FATHER Gerard “Gerry” Paderon’s favorite time of the year is Christmas. Unlike here in the US, in the Philippines, Christmas starts in September when it’s not uncommon to hear holiday songs on the radio.
“I think, our celebration of Christmas is the happiest in the world. And our celebration starts very early,” said Father Paderon in a column for the quarterly newsletter of Fox Valley Filipino-American Catholic Ministry, Kalinga, in 2004. “When the ‘ber’ months arrive, it’s Christmas time. You hear the first Christmas song on the radio 12:01 in the morning of September 1. That’s the signal. Start counting, and it’s Christmas. The next day you will see houses with Christmas decors – Christmas lights, a plastic banner that says, ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’, or the face of Santa posted on the doors and looking at you.”
Though the excitement level in the US is unlike the Philippines, Father Paderon does get excited during the days leading up to the Simbag Gabi, the one common Filipino Christmas tradition that has made its way to the US.
Father Paderon, 44, is the parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi in Metuchen, New Jersey. Paderon was recently transferred to the over-100-year-old church last June from St. Mary Church in Alpha.
Prior to his time in New Jersey, Father Paderon served in the Rockford Catholic Diocese in Illinois.
A former priest at the Diocese of Lucena, Philippines, he came to the Rockford diocese on November 2004, according to his bio. Paderon studied at Lucena Diocesan College Seminary where he eventually became a seminary professor and served as a priest in several parishes within the Lucena diocese. After 10 years, he left and began his appointment in the Diocese of Rockford.
He formerly served at St. Thomas the Apostle Rectory in Crystal Lake, Illinois, before serving in New Jersey.
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