On December 13, 2025, Deacon Leonardo Jacomelli, SCJ, from the Brazilian Southern Province (BRM), was ordained to the priesthood in Ituporanga. The ordination was followed by his First Mass the next day at the Mother Church of Santo Estêvão Parish.
The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SCJ) and the community of the faithful gathered on Saturday, December 13, at the Santo Estêvão Parish Church in Ituporanga (SC) for the priestly ordination of Deacon Leonardo Jacomelli, SCJ. The celebration was presided over by Bishop Onécimo Alberton, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Florianópolis, who, through the imposition of hands and the prayer of consecration, conferred upon him the second degree of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Now ordained a priest, Fr. Leonardo joins the Church’s presbyterate, fully assuming the ministry of the Word, the Eucharist, and Reconciliation. The celebration was attended by priests, deacons, religious, family members, and the faithful from various communities.
With the motto “The love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14), the new priest expresses the spirituality that has marked his vocational journey and that now guides his priestly ministry, inspired by the Dehonian charism of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
During the celebration, one of the most significant moments was the prostration of the candidate, followed by the Litany of the Saints—a gesture expressing his total surrender to God and his communion with the heavenly Church. Subsequently, the imposition of hands by the bishop and the present priests, along with the prayer of consecration, marked the essential rite of ordination. Fr. Leonardo received the stole and chasunble, had his hands anointed, and was presented with the bread and wine, signs of the ministry he now begins to exercise.
Pastors after the Heart of Christ
In his homily, Bishop Onécimo exhorted the new priest to always contemplate the Priestly Heart of Jesus, the source of virtues, duties, and the fullness of the priestly ministry, lived in the image of Christ—poor, chaste, and obedient. He also reminded him that the priesthood is called to be an expression of self-giving and love for the people of God.
The bishop also emphasized the importance of proximity—to God, the bishop, the presbyterate, fellow confreres, and the people—underlining that the Church expects “pastors in the style of Jesus,” marked by compassion, tenderness, and the courage to heal the world’s wounds. Finally, he entrusted the new priest’s ministry to the intercession of Mary, asking her to lead him to a full availability to do “whatever Christ tells him.”
The Provincial Superior of the Brazilian Southern Province (BRM), Fr. Sildo César da Costa, SCJ, wished the new priest a ministry lived with joy, fidelity, and profound communion with the Heart of Jesus. He recommended that he cultivate community life and personal prayer, remaining available to serve, especially the poorest and most wounded, and to always be a channel of the Lord’s grace, finding in the Heart of Jesus his consolation, grace, and hope.
First words of the new priest
At the end of the celebration, Fr. Leonardo thanked God for the gift of his vocation, his family, the SCJ Congregation, and all the people and communities who prayed and walked with him throughout his formation.
In his remarks, he praised and blessed the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, affirming that he had been looked upon with mercy and chosen despite his frailties. He recalled that, in this Jubilee Year, he was consecrated to serve the Church in view of establishing the Kingdom of God.
The new priest highlighted that his entire vocational journey was sustained by the love of Christ, from his decision to leave university and enter the seminary in 2014, to the challenges, trials, and missions experienced during his 12 years of formation. “What brought me here is the love of the Heart of Jesus,” he stated, adding that it is this same love that now sends him on his priestly mission to sanctify, teach, and lead the faithful to the Heart of Christ.
Profile
A native of Ituporanga (SC), from Santo Estêvão Parish (Diocese of Rio do Sul), which is served by the Franciscan Order, Fr. Leonardo Jacomelli began his vocational journey at a young age, serving as a catechist at 15. After beginning a degree in Architecture and Urbanism, he decided to enter the seminary, motivated by his vocational discernment and the experience of WYD Rio 2013.
He entered the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SCJ) in 2014, passing through the stages of propaedeutic (Rio Negrinho), discipleship and Philosophy (Brusque), postulancy (Barretos/SP), novitiate (Jaraguá do Sul), and pastoral internship (Rio Negrinho and Rio do Sul). Subsequently, he began the stage of configuration in Taubaté (SP), where he studied Theology, completing 12 years of initial formation. As a deacon, he exercised his ministry particularly at the Meninos de São Judas Tadeu Institute in São Paulo.
