From October 20-24, 2022, Fr. Daniel Ene was among the Romanian community in Mexico. With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae, at the invitation of the Romanian community and with the help of the Romanian Embassy in Mexico, Fr. Daniel celebrated the Divine Liturgy and the Panikhida in Mexico City and Cancun.
On Friday, October 21, around noon, Father Daniel Ene met at the Embassy with His Excellency Marius Gabriel Lazurcă, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to Mexico, and other members of the diplomatic corps.
Fr. Daniel thanked everyone for their love and generosity towards the Romanian community in Mexico. He was the message bearer for many Romanians who expressed their admiration and gratitude for the professionalism and special care that the entire diplomatic corps of Romania in Mexico has been showing for them for several years.
On Saturday, October 22, 2022, starting at 10 a.m., Divine Liturgy was celebrated in Romanian language at the Old Antiochian Cathedral of St. George in Mexico City. A large number of Romanians participated together with their families or Mexican friends. The Divine Liturgy was served with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan IGNACIO (Samaán) of the Antiochian Orthodox Church of Mexico, Central America and Venezuela. More than 100 people attended the service and listened to the liturgical prayers in their mother tongue. Immediately after the Divine Liturgy, there was the Panikhida service for those who had reposed in the Lord from the families of those present, as well as a special remembrance on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the passing of Mr. GABRIEL CORNEL CHEREBEȚIU (DOMSA), a leading personality of Sports Medicine in Romania and Mexico - multiple World and European Volleyball Champion - PhD in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, coach of the women's and men's volleyball team of Mexico for many years - Master Emeritus of Sports in Romania, University Professor at UNAM-University of Mexico and member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2021, dedicated to the Pastoral Care of Romanians in the Diaspora, Mr. Cherebețiu received an honorary diploma with a medal from His Beatitude DANIEL, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
In the social hall of the Cathedral followed an agape meal, which was a good opportunity to discuss the future of the Romanian community in Mexico and plans for the establishment of the Romanian parish in Mexico.
In the afternoon of the same day, Fr. Daniel went to one of the most famous cemeteries in Mexico City where he celebrated the memorial service of some Romanians who reposed in the Mexican capital, Petre and Anica Merchezan, the husband and mother of Dr. Magdalena Ionescu, a prominent member of the Romanian community in Mexico for more than 50 years, the beloved and famous world and Olympic handball champion Gheorghe Gruia and his wife Alexandra, as well as at the grave of Dr. Gabriel Cherebețiu.
Sunday was the occasion of the meeting with the Romanian community of Cancun/Playa del Carmen, where, in addition to the liturgical prayer and the Panikhida service, Fr. Daniel also celebrated the Akathist of the Romanian Saints to ask for their intercession in the process of establishing a Romanian parish in Cancun. Services were held in the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Cancun (Santuario Maria Desatadora de Nudos). God has ordained that the Catholic Archdiocese provide us with a chapel that we can use at any time, at basically no cost. Most of the Romanian participants are signatories of the petition for the establishment of the Romanian parish, which we hope will find the right answer as soon as possible.
Father Daniel then received an invitation to return to Cancun at the beginning of December to celebrate Romania's National Day for the first time. The Playa del Carmen area and the city of Cancun are home to the majority of the Romanian community in Mexico. This year, the Romanian Embassy will organize for the first time Romania's National Day not only in the Mexican capital, as before, but also where Romanians are more numerous.
On Monday, October 24, Father Daniel met with the Honorary Consul of Romania in Cancun, Eduardo Albor Villanueva.
V, Rev. Fr. Daniel Ene
