SAN DIEGO — Father Christopher Bongato has been appointed diocesan Vicar for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities.
He succeeds former Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano, who held that position prior to his installation Feb. 19 as the sixth bishop of Monterey, California.
Over the past year, Father Bongato served under Bishop Bejarano as secretary of the Office for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities, which works with 21 distinct cultural groups.
These groups include African American, African, Brazilian, Chinese, Filipino, German, Guam-Chamorro, Indian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Korean, Laotian, Kumeyaay (Native American), Luiseño (Native American), Samoan, Tongan, Ukrainian and Vietnamese Catholics, as well as Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Father Bongato views his new role as “a great responsibility.” As secretary, he attended Masses hosted by various cultural communities that make up the Local Church; as vicar, he takes a leadership role in planning events like the annual Pentecost Mass for All Peoples, a multilingual liturgy followed by a cultural festival where various ethnicities share their traditional cuisine.
About 2,000 people are expected to attend the next Pentecost Mass, when it is held at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 23, at Cathedral Catholic High School.
In addition to his work as vicar, Father Bongato also serves as the associate pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in La Mesa. In July, he will transfer to a new parish assignment as associate pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Oceanside.
Father Bongato said that Bishop Michael Pham’s vision is for the diocese to be not merely “multicultural,” but “intercultural,” so that “we can all be the People of God together.”
The new vicar said his duties will include meeting with the leaders of Catholic cultural communities, “seeing how the diocese can continue to work with them and … how we can better integrate these communities within our diocese.”
Father Bongato explained that, when one cultural community has a celebration, “everybody is invited.”
“We are Catholic, we are universal … It’s not just one cultural group, but we’re all called to worship together,” he said.
Father Bongato, who was ordained to the priesthood in 2023, got an up-close look at the diocese’s work with Ethnic and Intercultural Communities early on. While still a seminarian, he spent a pastoral year at Good Shepherd Parish in Mira Mesa, working alongside the pastor, then Father (now Bishop) Pham, who was Vicar for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities then.
“It was already in my heart at that time that, eventually, I would love to be able to walk with these different communities, just to be able to celebrate Mass with them,” said Father Bongato. “I really thought that would be 10 or 15 years down the road, but here I am.”
