74 year-old Brazilian to be ordained to the priesthood in August

Mar 30, 2007 / 08:11 am

On August 19, Valdomiro Marcon will become one of the oldest men in Brazil to be ordained to the priesthood.  At 74 years of age, he says that what he desires most is to celebrate Mass in order “to die in peace.”

As a young man he left the seminary to join the army and marry.  Six months ago he became a widower after 46 years of marriage.  He has three children and five grandchildren.  He never lost his desire to serve God as a priest.

According to a report in the Brazilian daily Correio Braziliense, Valdomiro “with the anxiousness of a teenager, he awaits the day in which he will stand at the altar to celebrate the first Mass of his life.”

“Will my heart be able to take it?” Valdomiro reportedly asked with much emotion and anticipation.

Valdomiro was born in Rio Grande do Sul.  At the age of 9 he lost his mother and his father was left to care for him and his six brothers.  At the age of 11 he was sent to the Capuchin friary, but when he was 18 he was told he did not have a vocation.

After his stint in the military, he studied accounting and worked at a bank. He met his wife Lelia and was married at the age of 29.  In 1975 he attended a parish retreat and had a profound encounter with God and decided to make a greater commitment to his faith through the charismatic movement.

In 1991 he began to study theology and after his wife died of cancer, he decided to enter the priesthood.

“I want to spend my life helping and consoling people. I want to let God have my own life,” Valdomiro said.

“My love is now dedicated to God.  The little [money] that I had I have given to my children.  I don’t need much to love.  My faith is enough,” he stated, adding that his choice to become a priest is not an attempt to run away from the pain caused by the death of his wife.  “It’s not an escape, it’s not because I feel empty, it’s my desire to be useful, to help my neighbor,” he stressed.