Sherwin Colaste

For Sherwin Colaste, the priesthood is all about mystery and contradictions.

“Priests belong to every family, but have no family. Priests live in a world where everything is accessible materially, but they live simply,” he said.

Born in Davao City, on a small island in the Philippines, Colaste heard the call to the priesthood when he was an altar boy serving in his local parish. He was nine years old. That call was lost when he went to high school, he said, and a typical life as a layman was more appealing. When a friend invited him to take the seminary entrance exam, Colaste decided just to see if he could pass because the academic standard was very high.

“I thought nothing of vocation,” he said. And the friend who was eager to be accepted in the seminary and invited Colaste to test, never entered.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in the Philippines accepted Colaste in 1995 when he was 19.

During a 30-day retreat, Colaste asked God what he wanted for his life. “This is not the life I imagined for myself,” he said. Yet, he realized that priesthood could be a viable option for him. “God was always there as my guide.”

He completed three years at the Loyola School of Theology at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. Then friends who are priests in the Sacramento Diocese urged him to apply to be a seminarian here. “I saw that Sacramento was really in need of my service,” Colaste said.

He believes his friends’ invitations were God’s way of telling him to move to the diocese.

“God gives me this mystery to live,” he said. “God is calling me to the priesthood at this time to make me a channel of his love to all.”

He finished his studies at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon and served his pastoral internship at St. Anthony Parish in Winters, thus completing 11 years in formation for the priesthood. He also spent two months in Mexico so he could add Spanish to the three other languages he speaks. His hobbies include baseball, tennis and basketball.

His family was joyful that he entered the seminary “and it has never changed over the years,” he said. He has no family in California.

He found out two weeks ago that his parents were denied a visa and cannot attend his ordination, nor will either of his brothers be able to attend. Perhaps that is another aspect of the mystery surrounding his vocation, he said.

“I vision my future as a simple priest working with God’s people in this diocese. The holiness of the priesthood is the most attractive thing to me and I hope to be holy as a priest. That is my goal,” said Colaste, who greatly admires St. Augustine and Mary. He hopes his priesthood will show others that a different option is possible as they consider life choices.

He also understands what immigrants face as they migrate to a new country and this will be important in his ministry. “As I see other foreigners adjust, it has helped me spiritually and deepened my faith in God,” he said.

The admiration he felt for priests at age nine is obviously back, and the boy who thought, “Oh, to be like that!” is now 30 and looking forward to beginning a life he expects to be very fulfilling.

“The best thing about my spiritual and seminary training was my realization that God loved me so much that I could also love others in return,” he said.

Jeremy Leatherby

When Jeremy Leatherby talks about his priestly vocation, he uses words like “inner attraction,” and “invitation.” He felt a simple interest in 1996 while a junior at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, where he interacted daily with priests. “Witnessing their lives awoke in me an awe and wonder for the priesthood,” he said.

But it was during his freshman year at the University of Notre Dame, where he was attending Mass and praying the rosary daily, that he received his call in a way he describes as unmistakable. In preparation for the Feast of the Annunciation, he prayed for 33 consecutive days to consecrate his life to Jesus through Mary. On the Annunciation while kneeling at a replica of the grotto in Lourdes, he asked Mary if he was being called to be a priest. The answer that came clearly to him was “yes.”

The reaction from his parents, three siblings and extended family was supportive from the first announcement of his decision. “By the grace of God, each family member’s support and joy for my priestly vocation has increased greatly with each passing year,” he said. “They are overjoyed for the day of the ordination and will be very active in supporting me throughout my priesthood.” In fact, his dad David was one of the most influential people in his formation, along with his spiritual directors, he said.

“God has blessed me by entrusting me into the hands of some very faithful, holy and courageous priests to lead me in my spiritual life,” he said. The best and most rewarding aspect of his eight years in formation was their instruction, and the opportunity to develop a prayer life, “largely through what these men have taught me.”

Before entering the seminary, Leatherby, 27, a member of St. Ignatius Parish in Sacramento, worked at his family’s ice cream parlor for four years, enjoying being a waiter and also the “ice cream maker” one summer. He loves reading and playing sports, especially rugby, basketball, soccer, and football.

