HUNTERSVILLE — Deacon Ramon Tapia has received faculties and been assigned by Bishop Peter Jugis to serve St. Mark Church in Huntersville, effective July 12.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Deacon Tapia was ordained for the Diocese of Albany, N.Y., on Oct. 11, 1997, by Bishop Emeritus Howard James Hubbard.
He and his wife Olga moved to the United States in 1981 so he could further pursue graduate studies in engineering. After graduation he became involved in prison ministry and helped organize a Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart/St. Columba Parish in Schenectady, N.Y. Seeing his level of involvement, his pastor, Father Thomas Connery, and Olga encouraged him to apply to the diaconate formation program.
Upon ordination in 1997, he was assigned to Sacred Heart/St. Columba Parish to serve primarily the local Hispanic community. He taught catechetical classes, coordinated a parish prayer group, and administered the sacraments including baptisms, weddings and funerals. When the parish closed in 2008, he was assigned to
St. Anthony Parish in Schenectady, and later in 2015 to serve the Hispanic Apostolate, where he and Olga assisted in establishing the San Andres School of Evangelization.
In 2018 he returned to St. Anthony Parish, where he served until he and his wife moved to North Carolina earlier this year.
Deacon Tapia will serve the Hispanic Ministry and other duties at St. Mark Parish.
— Deacon John Martino