Florida Catholic | Diocese Of Orlando To Ordain Two To The Priesthood

Diocese of Orlando to ordain two to the priesthood

JENNIFER POWERS | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 05.22.08

Deacons Hector Antonio Vazquez-Saad, left, and Mark Richard Wajda, right, assist at the 2008 chrism Mass in March at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando.
VALETA ORLANDO | FC

WINTER PARK | Their studies are completed and exams passed. They are busy packing, moving and preparing to serve the people of God in the priesthood. Hector Antonio Vazquez-Saad and Mark Richard Wajda will be ordained Saturday, May 31, by Bishop Thomas Wenski at St. James Cathedral.

DEACON HECTOR VAZQUEZ

Deacon Vazquez was born Nov. 11, 1965, and grew up in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His father, Hector, died at a young age, leaving his mother Zaide Saad to raise him, his two brothers and one sister on her own. Vazquez, called “Checo” by his friends and family, recalled, “We helped each other as a family and as a team. My mom is so proud of her children, and we are so proud of her too.”

One of Vazquez’s brothers is a doctor in Washington and another works for Jet Blue. His sister is working toward a doctorate in English as a Second Language.

Deacon Vazquez attended the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, where he graduated with a degree in accounting. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education. In 1987, he visited Orlando to help with Spanish youth ministry. While in the diocese, he recognized a shortage in the priesthood. “I asked myself: Do I want to be a part of the problem, or part of the solution?” Deacon Vazquez said.

Over the next 15 years, he taught in a Catholic elementary school. He was also a high school counselor, had his own radio program and did a pilot for a television show. He said that during that time God kept calling and knocking. As painful as it was for Deacon Vazquez to leave behind the children and school he loved, he said, “I knew I was leaving to embrace a bigger calling.”

In 2002, at the age of 36, he was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Orlando and began his studies at the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. He has been praying for the people at his next parish, saying, “I want to serve and be there for them and give them the sacraments.

“This has been a long journey,” Deacon Vazquez said. “I am looking forward to doing what I was called to do.”

DEACON MARK WAJDA

Deacon Wajda was born Aug. 30, 1953, in Baltimore, and is the oldest son of Angela and Edward Wajda. He has three sisters, Lorraine, Marianne and Valerie; and one brother, Brian. Deacon Wajda grew up in what he describes as a “basic, middle-class Catholic family.” He and his siblings went to Catholic schools, sang in the choir and played Little League Baseball. While attending Baltimore Polytechnic High School, he became interested in theater and sound. During college at Towson State University near Baltimore, his love of music led him to a position at a radio station.

He finished his degree in mass communications and went to work at a local NBC affiliate in Baltimore. What was supposed to be a three-month position turned into a 25-year career as a news videographer, sports photographer, editor and technical director.

Even with a lucrative career in full swing, Deacon Wajda knew that God was calling him to do something more. Signs that pointed him to the priesthood were all around. While on a retreat, a monk from the Trinitarian Monastery in Baltimore approached him, saying, “Excuse me, Father, may I talk with you?” Deacon Wajda replied, “I’m not a priest.” “Oh, you will be,” said the monk. He never saw the monk again, but the encounter set Deacon Wajda on a path of discernment.

When the time was right, he began looking toward the seminary. Since he was older, several dioceses turned him away. Several disappointments later, he found his way to Father Tom Barrett, then director of vocations for the Diocese of Orlando. Deacon Wajda knew his perseverance had paid off when he received the news. “Are you sitting down?” asked Father Barrett. “Bishop Dorsey said that if you want to be a priest, we would be happy to have you.”

Deacon Wajda began his seminary studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary soon after. “I am proof,” he said, “that God gets what he wants. God’s constant nagging, calling until, finally, I answered the phone.”

He looks forward to serving at his first parish. “I am going to be the best priest I can be for the diocese and the people of God,” he said.

The new priests will each have several Masses of thanksgiving, both in Orlando and in their hometowns, to thank those who have supported them in their journey to the priesthood. They will begin their sacramental duties in the diocese in June.

MASSES OF THANKSGIVING

Father Mark Wajda:

Resurrection Parish, Lakeland, Sunday, June 1, 10:30 a.m.

St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Orlando, Saturday, June 8, 11 a.m.

St. Ann Parish, West Palm Beach, Sunday, June 15, 11:30 a.m.

Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Baltimore, Sunday, June 22, 11:30 a.m.

Father Hector Vazquez:

Holy Cross Parish, Orlando, Sunday, June 1, 9 a.m.

Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, Palm Beach Gardens, Sunday, June 8, 10:30 a.m.

He will also celebrate a Mass in Puerto Rico June 22.

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Diocese of Orlando to ordain two to the priesthood

MASSES OF THANKSGIVING

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