(Sipocot, Camarines Sur; 27 July 2024) The dry spell in priestly ordinations in yet another parish under the patronage of St. John the Baptist in Sipocot (Camarines Sur) came to an end with the ordination to the priesthood of Rev. Fr. Jeric Perez Felizardo, here, on July 27, 2024. The last time this parish witnessed an ordination of a diocesan priest was thirteen years ago, that is, on September 10, 2011, when Rev. Fr. John Gabon and Rev. Fr. Francis Francisco were simultaneously ordained to the priesthood. Not to be forgotten of course was the ordination here of Rev. Fr. Daniel Ocampo Jr. on August 27, 2019, shortly before the pandemic, but Fr. Daniel was ordained not for the diocese but rather for the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM) or the Scheutist Missionaries as they are locally called in Belgium because the Order was founded in Scheut, a suburb of Brussels.
What many of the parishioners do not know is that Fr. Jeric’s parents, Rico Felizardo and Jessebel Perez, actually come from Libmanan (Camarines Sur). By the time, however, Fr. Jeric entered St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary (SBDS, San Fernando, Camarines Sur) as a pre-college seminarian in 2013, the whole Felizardo family had already been residents in Sipocot for a number of years, thus effectively making Fr. Jeric properly a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Parish in this municipality. Like his classmates, Fr. Jeric graduated at the Holy Rosary Major Seminary (Naga City) with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 2018, and finished the basic course in Theology at SBDS in 2022. He was ordained deacon on June 17, 2023.
As a deacon, he was assigned to his Alma Mater, the SBDS, as a resident formator, particularly charged with accompanying the senior high school seminarians in their propaedeutic stage of formation. In the course of his theological studies, he developed interest and liking for liturgy. In fact, he has been assisting Fr. Gerardo de la Cruz Jr., in the latter’s work as diocesan liturgist, but when asked by the bishop to enroll at the Lasallian Institute for Evangelization and Catechesis (La Salle University) that he might obtain a Certificate in Catechetical Leadership and Supervision, he dutifully obeyed. This particular program at La Salle University aims to equip leaders with essential skills for effective evangelization ministry and should therefore prepare Fr. Jeric organize the newly-founded SBDS Catechetical Institute, which the bishop established in 2022 as training ground for future catechists and catechist-formators in the diocese. Since enrolling in 2023, Fr. Jeric has been attending courses at said Institute, both in-person (on-campus) and online, for nearly two years now.
For his ordination, Fr. Jeric drew inspiration as to how he would like to live his priesthood from John 2, 1-11, an insight that dawned on him in his visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo (Rizal). In this passage, the Blessed Virgin Mary, wanting to spare a newly wedded Jewish couple from the embarrassment of having no more wine to serve for the wedding banquet, and realizing how helpless she was herself to remedy the situation, approached Jesus to ask for help. While seemingly rebuffed at first, she nonetheless did not lose hope and instead confidently told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Fittingly, the priest should realize that on his own, he is himself helpless and powerless but that if he does “whatever Jesus wills”, if he lives his priesthood in complete obedience, then he should be capable of instantiating “little miracles” even beyond his own capacity of ever accomplishing. On that visit, it was as if Fr. Jeric heard the Virgin Mary telling him, “Do whatever he tells you.”
As the Eucharistic celebration drew to a close, it was announced that Fr. Jeric was being appointed as Formator of SBDS and as Director of the seminary’s Catechetical Institute. Though this was to be expected, given Fr. Jeric’s training, the priests were all surprised just the same as this was the only announcement of an assignment so far made after four ordinations.
On a not so promising note, the dry spell in Sipocot may have ended with Fr. Jeric’s ordination, but it looks like it is on the onset again as vocation is scarce in this municipality and the next ordination is foreseen to take place only in at least a decade once again!
