The soon-to-be deacon, who said he will be starting his tenure at Immaculate Conception Parish in Worcester, said his came as more of a quiet, consistent calling which regularly came to him.

In a deeply particular way, Alejandro Henao’s new life calling as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Worcester reflects his thanksgiving to God for what he calls miracles in his family, ones which restarted his own Catholic faith.

The prelates made the decision to do this during a Nov. 11, 2025, session of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Baltimore – and while they were singularly focused on an exceptional gesture to mark our country’s semiquincentennial, the consecration still probably can’t come at a better time.

These were among topics Christopher West, president of the Theology of the Body Institute in Philadelphia, wove together with St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body May 14 at St. Joseph Church.

Father Conrad S. Pecevich passed away in the early morning hours on Wednesday, May 13.