Long-time Hispanic Apostolate priest takes helm

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald


June 23 proved to be a joyous day for the Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Its director for the past 10 years,
Dominican Father Sergio Serrano, was given a big send-off party with a Mass concelebrated with his successor, Dominican Father Manuel Solorzano-Zerpa, and many other Hispanic priests in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.


Archbishop Gregory Aymond stopped by the celebration to express his personal gratitude to Father Serrano for 10 years of service to the archdiocese as a strong administrator, pastor, shepherd and friend. 


“For a whole decade he has been with us, and he has served you very, very well,” Archbishop Aymond told those gathered for the Mass. “Certainly, when he celebrates Mass, he says it in the name of Jesus, ‘This is my body and this is my blood,’ but in his own way he says, ‘This is my body and it has been given for you.’ And, he has given his life faithfully to you for 10 years. Under his leadership, the Hispanic Apostolate has grown tremendously. There are more opportunities for ministries, and he has created many, many programs – all of those are to serve you.”

Archbishop Aymond told his co-worker in the vineyard of the Lord, “I will miss you and God’s blessing in your new ministry. You always have a home here in New Orleans.”

“It was a humbling moment for me,” Father Serrano said.

Natural to be selected
Father Solorzano knows he has big shoes to fill – recognizing the outstanding job Father Serrano did to spread word about the Hispanic Apostolate on social media (radio, television, the internet).

“We will try to do the same things,” so the church can reach even more Latino Catholics, he said.

Father Solorzano, who learned of his appointment in early June, plans to continue 100% of what is currently offered – daily 6 p.m. Mass, charismatic ministries, Southeast Pastoral Institute classes, school supply giveaways and its annual fundraising youth scholarship gala. More formation opportunities will come in the near future, once he re-organizes the staff to run the  new ministries.

“Our goal is to do more programs for the parishes and to continue faith formation for the Hispanic communities,” he said, especially encouraging the diverse groups of Spanish-speaking Catholic youth.

Father Solorzano said the apostolate is still trying to regain momentum lost after COVID, but says its strength remains the continued Catholic formation of Spanish-speaking individuals in the more than 20 different parishes throughout the archdiocese.
Since coming to the Hispanic Apostolate six years ago, he has attracted more Venezuelans to participate. He hopes more people will get involved in their own church parishes, too.

“We can form people in faith, but we want to spread what we do to the faith-based committees within parishes so they can do the same thing,” he said.

Path to the priesthood
Father Solorzano’s vocation story started as a youth taught by the Dominican nuns to 11th grade in his native Venezuela. While studying math and engineering systems in college, Dominican friars invited him to a youth encounter mission trip during Holy Week.

“It was a really impactful experience,” he said. “120 youth participants went door-to-door to preach to the people in their homes. At the end of the mission, they asked us, ‘Is the Lord calling you?’ Some answered, but I didn’t say anything and returned to college.”

But, soon after, he began attending Sunday Mass with the friars and dining with them after Mass. At age 19, he started attending vocation conferences with hundreds of youth.

At his third Encuentro, Father Solorzano expressed his desire to join the Dominican order in Caracas. He had only two months to get ready. He said his parents were supportive of his decision, adding that he had two cousins who were nuns.

He attended St. Thomas of Aquinas Seminary in San Cristobal, Venezuela, near the Andes Mountains, earning a philosophy degree, and spent four years studying theology at the Religious Theology Institute (ITER) in Caracas, while learning the Dominican charism at the priory. He was ordained in 1999. Among his many positions with the order have been as formation director in Venezuela, coordinating the African-American community and a superior directing formation for those discerning to be priests and friars.

Spearheaded programs
Father Solorzano came to the archdiocese in August 2017 to study English at Notre Dame Seminary and to work at the Hispanic Apostolate coordinating formation for Spanish-speaking children, young adults and adults. He started catechism classes, Bible studies, baptism classes for parents, rosaries and “everything about theology and faith,” in addition to classes in Spanish for extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and lectors.

“I organized, prepared and created opportunities for people to be formed in their faith,” Father Solorzano said.

Having been in the Boy Scouts as a youth, Father Solorzano was instrumental in coordinating a Saturday soccer league with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and creating a Boy Scouts of America Troop 2525 that’s now mostly a youth group. The soccer program has retained 18 youth.

Father Solorzano said being bilingual was a plus in being selected as the new Hispanic Apostolate leader.

“It was easier to choose someone on the staff to continue programs that Father Sergio had started,” he said. “It’s difficult when someone doesn’t know the programs and isn’t very familiar.”

Looking ahead, he hopes to carve room into his budget for a Spanish-as-a-second language class for English speakers.

“I know priests who would be interested in attending,” he said. “I have many ideas, but the first thing I want to do is to work with pastoral leaders to recover whatever we lost before the pandemic and work closer with Hispanic priests to create more programs in the archdiocese.”

Father Serrano, who will begin a new ministry Aug. 1 working for a nonprofit based in Florida, said Father Solorzano is a “holy priest, and he can be an asset since he has been here for six years and knows all the programs.”

He calls him a “spiritual person, a good confessor and someone who is kind and passionate” and keeps growing and learning how Hispanics are in the United States.

“I think he’ll be good (as director),” Father Serrano said. “People know him.”

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