When a mother gives the Church a priest

By Fr Kenwyn Sylvester

Director, Vocations Office, Archdiocese of Port of Spain

At every priestly ordination, the Church celebrates not only a vocation fulfilled, but also a mother’s love made visible through surrender.

Few moments in the life of the Church are as joyful and as quietly sacrificial as the ordination of a priest.

On May 20, the Church in Trinidad and Tobago will gather at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to celebrate the ordination of Rev Deacon David Villafana to the priesthood. This sacred celebration takes place in May, a month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to honouring mothers.

Together, these realities reveal something deeply beautiful about every vocation. It is never simply chosen. It is received from God, formed through life, and offered back to Him in love.

Scripture reminds us of this mystery: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5).

A vocation unfolds slowly through prayer, family life, formation, and the quiet movements of grace that shape a human heart toward God’s call.

One of the most sacred moments in the ordination rite comes when the newly ordained priest’s hands are anointed with sacred chrism. These hands are set apart for a lifetime of service: to celebrate the Eucharist, forgive sins, anoint the sick, bless God’s people, and proclaim the Gospel.

In that moment, Christ’s words take on new depth: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (Jn 15:16).

After the anointing, the priest’s hands are wiped with a white linen cloth traditionally called the ‘manutergium’ or ‘manuterge’. This cloth absorbs the sacred chrism and becomes a visible sign of consecration.

In a long-standing tradition, the manuterge is later presented to the priest’s mother during his first Mass of Thanksgiving.

This simple gesture carries profound meaning. No vocation belongs to one person alone. Every priestly call is rooted in a wider story of love, sacrifice, and faith lived within a family and a believing community.

The hands that will one day hold the Body of Christ were first guided by a mother teaching the Sign of the Cross, steadied through childhood, and formed through years of care, correction, encouragement, and prayer. Now those same hands are symbolically returned to her, marked forever by the oil of consecration.

A mother’s role

Tradition also holds that the mother keeps the manuterge and is often buried with it when she dies, offering it back to God as a final act of love for the son she once gave to His service.

While the priest’s sacrifice becomes visible at the altar, a mother’s sacrifice is often hidden in daily life. It is found in small but constant acts: letting go, encouraging perseverance, enduring uncertainty, and praying without recognition. It is love that does not count the cost.

St Paul writes: “I appeal to you… to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1).

The priest’s sacrifice is public and sacramental. A mother’s sacrifice is hidden and private. Yet both are united in the same movement of love offered to God.

For many mothers, this journey is not without struggle. She may have dreamed of family gatherings, grandchildren, or a different future for her son. The call to priesthood can feel less like gain and more like surrender, a learning how to release what is most precious.

Scripture offers a powerful example in Hannah, the mother of Samuel. After years of prayer, she receives the son she longed for. Yet the child she begged for is also the one she must return to God. She brings Samuel to the temple and entrusts him fully to the Lord’s service (1 Sam 1:24–28).

Hannah’s story reminds us that every vocation involves surrender rooted in love. Love, at its deepest level, is not possession but trust. It learns how to place its most precious gift into God’s hands.

This is why the Church’s devotion to Mary in May is so fitting. In Mary, we see the perfect response to God’s call. At the Annunciation she says: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).

Like every mother, Mary also had to entrust the Son she loved to the Father’s mission. Her ‘yes’ was not only the beginning of Christ’s earthly life, but also the model of every vocation lived in trust and surrender.

In a world that often measures life by achievement and success, priestly vocations remain a quiet but powerful witness to another way of living, shaped by self-gift, faithfulness, and grace.

As the Church prepares for the ordination of Rev Villafana, we are reminded that God still calls, Christ still invites, and the Church still depends on hearts willing to respond. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10).

On May 20, the faithful will witness more than the beginning of a priestly ministry alone. They will see the fruit of a vocation formed in love, sustained by sacrifice, and quietly carried in the heart of a mother who first taught her son how to say ‘yes’ to God.

I offer my prayerful support to Rev Villafana and to his mother in a special way. Additionally, I pray for all mothers that they may be encouraged to pray with and for their son, to make a gift of himself to God, whether it’s priesthood or marriage, as the adage goes, ‘your priest is someone’s son’.

If you or someone you know is discerning a call to the priesthood or religious life, the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain is available to accompany you in that journey. Reach out at vocations@catholictt.org or call 499-0302.