NEW PRIESTS — From left, Fathers Michael Yadao Perucho, Ernesto Jaramillo Zamora, Francisco Ho Seok Jin, Archbishop José Gomez, and Fathers Augustine Chang, José Jesús Martinez and John Sang-hun Lee.

New priests: ‘The courage to say yes to God’s invitation’

(Source: The-Tidings, Written by MIKE NELSON)

“Our Church is a great gift of God for all humanity,” says Father John Lee, a former high school and college teacher who is among the first to be ordained by Archbishop José Gomez as a priest for Los Angeles. “As a priest, I would like to help building the Church to come. And I would like to do that by working together here and now with that hope in our hearts. That particularly includes laity formation and communal discernment that would play key roles for our Church.”

In addition to Father Lee, Archbishop Gomez will ordain Fathers Augustine Chang, Ernesto Jaramillo, Francisco Jin, José Martinez and Michael Perucho in a morning Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. All have completed their theological formation at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, including year-long internships at parishes throughout the archdiocese, and the recent completion of service as transitional deacons. 

During their ordination weekend, the new priests will celebrate their first Masses at their respective home parishes, before they begin their first assignments as associate pastors on July 1. Following are brief profiles of the new priests. 

Fr. Augustine Chang

Born: Daejon, South Korea.
Education: Norwalk High School; University of California Irvine (B.S. in Computer Science).
Prior occupation: Software engineer.
Home parish: St. Raphael Korean Catholic Center, Norwalk.
Transitional Diaconate: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Sun Valley.
First Masses as priest: June 5, noon, St. Raphael.
First Assignment: Holy Trinity Catholic Church, San Pedro.
On becoming a priest: “I felt an initial calling in high school, and Father Mark Choi, my pastor, provided tremendous influence for my discernment to the priesthood through his inspiration, encouragement and support. My experiences during internship and diaconate strongly reinforced my calling. Although studies at the seminary were important, pretty much anything involving pastoral ministry helped me to remember why God called me in the first place. Such experiences made me feel the most ‘alive.’”

Fr. Ernesto Jaramillo Zamora

Born: Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Education: Colegio Centro Union, San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico; Instituto Libre de Filosofia, Guadalajara, Jalisco; Mary Hill School of Theology, Philippines.
Home parish: St. Thomas the Apostle, Los Angeles.
Transitional Diaconate: St. Mariana de Paredes, Pico Rivera; St. Monica, Santa Monica.
First Mass as priest: June 5, 1:45 p.m., St. Thomas the Apostle.
First Assignment: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Encino.
On becoming a priest: “I have become a priest so that I may journey with people, share my faith with them and learn from their faith. My hope is to help build a loving, happy and faithful community.”

Fr. Francisco Ho Seok Jin

Born: Suwon, Korea.
Education: Jang Hoon High School and Chung Buk National University.
Prior occupations: Architect.
Home parish: St. Gregory Nazianzen, Los Angeles.
Transitional Diaconate: St. John Baptist de La Salle, Granada Hills.
First Masses as priest: June 5, 5 p.m. at St. Gregory Nazianzen; June 12, 10:15 a.m. at St. Lawrence Martyr, Redondo Beach.
First Assignment: St. Christopher, West Covina.
On becoming a priest: “After moving to the United States, my priestly vocation that had been in my heart since childhood was rekindled by the experience of active ministry at my home parish, and the prayers and support from the priests and parishioners.”

Fr. John Sang-hun Lee

Born: Pohang, Korea.
Education: St. John’s Seminary College (1988-92), LMU, Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religion, Graduate Theological Union/Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley.
Prior occupations: Faculty member (at Don Bosco Tech and Gonzaga University), campus minister (Seattle University), ecclesiastical assistant for the U.S. conference of the Christian Life Communities.
Home parish: St. Paul, Los Angeles.
Transitional Diaconate: Holy Cross, Moorpark.
First Mass as priest: June 5, a.m. St. Paul, Los Angeles.
First Assignment: St. James, Redondo Beach.
On becoming a priest: “I remember wanting at the beginning of this journey to serve God’s people to make the world a better place for everybody. Over the years, I have only slowly realized how much we have been loved and cared for by God all this time. And, that identity of being loved and cared for has enabled me to love God and collaborate for the mission, namely for the Reign of God. I pray we collaborate so that our Church further grows and matures to become more and more a true expression of the loving and self-giving God. May God fulfill what God has begun.”

Fr. José Jesús Martinez

Born: Los Angeles, CA
Education: San Antonio de Padua School, Los Angeles; Don Bosco Technical Institute, Rosemead; St. John’s Seminary College, Camarillo.
Prior occupations: Insurance.
Home parish: San Antonio de Padua, Los Angeles; St. Joseph, Pomona.
Transitional Diaconate: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Barbara (internship: St. Athanasius, Long Beach.
First Mass as priest: June 4, 11 a.m. at St. Joseph, Pomona.
First Assignment: Epiphany, South El Monte.
On becoming a priest: “I now realize that the romantic vision I had of priesthood at the tender age of six, the power of good homilies, the unsettling question of ‘what if,’ and the frustration of seeing priests not doing enough for vocations were, in my opinion, God’s way of calling me to the priesthood.”

Fr. Michael Alfred Yadao Perucho

Born: Santa Clara, CA
Education: St. Leo the Great Elementary School and Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose; Loyola Marymount University (B.S. in Biochemistry, 2002; M.A. in Education, 2004).
Prior occupations: Chemistry and Physics high school teacher.
Home parish: St. Anthony of Padua, Gardena.
Transitional Diaconate: Our Lady of Peace, North Hills; St. Anthony of Padua.
First Masses as priest: June 5, 4 p.m., St. Anthony of Padua.
First Assignment: Holy Family, Glendale.
On becoming a priest: “The reason I have become a priest is because I finally had the courage to say ‘yes’ to the invitation that God placed before me as I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. I was able to ask God what He wanted me to do with my life and place that before my own desires. My inspiration comes from a desire to serve God by serving his people, from the great need that people have to find God in their lives, from the many priests whom I have known who have been models of faith and walk in the footsteps of Christ, from the love and support that my family and friends have given me over the years, and from the grace that I receive and will be responsible for in the celebration of Eucharist.”