(San Fernando, Camarines Sur; 24 July 2024). Barely eight (8) days since the Parish of St. John the Baptist in San Fernando (Camarines Sur) was witness to the (diaconal) ordination of Deacon Rexwilson D. Alto, another ordination took place in the same parish, this 24th of July 2024, this time that of Fr. Neil John O. Bolocon as a priest. This is the first time in so many years—seventeen (17) years to be exact— since Rev. Fr. Jonnel Sibulo was ordained priest in 2007, that a parishioner of St. John’s has been ordained a priest.
Fr. Neil John comes from Barangay Bonifacio (San Fernando), from a family of twelve (12) brothers and sisters, raised practically single-handedly by Rosa Owog-Owog Bolocon, widow of the late Nilo Sr., who died in 2010. Fr. Neil John is the tenth among the siblings. At a very young age, Fr. Neil John already felt the calling to the priesthood as he frequently accompanied his mother to church and served as an altar boy at the parish for some years. After finishing fourth year high school, he entered St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary in San Fernando as a pre-college seminarian in 2013, continued on to college (Philosophy) in 2014-2018, and took the basic course in Theology from 2018 to 2022. In the middle of 2022, he underwent the pre-diaconal formation, and on June 17, 2023, he was ordained deacon together with four other classmates.
Before getting ordained, and as a deacon, Fr. Neil John served as Formator at St. Joseph the Worker Pre-Seminary in Milaor (Camarines Sur), Administrator of St. John Mary Vianney Mission Station in Alanao, Lupi (Camarines Sur), and finally as Formator at St. James the Greater Minor Seminary in Libmanan (Camarines Sur).
Parishioners coming from places where Fr. Neil John was assigned came to witness the ordination, i.e., parishioners from Milaor, Alanao and Libmanan. His immediate family, save one sibling, was present. Not to be missed out during the occasion were members of the Sodalitas Sancti Benedicti and the neighbors in Barangay Bonifacio. Naturally the clergy of Libmanan and seminarians of SBDS were all there in support of the new priest.
Reflecting on Luke 5,1-11, which Fr. Neil John chose as gospel for the day, Bp. J. Rojas singled out the virtue of obedience once more to account for Simon Peter’s and his companions’ big catch of fish. In spite of the fact that the apostles have fished the whole night in vain, relying on the words of Jesus, they cast once more their nets into the sea. When everything seemed futile and hopeless, the apostles—led by Simon Peter—were prepared to try again. With Jesus assuring them, they had no reason to give up just one more effort too soon. In the end, after catching a great haul of fish, Jesus tells them that “From now on you will be catching men.” Without the apostles realizing it, they were themselves the first to have been “caught” by Jesus, and that experience were to make them “catchers” of men themselves. The bishop concluded that to serve as a priest is to be fooled, but never mind for as long as it is Jesus himself by whom one is fooled!
