What began as the announcement of a parish priest’s replacement has ended up becoming an unusual popular mobilization. In just three days, the residents of Cañada Rosal (Seville), the priest himself, and now also the mayor of the municipality have publicly expressed their desire for Fernando Flores Pistón, 89, to continue leading the parish of Santa Ana after more than six decades of ministry in the town.
The story, reported by the newspaper El Pespunte, began on June 29, when the Archdiocese of Seville announced the appointment of a new parish priest for Cañada Rosal and Don Fernando’s transition to the status of emeritus parish priest. The news surprised much of the municipality, where the priest is regarded as one of the most representative figures in local life. Within hours, messages of support began to multiply on social media, along with expressions of affection from numerous residents who especially regretted the way the change had been communicated.
“You will always be the priest of Cañada”
Physician Ángel López Hernanz and the town’s official chronicler, José Antonio Filter Rodríguez, were among the first to publicly voice their disagreement with the decision. Both highlighted Don Fernando’s pastoral dedication and called for the community’s wishes to be taken into account, arguing that the priest continues to carry out his ministry actively despite his advanced age.
The posts sparked a genuine wave of supportive messages. Many residents recalled that Don Fernando still visits the sick, accompanies families, celebrates the Eucharist, and remains available to anyone who knocks on the rectory door. Others shared personal anecdotes, agreeing that “he will always be the priest of Cañada.”
“I will keep doing the same”
The following day, Fernando Flores Pistón himself gave an interview to El Pespunte in which he explained that he had received the news directly from the Archbishop of Seville, Monsignor José Ángel Saiz Meneses, during a meeting held a few days earlier.
Although he admitted he would have liked to remain as titular parish priest “until God said ‘you’ve gone far enough,’” he stated that he accepted the decision “because the Church commands it” and recalled that obedience is part of priestly ministry.
Don Fernando also clarified that his pastoral work would not end with the appointment of the new parish priest, Ely Yecid Lesmes Cruz. According to him, the archbishop expressly asked him to continue performing the tasks he has carried out for so many years: visiting the sick, accompanying families, and staying close to the community.
“I will keep doing the same because, above all else, I have always been the priest of Cañada Rosal,” he affirmed.
More than sixty years transforming a town
During the conversation, the priest reviewed much of his history in Cañada Rosal, where he arrived in July 1964 at just 27 years old.
He explained how he went door to door to learn the neighbors’ needs and how he promoted various social initiatives to combat poverty, improve housing conditions, and create jobs in a town where work was scarce.
Among other projects, he promoted the construction of homes for families living in old lime kilns, helped process the labor emigration of many residents to Germany during the 1960s, and later drove the creation of the packaging cooperative COENCA, considered one of the engines of the town’s economic development.
For Don Fernando, all these initiatives stemmed from a single conviction: “That work was what Jesus Christ did: giving bread to the hungry and opening the eyes of the blind.”
The mayor requests a review of the decision
The mobilization took a new step on July 1. The mayor of Cañada Rosal, Rodrigo Rodríguez Hans, sent a letter to the Archdiocese of Seville requesting that the priest’s replacement be reconsidered and asking for a meeting to personally convey the municipality’s feelings.
Rodríguez Hans maintains that “age should never overshadow a vocation when it remains alive and at the service of others” and asks that the possibility of reversing the decision be studied, aware—as he states—of the exceptional nature of the request.
“It is the people of Cañada Rosal who want to continue having Don Fernando as titular parish priest,” the letter concludes.
While the new parish priest joins to collaborate in the pastoral care of the parish, the affection the municipality has shown toward Fernando Flores Pistón has turned a routine diocesan change into an uncommon story: that of a town that has chosen to publicly express its gratitude to the priest who has accompanied it for more than sixty years.