheep, however, might smell of culinary delight. He worked as a chef before entering the seminary.
“He is a great cook,” said Luis Barreto, one of Father Barreto’s three brothers. “His parishioners will never go hungry and they will never be sad.”
The Barreto family, most of whom traveled from their native Puerto Rico to attend the ordination Mass, agreed that he is talented in the kitchen � but they also acknowledged that he had a higher calling since childhood.
“As a child we would always tease him and ask, ‘Where are you going, little priest?’” said Luis Barreto. “He went to everything in the church. Even if he had no ride, he would walk to Mass.”
“Since he was little he had the call to vocations,” said Ana Rosa Medina, Father Barreto’s mother. “He was born early (at eight months) and he was a miracle of life. A miracle that came to serve the Lord.”
But along with excitement and pride, the revelation that a son wants to serve the Lord often produces shock and worry.
“I was happy and sad because I thought he would leave me,” said Ozema De Jesus, the mother of Father Julio De Jesus. “But he told me he would always be by my side.”
Father De Jesus is the youngest of her 14 children, and she noted he was always eager to help her and others. That desire later blossomed into a career in hospitality management, but a higher calling led him to a greater level of service as a priest.
The family of Father Michael Garcia � no relation to Father Bryan Garcia � said he, too, heard the call at a young age. Always a curious child who loved to build things with his hands, he will now be building greater things for God.
“When he did his confirmation in eighth grade, he told us that God was calling him,” said Deacon Carlos Garcia, Father Garcia’s father. “But we told him to wait until after high school.”
The years passed and the calling never wavered. If anything, it was strengthened by Carlos Garcia’s ordination as a permanent deacon. The father-deacon assisted the son-priest as he celebrated his first Mass later that day at their home parish of St. Agatha in Miami.
“He has told us he is happiest when he is up there serving,” said Dalila Garcia, Father Garcia’s mom.
To build and sustain a community of believers, priests also need to be healers of souls. That is how Father Phillip Tran, who earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, described his career change to his mother.
“He said he wanted to be a doctor of the soul instead of the body,” said My-Van Tran. “We knew that he was dedicated to God, but we reminded him that he had a choice. We didn’t want him to become a priest because of us. But he said that God was calling him in his heart.”
Father Tran hails from a Vietnamese family filled with priests and nuns. Even his father, Dinh Tran, studied for the priesthood before being imprisoned by the communists in his native Vietnam.
“We are excited for Phillip, but we are also worried,” he said. “We will have to pray more.”
Father Yamil Miranda’s mom remembers being inconsolable when her son revealed that he was entering the seminary � the day before he left.
“I was not too happy,” Delvia Perez said. “When he left, I entered his room and cried. I would go to work and cry. But time went by so fast. I cannot believe this day would get here so soon.”
Father Miranda, who had considered a career in law before entering the seminary, now looks to reaching greater heights as a priest.
“He told me he will one day celebrate Mass in Rome, and with the way Yamil is, I know he will,” Perez said.
In his homily, Archbishop Wenski quoted the words St. John Bosco heard from his mother on his ordination day: “You will begin saying Mass so from henceforth you will be closer to Jesus. Remember that to begin to celebrate Mass means also to begin to suffer.”
The archbishop reminded the newly ordained that becoming “a shepherd of souls is a step not to be taken lightly. Since the priest offers the Holy Sacrifice every day, sacrifice must also be the condition of his life. In giving Christ’s Body and Blood, we must also give our body and blood for the life of our people.”
As he said those words, the eyes of six mothers remained like the Virgin Mary’s over her son’s: ever watchful, ever hopeful, ever loving.
