Fr. Rodillas: a faithful priest who loved to sing

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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At the Jan. 20 vigil service for Fr. Reyato Rodillas, Bishop Oscar A. Solis blesses the priest, who died of COVID-19 about Jan. 8.

SALT LAKE CITY — Fr. Reynato (Rene) Rodillas, who died of COVID-19 probably on Jan. 8, was recalled as a faithful priest with a missionary spirit with a huge smile who loved to sing and garden.

Fr. Rodillas, who would have been 59 on Jan. 25, “lived the new life Christ graciously died and rose to give him as a priest,” said Deacon Scott Dodge at the Jan. 20 vigil service, celebrated at the Cathedral of the Madeleine by Bishop Oscar A. Solis; Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; Fr. Ken Vialpando, vicar for clergy; Fr. Martin Diaz, rector of the cathedral; and other priests of the diocese.

Fr. Rodillas was ordained a priest on Dec. 12, 1997 for the Society of the Divine Word at Tagaytay City, Philippines. He came to the Diocese of Salt Lake City in 2007 and served in the parishes of Sts. Peter and Paul, St. George, St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Olaf before being formally exclaustrated from his religious order and incardinated into the diocese. He was appointed pastor of St. James the Just Parish in 2019, where he served until his death.

Deacon Scott Dodge served with Fr. Rodillas at St. Olaf Parish, where he ministered from 2011 to 2019.

When Fr. Rodillas discerned his priestly vocation, he “left a promising career as a civil engineer and a beautiful fiancée” and went against the wishes of his father to become ordained as a Divine Word Missionary, Deacon Dodge said.  Before coming to Utah, he served in Germany and was the pastor of a poor mountain village in the Philippines. There, he began to raise food to donate to his parishioners, developing a love of gardening that he brought with him to the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

In his five years serving with Fr. Rene, “I never saw him happier than in the heat of an August afternoon, working in his small but amazingly fruitful garden,” Deacon Dodge said. When he stopped by to see the priest in his garden, Fr. Rodillas “would stop, tilt his big floppy hat back, wipe the sweat from his brow, and flash that really big smile of his. It helped me immensely to see someone so happy at what they were doing.”

Fr. Rodillas also had a deep prayer life, the deacon said. “While at St. Olaf, he loved to sit silently in the chapel next to the rectory before the Blessed Sacrament,” and celebrating Mass “was the center of his life.”

A joyful person who prayed the rosary daily and loved Our Lady, Fr. Rodillas instigated a Sunday rosary at St. Olaf and insisted that different parish groups lead the rosary, but “didn’t just mandate the rosary be said and then absent himself; rather, he sat at the back with his alb, rosary in hand, praying along with everybody,” Deacon Dodge said. “This was another time he was truly at peace.”

To those gathered at the cathedral for the vigil service, he said, “There are many of us here this evening whose lives are richer because Rene Rodillas lived, and lived his new life in Christ. …”

A the Jan. 21 funeral Mass, Bishop Solis gave thanks for the priestly vocation that had been bestowed on Fr. Rene and offered condolences to the priest’s father and siblings watching virtually from the Philippines, and family members in the congregation.

With the death of Fr. Rodillas, “we lost not only a fellow priest, we lost a shepherd, we lost a servant of God,” the bishop said, recalling that the priest loved to sing, and if there was karaoke he would sing “everything from Elvis to Lady Gaga.”

In the Diocese of Salt Lake City, “Fr. Rene manifested generosity” to his parishioners; among other efforts, he was instrumental in the Filipino tradition of the Simbang Gabi, a Christmas novena, the bishop said. He also recalled the countless children and adults who were baptized and welcomed into the Church by Fr. Rodillas, those who were anointed by the oil of healing, nourished with the Eucharist, received the Lord’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All of these sacraments were “carried out faithfully and joyfully in the name of Christ,” he said.

The parishioners he served; the members of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, for whom he served as moderator; the diocesan Filipino community and his friends “were blessed with the fruits of his labor and sacrifice,” the bishop said. “For this we are very grateful for Fr. Rene, a priest that gave glory, honor and praise to our God through his life and priestly ministry.”

Becky Colombo, president of the DCCW, had similar thoughts that she shared in an email interview. “Fr. Rene was not only loved by the members of our Salt Lake Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, but by women who attended our conventions for the National Council of Catholic Women,” she wrote. “During our national conventions we would gather with women from other states who would request Fr. Rene and his songs he loved to perform. He would liven up the atmosphere with music and dancing. He was a strong spiritual influence for our women and shared his love for Blessed Mother, the rosary, and the Holy Spirit in his life. His reports at our DCCW board meetings were joyous and uplifting with a youthful energy. All the women looked forward to hearing him speak and they valued his spiritual advice. He was very important to every woman in DCCW and will truly be missed.”