Priest on mission of mercy
Father Anthony Aarons will meet with Pope Francis
“There’s so much confusion, and I think that mercy is the stabilizing force that is needed in our world.” Father Anthony Aarons
Father Anthony Aarons began practicing mercy as a child, carrying food and a book of prayers to his neighbors in Jamaica.
Aarons said he began visiting the poor in his community when he was about 7, following the example of his service-minded parents.
“I didn’t know that this was anything priestly,” laughed the Franciscan friar who now lives in Winter Park.
These days, Aarons is still delivering mercy to people. Just across a longer distance.
In the coming week, he’ll travel to Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis and receive a special mission of mercy that he’ll bring back with him to Central Florida.
The pontiff has declared it a Holy Year of Mercy, and he’s enlisting 700 priests from around the world to carry this theme in their
communities. Aarons is one of the 125 priests from the United States who have been chosen as a “missionary of mercy,” according to Teresa Peterson, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Orlando.
Aarons’ trip to the Vatican will culminate in an Ash Wednesday Mass, where Pope Francis will give his mandate to the assembled priests, Peterson added.
Aarons, 59, said his job this year will be demonstrating and teaching about mercy.
“When you look at the situation in the world today, there are so many wars. There are so many families being destroyed by various forces. There’s so much confusion, and I think that mercy is the stabilizing force that is needed in our world,” he said.
Franciscans are known as the “brothers of penance,” and hearing others confess is one way Aarons has been able to show God’s mercy to others, he said. His listening skills have endeared him to students at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, where he spends
about two days a week.
“I think when you’re dealing with teenagers … listening to their feelings and worries and hopes and dreams is so very, very important,” said Thomas Doyle, president of the Edgewater Drive high school.
Aarons also spends time counseling people who visit the San Pedro Spiritual Development Center, where he lives, and is involved in a marital reconciliation program.
He said he’s eager to celebrate Mass in the Vatican and feels a special connection with the pontiff. Even though Pope Francis is technically a Jesuit, his name sends a different message, Aarons said.
“He has a Franciscan heart,” Aarons joked.