Deacon Roldán: 'God's Kingdom is always worth it'

Friday, Jun. 13, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — After 12 years of study, missions and discernment, Deacon Jorge Roldán Sánchez will be ordained as a priest on June 28 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Deacon Roldán has spent the last two years studying English at the Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. He was born and raised in Mexico City.

When he was 18 years old he entered the seminary at Tlanepantla, Mexico, and then the seminary in Ciuatitlán to study philosophy. Roldán also spent more than a year in a mission in Campeche, Mexico.

“Then I returned to the Universidad Pontificia de Mexico, and while I was studying there I received the invitation from the Diocese of Salt Lake City,” said Deacon Roldán.

Father Javier Virgen, who at the time was the director of vocations in the Salt Lake diocese, talked to the seminarian  and said to him, “God will take you where you are needed,” and in 2011 “I arrived in Utah for the first time,” said Deacon Roldán.

His road to the priesthood might seem a bit long, but Deacon Roldán said that now, reflecting on all his experiences, his studies and the time along the way, he feels that he has been very blessed.

“When I was doing my studies I used to think that my ordination date was so far, far away. … I used to think, ‘One day I will be a priest,’ … and now here I am, weeks from being ordained,” said Deacon Roldán with a caring glow in his eyes that reflected joy and peace. “God’s will is about to become a reality.”

Among the memories that Deacon Roldán  cherishes are a very special nun who used to tell him, “When God wants you, he will chase you and He will get you,” and “I think that is exactly what happened,” Deacon Roldán said. “God’s will in my life is to serve him and his people.” 

When a person receives the call from God it is a process, a discovery and “I want to do my best. I will be ordained for the people. God sent me here and God will guide me. ... I am so grateful when I see someone with a smile on his face and said he says, ‘Thank you.’ This is the best gift I could ever receive in this life,” said Deacon Roldán.

“He will make a splendid priest. He has studied theology in Mexico and he has taken more theology courses in Utah while he has been getting acclimatized to our culture and learning English,” said the Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, who will ordain Deacon Roldán at the cathedral.

“I admire him greatly; it’s not easy for someone to come in and finish theology and then continued to recognize and live in a new culture and country; it takes time,” Bishop Wester continued. “Jorge has done very well at Assumption Seminary; they think the world of him there and are very impressed by him. He is a very good listener and a very compassionate person; he deeply cares for others. You can sense he has a real sensitivity for other people. He has a real humility about him as a person; he follows beautifully in the footsteps of our Lord. He will make an excellent priest in our diocese.”

After his ordination Deacon Roldán will be assigned as parochial vicar at Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City.

“Thank you, God, for my family; thank you, God, for my vocation; thank you, God, for this community,” Deacon Roldán said. “Thank you, Diocese of Salt Lake City; thank you, Bishop Wester. …  I just want to say thank you all! I am here for God and for the Church. … God’s kingdom is always worth it!”