For the longest time, Rev. Mr. Walter Andre Quiceno couldn’t believe that God was calling him to be a priest.

His resistance really had nothing to do with wanting to pursue another career, although he did receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration, or his expectation that, at some point in his life, he would eventually marry.

Rev. Mr. Quiceno simply thought that since his older brother, Amador, had pursued a vocation as a priest, “I didn’t think it was possible that God wanted two priests in the family,” he said.

Even though both boys had been very active as altar servers and sacristans in their home parish, St. Joachim, while growing up in their native Colombia, Walter opted to put ideas of the priesthood on the back burner, especially after Amador, who is older by about six years, had announced his own plans to enter the seminary.

“I really thought one priest was enough so I closed my mind to the possibility of a vocation,” the 35-year-old Rev. Mr. Quiceno recalled. But his mind became “opened” to the idea once again when he was a student in the University of Caldas and had joined a charismatic youth ministry group that prayed and praised God every week. He shared that it was near the end of the academic year when he and some friends made a five-day hiking trip to the highest snow-peaked mountain in his state. The students were encouraged by their guide to regard the trip as a spiritual retreat and encounter with God.

Throughout the jaunt, Rev. Mr. Quiceno spent much time in prayer, giving thanks to God for his life and family, his being able to pursue an education and for the beautiful world he saw before him as he looked out from atop the mountain. It was in his prayer when he also realized he was indeed being called to be a priest.

At the end of the trip, the first person he told about his decision was Amador, who thought it was “wonderful that I found my vocation.” The decision was also emphatically embraced by Rev. Mr. Quiceno’s parents, Walter and Elvia Garcia Quiceno, and sisters, Johanna and Jacqueline.

“My brother is a good priest,” Rev. Mr. Quiceno said, as he attributed Amador for being a major inspiration in his decision. “I like how he serves people and shows concern for others.”

Rev. Mr. Quiceno was born Oct. 15, 1976, and attended St. John Baptist de la Salle Elementary School and Immaculate Conception High School, both in Risaralda-Caldas, Colombia. He completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration in the University of Caldas before he going on to spend five years studying theology and philosophy in John Paul II Seminary, Colombia, from 2003-2008. His introduction to the Trenton Diocese came in early 2008 when he met Bishop John M. Smith who was visiting the country with several priests from the Trenton Diocese who were native Colombians.

“Bishop Smith invited (several of) us to come to the diocese,” Rev. Mr. Quiceno said, then added that any qualms or concerns he had about leaving his family and home and going to New Jersey he ultimately placed “in God’s hands.”

“Maybe Jesus did want me to be a priest in the Diocese of Trenton,” Rev. Mr. Quiceno said.

Once accepted as a seminarian for the Trenton Diocese, Rev. Mr. Quiceno enrolled in Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, South Orange, to earn a master of divinity degree. He also enjoyed gaining parish experience in Holy Eucharist, Tabernacle, and Our Lady of the Angels, Trenton, where he served as a transitional deacon.

“I was blessed,” to be at Our Lady of the Angels, Rev. Mr. Quiceno said, as he extended gratitude to Father Jeffrey Lee, pastor, for affording him “many opportunities” to participate in facets of parish life. Along with assisting at weddings, officiating at Baptisms, wakes and committal services, Rev. Mr. Quiceno was grateful for the generous number of occasions he had to preach homilies.

While most of his classmates, he said, preached once a month in their assigned parishes, “there were times I preached three times in one week.” He added that it was most meaningful when he was asked to preach at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.

“Father Jeff helped me to grow in my ministry,” said Rev. Mr. Quiceno. “I gained confidence as I prepare to start my own ministry as a priest.”

For Rev. Mr. Quiceno, June 9 will be more than just the day he becomes the second priest in his family.

“The priesthood means that I will be consecrated to God and that I will belong to God,” he said, noting how pleased he is that Amador will be present for his ordination and will serve as his vesting priest.

When a man becomes a priest, Rev. Mr. Quiceno shared, he “becomes Jesus who offers himself and to the people he serves.”