Palermo, Italy

The 6th of October, at Palermo Cathedral, Monsignor Corrado Lorefice, Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo, ordained Deacon Father Massimo Merlino, LC, along with three other seminarians: Francesco Cinà, Salvatore De Pasquale, and Giuseppe Fricano. The ordination took place at Palermo Cathedral.

During the homily, Mons. Corrado Lorefice spoke about service and the importance of welcoming all people, starting with those in greatest need. At the end of the Mass, the archbishop told Father Massimo that he would keep him very much in his prayers and thanked the Legionaries of Christ for their work in the diocese.

Father Massimo Merlino, LC was born in June 1978 in Catania, Italy. He studied in Siena, Milan, and Brussels. He worked as an organizational change executive for family and international companies. He entered the Novitiate at Gozzano, Italy, on September 11, 2009, and made his first vows in 2011. He studied philosophy in Thornwood, USA, and in Rome, Italy. During his apostolic internships, which began in 2013, he worked apostolically at the Universidad Anáhuac México, South Campus. In 2015, he returned to Rome to study a bachelor’s degree in theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. While studying theology in Rome, he supported as spiritual director at the Vocational Center of the Diocese of Rome, accompanying marriages and families from various communities.

More information about these ordinations in Palermo can be found through this link from the archdiocese.

Mexico City

Within the context of the Youth and Family Encounter, held at the Universidad Anáhuac México Campus Norte from October 5 to 7, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, retired archbishop of Mexico, ordained deacons to the Legionaries: Alejandro Espejo, Ignacio Bello, Manuel Díez, Javier Flores, Jesús Salinas, and Francisco Cerrilla.

Cardinal Norberto reminded that deacons serve in the name of the Church and must be faithful to this ministry to “allow today’s man to experience God’s love through concrete works.”

“They are entrusted with the ministry of the Word. They must continually prepare themselves to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel. It is necessary for them to learn the art of communicating the faith to modern men effectively and comprehensively […]. The Gospel must be announced to every man, and this requires a generous effort from you,” added the Cardinal.

“Prostration on the ground was like telling God ‘Lord, I want to be the ground so that others can pass over me and reach heaven through this humble instrument that You have chosen,’” commented Father Jesús Salinas, LC.

Father Alejandro Espejo Silva, LC was born in October 1985 in Mexico City. He grew up in Mérida, Yucatán. He was a student at the Instituto Cumbres Mérida, a member of ECYD, and of Regnum Christi in that area. After finishing high school, he was a collaborator of Regnum Christi for two years in Düsseldorf, Germany, and in Cancún, Mexico. He entered the Novitiate in Monterrey in summer 2006, and a few months later was assigned to the Novitiate in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. He studied humanities in Cheshire. Then he began his bachelor’s in philosophy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome. In 2011, he began apostolic internships as an assistant in the youth section of the West of Mexico City. In 2014, he returned to Rome to start his bachelor’s in theology. He paused his studies to collaborate for a year as a formator at the apostolic school in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. In Fall 2017, he returned to Rome to complete his theological studies. He currently collaborates as an assistant in the youth section of Regnum Christi in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Father Manuel Díez, LC was born in February 1984. He studied law at the Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, where he worked for three years. He collaborated in the youth section of Xalapa and joined Regnum Christi in 2005. In 2007, he was a collaborator in Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico. He entered the Legion of Christ in 2008. He did his Novitiate in Dublin, Ireland, where he made his first religious profession in 2010. He studied classical humanities in Cheshire, USA, and in 2011 began his bachelor’s in philosophy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. In 2013, he started apostolic internships as a formation instructor at the Oxford Institute and collaborated with CREL South and the Timón del Sur Club in Mexico City. In 2015, he returned to Rome to study theology.

Father Jesús Salinas, LC was born in Mexico City in June 1988. He studied at the Instituto Cumbres Lomas and at Cumbres México. In 1999, he joined ECYD. In summer 2001, he entered the Vocational Center of the Sacred Heart, where he graduated in 2006. He did his Novitiate in Cheshire, USA, and studied humanities there. He studied his bachelor’s in philosophy at Thornwood. During his apostolic internships, he was part of the training team at the Vocational Center in Rolling Prairie, a vocations promoter, and assistant of ECYD in San José and California. In 2015, he moved to Rome to begin his bachelor’s in theology at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. He currently serves as a vocations promoter at the Sacred Heart Apostolic School.

Father Javier Flores Hernández, LC was born in San Juan del Río, Querétaro, in September 1987. In 2002, he joined Regnum Christi and entered the Legion of Christ Novitiate in Monterrey in 2005. From 2007 to 2008, he studied humanities in Cheshire, USA, and from 2008 to 2010, he studied his bachelor’s in philosophy at Thornwood. From 2010 to 2013, he carried out apostolic internships at the Cumbres School of Medellín, Colombia, as a formation instructor and ECYD assistant. From 2013 to 2018, he studied a degree in philosophy and a bachelor’s in theology at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome. He currently works as an assistant for the youth section of Regnum Christi in northern Guadalajara.

Father Ignacio Bello, LC was born in July 1984 in Xalapa, Mexico, and was baptized on December 8 of that same year. In 2002, he began studying law at the Universidad Anáhuac de Xalapa, where he worked for three years. He collaborated in the youth section of Xalapa and joined Regnum Christi in 2005. In 2007, he entered the Legion of Christ. He did his Novitiate in Dublin, Ireland. He studied humanities in Monterrey and then moved to the United States, where from 2010 to 2012, he studied his bachelor’s in philosophy. From 2012 to 2015, he carried out apostolic internships as a vocations promoter in Puebla, southeastern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Before moving to Rome, on August 15, 2015, he took perpetual vows at the chapel of Universidad Anáhuac México Campus Norte. From 2015 to 2018, he studied a degree in theology at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome. He currently serves as an assistant for the youth section of Regnum Christi in northern Guadalajara.

Father Francisco Javier Cerrilla Salazar, LC was born in December 1980 in Mexico City. He is an alumnus of the Irish Institute of the same city. He studied economics from 2000 to 2004 at Universidad Anáhuac México and at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid. He worked in the banking-business sector for two years. He joined Regnum Christi in March 2005. He was a collaborator in 2006 in Monterrey, starting the Valia Center. He entered the Novitiate in Monterrey on September 15, 2007, made his first religious profession on August 23, 2009, and moved to Cheshire to complete a year of humanities. In 2010, he moved to Rome to begin his bachelor’s in philosophy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, where he also collaborated with the general administration and was an assistant to philosophers at the headquarters of the general direction. In 2012, he began apostolic internships in Monterrey as a novice assistant and later as an assistant to humanists in Cheshire. In 2015, he returned to Rome to start his bachelor’s in theology and collaborate with the general administration. On August 20, 2018, he made his perpetual vows. He will begin his priestly ministry as a formation instructor for the high school at Highlands El Encinar and as director of the youth section in Madrid city center.

More photos of the diaconal ordinations and the 2018 Youth and Family Encounter can be seen at this link.