By Father Jim Hazelton

When I arrived in Guatemala 44 years ago, my two predecessors from the Diocese of Helena, Fathers Jim Tackes and John Ward, informed me that when they arrived the year before, the then-Bishop, Angelico Melotto, had offered them several vacant parishes but they had decided to work in the area covered by the priests from Spokane. Wash., who had arrived five years earlier and are currently celebrating their 50th anniversary there.

The Spokane priests had offered their most remote and difficult area, currently the parish of Santo Tomas La Union, but the Helena priests had held out for the addition of the parish of Santa Maria Visitacion, arguing that if they were taking the most difficult area, Spokane should give them something “good” and even at that time Santa Maria was something good.

Father Tackes told me that they thought that of all the areas they visited, Santa Maria was the most promising to produce priestly vocations. “And you are going to be pastor of Santa Maria!” he told me.

How prophetic were their intuitions! Today, seven young men have been ordained from the relatively small and relatively thinly populated area that is considered the parish of Santa Maria. The current vicar general of the diocese, Father Julio Dionisio, was one of the two first ordained, and his companion, Father Nicholas Alfredo Chavajay, the canon lawyer, was educated in Rome.

Two cousins from a village near Santa Maria, Rene and Benjamin Ixcamparic, followed, then Federico Quiche from another small village, Xiprian, then another from Santa Maria, Benjamin Yac, and finally in February, the newest member of the group, Nicholas Sac, from Santa Clara La Laguna, the largest city in the parish.

How can you account for such a concentration of priestly vocations? For one thing, in those first years after the arrival, there was a public school with six grades in Santa Maria, a rarity among rural towns and villages. Also, Santa Maria had put aside many of their ancient customs and had accepted the Catholic faith, lock, stock and barrel. When I arrived, there was daily Mass every morning at 6, and rosary every afternoon at 6, and usually well attended.

When I left there 24 years later, there was still Mass every morning at 6, a Mass well attended and especially by young students. Another blessing Santa Maria has enjoyed is the presence of the Christian Brothers of LaSalle. I brought them in many years ago to help me with education and they are still going strong.

The last young man ordained, Nicolas Sac, was ordained for another diocese, Quetzaltenango. He told me several years ago that he wanted to be a priest. I would have liked to have been present for his ordination and first Mass in Santa Clara, but because of an unfortunate accident, I couldn’t be there.

A friend, Judiann McNulty, told me that Nicholas, thanking the priests who had helped him to his ordination, didn’t mention me by name but said “something to the effect that he was affected as a child by seeing Jesus looking at him through the blue eyes of the first priest he ever knew.”


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 20, 2009.