Br. Maikel Gómez Pérez, OFM, grew up in Cuba, a country where the presence of the Catholic Church and the Franciscan order have long been repressed.
But as it has with so many others, the Francis story still broke through to him, even in the face of government repression.
Br. Maikel read about Francis of Assisi and saw how the medieval Italian saint reflected much of his own experience. He too felt the longing for God, the search for community and a troubled relationship with a father who had little regard for faith.
“I fell in love with the history of his life, all of his spirituality and his works,” Br. Maikel, 46, who will be ordained a priest this summer in Maryland, said, speaking through a fellow friar who translated his words from Spanish to English.
Br. Maikel entered the Franciscan community in Havana more than a decade ago. Even before formally entering the community, he said, “I was living the spirituality” of Francis on his own, nurturing the faith.
In Franciscan community and ministry, “I have been attracted to the way of life. I choose to live in fraternity,” said Br. Maikel.
Formation as a Franciscan and as a seminarian took him around the United States and the Caribbean. He studied in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and ministered to migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. Currently he serves in Latino ministry in Macon, Georgia, at St. Peter Claver Parish, a ministry he will continue after ordination.
He is an only child and his mother is deceased. Most of his extended family remain in Cuba. A new family has emerged for Br. Maikel, with friends he has met through his studies and his ministry, much of which has focused on young adults in the growing Latino community around Macon. They will be there for his ordination, gathered from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Georgia.
Br. Maikel said he found inspiration in a deeply personal way through the Francis story of conversion.
Like Francis, he encountered a difficult relationship with his dad. “There have been moments when I tried to get close, but he didn’t respond,” he said. As a result, Br. Maikel looked to faith and the Franciscan community.
Being ordained a priest will help him minister in a deeper way, said Br. Maikel. Ordination will provide opportunities to preach and live the faith in celebrating Eucharist.
“By making Christ present to everyone in the consecration, it’s a way of serving an entire community,” he said. Being able to be part of the healing rite of confession will also enhance his ministry.
In Macon, there is a small Catholic community, augmented in recent years by a growing Latino presence. Like much of the South, it is a city filled with churches, but only three are Catholic. St. Peter Claver has emerged as a focal point for Latino ministry. As a deacon transitioning to priesthood, Br. Maikel has focused on diocesan young adult ministry to the Latino community as well as visiting the homebound.
While his Franciscan connection emerged largely through study of the life of Francis, it also contained a vital personal connection. Br. Maikel said much of his faith life was nurtured through the example of his late grandmother, who lived through times when a witness to faith in Cuba required courage in the face of persecution.
“Much of my Franciscan formation comes from the testimony of my grandmother. She comes from a place where the Church has been persecuted for so long. The government has many times been against us,” he said, noting how as a priest, blessed with the story of Francis and the life of the Franciscan community, he will continue to carry on the faith his grandmother lived.
On Friday, Aug. 21, at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, Br. Maikal Gómez Pérez, OFM, and Br. Joshua Richter, OFM, will be ordained as priests.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, eight friars will profess solemn vows at St. Camillus. They are Brother Domingo Martinez, OFM; Br. Tyler Grudi, OFM; Br. Kevin Hamzik, OFM; Br. Phillip McCarter, OFM; Br. Brian Menezes, OFM; Br. Joan JP Perez-Lombera, OFM; Br. Carlos Portillo, OFM, and Br. Nathaniel Tran, OFM.