Fr. Montoro assigned to San Felipe Parish

Friday, Jun. 20, 2014

PARK CITY — Father Roberto H. Montoro Sasia has been appointed as the new administrator of San Felipe Parish in Wendover.

Fr. Montoro arrived in Utah from Tehuacán, Puebla in Mexico 30 months ago, and after serving as parochial vicar in the parishes of Saints Peter and Paul in Salt Lake City, Saint Francis Xavier in Kearns and Saint Mary of the Assumption in Park City, he is very grateful for this new service opportunity.

“When I was notified I was really surprised; I didn’t expect it at all,” said Fr. Montoro. “I am very grateful to the bishop for his confidence and for seeing in me the desire for collaboration, and that I am here to serve.”

Born and raised in Tehuacán, Fr. Montoro heard a call to the priesthood when he was very young, but rather than enter the seminary after high school, he attended college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration before entering the Misioneros del Espiritu Santo Seminary to study philosophy. 

Before entering the Seminario Conciliar de México, Fr. Montoro worked in what is known as the Integral System of the New Evangelization. 

On June 15, 2001 he was ordained to the priesthood at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City by Cardinal Norberto Rivera, then worked in Mexico City for some years until he received an invitation from the Catholic Diocese in Dallas, which later opened the door for him to come to Utah. 

Fr. Montoro arrived in Utah in September of 2011 and since then he has been serving the community with an open heart, patience and commitment.

“In my experience here, there is not a better or worst community.  … Each is different and all are very valuable,” said Fr. Montoro, who wants to be able to respond always with joy.

Fr. Montoro has learned that the culture and mentality of the Hispanics in Utah is very different than the people in Mexico.

“Here the people are hungry for love. Sometimes they are very hurt by the things that they had to experience here. … Even though I have legal status, I have felt that negligence first hand and I really have come to understand what it means to not have a voice, but I think God allowed me to live these experiences so I can really understand our people here,” he said.

He wants the community to know that “they need to see and value all their capabilities; they have to fight for their dignity and always work toward it.”

For his new community, Fr. Montoro wants to first get to know them, listen to them and identify their needs, he said.

“I want to be with the community and serve them,” he explained, saying that he is very open. “I ask them to pray for me so I can keep being their faithful servant.”

He also has a message for the community of Park City, Heber City and Colby, which he is leaving: “Thank you. Thank you for your patience, for all the work you did, and please receive your new priest with lots of love. We are here to serve you. … I am really thankful to Father Stan [Herba, pastor of Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish]; he taught me a lot.”

Fr. Montoro also is grateful to his family in Mexico for their support and the love and trust that they have in him, “and also to my family here in Utah, because the community is my family; they have always cared for me,” particularly since his knee surgery, from which he is recovering well, he said.”.

 “I want to be at  100 percent for the people in Wendover,” said Fr. Montoro.