The Parishioners of Jesus Our Risen Savior Parish in Spartanburg, South Carolina officially welcomed their 7th Pastor, Fr. Liam Reza, Panganiban, CRM on September 2, 2021. Hailed from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya Philippines, Fr. Liam is the 2nd born child to Dr. William Panganiban and Elena Panganiban of Haverstraw, New York. Fr. Liam was brought up in a typical Filipino household but there is some simple details in the life of the new pastor that somehow not so ordinary. He was born in Ahwaz, Iran, lived in Cameron, Central Africa for 5 years.
When he was of school age, the family moved back to the Philippines for his studies. His dream was to become a doctor of medicine like his father or a degree in agriculture but took a different route when after high school two of his cousins who were studying at the Divine Word Missionaries seminary visited him and encourage him to join the seminary.
He did not know what the seminary was like and so out of curiosity, he took the exam and passed. Elated with this first opportunity, he pursued that life with a belief that God was calling him into the priesthood. Few months in the seminary he recalled that it was “the most miserable experiences of my life but as soon as I eventually got to know my fellow brothers in the seminary and understood what seminary formation was, I eventually learned to appreciate it and began loving the process of formation. Within the course of my formation, I felt that God was calling me to the religious life and the priesthood regardless of how unworthy I was.”
Discernment is a process where you ask God to enlighten you as you figure out what to do with your life. Fr. Liam did just that while trying to figure out whether he was going to continue with the Divine Word Missionaries, he went online, browsing the internet to look around different congregations and religious orders. “The Adorno Fathers caught my attention” he says “because of their charism rooted in the Eucharist.”
After he finished his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy with the Divine Word Missionaries at Christ the King Mission Seminary, in Quezon City Philippines and finally discerned to join the Adorno Fathers, he was accepted and was sent to study at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He finished the Masters of Divinity Major in Pastoral Ministry and made his solemn profession of vows on the 2nd of December 2006 and later ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood on 23rd of June 2007 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Following his ordination, he was assigned as the parochial vicar of the same church for two and a half years. He has been a priest for fourteen years.
When asked if he dreamt of being a pastor of a parish one day, he responded “no.” But now that he has been appointed a pastor he says that it is “humbling and at the same time an honor and will always be an honor to work in both fields. Although I have been involved in seminary formation most of my years in the priesthood, leading the parish is something to look forward to. It is an opportunity for me to learn and grow in the different aspects of my life as a religious missionary priest and above all, to serve God’s people in ways I never did while I was in the seminary.”
As a new Pastor, Fr. Liam expects no less than doing God’s work and through His grace, discern His will as things and events unfold. He sees himself as someone who will try his best to be with the people in this most difficult time (Covid 19 pandemic). He is aware that one of the pressing issues we face these days are uncertainties with anything especially with the virus still lingers around. And the truth of the matter is that this pandemic will definitely end, but while we’re dealing with it, Faith and Trust in the God who loves and forgives is a truth that we must hold on to because this is the truth that endures and a truth that is certain!
Fr. Liam hopes that he will be able to do what is expected of him as a religious, a missionary and priest and to take on the responsibilities as someone who has been entrusted with God’s flock. He sends a message to all the faithful especially to the parishioners of Jesus Our Risen Savior Parish, “PLEASE PRAY FOR ME and always know that you are loved by God and the Adorno Fathers and Brothers.”