FR. ENRIQUE SERA PASSED away on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at the age of 73. His funeral Mass was celebrated on Oct. 4 at Christ Cathedral with numerous friends and family in attendance. The first priest ordained for the Diocese of Orange, Fr. Sera spent 44 years in ministry before retiring in 2022. He leaves a lasting legacy of faith, love and service.
BISHOP KEVIN VANN CELEBRATED THE FUNERAL OF FR. ENRIQUE SERA ON OCT. 4 INSIDE CHRIST CATHEDRAL. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“We ask that the Lord guide us to always be faithful, to be able to carry out the word not merely in preaching, but in actions in the world. Our Lord says…that we have a commandment to love one another, and that truly is the most important thing we can do if we are going to be followers of the Lord. We hope You will reward us with all the blessings that come after death for those who have been faithful to him…I hope to meet the great apostle Matthias, the quiet apostle Matthias, that we so know so little about other than he was faithful…that’s what we have to show for our lives when we come before the throne of God. Have we been faithful to the commandments? Have we loved one another?”
Fr. Enrique “Ric” Sera shared these heartfelt words in a homily on May 14, 2021, as he celebrated his 43rd anniversary of priestly ordination and anticipated retirement from active priestly ministry. Only three years later, the Diocese of Orange mourns Fr. Sera’s death but thanks the Lord for Fr. Sera’s faithfulness and witness of God’s love. Fr. Sera touched many souls, and our memories of him tell the story of his life.
FR. SERA AT THE PRIEST ORDINATION MASS CELEBRATED ON JUNE 10, 2023, AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL.
Fr. John Shimotsu, Episcopal Vicar for Priests, recalled Fr. Sera’s early history and his unique entrance into the United States as a young boy.
“Fr. Sera was born in Holguin, Cuba in 1950. In 1962, he was one of the over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors who, under the U.S. Government’s Operation Peter Pan, were sent by their parents to the United States to avoid communist indoctrination. He lived with a host family in Yakima, Washington, until he was reunited with his parents when they emigrated to Southern California. He graduated from Queen of Angels Seminary High School, St. John’s Seminary College, and St. John’s Seminary.”
Bishop Kevin Vann, the fourth bishop of Orange, gave thanks for Fr. Sera and noted that Fr. Sera was the first priest ordained in the newly established Diocese of Orange on May 14, 1978.
“Fr. Sera will be remembered for his love for our Diocese and for other priests. He reminded me of my own father because of his dedicated service to others. He offered his availability to many additional ministries, including leading his secular institute, serving as chaplain to Courage Ministry in the Diocese of Orange and being a staff chaplain for OC Probation. He also served 12 years on the Diocesan Priest Personnel Board for the Diocese.”
Fr. Sera’s first assignment was as an associate pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia. Fr. Steve Correz, pastor of St. Mary’s in Fullerton, remembered,
“I have known Fr. Sera since the beginning of his priesthood back in 1978, since he was assigned to my home parish of St. Joseph in Placentia. It was there that I received many of my Sacraments from him, not just Holy Communion, but many confessions, blessings, prayers and especially celebrating the Holy Mass with him as part of his flock. Fr. Ric, as we knew him, would often run around the field to exercise, and many of the students, myself and my twin brother, Stuart would follow him, perhaps as a reminder that I have done so with him throughout my life.”
In 1980, Fr. Sera joined the Institute of the Priests of the Heart of Jesus (Cor Unum). This secular institute for diocesan priests was founded in Paris in 1791 by Fr. Pierre Cloriviere. Members make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and follow a rule of life. The priests who are members remain incardinated in their own diocese but meet regularly for formation and to foster priestly fraternity. Fr. Scott Jones is a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the current national director of the Institute of the Priests of the Heart of Jesus. He professed his final vows in the Institute with the assistance of Fr. Sera, in 2022. With gratitude, he recalled how Fr. Sera helped develop their institute in the United States, “In addition to serving the last several years as national director, in the past, Fr. Ric served on our international leadership team and helped draft the new Constitutions after the 1983 Code of Canon Law came out. He made many trips to Paris to meet with our international leadership and attended chapter every six years. He was well-loved by our international members.”
From 1982 to 1987, Fr. Sera served as an associate pastor at St. Mary Catholic Church in Fullerton. Shortly after arriving, he decided to take martial counseling
classes so he could offer assistance to the people he encountered in ministry. He studied at Cal State Fullerton and earned a master’s degree and a marriage and family therapist license while he remained in ministry at St. Mary’s.
Norma and Mucio Sanchez were one of the first couples whose wedding he witnessed at St. Mary’s.
“He was very friendly and he would invite himself over for dinner at our house, Norma shared. “I didn’t even know how to cook, but I learned fast! He gave good advice and encouraged us to trust each other.”
The Sanchez family maintained a close relationship with Fr. Sera throughout the years. One of their sons became a police officer, and Fr. Sera kept him in constant prayers. Forty years after their wedding, Fr. Sera blessed Norma and Mucio for their wedding anniversary after he returned to St. Mary’s as pastor.
Myron and Debra Schuster, from the first English community of the Neocatechumenal Way at St. Mary’s, also met Fr. Sera over 40 years ago. They encountered his gentle pastoral care and deep concern for those who were suffering, especially young people and those who were experiencing homelessness.
“He was a man who gave his life to the Church 100%, and he saw Jesus Christ in everyone,” recounted Myron.
Even after he retired, Fr. Sera supported Neocatechumenal communities and celebrated Mass for them.
