For the glory of God and the holiness of the Church, on Saturday, February 7, 2026, the Provincial Custody of Our Lady of Coromoto in Venezuela celebrated the perpetual profession of three friars and the temporary profession of a novice. These friars completed their respective levels of formation, namely, the post-novitiate and novitiate, and freely and voluntarily said “yes” to the Lord.
Twenty friars participated in the celebration. They gathered with joy and gratitude at the Santísima Trinidad Friary and Shrine-Parish in Pueblo Llano, state of Mérida, Venezuela, to celebrate and witness the temporary profession of Friar Antony Ramón GONZÁLEZ SANTIAGO and the perpetual profession of Friars José Darío ROJAS ARAQUE, Cristian David TERÁN GAMBOA, and Deiby Johan MEDINA GUERRERO. Others present included the families of the newly professed, members of the Secular Franciscan San José de Cupertino community of Palmira, Venezuela, some consecrated sisters from various religious congregations, priests from the Diocese of Mérida, lay faithful from the area, lay people from other states in Venezuela where the friars are present, and members of other Franciscan movements such as the Sequela Christi youth fraternity of Mérida, Barinas, and Palmira.
The celebration began at 10:15 a.m. with the singing of solemn hymns appropriate for this day. The hymns were significant for the friars about to profess their vows and for all of the friars throughout the Custody and country of Venezuela. The Provincial Custos, Friar Franklin Antonio DURÁN ZAMBRANO, presided over the Mass. He invited the four friars to profess their vows with the awareness of feeling called, chosen, and sent forth as great collaborators in God’s plan for humanity. He also urged them to embrace the call to the fullness of life, which comes when the vows of living without anything of one’s own, of chastity and obedience, are carried out as a gift, a grace, and an offering of love.
At the end of the Mass, the guests gathered in the Santísima Trinidad Friary to share, as one great family of God, a festive lunch, prepared with much love and joy. The Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Venezuela gives thanks to God―and to our Father St. Francis of Assisi, during this Franciscan Jubilee Year―for having cast His merciful gaze upon this land of grace and faith.
Friar Carlos Ramón ORTÍZ ROJAS, Custodial Secretary
