First Schoenstatt Father from Mendoza, Argentina, ordained a priest

On Saturday, April 13, Agustín Ozcoidi was ordained a priest. Providence has allowed him to be the first Schoenstatt Father from Mendoza, which is a great joy for the entire Schoenstatt Family from Cuyo.

Agustín chose as his priestly motto: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). He explains it himself: “Inspired by the mountains and vineyards, I have chosen as my ordination gospel the wedding at Cana: Jesus, at Mary’s request, performs his first miracle of converting the jars full of water into fruitful wine for the family. To be able to serve the miracle with a small daily contribution is something that has always inspired me. The transformation of water into wine is a sign of our inner transformation. Today Jesus asks me that, through my priestly hands, I may bless, consecrate, and absolve sins”.

A real feast in the middle of the mountains and vineyards

The ordination was presided over by Bishop Marcelo Colombo, in the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows. Several friends, relatives, priests, and members of the Schoenstatt Family of Mendoza participated in the celebration.

Several friends and Schoenstatt members from different cities of Argentina who know Father Agustín also participated. A large delegation from Chile also traveled to accompany the ordination and to be witnesses of this great day. The ordination was truly a Covenant celebration in the middle of the mountains and vineyards of Mendoza.

At the beginning of the Mass, the choir, composed of friends from his youth, knew how to harmonize and set the tone for the great celebration of the ordination. The church was filled with joy with the entrance of Agustín, who was about to become a priest. Among the most solemn and moving moments was the prostration and litany of the saints, in which Agustín, lying on the floor as a sign of humility, decided to imitate Jesus in everything, while the Church sang and asked for the assistance of God and of all the saints in history.

Equally moving was the moment of the laying on of hands by Bishop Marcelo, ordaining Agustín as a priest, and then a large line with all the priests present also laid hands on him so that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Agustín could be united to the priestly ministry.

New vestments, new life

The vesting was also very moving, when Father Agustín’s parents came up and gave him the vestments so that he could be clothed as a priest. Father José María Iturrería, his advisor during the time of the Boys’ Youth, vested him and at that moment, the whole church burst into a long applause to thank God for this vocation, while the song “I am this land, I am this history” was played. It was a moment of power and heaven, a true day of grace for all those who attended from so many places.

The following day, Sunday, April 14, he celebrated his first Mass as a new priest in the Schoenstatt Shrine of La Puntilla, the corner where he grew up and where his vocation was born. And on Monday he celebrated his first Mass in the chapel of the Shrine at God the Father School, his school, together with students, teachers who saw him grow up and alumni friends.

Biography

Agustín Ozcoidi was born on March 11, 1993 in Mendoza, Argentina. He participated in the Schoenstatt Movement since he was a child. Agustín is the third of four brothers. His parents, Mabel and Ricardo, who belong to the Family Movement, accompanied their children’s journey of faith from an early age. In the last years of high school, and later in college, he discovered his priestly vocation. Agustín entered the seminary in 2014, starting together with his course in Paraguay, then he served through his work in Córdoba, Mendoza, and Santiago de Chile, and graduated in theology in Chile together with his 5 brothers from the community of the Schoenstatt Fathers, who together form the course: Cor Sacerdotalis. During his long years of formation, he spent a semester of mission and exchange at the Schoenstatt seminary in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Agustín currently serves in the Parish ” Our Lady of the Valley” in Yerba Buena – Tucumán. About his ordination, he says: “The nervousness that comes from thinking that “my time has not yet come” is real. However, it is Mary who has motivated every good action in my life. Once again, I entrust myself to her in order to follow Jesus. That is why I have chosen as my ordination motto the words Our Lady says to the servants at Cana: ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5)”.