In a joyful celebration of consecrated life, three priests serving the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend publicly renewed their religious vows and were invested with the habit of their order, the Franciscans of Mary, during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Rhoades on Wednesday, April 15, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Father Osman Ramos, Father Raul Marroquín, and Father Jorge Sis — members of the Franciscans of Mary — renewed their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and received the habit as a visible sign of their commitment to Christ and the Church. The three priests serve together at St. Anthony as well as St. Joseph Parish in LaGrange and St. Paul Chapel in Fremont. Photos by Scott WardenBishop Rhoades poses with, from left, Father Osman Ramos, Father Jorge Sis, and Father Raul Marroquín. In his homily, Bishop Rhoades described the religious habit as “an outward mark of consecration to God. It is an outward sign of something interior — their consecration to God through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.” The ceremony included the formal renewal of vows, in which each priest reaffirmed his lifelong commitment to live the Gospel through the spirituality and charism of the Franciscans of Mary, which was founded in 1988 in Madrid by Father Santiago Martín. Following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, the community is also known as the Missionaries of Gratitude, emphasizing a spirituality rooted in thanksgiving to God. Bishop Rhoades invited the community to serve in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend after learning about them in 2018. Father Ramos and Father Alven Fabiolas Salada arrived in the summer of 2019, serving at St. Gaspar del Bufalo in Rome City and St. Joseph in LaGrange. Father Osman Ramos hugs a fellow priest of the Franciscans of Mary during Mass at St. Anthony of Padua in Angola. Following the renewal of vows, Bishop Rhoades bestowed the religious habit upon Father Ramos, Father Marroquín and Father Sis, saying, “Receive this garment, the sign of your consecration, and preserve inwardly that faith in the Lord which your sacred habit outwardly proclaims.” The dark gray Franciscan habit, worn with a white cord and a Tau-shaped cross bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, reflects both simplicity and mission. The cord includes four knots symbolizing the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, along with the fourth vow of fidelity to the pope. In his homily, Bishop Rhoades emphasized the centrality of prayer in the life of every Christian, especially those in consecrated life. “One of the things I love about the Franciscans of Mary is their dedication to prayer,” Bishop Rhoades said. “It is the heart of their community life. … I know how busy Fathers Osman, Raul and Jorge are, serving at St. Anthony and St. Joseph parishes and also at St. Paul Chapel. Yet, busy as they are, they know that for their ministry to be effective and to bear fruit, they need to be men of prayer.” He also pointed to the Beatitudes as the foundation of Christian discipleship and the path to holiness. “We have all heard today’s Gospel of the Beatitudes many times,” Bishop Rhoades said. “The Beatitudes … show us the way to true happiness. They are meant for all of us. … They are the path that leads to the kingdom of heaven.” Following the Mass, the priests expressed their gratitude for the celebration and for the people they serve. In his brief comments, Father Sis, a native of Guatemala who was ordained a priest in 2023, shared a reflection from Pope Benedict XVI when the pontiff marked the 60th anniversary of his priesthood. “He picked just one key word … ‘thanks.’ This is the word that I want to say to you all here — thanks. Thanks be to God, thanks to Bishop Rhoades, thanks to my brother priests, thanks to all of you who are here with us tonight to share this joy.” Wearing their new habits, the three priests stand together at the conclusion of Mass on Wednesday, April 15. Father Marroquín, a fellow Guatemala native who was ordained to the priesthood in 2021, reflected on humility and vocation, giving the crowd a laugh as he shared the story of a student at nearby Trine University who once told the small-in-stature priest that no longer was he the shortest person at St. Anthony. “Our Blessed Virgin Mary said something like this when she was saying words of gratitude to the Lord in the Magnificat: ‘I proclaim the greatness of the Lord because He has looked with favor on the lowliness’ — or shortness — ‘of the Almighty’s servant,’” Father Marroquín said. “And this is what I feel today as I was calling to mind my way to religious life and the priesthood — my smallness, my littleness in the great hands of our good Lord. So, I thank Him, and I thank all of you for being here. And I’m so blessed and happy today to be able to share this small thing.” Father Ramos, pastor of St. Anthony and St. Joseph parishes, who hails from Nicaragua, also said the day was one of thanksgiving — even more so in the midst of special jubilee years, including the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, and the upcoming celebration of the 10th anniversary of his own priestly ordination. “When people ask me, ‘Are you happy, Father?” Father Ramos said, “I answer them, ‘No, I am not happy; I am fully happy!” He continued, saying, “That is why I believe that today is a day not to make petitions, but it is a day to give thanks for the many blessings that we have received, most especially for those people who made this day possible and very beautiful.” Before the final blessing and allowing the crowd to gather for a festive reception afterward, Father Ramos concluded by saying: “If I may ask just one thing of you, it is this: Please pray for our sanctification. … Please pray so that we, your priests, be holy to help you be holy — so that you love Jesus with all your heart. That is the most important mission we must fulfill here as missionaries.”   Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic. Email him at [email protected].     The post Franciscans of Mary Priests Receive Habits, Renew Vows at Mass in Angola appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less