Art by Janssen Judd Romero/ THE FLAMENEWLY-APPOINTED Santisimo Rosario Parish priest Fr. Glen Mar Gamboa, O.P. aims to boost the collaboration between the University’s spiritual sanctuary and the academe to keep Thomasians’ faith alive.
A professor of the UST Faculty of Canon Law, Gamboa was appointed by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula to lead the parish effective May 1.
“There is a lot of pressure because this is a big community. It’s really going out of my comfort zone but I will do my best. [That is my] goal, [to] lead every Thomasian to the gates of heaven,” he told The Flame.
As the 16th parish priest, Gamboa succeeded Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., who had served in an acting capacity since January following the departure of Fr. Reagan Talavera, O.P., who was sent to Gibraltar to help establish a new Dominican community.
Gamboa expressed hope that the Thomasians’ engagement with the parish would deepen in his three-year term.
“I want this community to be alive, not just in the academy, but also in faith… We need collaboration, especially in different colleges. Hopefully, there will be a collaboration between the colleges and the parish in the activities here,” he said.
The parish priest graduated with a Philosophy degree at the Philippine Dominican Center of Institutional Studies cum laude in 2012. Two years later, he passed the licensure examination for teachers.
At the University, Gamboa earned his bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology in 2015 and licentiate in Canon Law in 2021, graduating magna cum laude for both degrees. He also served as student council president in the faculty in 2017.
Gamboa was ordained to the diaconate at Santo Domingo Church by then Diocese of Cubao bishop Honesto Ongtioco in May 2021. His ordination to the priesthood was administered by Advincula at the same church seven months later.
During his undergraduate years, he was the chaplain of the Tiples de Santo Domingo, the oldest all-boys choir in the country. The choir produced the documentary “Papuri: The Tiples de Santo Domingo,” which won best documentary at the Spring 2021 International Film Festival Manhattan.
Gamboa also worked as associate editor at Canon Law publication Mens Juridica and Canonews and a member of the UST Central Judiciary Board.
Before being assigned as parish priest, he served at the Lyceum of Camiguin, a Dominican mission institution, and at the Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in Pangasinan.
Citing the goal of the Order of the Dominicans, Gamboa said he wishes to secure the salvation of souls through collaborative efforts to reach the Thomasian community.
“Because those collaborations can start a good experience and in those experiences, one may see the Lord,” he said.
“It’s an encounter; encounter that our faith is really real, concrete.”
Details of Gamboa’s formal installation have yet to be announced. F — Trisha Tamio
