FRANCISCO JOSÉ ORTIZ BERNAL, DEAN OF SEVILLE CATHEDRAL, TO HAVE A PLAZA BEARING HIS NAME IN BENACAZÓN

The Benacazón City Council has unanimously approved naming a plaza in the city “Deán Ortiz Bernal” honoring diocesan priest Francisco José Ortiz, Dean of the Cathedral and native of Seville. The opening ceremony will take place next 28 February at noon, after which there will be a brief prayer of thanksgiving in the church.

The proposal for the name change originated from Councilor for Tourism Antonio Bautista last November when he requested renaming the current “Plaza de la Iglesia” as “Plaza Deán Ortiz Bernal”, thus recognizing the “pride” that “a son of that city is Dean of Seville Cathedra.

In his proposal, the councillor recalled that this priest had been born and raised in the town and stood out because in his various pastoral destinations he always “has prided himself on being a native of Benacazón, placing value on the cultural and touristic heritage that we have, serving in every capacity that our city has required of him.”

One example of this helpfulness toward the city, says the councilor, is the occasion of his celebration of priestly silver wedding anniversaries, when he commissioned “a nearly life-sized painting of our patroness so that she might be present for life in the church and receive worship and fervor.”

With this recognition, priest Francisco José Ortiz affirms his gratefulness and notes that “as a native of Benacazón and a son of the city, it makes me proud that a plaza in which I played as a young boy and through which I have walked a thousand times should bear my name. It makes me happy and proud.”