Bishop will ordain four SOLT priests

Bishop Michael Mulvey will ordain four deacons with the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) to the priesthood on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. in Corpus Christi Cathedral. All four have been living in the SOLT community for many years, while pursuing careers in nursing, engineering, physics and various aspects of health care.
 

Deacon Alphonsus Zaldy Martin O. Abainza, SOLT

The candidates for the priesthood are Deacon Alphonsus Zaldy Martin O. Abainza, SOLT; Deacon Juan Antonio Villagómez, SOLT; Deacon Patrick Earl Prajzner II, SOLT; and Deacon Michael Mary Mercy of Christ Crucified Wight, SOLT.

Deacon Abainza comes from a big family in the Philippines. Growing up in poverty Deacon Abainza had aspirations of working abroad and becoming wealthy enough to help his family. He joined the SOLT community as a lay member at the age of 21 and worked as a registered nurse for 27 years in the Philippines. He became the first Filipino director of a Kansas City-based human welfare agency, Children International, which serves about 36,000 children with food, medical attention, education and income generating activities. 

While doing his internship as a nurse at Aquinas University Hospital, Abainza met Father Thomas P. Gier, SOLT who had been his patient for three days. Father Gier became his mentor, friend and Godfather. He encouraged Abainza to spend his Christmas vacation on one of the Philippine islands where he served. The island was devoid of electricity, running water and land transportation 

“It was during this short stay on the island that I had a change of heart. My plans of working abroad had changed to work for and with the poor in the islands with Father Tom,” Abainza said. 

His responsibilities kept him from pursuing the dream of becoming a priest until 2007. Both his father and his Godfather passed away a few months apart. Both had urged him to become a priest before they died. In 2008, he entered the seminary and says he now feels he is “on the path chosen by the Lord.” 

“All these years, I feel blessed by the Lord Jesus with the intercession of Our Lady. I have a more joyful, peaceful and happier life than ever,” Deacon Abainza said.
 

Deacon Juan Antonio Villagómez, SOLT

Deacon Villagómez also said that his calling to the priesthood was a gradual one. Born in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Deacon Villagómez and two of his sisters grew up in the SOLT community, which has a parish, a clinic and a convent in Nuevo Laredo. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from a university in Nuevo Laredo in 2000, taught in Belize and then went back to Nuevo Laredo, where he worked for an engineering firm. 

For 10 years Deacon Villagómez was a member of the SOLT laity. He was attracted “to the community life offered by the SOLTs and the Marian Trinitarian Spirituality.” His pastor, Father Juan Manuel, encouraged him to serve as extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and take the Eucharist to the homebound.

“I didn’t always want to be a priest...actually the whole idea of vocation dawned on me when my older sister decided to become a religious a few years before I felt the call,” Deacon Villagómez said.

He answered the call to the priesthood in 2007 and in 2010 earned a Bachelor’s degree in theology in Rome. In his current assignment, he preaches, baptizes, assists in marriage preparation and gives talks to youth and adults.

“A lot of the people that we serve come from broken homes, and so growth in the faith is difficult, because that initial affirmation of the person’s worth, so necessary in childhood, is often missing,” Deacon Villagómez said.

 

Deacon Patrick Earl Prajzner II, SOLT

Deacon Prajzner is the oldest of four children. He began his adult life by enlisting in the Marine Corp Reserves.He was attending Wayne State University in Detroit, majoring in physics, when he felt the calling to the priesthood.  Prajzner came to know the SOLT community in Robstown and was moved by their way of life.  

“I remember being quite moved by the sincere love for God and neighbor shown by those from the community, as well as how real and authentic those persons were toward me and one another,” Deacon Prajzner said.

“It was during that visit that I came to feel at home in a way that told me this is where God wants you. I know this is what God is calling me to, as He has filled my heart with a strong yearning to make a complete sacrificial gift of my life to Him and His people after the example of Jesus the High Priest,” he said.
 

Deacon Michael Mary Mercy of Christ Crucified Wight, SOLT

Deacon Wight knew at the age of 11 that God was calling him to become a priest. He said the Lord spoke to him, but he ran from the call for 22 years. He is the eldest of 15 children and grew up working on the family farm in Montana. 

As a young adult he worked as a diesel and auto mechanic, construction laborer, home care attendant, certified nursing assistant, physical therapy aide, occupational therapy aide, speech therapy aide and for nine years a department manager of the dementia care unit in a retirement community. While working as manager he became a member of the SOLT community.

 “I was attracted to Our Lady’s Society because of the complementarity of all vocations serving together in mission, the Marian-Trinitarian spirituality and Eucharistic emphasis, their loyalty to the Holy Father and Holy Mother Church,” Deacon Wight said.

“Early on in my formation Our Lord just gave me a great love for Our Lady’s Society. I believe it comes down to the fact of my love for family and my desire to be active in the New Evangelization.  I truly want to serve and live community life. I want to give back to the church what she has blessed me with through the sacraments.  My greatest desire is to do His will through loving and serving others using the gifts that He has blessed me with for the salvation of their souls,” Deacon Wight said.