​Brother Alex Díaz makes permanent commitment to Capuchin-Franciscan life

Brother Alex Díaz makes permanent commitment to Capuchin-Franciscan life

The Capuchin Franciscan friars of the Province of St. Conrad have announced the solemn final profession of Brother Alejandro Díaz, OFM Cap, of San Lorenzo de Brindís Friary on West Ashby Place in San Antonio, a second-year seminarian at the Oblate School of Theology

Brother Alex, as he is known in his community, professed lifelong vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience at Our Lady of Angels Church in San Antonio during a Mass on Sept. 28.

Father Bill Kraus, OFM Cap, pastor of Our Lady of Angels, was the main celebrant and preached to a full church including many members of Brother Alex’s family from the Houston area and nearly 30 Capuchin friars and candidates from Colorado, Kansas and Texas.

Brother Mark Schenk, OFM Cap, recently-elected minister of the province, accepted Brother Alex’s vows on behalf of the Church.

Born in Anáhuac, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1975, the youngest of five children, Brother Alex came to the United States in 1993, became a naturalized citizen in 2004, and earned an associate’s degree in culinary arts from the Art Institute of Houston in 2008.

At the age of 38, after working for most of six years as a chef, Alejandro discerned a calling to the priesthood and religious life while cooking at the Catholic Charismatic Center in Houston. He entered the Capuchins’ postulancy program at Blessed Solanus Casey Friary in Colorado Springs in 2014. Following a one-year novitiate with the friars in Santa Ynez, Calif., he made his first profession in 2016 and began studies in philosophy at the Mexican American Catholic College.

During his first years of post-novitiate training, Brother Alex made numerous visits to Matamoros, Mexico, where he engaged in ministry to youth, the elderly, and migrant workers. In San Antonio he also assisted in campus ministry at St. Mary’s University. This past year, he has also taught in the RCIA program at Our Lady of Angels, which the Capuchins have staffed since 2017.

The Capuchins presently have 17 young men in their programs of formation for Capuchin life and ministry: five in the postulancy program, one in the novitiate, four in Denver, and seven in San Antonio.