http://www.kc6066.org/father_snyder.php
"The challenge of the priesthood is to balance a strong prayer life and ministry to people." With that comment, Father George Snyder sat down with me and shared a little bit of his story and how his journey through life led him to his posting as a parish priest here at St. Mel's.
Father was born in Olongapo City in the Philippines 38 years ago. For him, the call to the priesthood started very early. His mom, who is a devout Catholic, offered the unborn child she was carrying to serve God. Early on he felt a desire to be a priest, studying the priests at Mass on Sundays and imitating them by donning a white sheet for his vestments.
Father George's great grandfather, who was of German descent, had moved to the Philippines after World War I from Chicago, Illinois. His grandfather married a full Filipina, as did his dad, so he is a third generation Filipino. His father's side of the family was always strongly Catholic, and in fact one of his uncles on his dad's side is a bishop in the Philippines. His mom's side of the family is part of the Aglipayan (similar to the Anglican Church- and this rite has now merged with the Anglican Church of England). His late grandfather on his mother's sided was an Aglipayan priest who respected the Catholic Church greatly. Father George's mother converted to Catholicism.
In 1986, Father George and his family (he has 4 brothers) immigrated to California, taking up residence in Vallejo. With his two years of college in the Philippines, Father George went to work for an electronics firm in Petaluma as an electrical discharge machine operator for 10 years. As you can imagine, his job was very tedious and required intense focus on his work under a microscope working with pinpoint size objects. Father found himself wanted to talk with people more and sharing his religion and faith. At one point he even programmed his machine at work to create a 5 micron cross which would fit on a pinhead. He considered telling the Guiness Book of World Records about it, but thought he would get in trouble at his firm. So he immersed himself in his local Church's ministries- teaching CCD, acting as a Eucharistic Minister, participating in the Legion of Mary, and joining the Knights of Columbus about 10 years ago (he is a 3rd degree member). "The more I gave to the Church, the more I thirsted to serve," says Father Snyder. With the priesthood calling, and encouragement by the priests in his home parish of St. Vincent Ferrer in Vallejo, he embarked on his journey to fulfill his vocation. Along the way, Father's local council of the Knights in Vallejo and St. Claire Council in Roseville supported his path through prayers and financial support.
Father George entered Mt. Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon in 1998 and graduated with honors, earning a bachelor of arts degree. He is particularly proud of his senior paper, titled, "The Theme of Happiness as presented in the writings of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Augustine." In 2002, he attended St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park for a year of theological studies. Then he was accepted and moved on to the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned a master's in divinity degree in 2007. This is the only seminary outside of Rome in the world that is overseen by the Holy See. It's Chancellor is the Papal Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Pietro Sambi, so as you can imagine, it presents a very challenging curriculum to it's students.
Father George has a very strong devotion to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, which began when he was a child. Our Lady has always guided him, continually polishing the apple (Father Snyder) that she has presented to Jesus in his service. Father Snyder's goals are to be available to the people of God, share what he has learned, and also to learn from the people. To help him reach these goals, he believes all priests should have a strong prayer life. Father George enthusiastically says there is nothing that can match being so closely associated with God as the priesthood-especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. He knows he doesn't have all the answers and considers himself a work in progress, but then, aren't we all?
As a servant of St. Mel's Parish, Father George looks forward to finding out about each of the ongoing ministries in the Church community and wants to support them in any way he can. He especially wants to be part of ministering to the sick and the dying.- "you can feel the real presence and closeness of Jesus," Father observes, in these special moments in life. One of his goals is to celebrate Mass on at least one Wednesday a month at convalescent homes in the community. Later on he would also like to take part in religious education, for example with RCIA and the children. He will tell you that he "loves teaching, and sharing knowledge with children is a joy."
In those times he has an extra moment, Father Snyder shared with me that he likes to cook and serve others. He also feels that it is important to exercise regularly and likes to hike and fish. Traveling is also of interest to him and he has had the opportunity to visit Lourdes, Fatima, the Holy Land, of course, Rome. Rome was particularly special since he was able to meet both Pope John Paul II (Pope John Paul the Great) and then Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Please introduce yourself to Father Snyder and welcome him to the parish when you get the chance. Pray also for him to be successful in his priestly ministry here at St. Mels's.