11-22-17

By Shawn Ryan
Staff writer

Plattsburgh – Priest Appreciation Week is normally a local or, at most, a regional affair with a parish giving thanks for their local priests.

At St. Peter’s Parish however, gratitude reaches half way around the globe, to the Archdioceses of Caceres, in Naga City, Philippines. For the past year, Father Eduardo Pesigan has been assigned as parochial vicar at St. Peter’s, beginning a six year loan from Caceres to the Diocese of Ogdensburg.

For that, the members of St. Peter’s have good reason to be thankful.

For Father Eduardo, whose youthful looks and energy bely his 18 years of priesthood, the decision to come to the Unites States to help offset the clergy shortage was an easy one to make.

For Father Eduardo, it was all just part of his calling.

“I decided first for the learning experience, to widen your experience. That’s my job. That’s my mission in life,” he said. “It’s pastoral charity; giving yourself totally for the service of the Church. If you see others happy, also you are happy.”

For Father Eduardo the biggest adjustment has been adapting to the weather of northern New York.  The food is different too, he added, diplomatically refusing to comment on which side of the globe produced the better fare. 

After a brief sabbatical home this past fall, Father Eduardo says he is totally acclimated and ready to head into his second winter in the North Country.

“There are not a lot of strange things,” he said. “With our government and your government, they are the same. We thank you for bringing us democracy.”

While home Father Eduardo enjoyed a large celebration when he visited his bishop and parishioners, and was able to spend time with his mother, three sisters and one brother.

While he would have adapted to any situation, Father Eduardo was quite happy when he arrived in the North Country, and learned that the Diocese of Ogdensburg practices what he refers to as a traditional form of Catholicism he was familiar with from the Philippines. That made the transition, in his words, “beautiful.”

Having a front-row seat to the challenges faced by the Dioceses of Ogdensburg and parishes around the country by the growing shortage of priests, Father Eduardo remains optimistic. While  he believes that the root of the problem is too much secularism and materialism in the United States, he sees the fact that people are aware of the problem as the beginning of the solution.

“It’s good that everybody is conscious about the problem,” he said. “When you’re conscious and dealing with a problem, you can find a solution. The Grace of God is always there. There is always hope.”

He says that his home dioceses’ devotion to Mary is the reason they have so many vocations to the priesthood…good news indeed given Bishop LaValley’s recent dedication of the Diocese of Ogdensburg to Immaculate Heart of Mary.

To any young men currently considering the priesthood his advice is both simple and Biblical:
Citing the Book of Jeremiah, Father Eduardo said, “Since I knew you before you were born you were consecrated…  You are doing the will of God. In doing the will of God there is more freedom, so say ‘yes’ to the will of God.”