Photos by Steve Ognibene.
After 36 years as a priest in Batavia, Father Ivan Trujillo performed his last mass as an active priest at Resurrection Parish on Sunday.
Father Ivan arrived in Batavia in 1986 at St. Mary's and became parish priest when St. Mary's and St. Joe's merged in 2008.
Over his nearly four decades of service to the community, Father Ivan has led a migrant ministry, a prison ministry, and served at the VA Hospital.
Trujillo was ordained in Jamestown in 1990 and became an assistant at St. Mary's in 1986.
As a young man in Bolivia, Trujillo was inspired both to the ministry and to serve the poor. While studying philosophy in school, he was mentored by the rector, who was a Jesuit with a passion for caring for poor people. That example led Trujillo into the ministry, the priest told The Batavian in 2013.
As a result, a good deal of Father Ivan's work in Western New York has been with the poor and less fortunate. He worked with the poor and sick in his own parish, ministered to inmates at Attica and Wyoming correctional facilities, and worked with migrant workers in Genesee, Orleans and Niagara counties.
The church's music director, Mark Hoerbelt, led a brief moment of recognition for Father Ivan and his service to the community. They worked together for 24 years.
"I just can't say enough about the kindness of this man, the dedication to our parish, and I think the world of him," Hoerbelt said.
Father Ivan's assistant, Bob Waters, also retired as of Sunday. He has served at Resurrection Parish for more than 10 years as a parochial vicar. He was a priest for 54 years. He spent 14 years at Resurrection and also served at St. Anthony's and in Corfu.
Photos by Steve Ognibene.
