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On the feast of Saint Sebastian, patron saint of Reitoca, F.M., Honduras, the parish of San Francisco de Asís installed its newest pastor, Father Cecilio, with great joy. This is his story in his own words.
My name is Cecilio Neptalí Rivera Carranza, born on April 27, 1988, at 1:00 pm, in the Choluteca hospital of the department Choluteca in Honduras. I am the fourth of eight children in my family, six boys and two girls. My parents are very Catholic, one is a Delegate of the Word of God and the other a Catechist.
I have seen the Origins of the call to the priesthood since childhood, my grandmother was very religious, she prayed to the Saints every night, and I took her to visit the houses. I have some very nice memories of my grandparents and my parents. The the first seed to priestly life was in the family.
I was Baptized at the age of 10 in Calvario Church of Tegucigalpa, by a Franciscan friar. At that age, I already have memories of my baptism. My first studies were at the San Juan Bosco Institute, in Agua Caliente de Linaca, Choluteca, and my secondary education was at the San José del Pedregal Institute. Afterwards, I entered the University to Study Public Accounting and Finance.
When I was 20, I felt like I was called to something, but I didn’t know what it was. It was during this stage that I approached the Catholic Church, Basilica Nuestra Señora de Suyapa, with great enthusiasm. The Lord fell in love with me little by little. Through prayer, spending moments in the Blessed Sacrament adoring Jesus the Eucharist, and serving people, especially visiting the sick, all filled me with great consolation. It was at this moment when, moved by the Lord, I decided to enter the Nuestra Señora de Suyapa Major Seminary, in 2011.
The training stage was a time of grace, of growth, and of overcoming life’s obstacles. The seminary years went by very quickly for me. I was ordained a deacon on June 8, 2019, with four other men, and ordained a priest on September 28 of the same year.
My priesthood years have been years of much growth, of joy in the Lord, and of moments of trial. The first years in priestly life are very important, for they are like laying the foundations that will sustain life throughout the journey. But the Lord always gives us his grace, that is why I can say that I am happy serving the Lord here in this parish “San Francisco de Asís”.
My hobbies are climbing mountains, contemplating nature, watching movies, reading theology, doing meditation-contemplation, and listening to music.
