LAKE STATION – Transitional Deacon Ivan Alatorre, a Lake Station resident, will be one of two new priests to serve within the Diocese of Gary following the Mass of Ordination on June 7 at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels. He will be bringing with him not only his educational background but also his strong faith rooted in his culture.
Alatorre is one of triplets, having two brothers, Agustin Jr. and Julian. His parents, Agustin and Luz Alatorre, arrived in the United States from Mexico, sharing their cultural traditions with family like novenas and prayers. He has memories of his family spending days in prayer after a loved one had passed and participating in posadas at Christmastime, a service reenacting the journey of Mary and Joseph on their way to finding the stable in Bethlehem.
“Those are the sorts of traditions I grew up with,” he said. “Those are the earliest memories of my own faith – those cultural traditions that have been a part of my life.”
A young Alatorre first had thoughts of discerning the priesthood after receiving his First Communion. He recalls that Father Pat Gaza was the pastor at St. Mark in Gary, his home parish, at the time and remembers having a desire to become an altar server.
“But it didn't really fully enter into my heart until around sophomore year of high school, after a retreat with the Missionaries of Charity,” he explained. “I had a profound encounter with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and began having questions of ‘What is it that I'm called to do?’ and ‘How am I to live my life?’”
It was through serving with the Missionaries of Charity that he began to feel more of a draw to give his life to the Lord in the priesthood.
“Their love and their sacrificial love to give their lives to others has been very inspiring to me,” he said.
Alatorre went into seminary immediately after graduating from River Forest High School in New Chicago in 2017. He enrolled in Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn. After graduating from there, he went straight into studying theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Mich., where he graduated.
Deacon Alatorre is grateful for the support and encouragement of the priests who served as vocation directors for the Diocese of Gary, including Father David Kime, Father Chris Stanish and Father Nate Edquist.
“Father Kime left a valuable saying that remained with me especially during my last semester and it was, ‘The Immaculate Heart of Mary will form me to be a man so that the Sacred Heart can form me to be a priest,’” he said. “It was referring to the seminaries Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and Sacred Heart Major Seminary, but there's also that spiritual dimension to it as well.”
Other priests, including spiritual directors from the seminaries like Monsignor Daniel Trapp, who passed away in February, also played an important role in his formation.
What Deacon Alatorre loves about the Catholic faith is the truth that is found in the history and studies of the religion, as well as the sacraments.
“It is the sacraments that lead us to deeper union with the Father,” he said. “It allows us, especially me, to enter more into that divine partnership that the Father wants for me. Only through the sacraments is that able to be the way to lead me to that.”
Deacon Alatorre reflected and explained that one of the greatest moments in his religious life could be considered his own baptism.
“Even though I don't recall what happened at my baptism, it was the moment where I became a beloved son of the Father,” he said. “That's the beauty within our Catholic faith, the sacraments that the Lord instituted and gave to us so we could be able to go out and be the missionary disciples that he's calling us to be, and to bring others into that divine union with Him.”
Deacon Alatorre shared he enjoys being part of the Diocese of Gary because of its small size in relation to some other dioceses, allowing him to get to know many individuals personally, adding that those he’s met in the diocese have been wonderful people.
“They are holy people with that desire, that thirst to come to want to know more, and want to get close with the Lord,” he said. “And the presbyterate is a great group of holy priests that want to be able to do that – want to serve Jesus.”
A memorable moment in Deacon Alatorre’s ministry work thus far was the National Eucharist Congress and the processions that led up to the congress, which traveled through Northwest Indiana in July 2024.
“Although I felt that I am unworthy, just being able to hold the monstrance, holding the Blessed Sacrament, and being able to process as others behind me are leading with prayer and song,” he said. “That’s been a very memorable moment of my diaconate.”
Another memorable moment for Deacon Alatorre was when he was given the opportunity to baptize a young child for the first time at St. Paul in Valparaiso.
“I joked with the family, saying, ‘I don't know who's going to cry first, me or the child,’ but it's just a beautiful experience to be able to do that,” he said.
As the day of ordination approaches, Deacon Alatorre feels ready to begin his priestly ministry.
“I feel confident that the Lord is going to grace me so that I can be able to go out and to serve Him with everything that I have for Him.”
Deacon Alatorre is looking forward to the moment during his ordination when he will lie prostrate in front of the altar, and the congregation recites the Litany of the Saints.
“It's a moment where I'm able to recognize that the saints are there, praying for me, interceding for me as I lay down my life for Jesus,” he said. “It's a moment for me as well to ask for their intercession and to say, ‘Yeah, I'm not going to be able to do this on my own, but may the saints intercede for me.”
Once ordained, Deacon Alatorre will be assigned as the associate pastor at St. John Bosco in Hammond and co-chaplain of Bishop Noll Institute. He said it's an exciting time to serve in the North Lake Deanery with Father Jeffrey Burton.
“He’s a wonderful priest, a man with great ideas and great zeal,” he said. “I look forward to working with him, and I also look forward to serving the people of Hammond and the students at Bishop Noll.”
Deacon Alatorre stated that it's a great gift to be able to, through spoken words, consecrate the host as a priest. The Eucharist, he noted, is spiritual nourishment, and he looks forward to being able to do that every single day.
To any man considering a calling to the priesthood, Deacon Alatorre recommended focusing on the words of St. Pope John Paul II, “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ.”
“When I was discerning, I certainly felt some fear going in: What if this isn't for me? What if I'm not worthy? What if this isn't for me? What if this isn't my calling? What if I don't live up to these standards?” he said. “Those words would remind me not to be afraid and to allow Christ to lead me along the way.”
One of Deacon Alatorre's favorite Bible passages is Jeremiah 18. In that passage, Jeremiah is led by the Lord to the potter's house. Jeremiah watches the potter work on a vessel, but the vessel is spoiled, so the potter rebuilds it, and he makes it beautiful.
“It's a beautiful image of my own life or even anyone's life,” he said. “We're not perfect. We have our wounds. We have our spoils. But the Lord just wants to form us into this beautiful vessel, and if I allow myself to be open to the Lord, he will do this continuously. Even for me, even as a priest, he's going to continuously form me into that beautiful vessel.”
