When Father Roberto “Tito” Ignacio was a boy in the Philippines, he noticed a very old priest in his school and thought, “There must be something beautiful about being a priest, because this man stayed in the priesthood so long.”
Fifty years later, he expressed gratitude for the daily Breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours, which he described as an anchor of his priesthood.
PHOTO GALLERY: Father Ignacio’s 50 years of priesthood
“I began praying the Breviary each day as a postulant in 1966. Up to now, I have never missed the Prayer of the Hours unless I was sick,” he said.
“What I tell every new priest, ‘Don’t leave your Breviary. Always pray the official Prayer of the Church each day.’ I pray it for the people of God, which I promised to do as a priest. All we try to do is to get people to God and for forgiveness of their sins.”
He spoke about his role and goals as a confessor. “Confession is like taking a shower. It’s not about how dirty you are but about how clean you want to be. I never get angry in the confessional. I need to encourage my people. I tell them, ‘It’s not about how sinful you are, but how you want to be a new person of God.’”
Answering the Call
Since grade school, he loved learning about God and religion, but for a time as a teenager, he dreamed of a future accumulating wealth in a handsomely paid job. Reading the Scripture, “What does it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul?” reawakened his spiritual senses and set him on his true path.
When he attended the University of the Philippines, he studied for a bachelor of science degree in hygiene for 18 months and learned Latin to prepare for his time at the Central Seminary, Manila, where classes were taught in Latin.
Ordained a priest Dec. 2, 1974, for the Diocese of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines, he served as associate pastor in several parishes within his home diocese, then as a pastor of a parish and as a hospital and prison chaplain.
In 1984 Father Ignacio came to the U.S. as a visiting priest in St. Ignatius Parish, Long Beach, N.Y. The next year, he attended a spirituality school of the Focolare Movement in Florence, Italy, after which he served as a visiting priest at St. Joseph Church, Spring Valley, N.Y. The next six years he served as associate pastor in St. Joseph, Toms River; Holy Innocents, Neptune; St. James, Red Bank; St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and Sacred Heart, Riverton.
In 1992, Father Ignacio served as chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Pennsylvania, then Texas. Four years later, he returned to St. Joseph Parish, Toms River. In February 2000, Bishop John C. Reiss incardinated Father Ignacio in the Diocese of Trenton.
In addition to his ministry as a parish priest, Father Ignacio has served as chaplain to a number of ministries, including Marriage Encounter, Life in the Spirit Seminar and Youth Encounter. For 20 years he served as chaplain of the Filipino Charismatic movement.
Facing Reality
One of the greatest challenges of being a priest is how to deal with all kinds of people. “Like your fingers are all different lengths, but part of the same hand, so people are different – but they’re all part of the same community. Priests must show no condemnation or criticism but love, understanding and forgiveness. That’s all people want from God and each other. It’s exactly what Jesus did.”
Another challenge of the priesthood is when people cannot understand that not all pastors and priests are the same, said Father Ignacio, “that we are human, that we must deal with each other as imperfect humans. People of faith understand and forgive us for our human imperfections.”
“People are grateful for the ministry of the priesthood,” he added. “We are together on our journeys, and parishioners help priests get to heaven.”
Although retired, Father Ignacio resides in St. Veronica Parish, Howell, of which he said, “I am here to help and am happy to be here.”
Father Ignacio shares a lighthearted moment with well-wishers after celebrating Mass in St. Veronica Church, Howell. Vic Mistretta photo
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.