Los Angeles, Calif., Sep 28, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Reprinted with permission from Angelus News.
After being brought into this world against the odds, losing his father at 8 years old, and surviving a battle with cancer, Father Adrian San Juan knew one thing for certain: that he would “rather be with the Lord.”
That attitude — and memories of the young priest’s zeal for Christ — are what is left to console grieving parishioners, relatives, and fellow priests stunned by the news of the 43-year-old’s sudden passing Saturday, Sept. 19, after collapsing at the start of a wedding at St. Linus Church in Norwalk, California, where he served as administrator.
“He passed away doing what he loved: celebrating the Eucharist,” said Rafael Alvarez, a St. Linus parishioner and seminarian at the Queen of Angels Center for Priestly Formation. “That was one of his most joyful moments.”
Alvarez was there assisting Father San Juan as he entered the parish’s canopied “outdoor church,” kissed the altar, and waited for the wedding party to process toward the altar. But a few moments later, something “didn’t feel right”: to Alvarez’s surprise, Father San Juan went to sit in the presider’s chair before falling to the ground.
Paramedics were called and attempted CPR on Father San Juan, who had suffered an apparent heart attack, before taking him to PIH Whittier Hospital while another priest at St. Linus, Father Marco Reyes, stepped in to continue the wedding.
Father San Juan was pronounced dead a short while later. A small group of family members were briefly allowed into the hospital, and a priest was able to give him the last rites.
Despite the shock over the apparently healthy priest’s death, though, those who knew the priest told Angelus they were comforted that his passing came before the altar, after a “second life” in which he lived his vocation to the fullest.
Father San Juan was born the last of six children in 1976 in Valenzuela, Philippines, outside the capital city of Manila. His birth was welcomed as a miraculous surprise, coming 11 years after the family’s next oldest child.
“Because of my mom’s advanced age, she had a very critical pregnancy [with Father San Juan],” said Victoria Siongco, the late priest’s sister. “She almost lost him.”
His mother, Gloria, spent the final months of the pregnancy confined to bed rest, begging God for her son’s life.
“We would see her every day praying with her arms outstretched, like a manifestation of a sacrifice, praying not to lose him,” recalled Siongco.
Both Father San Juan and his mother survived what his family says was a complicated childbirth. Eight years later, hard times struck the family again when his father, Carlos, succumbed to lung cancer.
As Siongco remembers it, her little brother showed signs of a vocation even before starting elementary school. He was fascinated by religious processions and was already singing in church by age 3.
“He loved the saints, he loved praying, he loved singing, he loved everything about the Church,” said Siongco.
By the time he had finished high school in 1994, he had broken up with his girlfriend at the time with the intention of entering the seminary.
Those closest to Father San Juan say his life was marked above all else by a life-and-death experience during that time: a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2002 a few months before his ordination to the diaconate.
Chemotherapy left him hairless, pale, and thin, but he vowed to follow through with his ordination to the diaconate. Family, friends, fellow seminarians, and even professors rallied behind him in prayer, and the cancer went into remission in 2003. He was ordained to the priesthood the following year.
“This is my second life, no doubt,” Father San Juan told Manila’s Phillipine Sunday Inquirer Magazine in an interview after his ordination in 2004. “I see myself in the hands of a loving Father. A second life is his revelation to me that I have a mission to do in His Name.”
In the same interview, the new priest shared that the cancer battle had given him more joy and a stronger faith.
“Life will not always be a journey of certainty, of controlling it the way we plan it,” he continued. “Doubts and so-called trials will come. But if we seek God in all things, then we learn that God’s love is everywhere.”
The priest credited his “second life” in particular to Divine Mercy, the Virgin Mary, and the miraculous intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, to whom he had a fervent devotion for the rest of his life.
After spending six years ministering in parishes and schools in Manila, Father San Juan transferred to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2010 to be closer to his family. He served in several parishes, and was officially incardinated as a priest of the archdiocese in 2015.
Among his brother priests, Father San Juan was known as a “holy priest who had a wonderful sense of humor, and always had a smile on his face,” according to Vicar for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Msgr. Jim Halley.
Auxiliary Bishop Alex Aclan remembered how shortly after arriving in the archdiocese, then-Msgr. Aclan relied on Father San Juan twice to write the music for two fundraiser musical plays benefitting the Filipino Priests Association of Los Angeles.
And during the annual Christmastime Simbang Gabi Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, it was Father San Juan who was charged with leading his brother Filipino priests in singing in Tagalog after Communion.
“That’s how he endeared himself to the Filipino priests here,” recounted Bishop Aclan. “He was an excellent composer, pianist, and vocalist.”
One of those priests, Father Rizalino “Riz” Carranza, spent four years with him at St. Peter Claver Church in Simi Valley, where Father Carranza is pastor and Father San Juan served as associate pastor from 2015 to 2019. He said Father San Juan was the ultimate “people priest,” a gifted preacher whose enthusiasm while celebrating the Eucharist was infectious.
“He really appealed to a lot of people of different ages, from the older to the younger,” recalled Father Carranza.
