Though originally from Colombia, Fr. Juan Carlos Castañeda Rojos, SCJ, studied and professed vows as a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in the US Province. On February 16, he celebrated his fifth anniversary of ordination in a place he didn’t expect to be five years into his priesthood: Ecuador.
His first assignment after ordination was at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston, but as the saying goes, “God writes straight with crooked lines.”
For much of the past five years Fr. Juancho has served in our Dehonian mission in Ecuador.
“Last Friday I was able to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass for these years of ministry with the people at the parish,” wrote Fr. Juancho. “I have always said that God works in mysterious ways and one of those ways brought me to Ecuador. It has been a challenging experience, but also a rewarding experience. For sure I have learned many things that I did not learn in school. “I’m grateful to the people here who have helped me to grow in my ministry, to be a good pastor, to be a good shepherd. I cannot believe that five years has passed already since my ordination. It is with joy that I celebrate this gift and call to be a Dehonian ‘prophet of love and servant of reconciliation.’ I’m grateful to the many people who have walked with me on this journey and who have helped me to become the priest and religious that I’m today.”
