The Diocese of Roraima (Brazil) experienced a moment of profound joy and hope with the priestly ordination of Djavan André da Silva, son of the Macuxi indigenous people, who officially joins the diocesan presbytery as a new priest in the service of the Amazonian Church.
The celebration took place on Saturday, January 31, at the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer in Boa Vista and was presided over by the diocesan bishop, Dom Evaristo Pascoal Spengler. Numerous faithful from urban and rural communities and indigenous territories participated with emotion in this historic event for the Church in Roraima.
The ordination was marked by the rites proper to the sacrament of Holy Orders: the presentation and election of the candidate, the Litany of the Saints, the laying on of hands, the prayer of ordination, and the anointing of the hands with Holy Chrism, signs of a life dedicated to the service of the People of God. The active presence of indigenous communities and their cultural symbols expressed the communion between faith, culture, and mission.
A vocation born in the land and in the people
In his homily, Dom Evaristo emphasized that Djavan’s ordination is a sign of joy and hope for the entire Amazonian Church, stressing that the priesthood is always God’s initiative and a call to close, humble, and faithful service to the people. Inspired by the image of the Good Shepherd, the bishop exhorted the new priest to live a ministry marked by care for the most vulnerable, prophetic courage, and the defense of life.
He also emphasized that Djavan brings to the priestly ministry the richness of the Macuxi culture, its language, its symbols, and the living memory of its people, as a gift to the entire diocese and to a Church that seeks to incarnate itself in the territories.
For his part, the new priest expressed his gratitude and emotion, recognizing that his vocation was forged in community life, in the simple faith of his family, and in the journey of the Church in Roraima. He expressed his desire to be a priest who listens, accompanies, and serves, committed to a fraternal, intercultural, and synodal Church.
A sign of a Church with an indigenous and Amazonian face
Born on April 12, 1997, in the Maturuca Indigenous Community, in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, Djavan André is the fruit of a vocational process deeply rooted in the Amazonian territory. During the celebration, he received tributes from indigenous communities, who offered him cultural symbols as a sign of communion, affection, and recognition.
After his ordination, he will continue his pastoral mission in the Santa Rosa de Lima Missionary Zone, continuing the service he had already been performing.
For CEAMA, this ordination is a concrete sign of the path toward a Church with an Amazonian and indigenous face, which recognizes, values, and promotes vocations born in indigenous peoples, strengthening an incarnate, prophetic pastoral presence committed to life, dignity, and hope in the Amazon.
