Photo Courtesy of Our Lady of the Angels Province

GRAHAM, N.C.—Joyful prayer and song in Spanish and English filled Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Graham, North Carolina, on April 25, when Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., ordained to the priesthood his brother friar, Edgar Iván Varela, OFM Conv.   

“Go to the margins,” Archbishop Hartmayer said. “You know what it is like to come from a family that crosses borders, that speaks two languages, that carries the faith from one world to another. Many of the people you serve will carry those same stories. Meet them there. Franciscan poverty is not only material; it is a poverty that creates space for others to encounter God.”  

Principal concelebrants were Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.; Vicar Provincial Friar Gary Johnson, OFM Conv.; Prefect of Formation Friar John Koziol, OFM Conv. and Blessed Sacrament Pastor Friar Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. Rev. Mr. Michael Pray of the Diocese of Springfield served as deacon. Music was provided by members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Burlington, North Carolina.   

“Ordained in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of his transitus into heaven we commemorate this year, Friar Edgar embraces a priesthood rooted in humility, fraternity and joyful service, offering his life so that others may encounter the mercy and love of Christ,” Friar Heine said.  

The son of Maribel and Manuel Varela, Friar Edgar was born in Phoenix. He has four siblings: Yessenia, Erica, Sergio and German, and several nieces and nephews. Friar Edgar was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago and earned Master of Divinity from The Catholic University of America. Friar Edgar served his diaconal ministry at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  

“It is a great blessing for me to receive the ministry of priesthood,” Friar Varela said. “I receive this gift, not just for myself, but considering that it is for the Church. Through this ministry, I hope to bring Christ’s presence, love and mercy to all, and most especially to the forgotten, the exiled, and the outcasted. Please pray for me as I begin this wonderful ministry as a Franciscan friar-priest. Let us together pray for more vocations to religious life and priesthood. Peace and all good.”   

Conventual Franciscan Postulants Joshua Callada, Andrew Chamiec, Craig Chircop, Adan Orellana, Lourenz Salvador and Jacob Polinski were the servers for Friar Edgar’s ordination.  

“Be joyful,” Archbishop Hartmayer concluded. “Francis sang. He laughed. He called the sun his brother and the moon, his sister. The world already has enough grim religion. Give them joy. The joy of the resurrection. The joy of the Gospel. The joy of a man who has found the one thing necessary and given everything for it.”