Note to our readers: Every other Monday, we will share a feature story to take a closer, richer look at Viatorian life. These stories will include an audio readout that you can play aloud and a reading time estimate. We hope these stories can strengthen your faith formation and support your life of faith and prayer. Enjoy!
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Estimated read time: 10 min | Click below for audio readout or scroll past to read
Religious life for professed Viatorians often involves demanding work that takes deep investment and long hours from our men. So what nourishes and sustains us in a life full of ministry?
Professed religious life is not just about what a brother or priest does but is largely about who he is. Beyond the work, it’s the opportunity for someone who is a mission-driven person to commit to vowed life alongside committed brothers in Christ. Sharing this fraternity through community life fuels our men in serving this Christian, Viatorian mission.
Last month, the ordination of Fr. Jhobany Orduz, CSV was the occasion for a healthy dose of fraternity for the men of our province, which started with the US in the 1880s and grew to include our foundation in Colombia in the 1960s. Because Fr. Jhobany is from Colombia but has lived, studied, and served in both countries, his ordination to the priesthood in Bogotá was a unique opportunity for many men from both countries to come together for fellowship, prayer, and celebration.
Our Renewed Internationality
Over the past few years, the Viatorians in the US have hosted Viatorian brothers and priests from other Viatorian provinces and regions, including Haiti, Ivory Coast, and Spain, as well as Colombian Viatorians. We can provide community life and hospitality while our brothers study English, theology, and more at American institutions.
On the early end of this trend, then-Brother Jhobany came to the US in the 2010s to continue studies, including a Master of Divinity at Catholic Theological Union with a view toward priestly ordination. During his first few years in vows, Jhobany served as a teacher and administrator at Colombian schools, and then after coming to the US, he ministered in a variety of settings alongside his studies and quickly built relationships with many American Viatorians.
A look at a few of Jhobany’s ministries in the US
In Waukegan, Illinois, Jhobany assisted with retreats at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep; in Arlington Heights, Illinois, he interned in campus ministry and assisted with the Viatorian Youth Congress delegation, retreats, service, and liturgy and lived with the community at Saint Viator High School; in Bourbonnais, Illinois, Jhobany served as a transitional deacon at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church; in Kankakee, Illinois, he interned as a hospital chaplain at Riverside Medical Center, ministered at several area parishes and to faith-based groups, and lived with the community at St. Patrick Church; he also traveled to Las Vegas several times, including to assist with vocation outreach events and a young men’s retreat weekend.
“In many ways Jhobany represents what Pope Francis has called ‘missionary discipleship.’ He opted to move out of his culture, come to the U.S., and work in a new language and learn new ways of ministering. He has an important perspective that enables him to be bridge between the Hispanic community and the wider U.S. culture,” Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial, said.
As our Superior General, Fr. Nestor Fils-Aimé, CSV, prioritizes and encourages collaboration and internationality, Fr. Jhobany stands as a strong example in our province of someone whose formation, ministry, and ministerial identity has come from a multicultural context.
Gathering The Big Group
Viatorians consistently show up for one another’s major milestones and those of our communities, and this ordination weekend presented a uniquely wide appeal. In addition to Bishop Christopher Glancy, CSV traveling to serve as ordaining bishop and Fr. Francis traveling in his office as Provincial Superior, seven more American Viatorians made the trip: Br. Peter Lamick, CSV; Fr. John Eustice, CSV; Fr. Dan Hall, CSV (who, as Provincial Superior, received Fr. Jhobany’s perpetual vows); Fr. Daniel Lydon, CSV; Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV; Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV; and Br. Rob Robertson, CSV. Additionally, Fr. Edgar Suárez, CSV, who now ministers in Las Vegas, Nevada, traveled back to his home country, where the parish he previously led and the church he helped build and dedicate was now hosting this ordination. All these travelers joined the many Colombian professed gathering locally for the celebration.
(left to right around Fr. Jhobany) Br. Rob, Fr. John, Fr. Dan, Br. Peter, and Fr. Jason traveled to Colombia as just part of a sizable group of Americans joining our Colombian brothers for the festivities.
It was important to Fr. Jhobany’s brothers to be there with him and for him because of the fraternity they’ve developed together across Jhobany’s religious life so far. “Jhobany has been a great brother to live with and minister with, and I think nine people going down to Colombia for his ordination reflects this. He is uniquely able to bring together the two parts of our province for this celebration,” Br. Peter said.
Br. Rob felt renewed by getting there and participating with so many others. “I felt it was important for Jhobany to know what an impact he has made in the lives of many in our community. Personally, it reenergized me that I am called to serve with others who are committed to serve together as we serve God. There is much we can do as individuals, but it becomes even more significant for me when it can be shared and experienced together. Our mission is much more powerful and rewarding for me when others experience it through our communal love and care for each other,” Br. Rob said.
Fr. Jason traveled to continue the accompaniment he’s enjoyed with Fr. Jhobany during his diaconate year at Maternity BVM, where Fr. Jason is pastor. “It was a privilege to work with Jhobany as a transitional deacon and to serve with him. I appreciated the support of our parishioners and the encouragement that they gave to Jhobany. I admire how he worked diligently to deliver homilies and talks to people in English. Both Fr. Moises and I knew that we wanted to be there for Jhobany to celebrate with him,” Fr. Jason said.
