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January 25, 2018
Lorena Rojas
San Francisco Católico
ÁNGEL SUÁREZ AND HIS WIFE EVA POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY AFTER THE SPANISH MASS. (PHOTO LORENA ROJAS/SAN FRANCISCO CATÓLICO)
For more than 30 years Ángel Suárez has been serving at Church of the Epiphany in San Francisco and witnessed the changes the parish has experienced. He can readily tell you the difference between what Latino Catholics of yesterday needed and what they need today.
In the past, their greatest need was the Sunday Mass celebrated in Spanish – something that was attainable, said Suárez, who is currently a eucharistic minister and coordinator of the prayer group at Epiphany. But today, he said, the greatest problem facing Catholic Latinos in the Archdiocese of San Francisco is the lack of Spanish-speaking priests.
Despite the shortage of priests capable of celebrating Mass in Spanish, Epiphany pastor Father Eugene Tungol strikes an optimistic tone. Nearly 400 Hispanic families attend the 11:30 am Sunday Mass, and the parish has nearly 2,000 registered families.
Throughout the years, Church of the Epiphany went from being a parish of mainly Italian and Irish parishioners to one where Filipinos and Latinos make up the majority.
On the day of the celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord – also known as “Día de los Reyes,” Mass was celebrated by a guest priest, Father John Jiménez, now pastor at Archbishop Riordan High Schol.
In his homily he encouraged the faithful to follow the example of the Magi from the East who, despite having enjoyed some form of power at one point in time, also faced hardship but went on their journey to the Holy Land to worship the Lord.
He compared the problems they confronted with the difficulties encountered by many today after the housing market crash with homelessness and unemployment.
Nevertheless, if we do as they did, if “we kneel and make it a priority in our lives, we will also have God’s peace in our lives.” That, said Father Jimenez, is God’s Epiphany.