Fr. Saúl Pacheco, the pastor of San Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Mission, nominated Omar Ontiveros as the Foundation’s 2019 Steward of the Year in May and the selection committee kept coming back to what Fr. Saúl shared about Omar’s life of service. We hope that Omar’s example will inspire many parents to pass their faith on to their children.
“Omar Ontiveros and his wife Ana have four beautiful children and are all involved in the ministries at San Pedro de Jesús Maldonado. Omar is an engineer and Ana is an elementary school teacher. Although they are both involved and love their Church, Omar, who works from home, is very visible during the week. He frequently brings the youngest children to daily Mass and is engaged with them in teaching them how to behave, but most importantly to pay attention to what is happening during Mass.”
One story that stands out as a beautiful example of Stewardship is when Fr. Saúl asked Omar if he would build crosses for the Way of the Cross on Good Friday. Omar immediately said yes and embraced the opportunity with joy and excitement. Shortly after committing to the project, he came to tell Fr.Saúl that the entire family was now involved. A few days later, Santiago, the oldest Ontiveros son, built a cross on his own while his parents were in a meeting and donated it to the mission. It now sits in the parish garden. Father is convinced that Sebastian learned this from Omar’s example.
San Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Mission won a $1,000 cash prize and Omar received two complimentary tickets to the 13th Annual Foundation of Faith Dinner: When We Sing, We Pray Twice with singer songwriter Matt Maher on Thursday, September 19 at the El Paso Convention Center, and dinner for two at a local restaurant.
Congratulations to all of our nominees and thank you to the pastors and administrators who took the time to nominate great stewards making a difference at our diocesan parishes.
To learn more about creating a Stewardship parish, contact Stewardship Coordinator Karina Sandoval at 915.872.8412 or ksandoval@elpasodiocese.org.