While at St. Mary’s, he became a chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserves. From 1986 to 1999, Fr. Sera found joy in ministering to the military and pastoring those stationed in Puerto Rico, Panama and Bermuda.
Fr. Sera was the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Santa Ana from 1987 to 2004. He oversaw a $4 million construction project for the church building there but never lost his pastoral touch with people.
Jamie Casarian remembered when he met Fr. Sera there.
“I was searching for my own place in the Church and Fr. Sera encouraged my participation in different ministry groups. I found my place in a charismatic prayer group and appreciated how Fr. Sera trusted the participants and allowed our ministries to grow at the parish. He empowered us and gave room to people. He offered the simple message of God’s love and to be kind to others. Fr. Sera became my son’s godfather and accompanied him through difficult moments of my son’s life.”
While assigned to Immaculate Heart of Mary, Chaplain Sera was mobilized with his SeaBee Battalion for one year for Operation Desert Storm. Fr. Sera served as pastor at St. Joachim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa from 2004 to 2014, overseeing significant church building projects, including the school upgrade and Nevin Hall.
Msgr. Stephen Doktorczyk served as parochial vicar under Fr. Sera for four years and fondly remembered his pastoral care of the ministries in the parish, “From experience, Fr. Sera knew that there are different ways of growing closer to the Lord and did his best to be open to different approved movements in the Church, such as the Neocatechumenal Way, Third Order Dominicans (for whom he was the local chaplain) and Magnificat, a ministry to women, to name a few. He permitted these groups to meet at St. Joachim. He led the Courage ministry for decades, always in quiet ways. He was seen as a pastor to whom a newly ordained priest could be assigned and have a positive experience. Several seminarians were assigned as interns at St. Joachim (Jeff Droessler, Quan Tran, Anthony Tran, Brandon Dang and others at St. Mary’s in Fullerton). Known to be a balanced man, he was able to keep his cool while others may have panicked. It must be stated also that he was the primary (and in effect only) caretaker for his younger brother Miguel, who was severely affected as a result of a horrible motorcycle crash. He was a kind man.”
Fr. Sera’s final assignment was to return to St. Mary’s in Fullerton where he served as pastor from 2014 to 2022. There, he ministered to many parishioners and mentored seminarian interns.
Fr. Ian Gaston gave thanks for Fr. Sera’s witness and guidance. “Fr. Sera was my internship supervisor when I served as a seminarian at St. Mary’s. He was always very fatherly to me, and one particular manifestation of his fatherhood came a few months before my ordination to the priesthood. He and St. Mary’s Parish refurbished an old chalice for me as an ordination gift. He blessed that chalice during a Mass as well as shared some special words, comparing that day to the moment in medieval times when apprentices were given the tools of their trade, blessed by their fathers and then sent to be journeymen. It was a special moment of spiritual fatherhood – he, the father, handing one of his new priestly sons (he had many) the necessary means of the “trade”: a chalice to lift at Holy Mass.”
Fr. Ian also shared something Fr. Sera wanted to be remembered for. “One of those things was his role in helping the Norbertine Canonesses of Bethlehem Priory in Tehachapi during their early years. I believe that he housed their first members at a convent attached to Immaculate Heart of Mary during his pastorate, and today the sisters still use a monstrance he gave them to adore the Lord. They affectionately call him their ‘godfather.’”
Johnson Bui, currently in Theology III at St. John Seminary in Camarillo, spent a year as a seminarian intern at St. Mary’s after Fr. Sera retired. Fr. Sera was already sick, and Johnson assisted in his care along with Fr. Steve Correz and others at St. Mary’s. “Fr. Sera’s priesthood was unlike any other I had encountered before; he was one that always sought to care for and look after the marginalized, a man with a huge heart for helping those in need. But beyond caring for those who had nothing but the shirt on their back, one of the things I appreciated the most about his priesthood was the joy that emanated from him. From waking up and hearing him speak about the interactions he had with a parishioner to his joy in celebrating mass, his priesthood was one full of humility and thanksgiving, it can be said that through him, I found my own vocation invigorated.”
Shelia Hoban met Fr. Sera when he was first assigned to St. Mary’s and she was happy when he returned to be pastor in 2014. Her children grew up knowing and trusting Fr. Sera, who accompanied them through profound life moments. Her family watched Fr. Sera’s dog when he left for his service as a military chaplain.
“He felt very comfortable around us and was a close friend. He gave good guidance but was not judgmental. He gave people time to talk and was a good listener.”
There are so many more stories that could be shared. Fr. Sera truly loved God with all his heart, soul and mind, and faithfully loved his fellow neighbor as himself. His encounters with others revealed that he was humble and a man of integrity. We give thanks for the life and vocation of Fr. Enrique Sera and continue to pray for the repose of his soul.
Fr. Steve Correz offered these words of thanks.
“Thank you, Fr. Sera, for all that you have done for us, and all that you will continue to do for us as you intercede and pray for
us to help us to follow your inspiring example of service to our Lord Jesus, whom you loved so much and witnessed by the service of your life as our spiritual father.”
But the final word goes to Fr. Sera. On Jan. 2, 2022, Fr. Sera offered these words in his homily for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.
“The Lord calls us in mysterious ways…offering whatever it is we bring from our life’s history, from our journey…Ask God to dispel the darkness that overshadows our own hearts. That we look for the light in Our Lord Jesus Christ in whatever mysterious way we discern, and we look for that day when we will come face to face with Him, with His mother in heaven as we are allowed into our eternal life.”