Deacon Vidál González Zelaya

Deacon Vidál González Zelaya was born in San Salvador, the capital city of the Republic of El Salvador. Having been born in a city and a country named after Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World and being raised in the city of Santa Tecla, named after a first century martyr, Catholicism has framed the life of Deacon González Zelaya. He cannot remember a time when his religion has not been a major influence in his life.
 

After attending grammar school at  Nazareth, Santa Tecla, he graduated from high school --- Colegio Santa Cecilia, Santa Tecla, in technical studies.
 

He studied engineering at the Technical University of San Salvador before Moving to the United States, where he worked in information technology in banking. For the past 12 years, he has been a field surveyor in the construction industry.
 

After ordination, Deacon González Zelaya was assigned to St Joseph Parish, Carteret, where he, his wife, Carolina Lopez González, and their two sons, José Ramon and Francis José, are members. It was through his activities in the family ministry of the parish that the idea of the diaconate was first planted.
 

Although he states he initially knew nothing about the ministry of the permanent diaconate, Deacon González `Zelaya became aware of it through a combination of people and events that inspired him. He particularly credits Sister Francisca Tamayo, who encouraged him to seek other ways to serve members of the parish .He and Carolina took part in various courses and workshops offered by the diocese to deepen their faith and an appreciation of the Church’s teachings. Eventually they received their certificates in the “Theology of the Body.”
 

It was during this time that Deacon González Zelaya met Deacon Reinaldo López, who introduced him to the ministry, encouraged him to pursue ordination. He immediately decided to find out more about the requirements and the process. When he was told that the diocese was recruiting applicants for a formation Program that would be taught entirely in Spanish he began the application procedure without any hesitation.
 

Although the five-year time frame from application to ordination was long and at times stressful, Deacon González Zelaya believes that once someone is called by the Lord to serve him and his Church, God will intercede to guide and support the journey.
 

The formation process has many challenges for the candidate and his family, but Deacon González Zelaya ssaid that from the first day of the program he had “100 percent support from Carolina and the two boys.”
 

The biggest challenge was the need to develop a rhythm to allow for the triple requirements of family, job and study. This sometimes required very early mornings and some late nights. However, with encouragement of his family` it was possible to plan times to connect with them and to let them understand how important it was to fulfill his commitment.
 

Deacon González Zelaya firmly believes that if someone is considering a vocational call to the diaconate he must discuss it with his wife, if married, and his family so that they can fully appreciate the commitment that will be required and its impact of their lives. He should try to assess his preparation and aptitude for the academic portion of formation. And finally and most importantly, he must seek and f,ollow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
 

The new deacon hopes that as he continues to grow in his ministry he will be able to share, “with my community what I have learned and to put into practice the life of service of the deacon.”
 

While Deacon González Zelaya looks forward to fulfilling his threefold ministry of Word, sacrament and charity, he realizes that on occasion he will have to say “no” to some requests because of his commitments to his wife and family and job. He knows this will be difficult for him but he has dealt successfully with these situations for the past five years.