MANILA, Feb. 14, 2015 – Feb.1 was no ordinary day for the faithful of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Trento, Agusan del Sur. It was the day of the most-awaited thanksgiving Mass of their first “homegrown priest”, Fr. Ritchell Salinas, SVD, who was recently ordained in Germany.
Fr. Ritchell Salinas, SVD prays over a fellow priest at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Trento, Agusan del Sur. (Photo: Fr. Sherwin Aromin, SVD)
“Everybody was excited! The feeling of joy was very present that day. All of us were very thankful to God for the gift of vocation. It was indeed a grace-filled moment,” remarked Salinas.
More vocations
The festive mood of his thanksgiving Mass further moved him.
The parish church was not only filled with parishioners and well-wishers, but also with friends and several SVD missionaries from other parts of Agusan, Davao and Cebu.
His homecoming was part of the Divine Word Missionaries’ program, which arranges for their ordained priests to go home to their respective hometowns and parishes to celebrate their Mass of thanksgiving for the prayers, moral and financial support offered by the faithful during his seminary formation.
It was also an occasion to invite the faithful to pray for more vocations and scout for more candidates to the priesthood and religious life as well.
First parish comes home
Salinas entered the SVD congregation via the Divine Word Formation Center-Davao in 2001.
He graduated from Christ the King Mission Seminary of Quezon City in March 2005. He took his first profession of vows in 2007 and had his theological studies at the Divine Word Seminary of Tagaytay City.
Archbishop Ludwig Schick, Archdiocese of Bamberg, Germany, ordained Fr. Ritchell Salinas, SVD to the priesthood on Dec. 31, 2014 at the seminary chapel of Sankt Augustin Kloster near Bonn, Germany.
Salinas was then sent by the congregation to Germany under the Exchange Student Program (ESP). He had his perpetual vow last Sept. 29, 2013 and became a deacon on Oct. 20, 2013. Archbishop Ludwig Schick, Archdiocese of Bamberg, Germany, ordained him to the priesthood on Dec. 31, 2014 at the seminary chapel of Sankt Augustin Kloster near Bonn, Germany.
The St. Francis of Assisi Parish of Trento was founded on 1965 by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) Fathers. It was turned over to the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) in the 70s, with Fr. Max Abalos, SVD as the first SVD parish priest. German priest Fr. Ulrich Schlect, SVD served the parish for 17 years, and later on was granted Philippine citizenship in 2007. Fr. Heinz Kulueke, the present Superior General of the SVD, was once assigned to this parish in the 80s.
The parish was finally turned over to the administration of the Diocese of Butuan in 1995. Fr. Celso Laluna is its current parish priest. It is under the Vicariate of Mary, Queen of Martyrs of the Diocese of Butuan. (Fr. Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD/CBCPNews)
