COMMUNITY
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April 10, 2018 | The Valley Catholic
Priest Interview – Father Tito Cartagenas
Justin Chung ’19
This is the sixth in a series of interviews
conducted by Justin Chung. Justin is a junior
at Bellarmine College Preparatory and an
active parishioner at Holy Korean Martyrs
Parish.
Father Tito was born and raised in
the Philippines. From a young age, he
actively served in his local parish as an
altar server from second grade to high
school which helped nurture strong
ties to the priest and parish. “We lived
very close to the church, I could liter-
ally walk there. During the summer I
would not miss a single Mass.”
During his teenage years, Father Tito
attended a co-ed Catholic School which
held weekly Masses. “It [the school]
was run by the nuns and I enjoyed
growing up going to a Catholic school.
My parents were deeply devoted and
devout Christians… what they taught
me at home was reaffi rmed all the more
at school.” He took full advantage of
his four-years as he immersed himself
in an array of activities ranging from
drama, sports, and editorial of the high
school newspaper.
Father Tito attended a prestigious
institution in the Philippines amidst
the height of political consent within
the country. He became a part of a pro-
test movement lead by student leaders
against the government which spiraled
into violence. “Many of my colleagues
were killed, executed, arrested, killed
during the height of the Marcos regime.
I am fortunate to be alive. I participated
in public demonstrations that began
peacefully but later developed violently
people getting shot at sporadically and
somehow I survived.”
Refl ecting on this experience, Father
Tito believes that God had kept him
alive for a certain reason, for a greater
purpose. He began to seriously question
his direction in life. Then he met the Je-
suits. At the time, his brother and cousin
had been attending a Jesuit school and
he would often visit them. There, Father
Tito would play basketball with the
young Jesuit scholastics. “That’s what
started it all. From the basketball court
they’d invite me to the seminary and
they invited me to stay at the seminary
for snacks and eventually prayers!”
By his senior year, Father Tito would
consistently go to the seminary every
week to play basketball and spend time
with the Jesuits. “Somehow that began
the seeds. That’s where I began to think
of the priesthood.”
However, Father Tito felt unsure
about the ministry because his parents
and relatives were expecting him to
enter into law school after his studies
at the university. Despite his family’s
hopes, Father Tito felt that path wasn’t
meant to be and joined The Society of
Jesus, the Jesuits.
After attending the pre-novitiate pro-
gram for a year, the Novitiate program
for two years, and spending three years
with the Jesuits, Father Tito decided to
leave the Society instead of taking his
vows. “I thought I was too young to be-
come a priest and a Jesuit and continue
my studies in the priesthood so I left and
I worked for the Jesuits for a year as a
teacher in a boys school in Manila… I
taught seventh grade and coached the
basketball team, I enjoyed being there.”
Father Tito left his teaching job and
became a fl ight attendant for Philippine
Airlines. By the seventh year, he began
to seriously consider the priesthood
and eventua