INTERVIEW : FR. MARIO VILLARAZA
Surrey, BC
What can you tell us about your family?
My parents are Diogenes Villaraza (deceased
1995) and Elena Marquez. We are eight siblings (3
sisters and 5 brothers). My parents are very
religious and members of the Salesian Cooperators
in Manila, Philippines. I was born in Davao City but
grew up in Mandaluyong City, where there is a
Salesian school.
My mom came in contact with the Salesians
when she was just a child. Bishop William Piani,
S.D.B., was the apostolic delegate to the Philippines
for almost 4 decades, from 1910 to 1946. When he
would go for his yearly vacation to the hometown
of my mom in San José, Batangas, a parish run by
the Oblates of Saint Joseph, the children of the town
would gather in the train station to welcome him.
He would give candies, holy pictures of Mary Help
of Christians and Blessed John Bosco.
As a little girl of 11, my mom was given by an
uncle a sweepstake ticket (lotto) and she prayed to
Blessed John Bosco: “Don Bosco, help me win the
lotto because you came from a poor family and I
am also poor.” She never won any lotto, but when I
became a priest and again for my 25th priestly
anniversary last January 6, 2007, I told her she won
the jackpot – a son priest. Don Bosco would say:
“A son priest is God’s greatest gift to a family.” My
mom, Lena, experienced also a grace from Mary
Help of Christians which I would consider a little
miracle. The following is an excerpt from an article
written by my brother-in-law, Delfin Angeles, for
the occasion of my 25th year as priest:
Because they served as altar boys, Lena’s brothers
Luis and Salvador became good friends of Bishop
Piani. Also a little before the war, the bishop gave
Luis a large picture of Mary, Help of Christians,
which the Marquez family devotedly displayed at
the center of the living room. Then on December 8,
1941, the Japanese invaded the country. One day,
during the Japanese occupation, Lena took it upon
herself to clean their house and she thought of
replacing the picture of Mary, Help of Christians
with the picture of her beauty queen sister, Lilia.
After all, Lilia had been recently crowned as Miss
High School of the Southern College in Cebu. That
very same day, the farm lookouts spotted Japanese
soldiers coming toward the farm. The girls were
quickly whisked away. The Japanese barged into the
house to search for guerrillas. Lilia’s picture caught
the attention of the soldiers. Their father was tied up
and threatened with bayonets when he would not tell
where the beauty queen could be found. In their
heart of hearts, they prayed to Mary Help of
Christians. At last, the soldiers relented and went
away with sacks of rice instead. Right away, Lena
returned Mary to her rightful place in the center of
the living room. To this day, the Marquez recall that
the Japanese never patrolled the farm area except on
that day, and they never returned. Lena since then
learned to enthrone Mary Help of Christians in her
heart and in her home.
What about your childhood and youth?
I spent my childhood and even my youth in
games. I learned to be daring and not to be afraid of
anything in the swimming pool of Don Bosco
Mandaluyong. I learned to be tough and to be humble
in the soccer field.
How did you get to know the Salesians and how did
your vocation come about?
When my family finally settled in Mandaluyong,
my eldest brother entered Don Bosco Technical
Institute and became a soccer player. This attracted
us boys to go to Don Bosco. I was then Grade 2.
There we met the Salesians, who were always in the
playground. Fr. Maurillo Candusso, S.D.B., in charge
of the youth centre, left a deep impression on all the
kids of the youth centre; he was a real saintly priest.
My older brother, who was in his 3rd year high
school, decided to enter the aspirantate, and I was
allowed to enter so that my brother would not get
homesick. During his novitiate, he found out that he
was meant for another kind of life. He decided to
leave and I was left behind in the seminary. I entered
the novitiate on April 1, 1974, with Fr. Alfred
