Worcester, Mass., Jun 26, 2010 / 11:14 am
“When I grow up, I want to be like him,” The 5-year-old was talking about the priest. But while still a child the boy fell in love – with the image of Our Lady of Fatima. “If I find a woman who looks like her, and has her characteristics, I’ll marry her,” he decided.
“For 34 years I’ve never met that woman,” he says now. “I guess the Blessed Mother wants me. I’m all hers. Like John Paul II said, ‘Totus Tuus Maria.’”
This is the story of Deacon Lowe Bretaña Dongor, who is to be ordained a priest today at St. Paul Cathedral. Now he’s sparking an interest in priesthood in today’s children.
Deacon Dongor, son of Nelly Bretaña Dongor and the late Ramon Dongor, was born Feb. 17, 1976 in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, in the Philippines. He is the first Filipino to be ordained for the Worcester Diocese.