His journey began in San José, Costa Rica, and he came to the United States to pursue his undergraduate degree at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, where he met his wife. After living in Chicago for 15 years, the family settled in Central Florida in 2015, drawn by the promise of warmer weather and a renewed take on family priorities. 

On their first day in Oviedo, they attended Mass at Most Precious Blood Parish and immediately felt called to make this community their home. 

Within a year, Christine became part of the parish staff, while Hernández immersed himself in parish life, organizing events such as the parish feast day and golf tournament, and serving as a chaperone on high school mission trips. His ministry extends beyond the parish, focusing on compassionate care for the sick and dying. He feels his ministerial calling is “to walk alongside people and their families during life’s most vulnerable times, offering companionship, presence, and hope.”

Entering diaconal formation while raising children in middle school and high school brought significant challenges for the Hernández family, as they navigated the delicate balance between family life, professional commitments, and formation. Hernández described formation as “a profound personal journey of self-discovery,” calling him “to greater vulnerability and openness before the Lord.”

“Learning to surrender control and entrust (my) life to God required humility and perseverance, especially as someone inclined to hold emotions inward,” he said. 

Through this formation process, Hernández received bountiful graces. Formation has brought deep spiritual growth, strengthening his marriage and enriching family life with an abundance of love rooted in Christ. He has also grown in trust in the Lord, discovering when he aligns his will with the Lord’s, God faithfully uses him as an instrument to reach His people, deepening Hernández’s love for the Orlando community. 

As a deacon family, the Hernándezes hope to be a visible sign of Christ’s compassion and merciful love in the community they serve.

STEVEN LANG

Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Indialantic

Steven Lang is married to Christine, and they have four children. A contractor for the U.S. Space Force, he serves advising and supporting the leadership team at Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Both he and his wife grew up in Florida. After serving 26 years in the U.S. Air Force and ending up with an assignment launching rockets at Cape Canaveral, they decided to retire in Melbourne. From the time they arrived in 2016, their whole family fell in love with the Holy Name of Jesus Parish community and have enjoyed being active members. 

Christine also started a professional guardianship company in the local area focused on taking care of and protecting people who cannot care for themselves, and both have turned that into a ministry of caring for the brain injured, those at risk, and the elderly, particularly those with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“I experienced a very definitive call to come and serve the church,” Lang said. “I didn’t understand it at first and spent the first half of our discernment year coming up with all the reasons I couldn’t possibly be called to serve as a deacon. Once I stopped thinking with my head about the call and just listened with my heart, I knew for sure I was called. I knew for sure I wanted to say ‘yes’ to the call, but I didn’t know if I was strong and capable enough to serve the people of God in the way they deserve. By growing in relationship to God through diaconate formation, I’ve learned how to surrender to Him.” 

He also learned that it is God who ultimately is serving the people and, “I’m just a conduit that needs to cooperate.” Through his military experience, he said his entire adult life has been focused on a mission — taking care of people, and leading people toward a common goal. “I can now see how those experiences developed gifts and charisms in me that I resolve to continue using to bring glory to God by serving the community,” he said. 

“In a world drowning in individualism, anxiety and skepticism, the world needs the faith, hope, and love of our Savior now more than ever. Through His grace, I look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of God in word and deed through worship in the liturgy, building relationships in the community, and serving those most in need. ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’” (Phil 4:13). 

ROBERT LIGHT

Ascension Parish, Melbourne

Robert and Christina Light are members of Ascension Parish in Melbourne. Originally from Washington state, the couple, both retired U.S. Air Force officers, relocated to Melbourne during their military service. 

After joining Ascension in 2014, Light embraced the Catholic faith and received the Sacraments of Initiation in 2017. Together, he and his wife serve as parish

leaders, coordinating missionary outreach in Uganda and Ghana and supporting local families through Family Promise of Brevard. He also serves with the Knights of Columbus and provides spiritual care at Health First’s Viera Hospital.

Light’s journey through the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) opened a desire for deeper formation, which was strengthened through the challenges and graces of diaconate formation. 

“The past six years brought moments of spiritual stretching, personal growth, and shared sacrifice, yet also profound encouragement, clarity, and renewal,” he said. 

This time of discernment has deepened his relationship with God and enriched his marriage, affirming his call to bridge the secular and sacred through mission and ministry, both locally and abroad.

JOHN QUIRK

St. Joseph Parish, Lakeland

John Quirk is married to his wife of 14 years, Enidza Ramos Quirk. Their son, John, works for St. Vincent de Paul CARES as the program manager for seven counties, including Polk.

Enidza is an elementary school teacher with Polk County Public School System. While Quirk is from Lakeland, his wife is from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, and moved to Lakeland in 2006. 

While Enidza participated in Mass at both St. Joseph and Resurrection parishes in Lakeland, Quirk attended a Christian Missionary Alliance church. While dating, the two would attend both churches. In 2012, they celebrated the Sacrament of Marriage at St. Joseph in Lakeland. Quirk felt God pulling on his heart and made the decision to become Catholic. He was confirmed at the Easter Vigil in 2014. 

