New American citizen, Fr. Vidal sets parish goals

Intermountain Catholic

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Fr. Vidal is proud of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Fountain at the St. George Parish complex.IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

ST. GEORGE — Father Gustavo Vidal, pastor of St. George Parish, St. George, has had a lot to celebrate lately. The members of his parish have been ready and willing to help him mark the milestones in his life, not the least of which was his becoming a United States citizen June 18.

"When I came to the United States almost 15 years ago, I set some goals," Fr. Vidal told the Intermountain Catholic June 29. "Becoming a citizen of my new country was always one of those goals."

Other goals he set were learning English, graduating from school, and being ordained a priest. One milestone he didn’t set, but which has become a source of great pride for this native of Columbia, was being named pastor of a parish.

"I was ordained in June of 1997, nine years ago, on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. After four years a priest, I was named pastoral administrator of St. Elizabeth Parish (in Sevier County) for four years," he said. "I have been pastor here in St. George since 2004. It has been a long process, but a gratifying one."

The day before this interview, Fr. Vidal had celebrated his ninth anniversary as a priest. Two weeks earlier, amid 200 people – family members visiting from Columbia, friends he’s made in the United States, and members of St. George Parish, he celebrated his 40th birthday, a day he said he thought he’d never see. "Turning 40 always seemed so far away when I was young," he said. "But we had a big party like we have in Columbia."

Fr. Vidal came to the United States in 1993 on a student visa to study for the priesthood. After his ordination four years later, he applied for and received an R-1 visa, designated for people involved in religious work.

"There were lots of forms to fill out, and the immigration office took my fingerprints," he said. "I took medical tests, but the doctor I went to was not approved by the INS, so I had to take them again. Then, the doctor forgot to check one little box, so I had to go back to him and to INS again."

After the paperwork jungle of his R-1 visa, when it came time to apply for residency, Fr. Vidal sought the help of an immigration lawyer, and with the help of then-Bishop George Niederauer and Diocesan Vicar General (currently Diocesan Administrator) Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, he was granted residency and his all-important "green card."

"You are allowed to apply for citizenship five years after you receive your ‘green card,’ which isn’t actually green," he said.

Applying for citizenship was actually easier than the earlier processes, Fr. Vidal said. He filled out an application, underwent a second fingerprint check, and then was notified by letter when he could take the citizenship test.

"The test was very challenging," he said. "They evaluate your conversational English skills by asking you 100 questions, all very quickly. Then, they evaluate your writing skills, and you take a test on American History and Government. I studied hard the night before for that part of the test. It was only from 10-15 questions, and it went very fast."

Two weeks later, Fr. Vidal received word that he would take the oath of American citizenship May 18. The ceremony in a Salt Lake City courtroom in which he would become an American citizen would take place between two celebrations of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the May 16 ordination of two new deacons in St. Ann Church, and the May 18 evening ordination of four new priests in the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

"It was a very busy week for me," he said. "It was very meaningful, and very exciting."

Because Columbia allows for dual citizenship, Fr. Vidal retains his citizenship in his home country, but in every aspect, he considers himself first an American now.

"I love my roots," he said. "I am brown, and I will be brown forever. But from now on, I am a brown gringo." Now, he said, it’s time to set some new goals.

"First, is paying off the debt of the new Scanlan Center," he said.

The Scanlan Center is an impressive three-story building, part of the St. George Parish complex, that houses parish offices, religious education classrooms, a video library, a book library, and the parish thrift store, which played a large part in raising the initial funds for the center, and continues to support the parish and its ministries.

Fr. Vidal then lists remodeling and expanding the current church building, and adding a gift shop and bookstore.

"Bishop Niederauer cautioned me," he said. "He told me I have to pay off one debt before I take on another project, so it will be some time before we get into expansion of the church. But we are growing fast, and projections tell us that in two years, St. George will probably have 500 more families. So we must work hard."

His dream, he said, is to make St. George Church look like one of the old Spanish mission churches, complete with a retablo behind the altar.

"I love St. George," he said, "the city and the parish. We have been building a parish complex of which I am very proud. The parish is very generous and our Knights of Columbus have been very involved."

Fr. Vidal points to a bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe purchased recently, and now surrounded by a fountain built by parishioner Mike Kullman. Soon, two more bronze statues will arrive, one of Jesus meeting children, and one of St. Michael the Archangel. In a bow to those who have gone before him, he and Kullman are making improvements on a memorial to Precious Blood Father Paul S. Kuzy, who led St. George Parish from 1984-1997.

In addition to funds generated by the thrift store, St. George Parish holds two annual fund raising events, a Cinco de Mayo celebration and a golf tournament.

The busy parish is a comfortable home for Fr. Vidal, a new American citizen and a man of vision.