Vocations

For Deacon Zachary Essex Watson, ministering as a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be an opportunity to serve a church he calls a beacon of hope to the world.

The idea of an itinerant preacher, traveling through the mountains on horseback to deliver the Good News of the Gospel, may seem like a cinematic ideal; but for Deacon Lenin Andres Suarez, it was the way he spent most of his seminary holidays in the Andes Mountains of Colombia.

Deacon Franz Josef Basalo Belleza enjoys a leisurely stroll or jog during his downtime, but he says his journey to the priesthood has been “no walk in the park.”

During his diaconate year at Sacred Heart in Glyndon, Deacon Acuña has been blessed to assist his community sacramentally by performing house blessings, baptisms and other pastoral duties that are often delegated to deacons; but he admits that this has made him even more eager to receive the apostolic authority of the Church, so that he can fully serve his parish community in his vocation as Priest.