PH CONSUL GENERAL MEETS FIRST-EVER FIL-AM CATHOLIC PRIEST TO BE ORDAINED AT SAN FRANCISCO ARCHDIOCESE
Philippine Consul General Neil Ferrer received Reverend Father Jerald Geronimo, the first Filipino American to be educated and ordained as a Catholic priest at the Archdiocese of San Francisco since its founding in 1853, during the latter’s call at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco on 17 June 2022.
Consul General Ferrer was joined during the call by Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, and Vice Consul Adrian Baccay. Accompanying Father Geronimo is his family, and Peter and Estrelle Chan of the Filipino Catholic Ministry of the San Francisco Archdiocese.
Consul General Ferrer congratulated Father Geronimo, who was ordained as priest by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on 4 June 2022 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. During the ordination ceremony, Archbishop Cordileone himself acknowledged the historical significance of Father Geronimo’s sacerdotal ordination to the Filipino American Catholic Community. Vice Consul Baccay attended Father Geronimo’s ordination last June 4, as well as the latter’s first Eucharistic celebration as a priest at the Church of the Epiphany in San Francisco on 5 June 2022.
As a gift, Consul General Ferrer gave Father Geronimo a copy of “Rekindling Travel”, the Third Edition of “Bucket List Philippines” series of the Philippine Department of Tourism.
Father Geronimo was born and raised in Daly City, with his parents tracing their roots in Bulacan, Philippines. In an interview published on the San Francisco Archdiocese’s official website, the 28-year-old priest said, “My Filipino culture has played a significant role in my upbringing. Through my culture, I have learned the values of family, communion and self-sacrifice. These values will be of the utmost importance as I soon embark on a vocation that is precisely centered on sacrificial love, all for God and neighbor.” (San Francisco PCG photos)
