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Biography: Fr. Edward Jocson  Father Ed has always wanted to be a priest. However, while the destination was clear, the journey was occasionally rocky. He is the fourth child of six, born in Manila in the Philippines. He followed is oldest brother into the minor seminary at age 13. Father Ed attended both minor seminary and college seminary before undergoing 6 more years of theology and pastoral formation for the priesthood in the Vincentian Seminary in the Philippines. Then, after 14 years of seminary and formation, he left before ordination. He and his formation advisor felt that Father Ed needed time away from the formation process before he became a priest. His first job outside the seminary was with a Catholic group, Evangelization 2000, dedicated to using contemporary media to foster prayer, proclaim the good news and build vocations. Finding that this line of work, while very satisfying, was still too closely related to the life of the seminary, Father Ed then went to work for the city government of Muntinlupa as executive secretary to the Mayor. Muntinlupa is the southernmost city in Metro Manila, and with a population of over 300,000 and a growing commercial base, it is also one of the most successful cities in the Philippines. After 7 years working outside the Church, Monsignor Jeremias Rebanal, then pastor of St. Aedan’s in Jersey City, invited Father Ed to come to the USA and return to his formation studies for the priesthood at Seton Hall. In September of 1998, Father Ed entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Seton Hall to resume his studies and formation for the priesthood. After two years of at ICS and a year as a Deacon in the parish of St. Vincent de Paul in Bayonne, Father Ed was ordained a priest in 2001. Of the hiatus in his formation, Father Ed believes that it gave him a much broader perspective on the world and made him a different and better priest than he would have been. He says that he always heard the call, but that the time away made him more certain that the call was from God Himself. While most of Father Ed’s family lives in the Philippines, he has a sister living in Florida (conveniently near Disney World, one of his favorite places to visit), and a brother living in Canada. His parents lived in the United States for several years, and were able to attend his ordination in 2001, but have since returned to Manila. He tries to get back to visit them at least once a year and calls home every Friday to hear their voice and catch up on the family gossip. Thanks to skype and yahoo messenger, Fr. Ed also gets to see their faces when they connect through a video conference call. Father Ed enjoys horror movies, a characteristic he traces back to a nursemaid that told him scary stories before bed when he was a child. He used to sing lead in a Barbershop Chorus (the Rahway Valley Jerseyaires). The barbershop chorus sings traditional American songs and some contemporary music arranged in barbershop style (acapella four-part harmony). He also loves singing with a local opera company (Pineda Lyric Opera) when they need some additional male voices in their local music productions in Cranford. In addition to his singing talents Father Ed plays the guitar and the piano. Given the opportunity, he also loves to dance. Fr. Ed has brought pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico and the Holy Land in Israel. Contact Father Ed for more information on future scheduled pilgrimages. In his seven years at St. Michael’s, Father Ed feels that he has been warmly welcomed. He is currently working with the RCIA group at St. Michael’s and finds working with the team and the participants (catechumens and candidates) very inspiring. In addition, he works with the Ministry to the Sick and he would like to remind everyone that if they know of a parishioner who is sick, homebound or in a hospital/healthcare institution and who would like a visit, to please contact the parish office. Father Ed is also involved with the Office of Religious Education. This, and St. Michael School allows him opportunities to spend time with the children which is always a source of his great joys. He thinks that being with the children helps keep him young. For Father Ed, the most satisfying part his work is sharing the knowledge of God’s love, particularly through the sacraments and spending time with them.
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