Sons of the diocese to be ordained deacons

Bishop Michael Mulvey by the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit will ordain three young men to the sacred order of the diaconate on June 2 at 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral. Seminarians Richard Gutierrez and Ramiro “RJ” Regalado, Jr. will become transitional deacons and campus minister Santos Ruben Jones III will be ordained to the permanent diaconate. The young men have faithfully been serving the church for many years.

Gutierrez, who grew up on the west side of Corpus Christi spent his early childhood years at Holy Family Parish on Nogales Street. Holy Family was not just his second home and playground–the parishioners were his second family. He also attended Holy Family Elementary School, Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School and Corpus Christi Academy, which is now St. John Paul II High School.

He attributes his faith to the love of three women, who have since passed away: his grandmother, Maria Garcia, who taught him how to pray; his aunt “Nana”, Narcissa Gonzalez, who always took him to church; and his mother, Helen Gutierrez, who made sure he received a Catholic education. 

He was about eight-years-old when he first realized he wanted to be a priest. Instead, he became an altar boy, because it was one step closer to becoming “the man behind the altar who got to have the most fun, got to get up, walk around and talk to people and people would listen to him,” Gutierrez said.

After high school, he began having doubts–the idea of celibacy was intimidating to him. “I had a girlfriend and I started dating a lot,” he said. Confused, about what to do, he prayed to Our Lady of Guadalupe. He asked her to give him a sign to let him know if he was making the right decision. Her image appeared in a statue, a painting and a prayer card. 

After his mother died in April 2016, Gutierrez was a wreck. He accidentally knocked over a book, and a prayer card landed face up with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who at that moment became his patroness saint.

“As I’m getting closer to ordination its kind of a struggle because my mom really wanted to be here,” Gutierrez said. When the doctors told her that there was nothing more they could do for her–she told Bishop Mulvey. “He held her hand and said that regardless of whether she’s there or not–she was still going to have the best seat in the house,” Gutierrez said. “I picture her smiling.”

Another native of the diocese, Ramiro “RJ” Regalado, Jr., was born and raised in Falfurrias. He attended Sacred Heart Church and attributes his vocation to his pastor at that time, Father Matthew Stephan, who had asked him to teach CCD classes to the elementary school children. 

Regalado was in high school when Father Stephan planted the seed in his mind about becoming a priest. “So my vocation started with Father Matthew as a witness to a happy, joyful priesthood–being at the service of people and God,” Regalado said. 

The idea of going to seminary scared him, so he went on to study music education at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. While studying, he took a part-time job working for a Whataburger. The part-time position became full time. He left his studies without completing them to pursue a career with Whataburger and was eventually running his own restaurant. He worked for them for about ten years, before he realized he wanted something more.

He decided to try one semester in seminary. One semester turned into eight years, but it wasn’t easy. “What Seminary does is–it puts up this mirror, and you’re looking at yourself in this mirror. Most people don’t enjoy doing that, because it spurs you on to make changes to grow in the spiritual life, recognizing that you’ve fallen short of what God wants for you,” Regalado said.

With the help of great spiritual directors Father Ken Davis at St. Joseph Abby and Seminary College and the diocesan vocation director at the time, Father Joseph Lopez, he was able to grow. The hardships that he experienced in seminary “were softened a bit by the loving care of his spiritual director and vocation director.”

At one point he decided he needed to take a break from the seminary, but Bishop Mulvey convinced him to do his pastoral year at St. Paul, the Apostle Parish instead. “I spent two years with that community in flour bluff–they really taught me a lot about love and service. They taught me about loving one another and loving God through one another,” Regalado said. “Father Peter Martinez was an incredible help to me and friend, a brother, a priest and mentor. He was very supportive of what I wanted and needed to take care of during my pastoral year.”

At the request of Bishop Mulvey, Regalado began taking courses on American Sign Language. “It was a great joy for me–I studied for two years, was able to get a certificate of completion, and during those two years, I got to work with the deaf community in Corpus Christi at Catholic Charities Office of Ministry and Life Enrichment for Persons with Disabilities. 

He is presently studying at the Theological College, the national seminary of The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He completed his deaf studies at Gallaudet University but continues to work with the Office of Disabilities at Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Washington D.C.

Like the two seminarians, Santos Ruben Jones III has always been active in the life of a church. He was born and raised in Alice and attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Alice where he was an altar boy, Master of Ceremony, a sacristan and a member of the youth group. In 2001 he graduated from Alice High School and entered the seminary. In 2006 he left seminary to pursue another calling.

“It was a struggle to realize I wasn’t called to celibacy. I’ve always felt called to ministry and to be of service, that’s one of the reasons I went to seminary. I was actively involved in the church and it seemed like the next logical thing to do,” Jones said. “Through discernment, I realized God was not calling me to be a priest, but he was still calling me to serve in a special way. 

“Even in seminary the first thing they tell you is just because you’re here doesn’t mean you’re going to be a priest, but you’ll be a better a man, husband, and father.”

After he left seminary, he taught Theology and Social Studies in San Antonio at St. Gerard’s High School, while working on his Master’s degree in Theology at the Oblate School of Theology. 

Father Patrick Donohoe, who was then pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Beeville enlisted Jones for Director of Religious Education for the parish in 2008. Soon after becoming DRE he was also appointed Chaplain for the McConnell Prison Unit. 

In 2010 he married Kayla Jones and they had a son, Landon, who is now six-years-old. “They had a baby shower for him in prison,” Jones said.

When he became a dad, Jones realized he could no longer work full-time as an on-call chaplain. He got a job at Coastal Bend College in Grants Management and is now Director of Campus Ministry at the Newman Center. 

Throughout his ministry on campus, he has continued work as a DRE at St. Joseph Parish and became Pastoral Associate for Father Richard Gonzales. His favorite assignment is teaching RCIA at St. Joseph.

At 35 years old Jones will be the youngest permanent deacon of the diocese.