Rev. Michael Jovenal Estaris

Picture when Fr. Michael was a Seminarian in training in his Pastoral year at St. Isidore 2007-2008

Bro. Michael provided his biographical sketch to our parish community below upon his arrival:

I decided to enter the seminary and joined the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) after High School (2000-2005). In the early part of the year 2005, after five years of seminary formation with the Vincentians, I discerned on joining another seminary. To grow more spiritually, to know more myself in a different seminary setting as I respond to God’s call were the reasons why I decided to leave the Vincentians.

During the period when I was still discerning about the seminary where I will be continuing my formation to the priesthood, I received an invitation from a friend who happens to be a seminarian studying for the Diocese of Sacramento. He gave me the information that the Vocation Director of Sacramento (Msgr. James Murphy) would be interviewing interested seminarians who wanted to join the Diocese of Sacramento. It was one month before my graduation from college when I decided to give it a try. Even though the timing was crucial, because I was still preparing the defense of my undergraduate thesis, the working of the Holy Spirit was undoubtedly present and helped me throughout the process.

In September of 2006 I arrived in the US and started my formal Theological Studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA.  I have just finished recently my second year of Theological formation.

As a response to the Program of Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, St. Patrick Seminary includes Pastoral formation as a crucial and essential area of formation for every seminarian (as an equal partner with the spiritual and academic seminary formation program). The Pastoral Year program of the seminary is a ten-month long assignment from September to June, in a full-time parish based experience of pastoral ministry in a seminarian’s own diocese. This typically occurs between his second and third year theological studies (2007 Revised Pastoral Year Handbook, 1st Edition, St. Patrick’s Seminary, p.2).

It is from this context that St. Isidore Catholic Church and the Parish Community will be my home for the next 10 months, as I observe, learn, and experience a full time parish-based ministry. I am very happy to be with you. (Note: Bro. Michael finished his Student Pastoral Year at St. Isidore on June 30, 2008.)

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Year 2010

Picture courtesy of the Diocesan Newspaper, The Catholic Herald, April 24, 2010

The following Article is from The Catholic Herald, Diocese of Sacramento, 102nd Year, Number 20, April 24, 2010

Michael Estaris

The youngest of eight children, raised by a widowed mother, Deacon Michael Estaris, 26, had known when he was in high school that he wanted to be a priest and that he wanted to work with the poor. He was born in Pozomubio, Pangasinas, in the Philippines.

His mother, he noted, was not quite ready to part with her last child, but supported his decision to enter the seminary for the Congregation of St. Vincent de Paul after he graduated from high school at age 16.

He’d finished his degree in philosophy, graduating summa cum laude, and was poised to begin his graduate studies in theology when he met Father Ruel Mesa, a Sacramento diocesan priest visiting in the Philippines. Father Mesa suggested a rather large change in Estaris’ plan, inviting him to come serve the poor in the Sacramento Diocese rather than in the Philippines. Estaris seriously considered the idea, and the two men continued their conversation via e-mail after Father Mesa had returned to California.

Estaris was drawn to the change in spiritual mentoring that Father Mesa described. “I was still in formation with the Vincentians,” he explained, “but I knew that I needed to make a change.” He prayed about which path to take, he said, and then met with his spiritual director at the Vincentian seminary, who surprised him by saying, “We believe in you. Go to Sacramento. We’ll pray for you.”

So although Estaris was still following his path to the priesthood, he noted, the path itself had taken him in an unexpected direction, to diocesan priesthood in another country.

He arrived at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park in the fall of 2005 and continued his studies for the priesthood. Now, however, he was also learning about Catholicism in the United States and the needs of American parishes.

He describes his pastoral year at St. Isidore Parish in Yuba City as “a grace-filled experience.” Estaris, who plays violin and piano, found that he loved teaching music in the parish elementary school and working with the choir at the parish. “It’s a slower pace of life in the country,” he said, with a spiritual depth that he appreciates.

While concluding his studies this year at St. Patrick’s Seminary, Estaris helps out on weekends at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento — an urban assignment serving a significantly transient population, he noted. But he likes this assignment, too, he said, serving the homeless downtown and assisting at Masses.

“What I most look forward to as a priest is proclaiming the Gospel,” he said.

Estaris will celebrate Masses of thanksgiving on June 4 at 6 p.m. at St. Isidore Church in Yuba City, on June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Basil Church in Vallejo, and on June 6 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento.

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Goodbye from Bro. Michael 2008
2009 Ordination - Deacon Michael Estaris