Filipino community welcomes Bishop Solis

Friday, Mar. 24, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — At a special March 17 Mass, Utah’s Filipino community welcomed the Most Reverend Oscar A. Solis, who was installed as 10th Bishop of Salt Lake City 10 days earlier.

For the Mass, the Cathedral of the Madeleine opened its doors to welcome Filipinos,  Hispanics, Anglos, and people from India, Africa, South America and other regions from throughout the world as the community joyfully arrived to celebrate with Bishop Solis.

Whenever a Filipino encountered Bishop Solis or one of the Filipino priests who concelebrated the Mass, they  gave the traditional greeting  known as the “mano” or “pagmamano,” in which they touched the back of the priest’s  proffered hand to their forehead. 

“This is a traditional gesture in the Philippines that is performed as a sign of respect and as a way of accepting a blessing, and that we hope we can pass through the generations,” said Jun Enriquez, a member of the Misang Bayan community that represents Filipinos in Utah.

Members of civic and cultural organizations such as the Kulturang Pinoy Ensemble of Utah, the Philippine Humanitarian, Mabuhay Fil-Am Association of Northern Utah, Phil-America Cultural Ensemble of Utah, Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce in Utah, Filipino American Youth/Pilipino American Student Association, Filipino American Association of Utah, Filipino American Bayanihan Association of Utah, Ilokano sa Utah, Phil Independence Day Celebration in Utah, National Federation of Fil-Am Association, and Marami pong salamat were among the attendees to the celebration.

The diocesan Filipino choirs provided the music ministry for the Mass.

“This is just a small way to show the bishop how happy we are to have him here with us,” said Enriquez.

“We wanted to be visible to him; [to show] that there is a Filipino community here in Salt Lake City,” said Marina Fernandez, another Misan Banyan member.

The Mass was celebrated in Tagalog, the primary Filipino dialect, and English. 

Father Jesryll Intes, a priest from the Philippines who has a six-year assignment in the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyo., was among those invited to concelebrate the Mass. This was the second time he had visited the Diocese of Salt Lake City; at Christmas he celebrated the Filipino Mass here. Fr. Intes is an alumni of the same seminary, the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary, as Bishop Solis. “I came to greet the bishop and to celebrate with the Filipinos here. … We are a universal church,” Fr. Intes said.

Also concelebrating the Mass were Fr. Martin Diaz, rector of the cathedral; Fr. Jorge Roldan, the cathedral’s parochial vicar; Fr. Fidel Barrera, administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish; Fr. Jose Barrera and Fr. Joseph Frez, administrator and parochial vicar, respectively, of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish; Fr.  Anastasius Iwuoha, administrator of Saint Patrick Parish; Fr. Butch Omaña, chaplain at the Hill Air Force Base; Fr. Jose Rausseo, pastor of San Andres/St. Patrick and San Isidro parishes; Fr. Rene Rodillas, pastor of Saint Olaf Parish; Fr. Javier Virgen, administrator of St. Joseph the Worker Parish; and Fr. J.J. Schwall, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (Salt Lake City).

In his homily, Bishop Solis said he was very happy to see that the Mass was attended not only by Filipinos but also by many representatives of various nationalities and races. 

“What a beautiful representation of God’s people gathered around this altar,” the bishop said. “This is what the Church is all about. When we can come together, irrespective of our backgrounds and nationalities in order to celebrate this Filipino Mass. Yes, it is called a Filipino Mass, but there is only one Mass, the Mass that is God’s gift, given by Jesus Christ our Lord. So I hope that we will have more gatherings like this, where we do not recognize ourselves according to our nationalities, but we see ourselves simply as brothers and sisters here in one faith, one hope, one baptism and professing one Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Having Bishop Solis as the leader of the diocese “is  very meaningful for us Filipinos, because he’s our first Filipino in a high position in the Church here,” said Joseph Moratella, a St. John the Baptist parishioner, adding that for many years the Filipino community in Utah had to bring in a priest for special celebrations such as a Christmas Mass, but now the diocese has two Filipino priests. 

The March 17 Mass was a way to welcome the bishop and “celebrate his being here,” said Moratella, who is a lector at St. John the Baptist Parish, but he also attends the monthly Filipino Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.

Also among those who attended the Mass was Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioner Sofia Palestino, who was invited by a Filipino friend, she said. Her response to the invitation was, “‘Of course!’ Because when we have Latino celebrations we always are inviting the other communities to join us and be filled with joy, and all the good things that happen,” she said, adding that she thinks Bishop Solis is “awesome. He has a good sense of humor. It’s going to build a connection, I think, his humor. He’s really open and wants to keep in touch with everybody. It doesn’t feel like he’s Filipino. He’s our bishop!”

Raul Fernandes, a St. Therese of the Child Jesus parishioner who is originally from India, attended the Mass with several members of his family because of Bishop Solis “and how beautifully he’s been accepting of all communities,” he said, adding that he appreciated the point in the bishop’s homily about going beyond nationalities and simply being children of God. “Though he’s Filipino, it’s everyone who just loves him. When you look at his story as an immigrant to this country, it gives us hope for the Catholic Church.”

Bishop Solis’ sense of humor and the fact that he welcomed everybody, not just one group, at the Mass also appealed to Cathedral of the Madeleine parishioner Brian Parcell, who attended with his wife, who is Filipino and wouldn’t have missed it, he said. When he heard the news of the bishop’s appointment, he said he thought that his wife’s mother, who passed away many years ago, “maybe had something to do with it,” because she was quite a religious person and went to Mass every day.

For the reception following the Mass, organizers adapted the traditional Filipino menu to meatless dishes because the celebration took place on a Friday during Lent.

“Whenever there is a festivity in our country, or even here, there is a roasted pig,” said Sonia Diaz, an Our Lady of Lourdes parishioner who kept that tradition by providing a chocolate cake shaped like a pig, complete with skin-colored frosting, a snout and curled tail. 

Other traditional dishes served at the reception included vegetarian lumpia, the traditional Filipino egg roll; vegetables with pancia, which is rice noodles; and biko, a dessert made of glutinous rice with coconut milk and a brown sugar topping.

Marie Mischel contributed to this article.