Three seminarians ordained to priesthood

June 17, 2014

HOUSTON — After many years of discernment, prayer and faith formation, three seminarians from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston were ordained into the priesthood on June 7.

Those ordained were Fathers Oscar H. Dubon, Richard Hinkley and Jesus “Jesse” Garcia. 

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo served as the principal celebrant for the Ordination Mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. More than 50 priests from all over the Archdiocese were present to concelebrate the Mass and welcome the new brother priests into their fraternity. Bishop Oscar Cantú of the Diocese of Las Cruces, N.M., a Houston native, was also in attendance.

In his homily, Cardinal DiNardo said that the three priests were invited on a journey to celebrate their first love, Jesus Christ. “How is your first love?” he asked. “Let your ministry grow because you’re attached to your first love.”

Cardinal said the three new priests need to teach and build up the house of God by their preaching, including seeking counsel from their brother priests, Cardinal himself and their Holy Father, Pope Francis. “You must strive to put to death whatever is apart from Christ,” he said. “Understand what you do and imitate what you celebrate.”

Growing up in Honduras, Father Dubon, 35, came to Houston from his native land in 2002 and was admitted to St. Mary’s Seminary in 2004. He had been discerning the call to be a priest since he was 9. Father Dubon’s first assignment is parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Church in Conroe.

A native of San Antonio, Father Garcia, 47, earned a handful of degrees, bachelor’s and master’s, in psychology, business and theology, as well as diplomas in religious studies in Italy. He also taught business in Medellin, Colombia, while his last job was working for a real estate company in New York City. It was there he realized a desire to consolidate his education and formalize his spiritual journey and come to Houston to become a priest. After working in the Office of Vocations, Garcia was admitted to St. Mary’s in 2007. His first assignment is parochial vicar at St. Christopher Church.

Their first priestly assignments will begin on July 1.

For Father Hinkley, 30, he began to think about the priesthood while he was a sophomore at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. After graduation, Hinkley went on to the University of Notre Dame and later to the University of Houston law school. But, after just one year he changed course and entered St. Mary’s in 2008. He will return to Rome to complete his licentiate studies in sacramental theology at the Pontifical North American College.