In private, his former pastor says Father San Juan was a man of deep prayer. Walking past the door to his room, Father Carranza would sometimes catch a glimpse of Father San Juan on his knees with a lit candle burning.
“He always expressed that he would rather be with God,” said Father Carranza.
At St. Linus, where Father San Juan spent the last year of his life, parish business manager Ana Engquist said the impact from his short time there will be felt for a long time.
“He brought a strong spirituality to the parish,” said Engquist, including starting a Divine Mercy prayer group as he did at St. Peter Claver.
“When he came on board he made it very clear we’re going to be a family, and that was kind of a strange concept to me. I was used to just having a working relationship with my pastors.”
Instead, Father San Juan told parish staff that they would be eating, praying, and even fighting together, as long as it was followed, of course, by forgiveness.
“His goal was to get us to heaven and to really live our faith, not just on Sundays, but day-to-day, to do the little things to get to heaven,” said Engquist.
Engquist and Alvarez agreed that the new administrator was a unifying presence for the parish over the last year.
“He was able to bring healing to the parish staff, and restored the ministries that were broken,” said Alvarez, whom Father San Juan guided and encouraged in his decision to enter the seminary this year.
During the recent months of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Father San Juan took a “hands-on” approach in bringing the sacraments to his parishioners, whether through organizing a team to livestream Masses or building a dignified “outdoor church” in the parish parking lot with a stage and canopy when COVID-19 restrictions forced religious services to be held outdoors this summer.
“He died doing what he loved to do, and I think that he came to our parish to heal us in a lot of ways. And he fulfilled that mission,” said Engquist.
Part of that mission was accompanying young people like Alvarez and the couple that he had prepared for marriage on that fateful day to embrace their vocations. Among them also was his own niece, whom Father San Juan was also helping prepare for marriage with her fiancé.
Siongco told Angelus that she and her sister “Fely” (both of whom live in nearby Walnut) will miss her brother’s visits on his days off to eat together, plan vacations, and take 6,000-step walks to help them stay in shape.
Even in the face of losing their little brother, family chaplain, and travel companion, Siongco said her family is consoled by the outpouring on social media about the lives Father San Juan touched, evidence of the good fruit that his vocation bore.
“It’s an honor for Father Adrian to be summoned by the Lord,” said Siongco. “When our heavenly boss calls us, who should say no?”
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This is NOT a new development – leftist outside agitators have been hard at work
on our nation’s campuses for decades – going all the way back to the 60s.
The seeds sewn by Saul Alinsky lo those many decades ago are reaping a bitter fruit.
One recent development is the feeding frenzy of baby sharks eating their parents and grandparents, especially those swimming in the cesspool of the facility and administration. It’s like watching Jaws being devoured by his children. I would eat popcorn if the spectacle didn’t turn my stomach.
On second thought, all of this reminds me of Dostoevsky‘s the Devils.
Great image. Thanks!
I am in no way justifying the Hamas attack. However, in retaliation, Israel is killing and starving thousands of innocent Palestinian women and children, some of whom are Christians.
Also, after the Oct. 7 attack, many Jews were amazed and openly wondering how it was possible that the most heavily guarded and surveilled border between Israel and Palestine could have not had any surveillance for many hours on Oct. 7.
Isreal is doing no such thing, and there is no such thing as an innocent Palestinian.
Athanasius:
While I support Israel in its war in Gaza, and polls show that the vast the majority (I believe it was over 80% in the Pew Poll) of “Palestinians” support violent Sharia (Palestinians are among the 3 most violent Muslim populations in the world) it is not truthful to say “there are no innocent Palestinians.” Obviously, a sizable minority are not in favor of violence, and that is a fact, in the same way that “the vast majority favoring violence” is a fact. Saying otherwise is not acknowledging reality, and cannot be justified, and when actions in war are explained on the basis of what is unjustifiable, then a person making such a claim is not defending justice, or arguing on the basis of “just war” principles.
It may be the case that you don’t really believe what you wrote?
According to the Reuters report (I choose Reuters because they are not identified with the “radical right”), three in four Palestinians support the actions of Hamas on October 7.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/poll-shows-palestinians-back-oct-7-attack-israel-support-hamas-rises-2023-12-14
Of course, that was back in December and things may have changed, but I rather doubt that. Mind you, this support for Hamas is even after it has been revealed (multiple times in fact) that Hamas and other terrorists use civilians as human shields–placing their centers of operations and weaponry in schools and hospitals.
Interesting that you would only be concerned with media that may be considered “radical right”.
Under this Administration anyone reporting the truth is being censored and demonized. Only the “radical left” is allowed to spout their propaganda.
Hate to tell you this, I would be considered among the “radical right.” I almost choose the National Review article on the subject, as it is more recent, but choose Reuters. In any event, NR reported the same thing: Palestinians overwhelming support Hamas, and have done so for years.
Mrs.Hess:
I agree with you but I would add that they do so because they are afraid not to.
That is absolutely true.
Exactly!
