{"id":4785,"date":"2021-05-18T02:04:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T02:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/?page_id=4785"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:32:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T18:32:52","slug":"welcome-from-the-pastor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/welcome-from-the-pastor\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fr. Maximilian Avila<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t
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fr.max.avila@raldioc.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Hello, brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n

My name is Friar Max Avila, born and raised in Honduras. I emigrated to USA in 2005, to Miami, FL.<\/p>\n

Go Dolphins!<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n

In 2009, I entered the Franciscan Conventual Friars in MD, professed first vows in 2012, in Mishawaka, IN, solemn vows in 2016, in MD, and was ordained a priest in 2018, in Buffalo, NY.<\/p>\n

As a friar priest, my first assignment was teaching at Saint Francis High School, in Buffalo, NY, from 2018-2026. I taught freshmen and sophomore Spanish.<\/p>\n

Alongside teaching, I moderated the Spanish Club and the Ski\/Snowboard Club. And on weekends, I helped with masses and confession in local parishes as well as the local County Detention Center.<\/p>\n

Coming to Saint Julia\u2019s is a brand-new experience, which I am so looking forward to with an open heart. I want to experience parish life -celebrating sacraments, lending a helping hand, praying with prayer groups, retreats with youth and young adults, etc. I see Saint Julia\u2019s as the place we all belong to as disciples of Jesus.<\/p>\n

As pastor, I intend to be available as much as possible and to address concerns from the people of our community and who call Saint Julia\u2019s their home-parish. I am open to opinions and suggestions and plan to do my best to serve you.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t hesitate to knock on my office door and have a talk with me. I promise to listen and to walk with you, side-by-side, on the journey of faith.<\/p>\n

As pastor, I want to imitate Saint Francis of Assisi as an instrument of peace, bringing love, pardon, faith, hope and joy <\/em>to others.<\/p>\n

I entrust all of us to the loving care of our heavenly mother the Virgen Mary, Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi, that all of us will experience and transmit the love of God.<\/p>\n

God Bless You,<\/p>\n

Friar Max Avila<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Hola, hermanos y hermanas.<\/p>\n

Mi nombre es Fray Max \u00c1vila, nacido y criado en Honduras. Emigr\u00e9 a Estados Unidos en 2005, a Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u00a1Vamos Dolphins!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

En 2009, ingres\u00e9 a la Orden de los Frailes Franciscanos Conventuales en Maryland, profes\u00e9 mis primeros votos en 2012 en Mishawaka, Indiana, mis votos solemnes en 2016 en Maryland, y fui ordenado sacerdote en 2018 en Buffalo, Nueva York.<\/p>\n

Como fraile sacerdote, mi primer destino fue ense\u00f1ar en la Escuela Secundaria Saint Francis, en Buffalo, Nueva York, desde 2018 hasta 2026. Impart\u00ed clases de espa\u00f1ol a estudiantes de primero y segundo a\u00f1o.<\/p>\n

Adem\u00e1s de ense\u00f1ar, fui coordinador del Club de Espa\u00f1ol y del Club de Esqu\u00ed\/Snowboard. Los fines de semana, ayudaba con las misas y la confesi\u00f3n en parroquias locales, as\u00ed como en el Centro de Detenci\u00f3n del Condado.<\/p>\n

Llegar a la parroquia de Santa Julia es una experiencia completamente nueva, que espero con gran ilusi\u00f3n y entusiasmo. Deseo vivir la vida parroquial: celebrar los sacramentos, ayudar a los dem\u00e1s, participar en la oraci\u00f3n con grupos de oraci\u00f3n, retiros con j\u00f3venes y adultos j\u00f3venes, etc. Veo a Santa Julia como el lugar al que todos pertenecemos como disc\u00edpulos de Jes\u00fas.<\/p>\n

Como p\u00e1rroco, me propongo estar disponible en la medida de lo posible y atender las inquietudes de los feligreses de nuestra comunidad que consideran a Santa Julia su parroquia. Estoy abierto a opiniones y sugerencias, y har\u00e9 todo lo posible por servirles.<\/p>\n

No duden en llamar a mi oficina y conversar conmigo. Les prometo escucharles y acompa\u00f1arlos en su camino de fe.<\/p>\n

Como p\u00e1rroco, quiero imitar a San Francisco de As\u00eds como instrumento de paz, llevando amor, perd\u00f3n, fe, esperanza y alegr\u00eda a los dem\u00e1s.<\/p>\n

Encomiendo todos nosotros al amoroso cuidado de nuestra Madre celestial, la Virgen Mar\u00eda, San Francisco y Santa Clara de As\u00eds, para que todos experimentemos y transmitamos el amor de Dios.<\/p>\n

