Art & Irma Ramirez sponsored a sold out benefit for seminarians at El Paso’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. More than 500 people from all over the Diocese of El Paso braved 45-mile per hour winds to get to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Wednesday, April 10 for a private screening of Paul, Apostle of Christ. Guests received complimentary raffle tickets and won great prizes from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Raising Cane’s, and Chick-fil-A North Hills Crossing. Fathers Tony Celino, JCL, Frank Hernandez, Mariano H. López, Marcus McFadin, D.Min. and seminarians, hosted theaters, offering an introduction of the film and opening prayer, and Catholic high school students from Cathedral High School and Loretto Academy welcomed attendees and served as ticket takers.

The evening was underwritten by Art and Irma Ramirez, longtime supporters of seminarian education and St. Charles seminary. Art and Irma are active parishioners at St. Patrick Cathedral who are dedicated to ministry. The joy they receive serving others is apparent in everything they do. This event would not have been possible without their generosity. Fr. Tony Celino, JCL, Pastor of St. Raphael Parish and Fr. Marcus McFadin, D.Min., Pastor of St. Luke Parish, each sponsored a theater. The event raised $16,476. Proceeds benefit the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund.

We have 26 seminarians in formation, a 160% increase from 2008 and more seminarians beginning formation every Fall. This is an exciting time! With a fund value of $2.1 million, we are 43% towards our goal of $5 million, which will generate a $200,000 annual distribution to educate the future leadership of the Diocese of El Paso!

Mark your calendars for the Ordinations to the Priesthood of Michael Lewis and Miguel Perez and Iván Montelongo to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate on Friday, May 24, 2019 at 6:30pm at St. Patrick Cathedral. The Rite of Ordination and the Ordination Mass comprise one of the most beautiful, solemn, and joyful liturgies celebrated in the Catholic Church. When men are ordained for the Diocese of El Paso, they serve the Diocese of El Paso. These men have made a lifelong commitment to our diocese, we now ask you to make a commitment to their formation. Give a gift to the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund.

To learn more about the Seminarian Education Endowment Fund and related events, and to contribute, visit Pray4Priests.org or contact Major Gifts Officer Sofía Larkin at the Catholic Foundation at 915.872.8412.