Mary,
Your write: “many Jews were amazed and openly wondering how it was possible that the most heavily guarded and surveilled border between Israel and Palestine could have not had any surveillance for many hours on Oct. 7.”
A deep look into what is a profoundly convoluted and fallen world…
Some might even ask how it was possible that 9/11 happened at all? And twenty years in Afghanistan? In 2001 were too many security agents assigned to track domestic “terrorists” praying in front of abortion clinics in urban America? And, yet, further into the morass, would such a hypothetical distraction have been due to those misguided pro-life activists who firebombed clinics?
It’s almost as if the relativistic calculus of consequences is incalculably evil. And, as if the clear and consistent defense of moral absolutes (!), as defended under the forgotten Veritatis Splendor, is still somebody’s God-given responsibility…but who am I to judge?
Palestine has been turned into a pile of rubble with thousands of casualties including hundreds of women and children, and many more buried in the rubble. That is obvious to anyone.
Maybe we should let God be the judge of whether Palestinian women and children are guilty or innocent.
Mary, what’s going on in the Holy Land is a terrible tragedy but I think doubly so for the people living in Gaza because not only are they the victims of collateral damage but they’re also victimized and exploited by Hamas and Iran.
The entire population of Gaza has simply been a means of humanitarian aid to steal, indoctrination, human shields, and canon fodder for Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist mercenary cartel working for the highest bidder which currently is Iran.
The rest of Israel’s neighbors want peace. October 7th was an attempt by Iran to derail the peace accords. (And many Iranians want peace also but good luck with free speech in Iran today. )
The IDF has taken more measures to protect putative civilians, measures that put their soldiers at risk, than any military in the world. Civilian casualties are unavoidable in urban warfare, especially when the enemy places forces and munitions adjacent to churches, schools, and other civilian structures.
Rich Leonardi, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported that two Catholic women were shot and killed by an Israeli sniper in a Gaza Parish, while an Israeli tank destroyed the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa. The two women shot were supposedly in a safe area and the second woman who was shot and killed by the sniper was rushing to the aid of the first woman (her mother).
Also, many Jewish people in this country and even Military in Israel were in total disbelief that the Israeli Palestinian border was totally unprotected for hours – allowing the Hamas attack. Hamas, by the way, was created by Netanyahu.
The Israeli media also lied about the beheading of babies, etc. in order to foment hatred toward everyone in Gaza.
Something stinks to high heaven in this whole mess.
Mary, where are you seeing the footage of this massive starvation and death of innocent children in Hamas territory? I have seen photos of some destroyed buildings but can’t tell if they are old or if the location is accurate. We live in an age of fake news so it’s hard to tell.
RomyE, I search various websites to try to find the truth because, as you say, in an age of fake news it’s hard to know for sure. I’ve found Lifesitenews.com to be very reliable. One of their latest articles from April 30 is entitled, Hell on Earth: Inside the Overlooked Plight of Christians in Gaza, which interviews the founder of the Vulnerable People Project.
Lifesite News does from time to time have news items that are of interest but “reliable” is not the way I’d describe the site as a whole & certainly not in the case of news concerning Gaza or Israel.
MrsCracker, There are many pro Israel people who don’t like Lifesite News’ reporting of the Israel-Gaza war – even though I think their reporting is fair and balanced. I’ve found several videos on the net of Jewish Rabbis, Israeli Americans and members of the Israeli press who feel the bombing of Gaza should be stopped as the majority of casualties are women and children.
The Palestinians will not see a homeland for themselves until they have earned it. Peace is not forced into existence by violence, but peace can force violence out of existence.
Peace must come first. Only when the Hamas’ of the world drop their weapons, look up to Heaven and say “Israel has as much right to exist as we do”, will the Middle East experience true peace. The root of this entire historical and all-encompassing human tragedy rests, carved in stone, within the soul and cultural collective mindset of peoples who bear within their hearts, as if deigned by heaven itself, the complete physical, spiritual and temporal annihilation of the entire worldwide Jewish population.
For the umpteenth time:
1) Hamas has stated over and over and OVER through the years that they will settle for nothing less than the complete eradication of the state of Israel.
2) Hamas started this latest version of the war last October.
3) Hamas launches rockets from within civilian-populated areas as a matter of policy.
These are NOT matters to argue over, rather they are FACTS. So, and I know I’m asking too much of college students whose parents are paying up to $90,000 per year for their little darlings to be educated to act the way they are:
4) Do the math.
I hear you Mr. Terrence but occasionally students at Columbia are paying out of pocket and locating their own funding. That’s what one of my children did for his graduate study there. All I did was help him with the fee to reserve his dorm room and i sent him care packages of food. He soon figured out he couldn’t afford living in the dorm and he rented a room from a kindly Dominican grandma.
But, yes his experience was that many of the students there were very privileged indeed and the whole thing was quite a culture shock.
I stopped listening to this interview when Father Landry said that Jesus came to heal the divisions between the classes. I thought that was a very odd thing for a priest or any Catholic to say.