Fr. Jhobany certainly noticed the profound support. “Having that number of professed was unbelievable. Br. Rob mentioned it was more than a half of the professed from the province. My family was thrilled with the whole ceremony and gathering,” Fr. Jhobany said, and the breadth of support reached even further. “I also received messages from Fr. Konan, Provincial Superior of France, and some professed from Spain, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Chile.”
Fraternity Flourishing through Time for Fellowship
While local events often come with a short drive and a short visit, the international visit from American Viatorians to Colombia meant more time before and after Fr. Jhobany’s ordination and first Mass. Our Colombian men were gracious and generous hosts, relishing the opportunity to share their homes, their ministries, and their country and culture with their brothers.
“It was a weekend of joy, stories, food, and recreation – everything from downtown Bogotá to visiting our school in Tunja,” Br. Peter said. “It was an opportunity to meet Colombians in formation as well as those who have only recently professed their perpetual vows, including a number of Colombian confreres I had never met before.”
“We were never alone, and someone was always available to talk or go for a walk or go somewhere. We spent time sharing our lives by doing simple things. These times make religious life worthwhile and worth the effort to keep inviting others,” Br. Rob said.
The Viatorians in Colombia hosted the ordination and first Mass at Parroquia San Viator in Bogotá and took men on tours and visits to our schools, Colegio San Viator in Bogotá and Colegio San Viator in Tunja. Additionally, their community houses hosted the visiting men as guests, sharing in meals, prayer, and fellowship at Viatorian homes.
All the quality and quantity time together impacted our men, especially Br. Rob. “Our time together in Colombia was very special. It is so easy to feel the camaraderie when professed Viatorians are together,” Br. Rob said. “It is obvious when we are together that we genuinely enjoy the company of one another and share in the same mission of fraternity, which is so important in a religious congregation.”
Viatorians in Colombia welcomed their American brothers into their churches and also their homes for lodging as well as prayer, meals, and community life.
One element that particularly struck our American men was the hospitality of our Colombian Viatorians. While American culture and daily life can often be quite fast-paced and sometimes curt, the hospitality in Colombia was a welcome change of pace. “Our brothers in Colombia were so welcoming and hospitable from the moment we arrived. They made sure we had all our needs met and welcomed us as family. We just jelled and were genuinely happy to be together,” Br. Rob said.
“I also appreciate our brothers and their efforts to help Moises and me see new sites on our first visit to Colombia, such as the main plaza in downtown Bogotá and a visit to Tunja. Our Colombian brothers were eager for us to get to learn more about their work, and each house was eager to make us a guest at their table. We were overwhelmed by the gracious hospitality shown to us at every turn,” Fr. Jason said. He also found a new motivation to pursue an old goal. “It inspires in me a desire to bridge that gap between being conversational in Spanish and bilingual.”
A Blueprint for Our Future
The worldwide Viatorian Community is evolving. Foundations – our name for countries where provinces plant the seeds of our charism to flourish in new cultural contexts and vocations – are becoming regions, and our traditional provinces are imagining new ways to support them and catalyze their growth. The inclusive allocation of delegates to last summer’s General Chapter and the greater representation of Viatorians of color and their countries in the Global South are harbingers of our future of greater interplay, collaboration, and internationality.
A quick moment to gather professed brothers and postulants present!
Br. Peter was a delegate to that General Chapter on behalf of our province, and he felt a similar atmosphere present among the American and Colombian men gathered. “It felt a bit like the General Chapter because it was an experience of the international dimension of the Viatorian Community and our mission. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm and life in this sense of an emerging and growing momentum together,” Br. Peter said.
In addition to the worldwide Viatorians coming to the US for studies, Colombia and the Province of Chile already collaborate on shared formation for novices, and the Province of Chicago is working on ways to strengthen formation for the steady vocations emerging in Colombia.
This kind of creativity and teamwork must continue and flourish as we seek to strive for great mission and ministry in the future – and all of it is rooted in fraternity in Christ. “For Moises and me, this was our first visit to Colombia. After nearly 22 years in vows, it made me wonder why I waited so long. Ministry work keeps us engaged, and time passes quickly. Often, we read articles and listen to reports about Colombia, so it was good to see the schools, the parish church, and the houses, and to be there to meet our confreres and associates,” Fr. Jason said.
“We enjoyed getting to reconnect with the Viatorians who have come to visit us in the United States, and also to meet associates, postulants, and young brothers for the first time. Because half of the professed of this province were all present together, there was a feeling of togetherness and that recognition that we really are one province, coming together,” Fr. Jason said.
The priests who concelebrated Fr. Jhobany’s Mass of Thanksgiving on the Sunday morning following his ordination.
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Is God inviting you to Viatorian religious life as a brother or priest? Reach out to Vocation Ministry by DM on our social media @ViatorianUSA, email vocations@viatorians.com, or text the vocation team at (847) 894-8537 to start a conversation.