Filipino priest brings wealth of experience
Vocations
Adelaide’s newest international priest, Fr Vivencio Jr Angeles Besa, has only one hope for his ministry in Adelaide – to be a good priest.
If the response of parishioners to his departure from the Philippines is any indication, he will have no trouble achieving that mantle.
After 17 years serving in administrative and formation roles in the Archdiocese of Capiz, in 2024 Fr Vinz (pictured) was finally appointed parish priest to a small barrio (neighbourhood) parish in the city of Roxas.
“I really loved the parish, because it was the first parish that I ran myself, I enjoyed it so much,” the gentle Fr Vinz said.
But he had already agreed to an invitation to come to the Adelaide Archdiocese after spending a month here in April/May last year.
What he hadn’t realised was how much the people loved him.
“I felt it, but I didn’t know it,” he said.
“They were crying so much, especially the older people.
“I was also crying inside, but I never let them see it; I told them I would save my tears for when I leave my parents.”
And cry he did when he said goodbye to his distraught parents.
“It’s really very sad for them… when I was in the parish I would spend my day off with them, I would come home and stay the night with them,” he said.
The 45-year-old priest has two sisters who live in the UK and Manila and a brother who works on ships as an engineer.
Just before he left for Australia his sister and her family came home from the UK for a vacation and he delayed his departure to spend time with her.
“It’s the only time I saw her in 15 years,” he said.
“I made sure I left before she did, so she could comfort my parents but then she left and they cried again.”
It’s not the first time Fr Vinz has been separated from his parents, having left home at the age of 13 to join the minor seminary.
His interest in the priesthood came when he was in his last year of primary school and seminarians came to talk to his class during a vocations campaign.
“They were wearing white cassocks and I was really struck by that, I really wanted to wear a cassock,” he recalled.
Moving away from his family in the small town of Panitan he joined 36 other boys his age at St Pius X minor seminary in Roxas.
The rigours of seminary life didn’t suit everyone and only two of the original cohort completed their priestly studies. In the major seminary, they were joined by students entering university (pre-college graduates) and two of that group were ordained.
“It crossed my mind once to leave but the desire to wear the cassock was stronger, and my faith was nurtured, so I kept going,” Fr Vinz said.
After his ordination in October 2006 he was appointed as an assistant priest to a nearby parish and after one year was transferred to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.
Two years later he was asked by the bishop to live at the Bishop’s House and be the “economist” or treasurer for the diocese. After three years and the arrival of a new bishop, he was sent to the seminary to teach and head up the department for pre-college graduates.
Next he was told to “go and have some study leave”, so off he went to Rome to study a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the University of the Holy Cross.
With limited Italian, he said struggled at first.
“It was a torment for me, I couldn’t understand the teacher,” he said.
“It wasn’t until the second semester that I got better at understanding what the teacher was talking about.”
On a brighter note, he made friends with students from all over the world and he was encouraged to travel through Europe during his two-year stay.
“They (the lecturers) said this is your opportunity to go and explore,” he said.
He also spent two enjoyable summers working in parishes in New Jersey and Long Island in the United States as part of his sabbatical.
Returning to the Philippines in 2016, he was assigned to the Archdiocesan college for primary and secondary students as administration director and religion teacher.
On his visit to Adelaide last year he was hosted by Seaton parish priest and Filipino chaplain Fr Franco Lacanaria CS. As well as “gaining exposure” to the Archdiocese, he visited some “beautiful places” such as Hahndorf and Mount Lofty as well as city sights.
He returned to his province to find a reshuffling of priests had taken place. While his migration documents were being processed he was assigned as parish priest to a barrio.
Now he hopes that experience will hold him in good stead as he serves the Adelaide Cathedral parish and assists with the Filipino Catholic Community based at Seaton.
Apart from learning to drive on the left-hand side of the road, Fr Vinz said he is looking forward to the being with people from many different cultures.
Once a keen tennis and badminton player, his main form of exercise these days is walking and he has already set his sights on the parklands opposite the Archbishop’s House where he is residing.
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