Que Dios los bendiga,<\/p>\n

Fray Max \u00c1vila<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Fr. Edgar Varela<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t
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Fr.Edgar.Varela@raldioc.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Howdy y\u2019all,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m originally from the wonderful<\/p>\n

Valley of the Sun \u2013 Phoenix, AZ.<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yes! That warm southwestern city. I have an amazing family who still lives out there and I visit whenever possible. My parents are both from Chihuahua, Mexico, from whom I learned Spanish and about our Catholic faith. I have two sisters and two brothers, who are all married and most have children; which means I have a total of two nieces and three nephews.<\/p>\n

Before entering the Franciscan friars, I worked in different customer service jobs: check-cashing store, a third-party store for the DMV (we did everything except give out driver\u2019s licenses), bank teller, and call center agent for several banks. During that time, I was discerning if I wanted to be a teacher or a friar, so I took some time taking courses in secondary education and accounting. Little did I know that I could be both a teacher and a friar.<\/p>\n

Once I entered the Franciscan friars, I began my studies in philosophy and theology. After graduation from Catholic University of America, in 2023, I went to Burlington, NC for my pastoral-apostolic experience.<\/p>\n

I professed my solemn vows, also known as final vows, and was ordained a deacon last May 2025.<\/p>\n

Spending time in Chicopee, MA for my diaconate experience, I also taught Spanish at the parish school and was ordained to the priesthood on April 25, 2026, in Burlington, NC.<\/p>\n

I look forward to being part of the Saint Julia Parish community, getting to know all of you and your pets, and working together so that we may grow as a parish family.<\/p>\n

If there is anything you may need, please don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to me, and we\u2019ll see what we can do.<\/p>\n

Peace and all good,
\nFriar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\u00a1Hola a todos!<\/p>\n

Soy originario del maravilloso<\/p>\n

Valle del Sol: Phoenix, Arizona.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a1S\u00ed! Esa c\u00e1lida ciudad del suroeste. Tengo una familia maravillosa que a\u00fan vive all\u00ed y los visito siempre que puedo. Mis padres son de Chihuahua, M\u00e9xico, de quienes aprend\u00ed espa\u00f1ol y sobre nuestra fe cat\u00f3lica. Tengo dos hermanas y dos hermanos, todos casados \u200b\u200by la mayor\u00eda con hijos; lo que significa que tengo dos sobrinas y tres sobrinos.<\/p>\n

Antes de ingresar a la orden franciscana, trabaj\u00e9 en diferentes empleos de atenci\u00f3n al cliente: en una casa de cambio de cheques, en una oficina de la DMV (hac\u00edamos de todo menos expedir licencias de conducir), cajero bancario y agente de centro de llamadas para varios bancos. Durante ese tiempo, estaba discerniendo si quer\u00eda ser maestro o fraile, as\u00ed que tom\u00e9 algunos cursos de educaci\u00f3n secundaria y contabilidad. No imaginaba que podr\u00eda ser maestro y fraile a la vez.<\/p>\n

Una vez que ingres\u00e9 a la orden franciscana, comenc\u00e9 mis estudios de filosof\u00eda y teolog\u00eda. Tras graduarme en la Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Am\u00e9rica en 2023, me traslad\u00e9 a Burlington, Carolina del Norte, para mi experiencia pastoral-apost\u00f3lica.<\/p>\n

Profes\u00e9 mis votos solemnes, tambi\u00e9n conocidos como votos perpetuos, y fui ordenado di\u00e1cono en mayo de 2025.<\/p>\n

Posteriormente, me traslad\u00e9 a Chicopee, Massachusetts, para mi experiencia diaconal, donde tambi\u00e9n impart\u00ed clases de espa\u00f1ol en la escuela parroquial, y fui ordenado sacerdote el 25 de abril de 2026 en Burlington, Carolina del Norte.<\/p>\n

Espero formar parte de la comunidad de la Parroquia de Santa Julia, conocerlos a todos ustedes y a sus mascotas, y trabajar juntos para que podamos crecer como familia parroquial.<\/p>\n

Si necesitan algo, no duden en contactarme y veremos qu\u00e9 podemos hacer.<\/p>\n

Paz y bien,
\nFray Edgar Varela, OFM Conv.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fr. Maximilian Avila fr.max.avila@raldioc.org Hello, brothers and sisters. My name is Friar Max Avila, born and raised in Honduras. I emigrated to USA in 2005, to Miami, FL. Go Dolphins! In 2009,...","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4785","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4785"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13409,"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4785\/revisions\/13409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjuliasilercity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}