Padre from Spain
You may have noticed over the past week or so that this is a towering, Spanish-speaking priest with us here at All Saints.
His name is Fr. Joaquín Hernandez from the Archdiocese of Madrid. He is pastor of San Clemente de Roma in the southern part of the metropolis, a small parish geographically but a place exploding with disciples for Our Lord.
Fr. Joaquín (pronounced Wah-keen) met Fr. Dan Ketter, the Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Atlanta (head of the Church Tribunal) while Fr. Dan was on sabbatical learning Spanish. They became quick friends, and Fr. Joaquín inquired about spending some time in an American parish where he could grow more comfortable with English and also experience the life of the Catholic Church here in the States.
He will be with us for a month, diving into all we have going on here. Off campus, I’ve already hiked him up Stone Mountain, we’ll take him to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, he’ll get to visit the “Cradle of Catholicism” here in Georgia at the Heritage Center in Sharon; we’ll show him the Cathedral and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart downtown. Please extend him a warm welcome! He also has a significant Instagram following and makes great content to help share the Gospel…you can practice your Spanish as you experience his love for the Lord (his handle is @joaquinconp).
Welcome Padre!!!
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
All you holy saints of God, pray for us!
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Michael
Pastor