COMMISSION FOR VOCATIONS AND LAY MINISTRIES PASTORAL MINISTRY

Entrusting ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit and to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, we seek to express the ecclesial communion of all those involved in the vital pastoral work of promoting, forming, and accompanying specific vocations, as well as the various charisms and ministries that the Spirit of God raises up within His Church.

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. Jacobo Torres Montalvo

Executive Secretary: Fr. Juan Leonardo Navalón Tejeda, MSP

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF LAY MINISTRIES

Diocesan Coordinator: DP Raymundo Sánchez Gordillo

Mission: To promote lay ministry in every parish of the Diocese, helping the lay faithful become aware of their baptismal commitment and their mission within the Church.

Vision: To foster throughout the Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal a sense of responsibility for the richness of the baptismal commitment, in response to the challenges and demands of evangelization.

Objective: To develop formation processes that respond to the demands and challenges of the New Evangelization.

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF SEMINARIES

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. Juan Bernardo Salazar Mendoza, OD

Mission: To begin the formation journey of the missionary disciples of Jesus Christ who are called by the Father to the priestly ministry, the Spirit has raised up the institution of the seminary. The seminary is an ecclesial community that relives the experience of the Apostles gathered around the Risen Jesus. There, future priests pray together, celebrate the same liturgy, culminating in the Eucharist, receive the Word of God and teachings that enlighten their minds and shape their hearts for the exercise of fraternal charity and justice, and periodically provide pastoral service to different communities, thereby preparing themselves to live a solid spiritual life.

Vision: Since the priest-disciple comes from the Christian community and returns to it in order to serve and guide it as a shepherd, formation is naturally characterized by a missionary spirit. Its purpose is participation in the one mission entrusted by Christ to His Church: evangelization in all its forms. To form pastors according to the heart of Christ, the Good Shepherd—men of integrity, transparency, and mercy.

Objective: To ensure that the seminary becomes a community that lives charity in the image of the early Christian community gathered around Christ and His Apostles, learning from Him as the model of charity, communion, and obedience through the experience of the four dimensions of formation: spiritual, human, pastoral, and academic.

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF PRIESTS

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. Jacobo Torres Montalvo

Mission:

The Church calls us to have a Pastoral Ministry for Priests that provides comprehensive accompaniment to the presbyterate, helping priests live out their ministry in holiness.

The elevation of our Prelature to the status of a Diocese urges us to establish a Pastoral Ministry for Priests based on ongoing formation and processes rather than isolated events, promoting the integral maturity of the presbyterate so that it may respond effectively to the needs of the local Church.

Our parish communities want to see in us the image of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for His sheep.

The presbyterate of our new Diocese must bear witness to unity and fraternity.

The words of the Apostle Saint Paul to Bishop Timothy, “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you” (2 Tim 1:6), can rightly be applied to the ongoing formation to which all priests are called, both religious and diocesan, who serve within the same local Church, because of the “gift of God” they have received through Sacred Ordination.

Vision: This is an intrinsic need arising from the divine gift itself, which must continually be “rekindled” so that the priest may adequately respond to his vocation. As a person situated within a particular historical context, he needs to grow in every aspect of his human and spiritual life in order to attain greater conformity to Christ, who is the unifying principle of all things.

The spiritual life of the priest and his pastoral ministry are inseparably united to this ongoing work of personal growth—a response to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit—which enables him to deepen and harmoniously integrate his spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral formation.

By its very nature, the pastoral ministry for priests cannot be organized into predetermined “stages.” Therefore, only certain moments, circumstances, and resources can be identified that may help priests and those responsible for ongoing formation to live out and propose concrete initiatives.

Objective: The pastoral ministry for priests must be concrete and rooted in the actual reality of the presbyterate, so that all priests can genuinely embrace it, giving priority to charity in the example of the first Christian communities.

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF PERMANENT DIACONATE

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. Omar Mauricio Cortés Ascencio

Mission: To promote the lived experience of Christ the Servant among the People of God, responding to the missionary needs of our Diocese.

Vision: To form men filled with faith who serve the People of God, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, working toward the building of a merciful, Samaritan, and missionary Church.

Objective: To strengthen the permanent diaconate ministry in all its spiritual and missionary richness within the Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal.

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF CONSECRATED LIFE

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. José Alberto Valdez Véliz

Mission: To proclaim and make Christ’s salvation present to humanity, so that the various charisms and the Diocese may journey together in pursuit of the ultimate purpose of the Church’s mission.

Vision: To exercise co-responsibility at the heart of synodality in the mission of the Church, configuring every baptized person to Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King, and collaborating in the threefold office of sanctifying, teaching, and governing.

Objective: To ensure that Consecrated Life, through genuine communion and synodality and through active participation in the life and mission of the Diocese, promotes pastoral and missionary conversion according to the particular charisms of each institute.

DIMENSION FOR THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF VOCATIONS

Diocesan Coordinator: Fr. Rodrigo Herrera Morales

Mission: To live a new synodal way of life, like the early Christian community, creating a Culture of Vocations in the new Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal through the vocational kerygma, prayer initiatives, the Vocational Cross, online interviews, and inspirational content on social media, while keeping in mind the year of the Diocese’s canonical establishment. We will also continue supporting the implementation of the vocational program “Give Life to Your Life” together with Youth Pastoral Ministry, the “Youth Vocational Café,” and other related pastoral ministries, in order to foster a vocational culture throughout ecclesial environments.

Vision: To become a Diocese that both receives and extends the call, promoting the three vocations within the Church by strengthening processes of sowing, accompaniment, education, formation, and discernment.

Objective: The Pastoral Ministry of Vocations in the Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal seeks to be the voice of Jesus in every environment—from evangelized communities to the peripheries—listening to everyone, journeying together, and creating a Culture of Vocations. We recognize that everyone is called to live out their own vocation, following the example of the early Christian community and embracing this new synodal way of life, so that all may be inspired by the enthusiasm of giving their lives according to God’s plan.