Gio’s grade 6 dream

Vocation Story of Fr. Eligio R. Santos, SDB

I am Fr. Gio. Others call me Fr. Ely. I come from a family of 13 siblings, though three died when they were younger. My mother Corazon Ramirez was a product of the Holy Spirit School in Tagbilaran. She wanted to enter the convent. But God had other plans for her as she met my father, Emilio Santos. They got married during the war and was advised by the priest to pray the rosary every day. My mother wanted only one child as she knew she was impatient and a disciplinarian, but when she heard a talk about vocations to the religious and priestly life, she stopped counting.

Daddy and Mommy prayed the rosary as we were being born into the family. It was the core of our family spirituality. If we had to travel, we prayed it inside the vehicle. One of the intentions of the rosary was “for more and better priests and religious and for religious vocations in the family.” Little did I realize that we were praying for ourselves as most of us boys entered the seminary with three priests and one lay brother. This grace was given even if we were at times rushing through the rosary so as to be able to go back to our play or to watch TV.

Of course we attended mass every Sunday as a family. I would remember how we occupied a whole pew: my mother at one end and my father the other. My parents would distribute the money for the collection and we would check if each one dropped it in the bag. We also went to mass on ordinary days during the birthday of a family member. I also remember that during the turn of the year, we would have holy hour at home.

As a young boy, I would play soldier, doctor and priest, interchangeably. My parents saw to it that we studied in a Catholic school. So all the boys except for the eldest were sent to Don Bosco (in Mandaluyong, Rizal) and all the girls at Stella Maris (run by the Franciscan sisters- Cubao, Quezon City) – near our home. In the school I remembered our games and how the priests like Fr. Candusso, Fr. Cuomo and brothers like Br. Prokopowicz, Br. Gomez were with us in the playground. We had daily mass and rosary.

Confessions were regularly held by class every month. With all these religious exposure, I was still naughty. Being close to God does not automatically transform one. One has to have an “encounter” with Him. In fact I was sent to the principal’s office once for a serious offense: playing with the props for school plays on the school stage. I remember that in spite of her temper, my mother held her composure when she confronted me about the misdemeanor. While studying at Don Bosco, I was also encouraged to serve at mass which I continued with our parish, run by the SVD priests.

Vocation to the Priesthood

Our family had to migrate to Cebu to be near my father’s work assignment in Samar. Providentially there was Don Bosco Boystown-Cebu and Stella Maris- Cebu. It was in Cebu while in grade six I thought about entering the seminary. My two older brothers joined the high school seminary in Don Bosco Juniorate, San Fernando Pampanga. Although I was close to Fr. Clifford, the rector or the school, Br. Espiritu and Br Esplico, it was my curiousity about the aspirantage that made me apply for the minor seminary. My parents were reluctant to let me go since I was mischievous. But they agreed after Fr. Riciarelli assured them.

Staying inside the seminary at 15 years old, first year high school was not a big challenge anymore as I was boarding in Don Bosco Cebu for two years: Grades 5 and 6. My initial “encounter” with God was when I was called to the Rector’s office. I was given a warning about my temper. Everywhere I was meek and helpful but in the football field my temper would flare up. At times I hurt even the superiors who were playing with us like Fr. Fernandes and Br. O’Doherty. It was then my Confessor: Fr. Charles Braga, who kindly advised me to pray three Hail Mary’s every day and encouraged me to continue with my monthly confession and daily communion and ask Jesus to make me better if this was really my vocation. That was it. I never prayed so hard in my life.

Years later, when I was a young priest already, Fr. Fernandes and I were together in a retreat. He looked at me and told me “Fr. Ely, you really have changed a lot!” “The parishioners in the parish you are assigned in have been telling me how patient and how good you are. Even your parish priest appreciates what you are doing.” Time flew without my noticing it, breezing through the college in Don Bosco Seminary College in Laguna, with a diploma in Education and Novitiate in the same place. I taught at the Seminary for one year and two years in Don Bosco-Cebu. I then took theology at University of Santo Tomas. I was ordained on 8 December 1980 at the age of 28.

Don Bosco, SDB Founder

Through all these, (the trainings, exposures and challenges) I have gradually appreciated the vocation and mission of our founder better. He is commonly known as Don Bosco (Father Bosco). Giovanni, who was born in Italy in 1815, was concerned that young, poor boys were not being cared for integrally. This was his experience as a growing young boy, who had apparently insurmountable difficulties. He lost his father to pneumonia at two years old. It was his mother Margaret who formed him to be God fearing and charitable. Already at this young age he would go to Sunday mass and later gather his friends, to entertain them with his tricks and to share with them the homily.

Giovanni can be called a dreamer. At nine years old he had a dream showing how he would turn young rascals into honest citizens and good Christians. Throughout his life he was enlightened by dreams. Experts call them visions. Pope Pius IX had to command him to write the dreams. As a student the lad had to work at different trades to support his studies. All of these came in handy when he educated young men who were flocking to the city of Turin during the beginning of the industrial revolution.

June 5, 1841, John was ordained a priest. He was apprenticed to Fr Cafasso to work among the inmates in the city jail. There he felt that these prisoners would not have ended that way had someone guided them when they were younger. Thus grew his passion to gather working boys every Sunday for catechism lessons and the sacraments. The young priest also taught them basic skills so they can be better equipped in their livelihood. At that time, St John Bosco already wanted to form and bond lay persons to work for the good of the young. This was realized in the Salesian Cooperators (1876), a third order for lay people.

The idea of priests, brothers and sisters who would minister for the adults & youth to attend to the young came into the picture. He was inspired by St. Francis of Sales who converted thousands back to the Catholic faith because of his kindness and basic catechism for both adults and the young. He founded the Society of St Francis de Sales. The Holy Father insisted it be called also Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) for priests and lay brothers (1859, approved 1869). A third group came about when people clamored that he also minister to girls thus the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. All these groups are to implement the “preventive system” of education: “Be with the boys, prevent sin through reason, religion and loving kindness. Become saints and educators of saints. Our boys must know they are loved”. His love for the young knew no bounds. He sent missionaries to South America to assist them too. He died on January 30, 1888. On April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him “a giant of sanctity.”

Currently, the Salesians are numbering 14,603 throughout the world. We are present in 132 countries. The Salesians came to Philippines in Negros and Tarlac in 1951. Our presence in Davao began in 2000 with our partnership with Welfare Action Foundation of Davao (Boystown of Davao) in Maa. Another setting was established in Buda, Marilog District: Don Bosco Environmental-Organic-Agri Training Center in 2006. And in 2008, Mary Help of Christians Parish in Dacudao, Calinan. This is our center in Davao City and we can be contacted through landline: (082) 286-0834; cell phone: +639189210184; and email: drelysan@ yahoo.com.