6
IN THE DIOCESE
June 20, 2017 | The Valley Catholic
Priests throughout the Diocese Celebrating Milestone Anniversaries
Scattered across the Diocese of San
Jose, several priests are celebrating an-
niversaries of their ordination to the
priesthood.
Bishop Emeritus Pierre DuMaine
marks 60 years as a priest this year.
Meanwhile Father Edward Samy is
celebrating 50 years. Father John Hur-
ley, CSP, marks 40 years as does Father
Steven Brown. And Father Andres
Ligot marks 25 years as a priest.
Here’s some insight into each of
them, written by them.
Father Edward Samy
The first thought that comes to my
mind when I think of the 50 years
of priesthood is a sense of gratitude
to God’s providence that has led me
through these years. There were
events in my life that were frightening
and assignments that were threaten-
ing. Looking back I realize not only
did God lead me through those but
let me learn from them and come out
stronger in the end.
In the Pontifical Atenaeum, Pune,
the seminary I went to, there was an-
other tradition. Every year as the day
of Ordination approached we read
about the Ordination ceremony dur-
ing dinner time. One quotation from
the Ordination ceremony had a real
impression on me and that has been
my guiding principle throughout my
priestly life: “Understand what you do
and imitate what you celebrate.”
One thing I enjoyed most in my life
was the rich experience of getting to
know and ministering to parishioners
and people from variety of social, eco-
nomic and cultural backgrounds and
realizing that in giving we receive too.
And of course nothing could exceed
the power of the Eucharist and the
Word of God . These and the faith and
prayers of family and people gave me
the strength I needed in my life as a
priest. For all these all I could do is to
be grateful to God and to God’s people
and sing with the Psalmist “What
shall I return to the Lord for all His
goodness to me. I will lift up the cup
of salvation and call on the name of
the Lord.” (Ps. 116: 12-13).
Father Steven Brown
Forty years of blessings and never-
dreamed-of experiences of God’s people
and places, is what my life has been as
a priest.
My never dull, always stretching, for-
ever rewarding ministry among God’s
people began with the blessing of being
part of a newly forming community
of Saint Julie, as a deacon 1976-77; the
greatest blessing of all my years of stud-
ies, was my final one in Rome after my
Ordination, studying Spirituality in Ital-
ian 1977-78; and then being welcomed
and learning from Saint John Vianney
community for six years 1978-84 how
to be a priest.
That was followed by five years
of blessings 1984-89 honing those
skills and beginning Spanish under
the guidance of Saint Catherine’s
Community in Morgan Hill, from which
I petitioned and received permission
from Bishop Pierre DuMaine to work
with Maryknoll Missionaries. With my
Spanish skills Maryknoll assigned me
to seven years of blessings living and
ministering in Swahili, in Tanzania,
East Africa, in the Serengeti (home of
the largest concentration of wild game
animals in the world. (There were
2.5 million wildebeest in our parish
territory).
I was blessed and challenged to
grow through so many experiences of
extreme poverty, faith, and generosity;
sweet blessing was the warm welcom-
ing community of Sacred Heart for six
months January-June ’97 transition upon
my return from Tanzania, and while
beginning lessons in Spanish again in
preparation for an assignment to anoth-
er seven years of blessings (1997-2004)
walking with and being encouraged by
the forgotten, faithful Spanish speaking
folks of Star Of The Sea community in
Aviso on the periphery of Silicon Valley.
Then 2004-2014 were ten years of
multi-cultural blessing in Vietnamese,
Filipino, Spanish, and English, from the
7,000 plus families of Santa Maria Gore-
tti Community; and now the surprising
blessing of coming full circle from my
first assignment in 1978 to my final one
in 2014 at Saint John Vianney Commu-
nity, where I am still being blessed by
those who taught me how be a priest to
begin with, such a treat to return and
share the blessings of my life of experi-
ences as we continue to build together
God’s Kingdom among us.
Every place I have served has been
filled with wonderful people as well as
great challenges. The Holy Spirit has
always come through (when I have al-
lowed it) with new life, and wisdom. I’ve
always been blessed and given life by
steadfast and loving parishioners, many
who have become life-long friends, and
all of whom have blessed me with their
prayers and presence in my life.
As Mama Maria says: “My soul pro-
claims the greatness of the Lord, my
Spirit rejoices in God my Savior” for
these forty years of priestly ministry.
Father Andres Ligot
The Very Rev. Andres “Andy” Can-
toria Ligot was born on November 30,
1965 in Laoag City, the Philippines. The
fifth child of his parents Ismael (+) and
Eulalia (+) His vocation to the Priest-
hood was cultivated early in his life
mainly upon the influence of his uncle,
Bishop Victorino C. Ligot, the brother of
his late father.
Father Andy started teaching Phi-
losophy and Sociology at the Manila
Central University after graduation
from College. When he finished his
Master of Arts in Philosophy from the
University of Santo Tomas in Manila,
he flew to Spain to start his seminary
formation at the Colegio Eclesiastico
Internacional Bidasoa, an International
Seminary in Pamplona, Navarra (Spain)
entrusted to Priests of the Prelature of
the Holy Cross and Opus Dei.
He obtained a full university scholar-
ship from the Fundación Banco de Vasco-
nia de España. He finished his Bachelor
of Sacred Theology and Masters in
Theology (Magna Cum