Deacon dies in Chihuahua, Mexico 23 days after its ordination

As soon as he began to live his consecrated vocation, Pablo Aarón Martínez Ontiveros, a young deacon of the diocese of Nuevo Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua (Mexico), died after a car accident. He had only 23 days of being ordered and prepared to receive the priesthood. Those who knew him describe him as “an eternal crush of God.”

According to local mediathe accident was recorded on the morning of June 4, in the highway section that connects Nuevo Casas Grandes with the municipality of Janos, in the northern part of the state. The truck in which the 29 -year -old deacon was traveling, causing wounds that would be fatal.

Pablo Aaron trained in the Seminar of the Archdiocese of Chihuahua and, after completing his studies, was assigned to the diocese of Nuevo Casas Grandes, where his pastoral service began in the parish of San Judas Tadeo.

For almost a year – from September 2023 to June 2024 – he collaborated in that temple located about 100 kilometers from the border with the United States, next to Fr. Guillermo Venzor Rodríguez.

In an interview with ACI Press, the priest recalled the young man with affection, whom he defined as “a very happy, very happy young man, a very intelligent young man, very delivered.”

Fr. Venzor Rodríguez highlighted not only his personality, but also his deep dedication to God: “He loved his vocation, he knew how to see in the experience of the deacon with great peace of mind, with much peace, also living with the will of God.”

During his coexistence with the young man, he added that it was evident that the deacon maintained a “very father’s relationship – Son with God. He saw him as such, as a father, and very close, especially that, because he always wet with a deep spirituality.”

Far from comfort or routine, Pablo Aaron was always restless to grow spiritually. “He was not conformist in the sense that he was always preparing, he liked studying, he also went to retreat, he liked the spiritual part, he always sought the life of grace,” said Fr. Venzor Rodríguez.

“Yours forever, Jesus”

May 13 was his diaconal ordination. In his social networks he shared that moment with a message that reflected his total delivery: “Yours forever, Jesus, yours,” and He expressed his emotion To be close to becoming a priest, or as he wrote, “to tear a piece to eternity to consecrate myself to Jesus Christ with the sacrament of order, is a little step to become reality.”

“Do not let go of your prayer to live this future ministry, as an example of our Blessed Mother and with the constant help of our God so infinitely good,” the deacon shared.

“An eternal lover of God”

For Miriam Janet, Pablo’s friend since high school in 2010, she was a “warm, always willing to listen.” As he said, “his presence and his words motivated you and made you see things in a simpler way.”

On his spiritual life, he commented that “God was all, the engine of everything. He always told us that, putting in God, everything was going to flow, that God was on our side. An eternal crush of God.”

“From a very young age he always mentioned God, so, He was intended to serve us already show others the beauty of his love and mercy. A valuable friend, quiet, affectionate. Always willing to support others,” said her friend.

The Diocese of Nuevo Casas Grandesthe Archdiocese of Chihuahua and the Diocese of Tarahumarto the Diocese of Cuauhtémoc-Madera – who are part of the ecclesiastical territory of the State – shared their pain at the death of the young deacon and expressed their proximity to the family.