What a blessing to have been ordained a priest of Our Lord Jesus Christ and a humble servant to all of you. After ten years of seminary formation in the diocese of Las Cruces, on Saturday May 30th I was ordained a priest by the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit by His Excellency, the most Reverend Oscar Cantu. I am so blessed to be assigned to this beautiful community of St. Albert the Great, Newman Parish. Even though I won't begin here till after I finished my summer assignments in Cloudcroft, La Luz, Tularosa, and Bent. I am looking forward to return to this parish to serve you, and to minister the holy sacraments to you.
I want to tell you a bit about myself and present myself to all of you. I was born and raised in a small town in the state of Jalisco, Mexico called Totatiche. At the age of twelve I left my family in order to enter the minor seminary and start my seminary studies at my early age. I completed six years of minor seminary in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, Jalisco. After completing my sixth year of seminary school, I came to Las Cruces, New Mexico and started working in a couple of places. I worked in construction and also at the Hotel Encanto of Las Cruces. In 2005 I joined our diocese and went to college to Conception Abbey, Missouri. After five years of college I went to St. Mary's seminary in Houston and completed my theological studies. Now, I am looking forward to the experience and grow in my transition from a seminarian to a priest. Thank you Newman for all your prayers and support. May God bless you.
Fr. Alex Urena