Widower and father of four ordained a priest in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 23, 2012 / 15:03 pm

Antonio Salvador De Iacovo, an Argentinean widower and father of four, was recently ordained to the priesthood following thirty years of marriage.  

“God will softly lead you, inviting you to follow him from among many options,” Father De Iacovo observed. “God wants us all to be saints, in the place where we are at.”

After the priest's wife passed away in 2007, he decided two years later in 2009 to return to the vocation he was drawn to as a young man.

Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes, who presided over his ordination, recalled that Fr. De Iacovo was a fellow seminarian with him in 1968 and 1972.

“In the call of Jesus, (Father De Iacovo) found the answer to this deep desire to follow the Lord and be faithful to him,” the archbishop said. “This makes us think that there were two desires that met: that of Jesus who calls and man who responds to him.”

“Not only are we restless, but the heart of God is also restless for man. He waits for us, he seeks after us, he comes out even when it is late, lest there still be men and women whom no one has invited,” Archbishop Stanovnik added.

The archbishop said the hands and life of the new priest are now “at the disposal of the hands of Jesus” to forgive, console and strengthen the faithful. 

“May his hands and his life be always at the disposal of Christ and his Church, so that many can experience with confidence the forgiveness and mercy of God,” he said.

According to Church teaching, a widower whose children are no longer dependents is eligible to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.