CLIFTON Sometimes, Father Nico Quintos, parochial vicar at St. Philip the Apostle Parish here, laughs so much, he has trouble finishing his sentences.
Chuckles and chortles fill a studio in Makati City in the Philippines, where Father Quintos tapes a Catholic podcast with St. Paul Father Albert Garong, the host — his college buddy, as they sometimes reminisce about their days in college seminary. Sitting behind a microphone, Father Quintos, born and raised in the Philippines, delights in sharing with Father Garong, also a native, the pure joy of his ministry and his calling from God. Sitting in with them for last month’s taping of the podcast, called “The PadsCast,” was Deacon Ed Dantis who serves in the area there. They spoke in their native language of Tagalog.
“You moved your entire life from the Philippines to the United States,” Father Garong told Father Quintos, during the 30-minute episode, “Priest in the Big City,” taped in a convent in Makati City.
“I am a priest now on the other side of the planet [in the Paterson Diocese],” said 30-year-old Father Quintos, who was on vacation in the Philippines at the time.
“So you’re intergalactic!” Father Garong said, joking and causing everyone to burst into laughter — and giving Beacon readers a flavor of their fun interplay.
By God’s providence, another priest of the Diocese, Father Cesar Jaramillo, was on the other side of the world from Father Quintos, visiting family in his native Colombia. There in a hotel room, he spoke of his priesthood on remote video for the Spanish-language Radio Santisimo Sacramento, based in Sacramento, Calif. The priest, a parochial vicar at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, was visiting Colombia, where he was born, to concelebrate his uncle’s funeral Mass.
Last month, Father Quintos and Father Jaramillo, two young Paterson priests, coincidently traveled back to their homelands and got the opportunity to use digital media outlets to proclaim the Gospel and share the joy of their priesthood in their native languages. Both priests are adept at using social media, and at times traditional media outlets, to evangelize. “It was fun,” Father Quintos said. The podcast has netted more than 12,000 “views” or “listens” on social media so far, including from several Filipino families he serves at St. Philip’s. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained him to the priesthood of the Diocese on Aug. 1, 2020. “We talked about the seminary and the fun of the priesthood and the mistakes we have made. We communicated the joy of living our faith as priests. When people see that joy, it’s attractive to them,” he said.
They spoke in Tagalog with a little English for the podcast. Father Quintos and Father Garong reminisced about being students at St. Paul Seminary in Silang Cavite, Philippines, where the Paterson priest earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and communications in 2013. He spoke about serving as an altar boy in his home parish there and being inspired by “Father Mike,” the pastor. He took three years off from college seminary to work and discern his vocation further, he said.
During the podcast, Father Quintos said he got in contact with the Diocese through a former seminarian, who was studying in Paterson. He came to the United States when he was 24 and studied at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
On his priesthood, Father Quintos said, “It’s really satisfying and a blessing to serve our people — the wider, multicultural Church — in the Paterson Diocese.”
“Discernment is an ongoing process, where the Lord leads you to a decision. There is only one question at the end of the day: ‘Is this what God wants?’” Father Quintos said.
In a hotel room in Colombia, Father Jaramillo, 31, used his laptop to talk on video to Juan Carlos, the host of Radio Santisimo Sacramento, and another person for the Spanish-language show. The host invited the priest some time ago, after following him on social media and being impressed with the way he evangelizes with digital media. Because of the death of his beloved uncle, Father Jaramillo unexpectedly found himself last month in Colombia but honored his commitment to appear. An anticipated 15-minute show ended up being an hour, said the priest, who came to the United States with his family at six years old.
“The hosts asked me about how I grew up, where I studied, and being a priest. I gave my testimony as a priest, sharing my story,” said Father Jaramillo, who appeared on an episode for Vocation Awareness Day for Radio Santisimo Sacramento, part of EWTN. “The hosts were personable and warm,” he said.
On the show, Father Jaramillo talks about discernment being a gradual process.
“In the seminary, I asked the Lord for discernment — not to be a priest but to do his will,” Father Jaramillo says. He received his confirmation to the priestly call when he heard the song, “Fishers of Men,” on the Sea of Galilee on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his mother. “I had a great sense of peace in college seminary. I loved prayer life and academics. I found my niche. As a priest now, I have a great sense of fulfillment,” he says.
Father Jaramillo earned a bachelor’s degree in theology and a licentiate in canon law from Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese on July 1, 2017.
The hosts of Radio Santisimo Sacramento ask Father Jaramillo about his duties. He told them that, in addition to serving St. John’s, he serves as Defender of the Bond for the Tribunal of the Paterson Diocese and is an adjunct professor for the Catholic Studies Program at Seton Hall University and for Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology’s Center for Diaconal Formation, both in South Orange. The hosts laughed, saying, “You sure keep busy.”
“I replied, ‘If we rest, we rust.’ Then, the hosts asked me ‘What’s next?’ I said, ‘Whatever God wants.’ ” said Father Jaramillo, who later told The Beacon, “We need to meet people, where they are. They are on social media today. If they read a post or see a photo — praise God — it might help them ask more of the bigger questions in life and get them thinking. We also can present positive aspects of the priesthood,” he said.
Find Father Nico Quintos’ episode of the “The PadsCast” on platforms, such as Facebook, www.facebook.com/thepadscast, and Spotify, https://spoti.fi/3pirDa5. Find Father Jaramillo with Radio Santisimo Sacramento at https://www.facebook.com/RadioSantisimoSac/videos/
1844405779082046.