New priest assigned to cathedral
SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City recently welcomed Father Juan Antonio Garcia as the new parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
Fr. Garcia was born in El Salvador. He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 2, 2006 by Bishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas in the parish of Santa Barbara in Sensuntepeque, Cabanas, El Salvador.
His call to the priesthood came at an early age.
“When I was very little I was an altar boy and looking at the priests, the way they celebrated the Mass, the service that they provided and how people cared for them – I was very attracted to be like them,” Fr. Garcia said.
He entered the minor seminary in 1997.
“I was very happy there,” he said. “We prayed a lot, we played soccer, a sport that I love … and it was a great opportunity to finish my middle school and start my high school.”
From 2001-2004, Fr. Garcia was in the major seminary of Nuestra Senora del Camino in Guatemala, where he studied philosophy and theology. He then returned to El Salvador to attend Pio XII de San Vicente, where he completed his third and fourth years of theology.
“This was a great time in my life,” he said. “I recall it with lots of good memories.”
During his ordination, “there were two very special moments,” he said. “One, when the bishop laid his hands on me, and when we laid in front of the altar as a symbol of abandoning all, to put ourselves completely in God’s hands.”
Another memorable moment during that celebration was when his mother gave him the sign of peace, he said. “That was really special; she was very happy that one of her kids was a priest.”
After his ordination until May of 2008, Fr. Garcia served as a parochial vicar at both the parish of Saint James and the Cathedral de San Vicente in San Vicente, El Salvador.
Following that assignment, he served for six years as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, and in 2015 he was named pastor of Calvario de Sensuntepeque Parish.
In 2017 Fr. Garcia arrived in the United States. He served in Maryland as parochial vicar of two parishes for four years, then returned to El Salvador, where he remained until he came to Utah on Jan. 30 of this year.
“I knew several priests in Utah because they were part of my diocese in El Salvador … so I asked if I could please be admitted into the Salt Lake City diocese,” Fr. Garcia said.
Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, diocesan vicar for clergy, said that the arrival of Fr. Garcia was a very joyful day.
“He arrived on Monday, Jan. 30, the actual feast day of Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom,” Fr. Vialpando noted.
Fr. Garcia joins five other priests from El Salvador who are ministering in the diocese: Fr. Jose Fidel Barrera, administrator of St. Elizabeth Parish in Central Valley and its missions; Fr. Jose Barrera Hernandez, administrator of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale; Fr. Oscar Hernandez-Hernandez, parochial vicar of Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden; Fr. Marco Lopez, pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Milford and its missions; and Fr. Rafael Murillo-Ventura, administrator of St. Marguerite in Tooele.
Fr. Garcia said he is grateful for the welcome he has received.
“The bishop, the priests, Fr. Martin [Diaz, the cathedral rector] have been very kind,” he said.
Fr. Garcia has already begun celebrating Masses in English and in Spanish at the cathedral, and said he hopes God “allows me to keep serving in my ministry for the salvation of all souls.”
His message for his new community is that “with faith and hope we walk together toward the encounter with our Lord. … Life has challenges and difficulties, but that is the way to the Cross. Christ walked the way of Calvary and suffered so many difficulties, passed so many challenges, but at the end was glorified ... and so will we. The way to eternity is not easy, but in the end God will glorify us the same way he did his son.”
© Copyright 2025 The Diocese of Salt Lake City. All rights reserved.
Stay Connected With Us