On August 28, 2021, César Jairo Tobón Ramírez, LC and Ferney Cartagena Aguirre, LC, both Colombians, received the diaconate ordination from Mons. José Mauricio Vélez García, auxiliary bishop of Medellín. The ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral of Medellín and was concelebrated by the Legionaries of Christ present in the area and included members of Regnum Christi, family and friends, among them a delegation of traffic patrol youth from Itagüí, an organization of which Ferney Cartagena, LC was a member during his adolescence.

Pastoring is God’s present

During the homily, Mons. José Mauricio reflected on the meaning of pastoring, which finds its highest expression in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, in whom God watches over His creature to lead him to His Kingdom.

“The most wonderful thing is that pastoring never stays in the past, pastoring is not a matter of yesterday, pastoring is God’s present,” the Bishop pointed out, inviting the new deacons to pass through The Door of Christ to ascend to God’s presence, which—paraphrasing Pope Francis—“is to ‘smell like a sheep,’ it’s not to ‘balk at the world,’ it’s to exalt the most beautiful word: serve.”

Before concluding, he made the following call: “I want you to be good, on the way to holiness; I want you to be faithful, serving the church; I want you to be humble, understanding how great God is; I want you to be ascending toward that goal called the Kingdom of God; I want you to be spending yourselves for the world, without privileges in your environment; I want you to be consistent with the Gospel. And I repeat, we achieve this if prayer becomes our reason for being, our inspiration, our communion with God.”

Who are the new deacons?

César Jairo Tobón Ramírez, LC

Father César Jairo Tobón Ramírez was born in La Ceja, Antioquia, in 1989. He is the eldest of three children. He studied at a Salesian school and began his vocational process at age twelve in the ECYD. He completed his secondary studies at the Vocational Center of Colombia and, upon finishing, entered the Novitiate. He studied classical humanities in Spain and philosophy in Rome, at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, where he also collaborated in the general secretariat of the Legion of Christ. Later, he was assigned as a teacher of novices and humanists in Monterrey, Mexico. After these three years, he completed a fourth year as a formation instructor, Catholic formation teacher, and member of the ECYD auxiliary team at the Kilimanjaro International School in Monterrey. Additionally, during these four years, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities from the Universidad Anáhuac de México. In 2016, he returned to Rome to study a Bachelor’s in Philosophy with a focus on anthropology and to complete his theological training. During these years, he also collaborated on some projects of the Congregation’s Historical Archive and served as secretary of the Rome delegation. Once ordained a deacon, he will move to Chile to collaborate at the Finis Terrae University in Santiago and at the territorial secretariat of the Legion of Christ in Chile-Argentina.

To learn more about Father César J. Tobón, the communication office of the Colombia-Venezuela territory prepared this interview, where he talks about his vocation and what receiving the diaconate means to him.

Ferney Cartagena Aguirre, LC

Father Ferney Cartagena was born in Medellín on May 8, 1992, as the second of two brothers. He always lived in the municipality of Itagüí, where he completed his primary and high school studies. He graduated as an IT technician from SENA. At eighteen, he entered the Legionaries of Christ novitiate in Medellín. In 2012, he traveled to Salamanca, Spain, to study humanities, and later to Rome to study philosophy. He completed his apostolic practices in León, Mexico, as director of ECYD, auxiliary of the youth section, and formation instructor at the Instituto Cumbres León. In 2018, he returned to Rome to study Theology. Once ordained a deacon, he will begin his ministry supporting the General Directorate as an auxiliary of the administration.

In this interview, Father Ferney Cartagena talks about his vocation and what receiving the diaconate means to him.