The Priests of My Childhood

Growing up as a child in a Catholic family and going to a Catholic school, my parents were close to Fr. Leonardo Agcaoili, our parish priest at San Bartolome Parish in Malabon. It was from Fr. Agcaoili that we received our first holy communion when I was in grade one at St. James Academy. I remember Fr. Agcaoili to be a chain smoker and a heavy drinker. I always see him smoking cigarette outside the parish church, while walking around the patio. Whenever he says mass, he always has colds and while giving communion, would blow his nose on his white handkerchief and tuck it in the long sleeve of his “sotana”. Fr. Agcaoili was always present during birthday parties, family gatherings and special occasions. I would often see him in the company of my uncles, drinking beer and smoking non-stop.

Another one of our parish priests that I could remember was Monsignor Casas. Many parishioners consider him as a very strict pastor. While saying the mass, he would call the attention of the mother whose child would make noise or would run around inside the church. Many of the parishioners are often hurt with the things that Monsignor Casas would say in his sermons. When it was time to sing the Lord’s Prayer, he would command everybody to raise their hands and sing aloud. Some people say that he was like Fr. Damaso, of which I do not have any idea, since I have not yet read the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Fr. Merin was our parish priest when I was in high school. He was very close to my father. He would often visit our house and would have lunch or dinner with us, since he liked my father’s cooking. My father would often ask Fr. Merin what he would like to eat and he would cook it for him. Just like my father, Fr. Merin loves to eat! It was to Fr. Merin that my mother first revealed that I would like to become a priest. As soon as he learned about my desire to become a priest, he made arrangements for me to take the entrance examination at San Carlos Seminary, the seminary of the Archdiocese of Manila. He also made sure that I would pass the examinations, by giving me tips on what questions would be asked.

Before graduating from high school, we had our retreat at the Jesuit retreat house in Angono, Rizal. It was there that I first met Fr. Erasmo “Sonny” Ramirez, OP. He was our retreat master and he was the first Dominican I have ever met. Almost all of us cried hard during the talks of Fr. Sonny. He made us realize many things, especially the things that we took for granted in our relationships in the family. He had a very good voice and he sings very well. That retreat was really one unforgettable highlight in our high school life. After the retreat, my high school batch had several more encounters with Fr. Sonny. We had a whole day recollection as one batch a few days before graduation, since our retreat was divided into two groups – one for boys and another for girls. It was also Fr. Sonny who presided over our graduation mass and announced to our graduating class that I was one of the three boys who will be entering the seminary after graduation. Since then, I have tagged along Fr. Sonny as a youth facilitator whenever he would give retreats, even out of town – as far as Baguio and Bicol. He even brought me to a thanksgiving mass of one of the newly ordained Dominican priests in Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay.