“AS I am a priest, and though I am not 100% prayerful, when I say Mass and get the body of Christ, the Eucharist is my source of strength and so is my devotion to Mary.” - Fr. Hernan Cañete, OAR
Fr. Hernan belongs to the Order of Augustinian Recollects, and serves at St. Catherine of Siena in Reseda.
Fr. Hernan served as assistant parish priest in Valencia; as a formator and professor in Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary; as property administrator and high school principal in the University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos in Bacolod City; and as a formator and professor in Kabankalan Diocese Seminary in Negros Occidental, while he was finishing his teacher board exams and doctoral studies.
He now serves as an associate pastor for St. Bridget’s, a sister parish to St. Catherine, as well as an associate pastor to St. Catherine of Siena.
“It was an accidental first calling, when I was recruited by a local priest, Fr. Oscar dela Rosa, a vocation director for San Carlos. He went to see the nuns in charge, who called all the first section males.”
Out of curiosity, all five of his friends applied, and two reported to start in the seminary.
He spent two years in Toledo, Cebu, and completed high school at minor seminary in San Carlos, Negros Occidental.
Though he went to regular mass with his parents, Hernanie (an OFW) and Hermelina Canete (a teacher), he didn’t think of becoming a priest. Still, he was curious.
He completed his AB Philosophy in Seminario Mayor Recoletos in Baguio City. Still unsure of his direction, he completed his Master’s in Theology at their seminary house in Quezon City. He was ordained on Sept. 7, 1996.
His first assignment was to work as a high school chaplain to 200 students. He also became an associate parish priest at Our Lady of the Abandoned in Valencia, Negros Oriental. He traveled on a motorbike to the mountains, on rugged roads that got slick during rains. But, his idealism and his energies got him going at full speed.
He then taught Latin and Moral Philosophy at their seminary house in Baguio, where he became the formator of 80 seminarians.
He found his assignment refreshing, as he helped form young minds and at the same time, got to form himself, while living a structured life in a community of priests.
He became a high school principal and a property administrator to 600 students and the faculty at University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos. He learned budgeting and administrative skills. He also managed the flow assignments of teachers. He became aware of labor union constraints, which protected underperforming teachers.
He was transferred and became the formator of seminarians in the Diocese of Kabankalan.
Being a formator was a good fit, as it forged a new discipline and an academic rigor for him. It instilled a prayerful life and most importantly, the formation of one’s heart and totality as a person.
He emphasized that a heart towards service, where one’s direction is firmed up solely for God’s service and others is quite the hardest to form -- not just for him, but for the seminarians he was in charge of.
He described that compassion cannot be taught in just one setting -- rather, it is a trait that we all acquire throughout our lifetime. There comes a time he said, that the mind gets saturated and you simply do not want to learn anymore.
After years as a formator, principal and associate priest, he challenged himself to find a way to help his aging parents. He also wanted to expose himself to new ways of discernment, and to grow more in his spirituality in a new culture and a new environment. He applied to become part of the San Agustin Province in the United States, as part of the Augustinian Recoletos’ community.
While waiting for his religious visa to be approved, he took his Master’s, passed the licentiate examination for teachers, and completed his doctorate in education at the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu.
His application was approved and he was first assigned to St. Benedict’s in Montebello, where he experienced jolting culture shock. After six months, he went back to the Philippines and later, applied at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
When his application to go to the US got approved, he was assigned to be an associate pastor at St. Catherine of Siena to minister to a multi-cultural group composed of 3,000 registered families.
He is currently adjusting to a life of rugged individualism -- pursuing service by himself, while finding more connections with priests who are located near his assigned churches. He enjoys the new bonds of friendship he formed with Fr. Ramon, Fr. Altaire and Fr. Leo, who also serve in churches in the Valley.
Barely two years in the United States, he misses the structured community life of the Agustinian Recoletos: their communal meals, prayers and reflections.
On Sept. 7, he celebrated his 15th year as a priest.
“The continuous formation of the heart, how to relate to people, how to relate with your brothers who are priests, is a lifetime challenge. Forming the mind is not as important as the heart; for you must be able to lead them to God. You also need to be a communitarian, one who is able to love and support your fellow priests,” he advises those who want to become priests.
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