By Carrie McClish
Staff writer

With a mix of excitement and nervousness, Father Ismael Gutierrez began a new assignment earlier this month as the parochial administrator at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Concord.

Fr. Ismael Gutierrez

While excited at the prospect of leading the parish, he admitted to being nervous because he hasn’t done a lot of administrative work. But what he might lack in experience, he more than makes up for in his passion for ministry and his desire to learn the skills needed to be an effective pastor.

Father Gutierrez was born in Fullerton, the seventh of 12 children. When he was a few months old, his parents moved the family to the Mexican state of Jalisco where he grew up. After turning 21, he moved to Union City and settled in at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish with his parents and younger siblings.

Father Gutierrez said he always wanted to be a priest and was inspired by the charism of the Salesians of St. John Bosco who ministered in his Mexican hometown. That inspiration was reawakened after he began working with the youth at Our Lady of the Rosary. He talked to Father Jose Leon, pastor, who referred him to the diocesan vocations office.

After studying English in Berkeley, he attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Santa Fe., N.M., for four years until it closed in 1998. He completed his education at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, and he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Allen Vigneron for the Oakland Diocese in May 2004.

His first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Michael Parish in Livermore where he spent “four very happy years” learning how to live out his vocation in a parish setting. He worked with the Hispanic community and became involved in parish groups, including the Knights of Columbus and Young Ladies Institute.

In 2005 Father Gutierrez began a housing project in El Salvador. St. Michael’s parishioners helped him collect more than $30,000 to build 25 houses in the town of Santa Catarina Masahuat for “the poorest of the poorest,” he said. The project was completed in August 2009 with 28 houses built, three more than the original plan. “It has been the greatest blessing I ever had,” Father Gutierrez said.

In the midst of the project, St. Michael’s pastor, Father Ray Sacca, was appointed diocesan director of clergy and Father Gutierrez was named interim administrator of the parish, a position he held about six months. Because Father Sacca continued to live at the parish, Father Gutierrez was able to consult with him about parish concerns.

“He is very wise,” Father Gutierrez said of Father Sacca.

Because it was in an interim position, Father Gutierrez followed Father Sacca’s advice and did not make any major changes. “That’s what I hope to do at St. Francis — not make any big changes in the first months,” he said. “I want to get to know the people in the parish and observe how things are running.”

For the past two years, Father Gutierrez has been parochial vicar at the Cathedral Parish of Christ the Light. He participated in a number of landmark events associated with the opening of the cathedral complex and in various diocesan events taking place at the cathedral. As a result, he said he has gained “a better understanding of Church.”

His duties included ministering to the Hispanic community and the English-speaking parishioners. He was responsible for changing the environment in the cathedral’s Chapel of All Seasons to reflect liturgical seasons and themes associated with the diocese’s various ethnic communities such as the Day of the Dead (Hispanic), Santo Nino (Filipino), and the Vietnamese martyrs.

Father Gutierrez, who recently turned 40, said that he has spent “six happy years as a priest.” He continues to be guided by a sentence that reflects his trust in God and confidence in the future: “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot sustain you.”

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