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Saturday, February 14 will go down as a historic day for the Georgetown Diocese, especially for the people of Region 2, as Deacon Damian Sebastian Gonsalves IVE was ordained to sacred office of the priesthood at St Francis Xavier Church, Charity. He is the first Guyanese to be ordained in the Institute of the Incarnate Word (Instituto del Verbo Encarnado, IVE), according to a Catholic Standard report.
The IVE is a Catholic religious institute founded in Argentina by Fr Carlos Miguel Buela on March 25, 1984.
Well-wishers journeyed from as far as Santa Rosa, the Pomeroon River, Essequibo Coast and Georgetown to witness this sacred and joyful moment.
“The church was filled to capacity, with tents and additional seating arranged at the back and along both sides to accommodate the large congregation,” the diocesan weekly said.
In his homily, Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB charged Deacon Damian to continue striving to know God deeply and to live in profound communion with Him through his very life and example. He reminded him that in his ministry he will encounter many young people, and as a faith community, we must offer them lifegiving conversations, helping them to recognise the positive gifts within their lives.
Quoting the Prophet Jeremiah, he reminded him: “Before you were born, I knew you,” encouraging him never to take that divine calling for granted.
Bishop Alleyne urged Deacon Damian, that as the Church calls him to celebrate the sacred mysteries and administer the sacraments, to do so with passion and conviction as a living memorial of Christ, just as Jesus commanded at the Last Supper—a true mandate to live and proclaim the Gospel.
He concluded by praying that all the gifts nurtured within him would flourish, that the face of Christ would always be visible in him, and that he would faithfully bring the Gospel to all, especially to those who are rejected, hurting, and abandoned.
The ordination rite continued with the Promise of Obedience, followed by the Litany of the Saints, as Deacon Damian lay prostrate before the altar in humble surrender. This moving gesture of total self-giving led into the Prayer of Ordination.
He was then vested with the stole and chasuble by the local Superior, Fr Javier Correa IVE, assisted by his parents Nicholas and Judith Gonsalves. While kneeling before the Bishop, his hands were anointed with the sacred Chrism, signifying his priestly consecration, and he received the bread and wine as symbols of the Eucharistic sacrifice he would now offer.
At that sacred moment, “Fr Damian could not hold back his tears, tears of gratitude, surrender, and overwhelming joy, a visible sign of a heart fully given to God.”
According to the Catholic Standard, the congregation erupted in a standing ovation when Bishop Alleyne proclaimed the words: “I present to you Fr Damian Gonsalves.”
