Bob Reddy
Venice – Transitional Deacon Carlos Encinas had only to complete his final exams in medical school when he realized his desire to become a priest was something he could no longer ignore.
He left his hometown in Argentina and went to New York City, ostensibly to visit a friend, but actually to seriously discern a vocation to the priesthood. “I needed to separate myself from medical school and home, a place I lived my entire life. I wanted to focus on this process with my whole heart.”
While in New York City, Deacon Encinas discerned with the Franciscan Friars, helping in a homeless shelter. While this experience helped him to realize he was on the right path, he did know that religious life was not a good fit because he wanted to be a parish priest. Thus, he began his formal studies toward the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York at Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Douglaston. N.Y., where he graduated with a degree in philosophy.
It was just before his final year in college seminary when Deacon Encinas decided he wanted to serve in a Diocese which had distinct Hispanic populations, unlike New York City where the population is more diffuse. A friend suggested he look at the Diocese of Venice. A week-long visit, including a meeting with Bishop Frank J. Dewane, solidified his decision to join the Diocese as a seminarian upon graduation in 2014.
Throughout his entire discernment process, Deacon Encinas said God was always gentle in asking more of him, showing him signs that he is on the right path. “God never forces you to do something you don’t want to,” he added. “It was at Mass that I would see signs that led me to realize what God wanted from me.”
The recent graduate of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach is now on the cusp of reaching his goal of becoming a priest. The Ordination to the Priesthood of Deacon Encinas will take place at 11 a.m., Oct. 5 at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W., Venice. Bishop Dewane will preside over the ordination.
Now 40, Deacon Encinas was born and raised in Corrientes, Argentina, and said he had a desire to become a priest off and on since he was 19-years-old. When he decided to enter seminary in the U.S., his parents, Alberto and Josefina Encinas, were skeptical, and his father was upset because he wanted his son to become a physician.
“As time passed, he appreciated more what I was doing and now everyone is very happy,” Deacon Encinas explained.
Because of the distance and cost, none of his family was able to attend his April 14, 2018, ordination to the transitional diaconate at St. Joan of Arc Parish Church, Boca Raton. The family did watch via a livestream on social media. He is pleased to know that in October, his parents, sisters, a niece and nephew and three cousins are all coming to the U.S. for the ordination.
While a seminarian for the Diocese of Venice, Deacon Encinas had several pastoral assignments including: St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Naples; St. Andrew Parish, Cape Coral; St. Joseph Parish, Bradenton, and Our Lady of Grace, Avon Park.
The ordination of a transitional deacon to the priesthood is considered one of the pivotal moments in the life of a Diocese. It is one of the most beautiful and often unseen Sacraments in the Church. It is a public response to the Call to Holiness, which comes with great responsibility and accountability.
While an ordination is the final step to priesthood, it is not the conclusion of priestly formation, it is just the beginning.
During ordination to the priesthood Deacon Encinas will freely presents himself to serve God, the Church and the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice and his successors. He will also make a renewed commitment to celibacy and promise obedience. The reward for that choice is to have his life filled with the message of God.
More than 120 priests gathered for this Holy Week tradition where the priests renew their priestly promises which they made at the time of their ordination. This celebration, which was witnessed by more than 1,200 of the faithful, including students from the Diocesan Catholic Schools, marks the institution of the priesthood by Christ and is an expression of unity of the priests with their Shepherd, the Bishop of the Diocese.
Bishop Dewane publicly thanked the priests for their continued service to the People of God throughout the Diocese of Venice for what they do each day. The call to service that priests respond to is a call to rise above the ways of the world – not that they are above anybody, but it is about serving with passion born from Christ, for the Lord and His people, and to bring them together.
The two priests and two deacons serving or living in the Diocese celebrating the 25th and 50th anniversaries or their ordination were individually recognized by the Bishop for their years of service to Holy Mother Church.
The Chrism Mass takes its name from the Sacred Chrism Oil, the most eminent of the three holy oils which the Bishop consecrates for use by parishes of the Diocese. Bishop Dewane described the oils as “Oils of Gladness” which represent the indelible mark each bestows.
Carmelite Father Frederick J. Tillotson, Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Osprey, spoke for the jubilarians and noted what a privilege it has been to serve in the Diocese of Venice at a parish after more than 40 years in education. Father Tillotson said he sought work in a parish and was very fortunate to have been called to serve in the Order of Carmelites in a variety of ways throughout his 50 years as a priest.
Carmelite Father Frederick J. Tillotson was born Oct. 4, 1942 in Pekin, Ill., the oldest of four children of Kenneth Foster Tillotson and Mary S. Cappel-Tillotson. He grew up in Puerto Rico and Sumatra, Indonesia, and attended high school at Aquinas College in Perth, Australia. He received his undergraduate degree from the Carmelite seminary and St. Bonaventure College (University) in Allegany, N.Y. Father Tillotson also holds degrees from the Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, and the University of San Francisco. He also pursued graduate studies at Oxford University in England, University College in Dublin, Ireland, and the University of London. He was ordained to the priesthood in Joliet, Ill., on Aug. 23, 1969. He has taught and held administrative posts in several institutions including Director and instructor for The Kino Institute (the Academy of Religious Studies for Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, an affiliate school of the University of San Francisco); president of Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif.; Head of School/CEO for Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson Ariz.; administrator of St. Cyril of Jerusalem Parish, Tucson; and as president of the Washington Theological Union in Washington D.C.; Director for Clinical Ethics for the Franciscan Health System of Philadelphia; member of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Arizona for Human Subject Research; member of the Bishops Committee on Sexual Misconduct; chaplain to the Tucson Notre Dame Alumni Association; member and chaplain to the Equestrian Order of the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher with the rank of Knight Commander. While with the Diocese of Phoenix, he served on numerous diocesan councils and committees. He has held Carmelite provincial positions as coordinator of school ministry and member of the provincial council, as well as for the Carmelite General Curia in Rome. For the Diocese of Venice, Father Tillotson has served as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish for nearly eight years.
