On Saturday, April 25, 2026, joyful prayer and song, in Spanish and English, filled the Blessed Sacrament Parish Church in Graham, North Carolina, USA. On that day, the Most Reverend Gregory J. HARTMAYER, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, ordained his confrere, Friar Edgar Iván VARELA, OFM Conv., to the priesthood. Friar Edgar is a member of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels in the USA.
“Go to the margins,” said Archbishop HARTMAYER. “You know what it is like to come from a family that crosses borders, that speaks two languages, that carries the faith from one world to another. Many of the people you serve will carry those same stories. Meet them there. Franciscan poverty is not only material; it is a poverty that creates space for others to encounter God.”
The principal concelebrants were the Minister Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels, Friar Michael HEINE, the Vicar Provincial, Friar Gary JOHNSON, the Prefect of Formation for the Province, Friar John KOZIOL, and the Pastor of the Blessed Sacrament Church, Friar Vincent RUBINO. Mr. Michael PRAY of the Diocese of Springfield served as deacon. Music was provided by members of the Blessed Sacrament Parish Church.
“Ordained in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of his transitus into heaven we commemorate this year, Friar Edgar embraces a priesthood rooted in humility, fraternity, and joyful service, offering his life so that others may encounter the mercy and love of Christ,” said Friar Michael HEINE.
Friar Edgar was born the son of Maribel and Manuel VARELA in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He has four siblings: Yessenia, Erica, Sergio, and German, and several nieces and nephews. Friar Edgar earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago, and a Master of Divinity from the Catholic University of America. He served his diaconal ministry at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus in Chicopee, Massachusetts, USA.
“It is a great blessing for me to receive the ministry of priesthood,” said Friar Edgar. “I receive this gift, not just for myself, but considering that it is for the Church. Through this ministry, I hope to bring Christ’s presence, love, and mercy to all, and most especially to the forgotten, the exiled, and the outcast. Please pray for me as I begin this wonderful ministry as a Franciscan friar-priest. Let us together pray for more vocations to religious life and the priesthood. Peace and All Good.”
Conventual Franciscan postulants Joshua CALLADA, Andrew CHAMIEC, Craig CHIRCOP, Adan ORELLANA, Lourenz SALVADOR, and Jacob POLINSKI were the servers at Friar Edgar’s ordination.
“Be joyful,” Archbishop HARTMAYER concluded. “Francis sang. He laughed. He called the sun his brother and the moon his sister. The world already has enough grim religion. Give them joy. The joy of the resurrection. The joy of the Gospel. The joy of a man who has found the one thing necessary and given everything for it.”
Kevin A. KEENAN
Director of Communications
