New priest from El Salvador now ministering in Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY — After months of phone calls with compatriots ministering in Utah and Diocese of Salt Lake City officials, much prayer, and with the support of his hometown diocese, Father Victor Alvarado-Renderos has begun his priesthood ministry here.
The process began in 2020, when Fr. Alvarado’s bishop in El Salvador asked if he wanted to have an experience serving out of the country, said Fr. Alvarado, who had been praying for months about just such a ministry.
After a phone call to one of the Salvadorian priests serving in Utah, Fr. Alvarado started the process to be accepted at the diocese.
“All the steps were followed and with God’s grace and the help of the diocesan officials, who have been extremely kind to me, I am here now,” said Fr. Alvarado who arrived in Utah on April 25.
His vocation to the priesthood is the result of the 2000 Jubilee, which marked the third millennium of the Catholic Church, and through the grace of Saint John Paul II, he said.
In his 1994 apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (As the Third Millennium Approaches), John Paul II called for a three-year preparation for the jubilee celebration.
“Back then I was working with the youth ministry in my home parish, and I was very involved with all the jubilee festivities,” Fr. Alvarado recalled. Then he began discerning a call to the priesthood, and in 2001 requested admission to the Pio XII Seminary in the Diocese of San Salvador, El Salvador.
On April 12, 2008 Fr. Alvarado was ordained to the priesthood at the church located less than a mile from his parents’ home.
“It was on the vespers of the Good Shepherd Sunday…it was a rainy morning, the most rainy day of the season,” he said adding that that day he learned that even on a rainy day beautiful things can happen.
Fifteen years of being a priest has taught him many important lessons, he said.
“I think that the most wonderful gift has been saying ‘yes’ to the Lord the same way that Peter did,” Fr. Alvarado said, quoting John 21:17 – “Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
Another thing that has marked him as a priest is when he stands in front of the congregation and says, “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days,” he said.
Through the trials of his life the Lord has always held his hand and said the words of John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” Fr. Alvarado said, “and I want to share [those words] with the People of God wherever I go.”
Since his arrival in Utah, Fr. Alvarado has been staying and serving at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
“Everyone whom I have encountered at the cathedral has been extremely kind,” he said, adding that Bishop Oscar A. Solis and all the diocesan personnel have been very welcoming “and have shown the strong commitment that they have with the Church, especially with the Hispanic community.”
He said he was struck by the words with which Bishop Solis greeted him: “Welcome to build the kingdom of God here in Utah.”
He also was struck by the relic of Saint Mary Magdalene at the cathedral, which is inscribed with the words “The first witness of the Resurrection.”
“I would like to think that that is what we as baptized aspire to, to be witnesses that Christ is alive and that his life is shared in the Church,” he said.
Since his arrival, Fr. Alvarado has been celebrating the Spanish Masses at the cathedral.
“I have never seen so many cultures gathered in a Mass celebration,” he said. “This is a beautiful sign of the divine grace that is pouring in all that open their hearts.”
He expressed his appreciation for the people whom he has met in the days since his arrival. “Thank you for your support and witnessing; this makes me feel very welcome,” he said. “Please know that I am here to share the faith journey that the Lord has set for us in this beautiful land of Utah.”
Fr. Alvarado has been assigned as a new parochial vicar at Saint Joseph Catholic Church; the assignment is effective Aug. 2.
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