As the date of Saturday,
May 21, 2016 approached, the people of St. Thomas Church in Southington were filled
with enthusiasm and joyful anticipation. Two young men, from diverse ethnic and
cultural backgrounds, each with special ties to the church, were to be ordained on that date at 11:00 am into the Sacred Order of Priests by The Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair, Archbishop
of the Archdiocese of Hartford at the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
It was to be the beginning of a
weekend of excitement for the community with many also attending the first celebration
of Mass at St. Thomas Church by the newly ordained Fr. Hector M. Rangel Guerrero at 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon and the first celebration of Mass of
Fr. Mathew Gary Gworek on Sunday morning at 10:00 am on May 22nd.
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Fr. Nicholas P. Melo
Pastor, St. Thomas Church |
Fr. Nick
Melo, Pastor of St. Thomas Church, said:
“It is certainly a great honor for our parish to have two men ordained to
the Priesthood. Deacon Matt Gworek is a native of Southington and Deacon Hector
Rangel-Guerrero has been adopted by St. Thomas, having spent his last year of
formation working here.” Melo said that St. Thomas has always been a place of
warm and welcoming spirit, a place where the Archbishop continues to send
seminarians for a pastoral experience.
“However, even as I reflected back on my own vocation recently,
it occurred to me that what really fosters vocations with the greatest impact -
more than a particular parish setting - more than a mentoring priest - is the
family of the young man discerning God's calling. While I have yet to meet
Deacon Hector's parents, I imagine they are quite similar to Deacon Matt's as
well as my own parents, in that they are prayer-filled people, who themselves
have a close relationship with the Lord and who instilled the Catholic faith in
their children.”
Meeting Guerrero
and Gworek was a walk on the high side for me as I listened to their stories,
their genuinely deep love of their families who fully embraced and reinforced their
aspirations and their great love of their respective, though
different, childhood years and culture. They both came from backgrounds that shared a strong faith, the appreciation of education, sports and life itself. They also shared a spiritual journey of years to saying “yes” to a life of selfless
service and commitment to the Lord and a life of spiritual leadership.
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| Rev. Hector M. Rangell Guerrero |
Hector
Guerrero grew up in the small agricultural village of Charalá, population
10,000, in Northern Colombia, an area dependent on growing coffee, sugar, maize
and cattle-raising. He recalls a simple but fulfilling life on a small farm his
father managed while his mother managed the household, education and faith
development of their seven children of which Hector was fifth.
“We did our
chores, our homework and said our prayers together as a family, (the rosary),
every day. But there was also time for soccer and healthy outdoor sports.”
Guerrero said. “Religious fervor was ingrained in my earliest years through my family, my village and my cultural life. But i think it is significant to mention that my interest in the spiritual life was also influenced
by the presence of three Jesuit priests in our town”, Guerrero said.
After
completing his public school education, Guerrero joined the Salesian Order of St.
John Bosco, moving to Bogata, where he attended Universidad Minuto de Dios,
earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He continued his spiritual formation
years with a second bachelor’s degree in Ecclesiology and a Master’s in
Theology at the Jesuit Pontifical Javerian University in Bogata.
Perhaps his
greatest challenge came when he was accepted at St. Thomas Seminary in
Bloomfield in 2012 to study English. Until then he spoke absolutely no English! He was then accepted at Mt. St. Mary Seminary in Maryland for his Ordination Year
and until a few weeks ago served as a transitional deacon at St. Thomas in
Southington. The enhancement of his communication skills in English remains a high
priority with Fr. Guerrero who clearly understands the importance of language in
the work of a priest.
Notwithstanding
the cultural differences between the two newly ordained priests, I found great
similarities in the ‘persona’ of each of both Guerrero and Mathew Gworek who grew up in
Southington, CT, attended Southington public schools, graduating from SHS.
Gworek's avid interest in music began in 4th grade when he learned how to play the alto saxaphone. He also had an active interest in sports, i.e,
soccer and baseball. He continued through high school playing in the Jazz and
Marching Band, soon turning his instrumental interest to the Euphonium which he
came to master during his years at UCONN where he earned double bachelor’s
degrees in Education and Music, respectively.
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| Rev. Mathew Gworek |
Mathew Gworek, his older sister, Rachel (Janowski), and his younger
brother, Jonathan, all grew up in a home environment of strong faith and values
with their parents, Lynne and Gary Gworek, who are role model responsible citizens and
devoted parishioners of St. Thomas Church.
Mathew also noted that his earliest growing up years were at Immaculate
Conception in Southington.
“I remember having had a serious focus on faith in my earliest childhood years. I paid close attention to learning and understanding the Mass, the teachings of the
Gospel and how it all relates to life. But the sense of an actual calling to the spiritual life as a
profession seemed to begin in my last few years in college where, at UCONN, I
became deeply involved in a St. Thomas Aquinas group of Catholic students
meeting regularly, socially and with common interests under the spiritual wing
of three phenomenal Jesuit priests, all the while continuing with my education and music in the
marching and pop bands and the Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band
Fraternity.”
Today, after six years of
spiritual formation at D.C. Theological College at Catholic University of
America, with summer breaks in various assignments to parishes within the Hartford
Archdiocese, and the inspiring mentoring of Fr. Nick Melo, Gworek said: “I’m filled
with excitement and anticipation. I feel ready and in the right place to
develop the skills to be the best priest that I can”.
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Five Ordained Priests by The Most Rev. Archbishop Leonard P. Blair, Archbishop of the Hartford Archdiocese on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 11:00 am at St. Joseph Cathedral
L to R: Rev. Philip O'Neill, Rev. Michael Patrick Kane, Rev. Hector M. Rangel Guerrero, Archbishop Blair, Rev. Philip Roy Schulze and Rev. Michael Gary Gworek
All God's love, blessings and grace to Fr. Gworek and Fr. Guerrero as they take up their first priestly parish assignments, respectively, at St. Mary’s in Branford and St. Joseph in Bristol. |
Tag: Freelance writer Dick Fortunato welcomes comments at dick617@gmail.com
With heavy hearts, the people of Southington, Connecticut mourn the innocent victims of the horrific tragedy of hateful violence that took place in Orlando, Florida this past weekend.