He finished college at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and completed one year of theology at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. For two years he resided at the North American College in Rome, Italy, and attended the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. His internship year was spent serving St. Joseph Parish in Sacramento. He will return to Rome next year to pursue a licentiate in moral theology.

To Leatherby, being a priest has particular challenges today but essentially it means “to be conformed to Jesus Christ so radically that a priest can act in the person of Christ, leading souls to the Father and bringing God to all,” he said. “A good priest is one who lives out this profound interior union with Jesus in every aspect of his life.”

He speaks about those whom God “entrusts to my care.” He envisions his future centered on prayer, the sacraments, allowing God to love others in and through his ministry, “and the laying down of my life for the souls whom I encounter. I do not have any particular accomplishments for which I am aiming, except that of being a saint.”

Julito Orpilla

Growing up in a Catholic family in the Philippines, Julito Orpilla was still a child when he first thought of becoming a priest. He remembers going to church every Sunday with his aunts and praying the rosary daily with his late grandmother. Friends who were priests and nuns regularly visited his house and encouraged him to be a priest. Their ministry and authenticity inspired him.

Orpilla’s mother died when he was a year old, and two aunts asked if his father would leave the baby under their care. Although he visited often, Orpilla’s father died when he was 12. Orpilla has two brothers and three half sisters.

At 13, Orpilla entered the minor seminary in Vigan City, his hometown. He studied there until 1997, when he went to San Pablo Major Seminary in Baguio City. His family encouraged him along the way. “I couldn’t ask for more from them. They are proud of me and are very happy about my decision,” he said.

After his second year in college, he became a seminarian for the Diocese of Sacramento. Not only had his great uncle who lives in Sacramento told him about California, but also several classmates had been recruited to finish their training here.

“The Philippines is overflowing with vocations,” said Orpilla, who was one of 200 students in the major seminary. “I had a great desire to go somewhere — a missionary motivation.”

When he received a letter from Msgr. James Murphy with brochures about the diocese, Orpilla saw a need and became one of the youngest seminarians ever accepted from the Philippines. “I think I have an advantage in that I came here at 19; I had an easier adjustment and enculturation,” he said.

Orpilla continued his studies at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, where he earned a degree in philosophy. At St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park he earned a master’s degree in theology.

He served his internship year at Immaculate Conception Parish in Sutter Creek, where he loved teaching second graders, working with other teachers, and visiting the homebound. What he enjoyed most being a transitional deacon was participating in liturgies.

His ordination caps 13 years in spiritual formation, and he appreciates his instruction in the United States, which was markedly different from the Philippines, he said. He remembers asking a classmate what the structured activity was for his first weekend at a U.S. seminary, and being amazed that his time was his own.

“There is this freedom here which promotes and allows us to develop self-responsibility and self-discipline,” he explained. “I have always been amazed by the richness of diversity in the seminary which speaks about the reality of our church today. I enjoyed our cultural celebrations as we’ve come to share with one another the richness of our own cultures.”

He wonders if the demands of parish life will be overwhelming and yet he eagerly anticipates his priesthood.

“With God’s grace, I hope to make a difference in the lives of people, to be there with them and for them,” he said. “It is my hope that my life and ministry will be fruitful and meaningful as I share my very being with people and as I bring Christ into their lives.”

He enjoys playing tennis — and is willing to take on anyone — and also enjoys dinner with friends, movies, and surfing the Internet.

Orpilla is counting on the prayers of the church community. “I am fully aware that many uncertainties lie ahead of me, but the present moment is a certainty. I am ready to commit myself further,” he said.

He is sad about the scandal of clergy sexual abuse, which he believes makes it very challenging to be a priest today.

“A priest should be a man of prayer,” he said. “What he is bringing into the life of the people is not really about himself but Christ…What makes a good priest is to have a balanced life.”

His aunts, Leocadia and Angela Rapada, who last saw him two years ago when he visited the Philippines, will attend the ordination on Father’s Day, which Orpilla called “a perfect day to be called father.”

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