“My outside the walls ministries are related to my personal history as a veteran, drug addict, homeless, criminal,” he said. “I work to assist those who are living on the fringe of society, striving to help the homeless with food and housing, mentoring other addicts, and visiting jails and institutions.”

Some of the challenges he faced during formation dealt with learning “the truth about the Catechism of the Catholic Church, compared to the fallacies I was taught growing up in a Protestant church,” he said.

Early in formation, maintaining balance in his life was hard as he found it difficult to say, “no.”

“I have gotten better at ensuring I am not forcing my family to sacrifice my time for others. The graces I have received during formation have been endless,” he said. “I have seen God answer my prayers again and again. Every time I have faced a challenge wondering if this is the right path for me, I surrendered and prayed, and God showed me a miracle and gave me peace through the trouble.”

The couple hopes to take the light of Christ into the dark parts of society and share His love with those who believe they are unlovable. “My goal is to help people in the Church and outside of the Church to know, in their hearts, how much God loves them,” he said.

EFRAIN MACÍAS

St. Isaac Jogues Parish, Orlando

Efrain Macías and his wife, Maribel, have been married for 36 years. Macías describes his wife as “a faithful companion and a source of encouragement in (his) walk of faith and formation.” 

“We have a wonderful family that has always been present to me during my process of discernment and formation for the Diaconate,” he said.

Born and raised in Mexico, it is there that he first developed his faith through his family’s way of life, his participation in the parish, and his devotion to the Church. Thirty-nine years ago, he felt God’s call to move to the United States. The family later moved to Orlando in 2003 and joined St. Isaac Jogues Parish where they have actively participated in the life and ministries of the parish community ever since. His participation in various aspects of parish life and ministry beyond the parish walls includes engaging in evangelization and pastoral service within both the Spanish- and English-speaking communities, primarily through prayer groups, retreats, and moments of spiritual formation, during which “I have proclaimed the Word of God and encouraged other believers to grow in their faith,” Macías said.

His journey toward the diaconate has involved many challenges and blessings. 

“By means of years of prayer, study, spiritual direction, and pastoral service, God has assisted me to develop in humility, service, and love for His People. The academic formation, retreats, and guidance of my spiritual director, mentor, and pastor have all enhanced my understanding of the Church’s call to serve.” 

He acknowledged, like many journeys of discernment, there have been moments of sacrifice and challenge; however, he said there have also been great blessings, as well as the continued presence and support of his family and community, who have accompanied him on this path. 

“As we look to the future, my wife and I see the diaconate as a family vocation of service. Together we desire to continue serving the Church with joy, particularly by being a presence to families, assisting those in need, and proclaiming the Gospel simply and with charity wherever the Lord leads us.”

DANIEL VÉLEZ

Santo Toribio Romo, Mascotte

Daniel Vélez Rubio and his wife, Sarita Rodriguez, are proud parents of four children and grandparents of six grandchildren. Rubio is a librarian at the Cooper Memorial Library in Clermont. 

Originally from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, he grew up with his parents, Miguel and Altagracia and two siblings, Micky and Zaida. His father Miguel is a deacon in the Archdiocese of San Juan, P.R.

Dreaming of living in Orlando, the couple moved to Winter Springs in February 2011, and participated in Mass at St. Augustine Parish in Casselberry. The following year, they moved to Clermont and became parishioners at St. Faustina. That same year, they bought their house in Mascotte and started visiting the Santo Toribio Romo Mission sporadically. 

“We fell in love with the community and became part of their choir and later choir director, a ministry that I continued until 2023,” Rubio said. 

Besides the choir, the couple has always felt the call to work with other couples, resulting in their work as facilitators of Fully Engaged. In recent years, they have also become active members of Renovación Conyugal. 

Another call close to Rubio’s heart is the ministry to the incarcerated. He serves at the Lowell Correctional Institution, along with other deacons of the Diocese of Orlando.

He said the six-year formation process to become a deacon has been a great experience. 

“I cannot say that it has been easy, especially because of how much I learned about myself, both the good and the bad. Mainly, I have been able to rediscover the many blessings God has given our lives,” he said. 

He calls his cohort the Pandemic Group because they started formation in 2020. 

“We didn’t see each other’s faces for a year, so our bonding as a group took awhile,” he said. “Bonding is challenging for me because I tend to be alone and a bit introverted, but formation showed me that a community is better and supporting each other became necessary. Now it is amazing how I find myself taking the first step to shake somebody’s hand and help. I know that comes from the Lord, and I am deeply grateful for it. I know that this ‘new skill’ will be instrumental in my service, and that, along with my wife, I will be able to help others, preaching the Gospel, more through actions than words.”

He said he sees he and his wife serving and helping couples. “On the other hand, I think the Lord is calling me to reach those who, at some point, have felt like they don’t belong in the Church, to help them know that Jesus is always there, loves them, and that they are always welcome. They just need someone to tell them,” he said.