ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 15:54 pm (CNA).
The bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, Kevin J. Sweeney, offered the funeral Mass for Father Rafael Ángel Ciro, a 45-year-old Colombian priest who died by suicide on Aug. 27. In a heartfelt homily on Sept. 3, Sweeney recalled that Jesus, who understands our pain and suffering, “is here and comforts us.”
In his opening remarks in both English and Spanish, the bishop addressed the priest’s mother, Elena Guarín, and his brother Jairo, saying: “We are with you, with you and the entire family there in Colombia. We are all one family, with our Bishop Emeritus [Arthur] Serratelli, with all the priests. We are also your children, Doña Elena: The mother of one priest is the mother of all priests. You are also our mom.”
“We share the pain, but we also share the faith, especially with the community of St. Stephen and all the parishes where Father Rafael served as a priest,” the prelate continued.
Jesus understands our pain and suffering
In his homily on the Gospel recounting the death of Lazarus, still alternating between English and Spanish, Sweeney recalled the lyrics of a well-known Spanish hymn: “God is here, as surely as the air I breathe, as surely as the morning sun rises, so surely that when I speak to him, he can hear me.”
“We believe this: Jesus our God is here, in the home of Doña Elena and the family of Father Rafael in Colombia, in the hearts of each one of us present here. Jesus speaks to us and comforts us. He comes to us, as he did to that house in Bethany, which was also in mourning,” the prelate emphasized.
The bishop of Paterson noted that “perhaps we are like Martha, angrily asking Jesus where he was, and if he had been, perhaps my brother would not have died. He doesn’t answer Martha’s question with an explanation, nor does he give us an explanation today to all our questions, but he answers us surely as he answers Martha: ‘Your brother will rise.’”
“And she tells him with pain that she knows he will rise again on the last day. And Jesus tells her, he tells Doña Elena and us, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will never die.’”
The prelate then added that “Jesus is here at this moment, walking with us, and will accompany the priests who will go with Father Rafael to his burial in his beloved Colombia.”
“The shortest line in the Gospel says: ‘Jesus wept.’ He understands our pain and suffering and invites us to walk with him and the Blessed Virgin Mary to Calvary. Only God knows Father Rafael’s journey, his daily life; only God knows how many families and individuals he accompanied, and who now weep.”
Sweeney then thanked Guarín for giving the Church “a very good priest. A round of applause for our beloved Father Rafael! To his brother, Jairo, we priests are your brothers, too.”
At the end of his homily, the bishop said: “To anyone who feels alone or anxious now, I want to say, ‘You are not alone.’ God does not leave us alone. If you are struggling with difficulties, psychological emotions, depression, you are not alone, we want to walk with you.”
“We give thanks for the priesthood of Father Rafael Ángel Ciro, and we commend him to God now,” he concluded.
Biography of Father Rafael Ángel Ciro
Rafael Ángel Ciro was born on Oct. 29, 1979, in the municipality of Alejandría in the district of Antioquia, Colombia.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia, in 2006.
He continued his theological studies at the Intercontinental University in Mexico City (2007–2009), Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut (2011–2012), and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland (2012–2013).
Before joining the Diocese of Paterson as a seminarian in January 2011, he dedicated nearly three years to missionary work in Medellín and another three years in Mexico City. He also ministered to Hispanic migrants in Alabama and New Jersey.
He was ordained a priest on March 25, 2013, at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, New Jersey. Following his ordination, he served in the parish communities of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson, St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Passaic, St. Nicholas Parish, also in Passaic, and Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary Parish in Dover, New Jersey, before being appointed pastor of St. Stephen’s Parish in Paterson.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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