The Augustinian Recollect Bernal Francisco Guerrero Sandí (Pozos de Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica, 1994) was ordained a priest in the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of his hometown on Saturday, April 25.
He is the first priest born in the district of Pozos, within the canton of Santa Ana, which has just under 21,000 inhabitants. There, the Augustinian Recollects inaugurated the San Ezequiel Moreno Postulancy in 1991 and were entrusted with serving the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, created that same year.
For this reason, a press conference was held days before the ceremony, showing how the local society joyfully received the news of the ordination of its first son, an Augustinian Recollect priest, broadcast by Telefides and La Voz de Santa Ana.
Bernal is the son of farmers with roots in Santa Ana, and the coincidence of the parish’s silver jubilee, the presence of the Augustinian Recollects and the ordination of the first son of Pozos turned the day into a true community celebration.
“My dear Bernal, this ordination is a visible sign that God continues to trust and love his Church,” said the ordaining bishop, Bishop Emeritus of Alajuela and Augustinian Recollect, Ángel San Casimiro. “Where God plants a vocation, he invites the people to grow in faith and to pray for more vocations to religious life, and the initiative comes from God.”
The bishop stressed the importance of accompanying the People in building the Kingdom: “May you be a strong man of prayer, a shepherd who prays with his people, close above all to the sick, the poor, the alienated, centered on Jesus; may you be a man of communion who unites the people, as the key for the world to believe.”
The bishop also reminded Bernal of the charism and spirituality of his religious family: “Living in harmony, in cohesion, in community, is what Augustine always intuited and desired. You will never be the one who commands, but the one who serves, the one who accompanies.”
He encouraged the new priest to deeply love the Church and the faithful, to be a seeker of God and a bridge for those who are far away, always with the doors open to be a light and witness of hope.
The bishop, speaking at the parish’s silver jubilee celebrations, remarked that the priestly vocation of this son of Pozos is a gift to the entire community, and urged them to “continue fostering more vocations.” He thanked Bernal’s family for their son’s dedication.
The rites of ordination were followed with interest and joy: the prostration; the laying on of hands by the bishop and priests; the blessing and consecratory prayer; the vesting with the stole and chasuble; the anointing with chrism and the binding of his hands with the manuterge, later untied by his mother, who would keep them safe; the presentation of the chalice and paten. Everyone enjoyed these rites and listened attentively to the explanation of their meaning.
After the liturgy, the festivities continued with traditional music, drumming, masquerades, and parades. Bernal processed through the streets of Pozos on an oxcart, blessing every corner and all those who came out to congratulate and greet him. At the Saint Ezekiel Moreno Postulancy, there were traditional dances, marimba music, and a communal meal.
Bernal was born on August 31, 1994, the youngest of three siblings. Feeling the Lord’s call in 2016, he left his studies in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering to enter the Saint Ezekiel Moreno Postulancy. There he earned a degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Costa Rica.
After professing and completing the novitiate in 2020, he studied in Madrid for a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Pontifical University of Comillas and a diploma in Theology from Saint Augustine; at the Ecclesiastical University of San Dámaso in the Spanish capital he trained in catechesis, spirituality and liturgy; and in Chihuahua (Mexico), on vocational pastoral care and the development of social projects.
He has served at the Latin American Chaplaincy in London, England, and at the Parish of Christ the High and Eternal Priest in Chihuahua, Mexico. In Chihuahua, he made his solemn profession as an Augustinian Recollect and was ordained a deacon in 2025.
He is passionate about music and nature, where he says he finds the beauty of the Creator. He is also especially drawn to liturgical spirituality and the Augustinian Recollect charism. His favorite quote from St. Augustine is from the Confessions: “Perhaps I appear laughable in your eyes, but you will turn to me full of mercy” (1, 6, 7).
The Augustinian Recollects continue to sow the culture of vocation in the hearts of young Costa Ricans, so that many may be called to “be ready to evangelize the poor and to care for the abundant harvest,” as is prayed daily in the ministries served by this religious family.
