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OST Honors Fr. David Garcia at Spring Gala

“Fr. David is a priest I’d order from a catalog.“ – Ron Rolheiser, OMI


Father David Garcia has an enviable resume when it comes to accomplishments in major institutional assignments. No sooner had he been named Grand Marshal of the 2017 Battle of Flowers Parade when Oblate School of Theology honored him for those achievements and for his deep concern for people in need.

Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, president of OST, provided the quote of the evening when he characterized “Fr. David,” as he is widely known, as “a priest I’d order from a catalog. “ The event was the 2017 Oblate Spring Gala, which grossed about $73,000 Veronica and Ruben Escobedo, long-time supporters of OST, were co-chairs for the event.

Among Fr. Garcia’s accomplishments, he:

  • • Chaired the planning and construction of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center, which was opened in 1984;
  • • Chaired the committee that secured the site for Pope St. John Paul II’s open-air Mass during his 1987 visit to San Antonio;
  • • Spearheaded the capital campaign that raised $21 million to restore the iconic 268-year-old San Fernando Cathedral and build two much-needed buildings adjacent to it.
  • • Was instrumental in securing the designation of the Old Spanish Missions as a World Heritage site.

San Antonio Auxiliary Bishop Michael Boulette, Catholic Relief Services relationship manager Carla Ortiz and OST President Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI, warmly praised Fr. Garcia both for his stellar accomplishments and for concern for people, especially the poor. Fr. Rolheiser may have paid him the ultimate compliment, declaring, “David, you’re a priest I would order out of a catalogue.” The comment drew a chorus of laughter and applause from the audience.

Bishop Boulette said he had many fine mentors as a seminarian, but among his own peers, Fr. Garcia was also a mentor.

Garcia made San Fernando Cathedral “a shining place” with a “seat of goodness” from which the Archbishop could proclaim the Good News, and where liturgy was “alive, vibrant and filled with the beauty of God’s love and goodness.” Traveling to Europe, he studied its great cathedrals to understand a cathedral’s significance to its community; similarly, he emphasized to others the special nature of the city’s 18th-century Spanish missions, their value to the community at large and what they can tell us today about evangelization

Ortiz praised Fr. Garcia’s story-telling gift. “He makes readers feel as if they are conversing with, for example, a coffee farmer in Nicaragua, a handicraft worker in the Holy Land or a beneficiary of a savings and internal lending community in Burkina Faso,” she said. National CRS official often hear from U.S. bishops about the San Antonio priest’s outstanding talent for helping priests and bishops reflect on and deepen their commitment to care for “the least among us around the world, she said.

He routinely suggests that Catholics can do many things for refugees, whether it’s praying, learning about global issues, taking legislative action or making donations,” Ortiz said. She also cited his parish work promoting social justice. He encourages fair-trade coffee sales, education on ethical models of trade that help poor communities thrive, and a Gift of Hope giving tree at Mission Concepcion.

Fr. Rolheiser told the honoree, “The school wants to honor you tonight because we don’t want to take for granted all the things you’ve done and all that’s been said about you tonight. You’re very gifted, very special and very generous, both in your priesthood and your person,” the OST president said. Besides being a pastor, ecumenical and inter-faith leader, advocate for the poor, and a true child of San Antonio, he said, Garcia is “an ecclesial and civic treasure – and the world’s best fundraiser.”

The OST president presented the honoree with a large color photograph of Mission Concepción taken by San Antonio photographer Bob Howen.

Fr. Garcia reciprocated, characterizing OST as “a great school” and noting that “San Antonio is blessed to have it here.

The honoree looked to three recently deceased San Antonio leaders to draw insights for future church leaders: Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, Archbishop Patrick Flores and Msgr. Lawrence J. Stuebben, all of whom died in the past 13 months. .

He said Elizondo’s meztizo theology “allowed U.S. Hispanics to feel a part of the story of Jesus in a newer, deeper way and led the way to new paths of thinking. He noted a key was Elizondo’s original insight that “Jesus was a mestizo, a mixed-breed person coming from Galilee — the wrong side of the tracks for the Jewish world of his time. He helped us understand that salvation comes from listening to and welcoming those on the outskirts of society and the world.”

Next, he said that Archbishop Flores was about giving all people a chance to grow and become what God called them to be, especially those who nobody else felt were worth anything.

He believed in empowering people and believed that ‘God spreads gifts around to all, and these gifts are meant for the entire community.”

Msgr. Stuebben loved the history of the Catholic Church in South Texas. “The dirt of South Texas was always on his shoes. He was grounded here, and it informed his life and ministry. He showed us how to die by giving his life for his ministry and for others. He refused to retire to a wheelchair or a nursing home,” the honoree pointed out.

Finally, Fr. Garcia said the next generation of church leaders will face challenges different from those of the past — mainly, “living in a global church that is changing, has great diversity and strives to be in solidarity with the least by reaching out to those on the peripheries.”

Emce Davis noted that fourth-year students at the seminary recently had hosted a thank-you luncheon for the faculties of Assumption and OST, and in particularly OST faculty members Sally Gomez-Jung, Dr. Rose Marden and Dr. Victor Carmona for their years of teaching.

Veronica and Ruben Escobedo were co-chairs for the gala, whose proceeds exceeded $73,000. Proceeds from the Annual Spring Gala help fund OST’s general operations.


J. Michael Parker, Director of Communications

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