The book is number three of three, and it’s dedicated to 40 years of priesthood. Father Fernando Torres recently completed the final volume in his series titled Let’s Enter the Church, or Entremos a la Iglesia.
Each book is a collection of poems he wrote, and there’s a poem that relates to readings for each Sunday and feast day. The three books representing the three cycles of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year and the readings shared at Mass.
Father Fernando published the first book in September of 2023, and the writings, which are shared in both Spanish and English, correlated to the readings for Cycle B because that was the cycle happening in the Church at the time. He dedicated that book, with its green cover, to his father and to the memory of his mother. In October of 2024 he released the second book, which had a blue cover and related to Cycle C. He dedicated that book to the centennial of the Diocese of Raleigh.
Father Fernando has his own place in diocesan history, which was celebrated that year. He was the first Hispanic priest ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh. That ordination, he said, happened Nov. 23, 1985, and its 40th anniversary in 2025 became the inspiration for the dedication of book three, which features a yellow cover and correlates to Cycle A.
“This is beautiful,” he told NC Catholics Dec. 4 after publishing the book last month. “The joy of this one is that I concluded the three cycles.”
In the book’s introduction he thanked those who inspired him, assisted in publishing and invited him to meet the Lord. “May God bless our communities with the grace of a living participation in the liturgy, in the faith and in the encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ who saves,” he wrote.
Father Fernando often draws inspiration from the way Catholics live their faith. He said he’s often moved by the devotion of the Hispanic community to celebrations, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe. For him, that devotion is often visible in flowers, decorations and the singing of mañanitas, or songs, to Mary.
During the last three years of working on the books he said he’s encountered people who have encouraged him, asked where to find the book (the answer is Amazon), shared feedback and even used artificial intelligence technology to turn the poems into songs.
It has been a positive experience for the priest, who is pastor at St. Therese in Wilson and previously served at St. Bernadette in Fuquay-Varina. He said what’s important to him is that the books may lead readers to a true and full participation in Mass and their faith life. The intention is for people to not only be present physically, but to be present and prepared spiritually.