Father Dante Tamayo |
By Voice staff
Although he will be stepping into unfamiliar territory
as the new parochial administrator at St. Jerome Parish in El Cerrito,
Father Dante Tamayo is not fazed by the challenges that lie ahead of him.
“That’s what I’m called for,” he said.
While he may lack experience in leading a parish, the 39-year-old priest
said that he brings to the community a caring heart and an attentive ear.
“Listening and understanding are skills or gifts that, I believe,
I can bring with me as I embark on my new assignment as administrator,”
he told The Voice. “For it is through these gifts that the presence
of Christ is felt, experienced or encountered.”
A native of the Philippines, Father Tamayo grew up in a large family that
included a total of seven siblings. He felt his first attraction to religious
life while in the third grade when his eldest brother was in the seminary.
But he credits his spiritual journey, in part, to his hometown parish
priest. “He’s such an inspiration and model in my chosen vocation,”
he told The Voice. “He possesses most of the qualities that I admire
most from a priest.”
After completing his education, which included earning a master’s
degree at Jesuit University in Manila, Father Tamayo was ordained a priest
for the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan in December 1993.
Following his ordination, the priest was assigned as parochial vicar for
a year and then as a campus minister for almost five years. Then he spent
nearly four years as a “guest-priest” while studying for his
master’s degree.
In 2003 he left the Philippines, moved to the U.S., and settled in the
Oakland Diocese. Since then, he has served as parochial vicar at St. Anne
Parish in Union City and at St. Isidore Parish in Danville.
Father Tamayo said that the most satisfying aspect of working in a parish
is celebrating the Eucharist with the people. He added being with and
serving the needs of the people will his goal as he begins his new assignment.
“To be a humble servant-leader-administrator of St. Jerome. To bring
Jesus to the people. These are just some of the goals and hopes I have
as an administrator,”
he said.
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