Father James Benavides

When James Benavides arrived for studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, he spoke no English. But to his relief, the rector at that time, Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Walsh, spoke Spanish.

James remembers awkwardly asking for a translator the first time he tried to reply to a question the rector had asked him in English. Recognizing the seminarian’s dilemma, Bishop Walsh continued the conversation in Spanish, James’ native tongue. Bishop Walsh’s courtesy, he said, conveyed to him, “You are a foreigner so I want to make sure you are welcome here.”

From that moment on, “I felt at home here.”

“I am very grateful to the Archdiocese for what they have done for me,” Father Benavides said. He said he is also beholden to Father Luis Saldana “who came to Colombia and opened the doors of the Archdiocese for me,” and to Father Fredy Patino, who has also been a mentor.

Born in Saladoblanco, Huila, Colombia, he is 28 years old and the third of four children of Rodrigo Benavides and Ayided Quinayas. His father is a coffee farmer, and his mother a homemaker.

“We always went to church” as a family. “As long as I can remember, I wanted to become a priest,” he said of the call that came when he reached the age of reason, 6 or 7, about the same time he became an altar boy.

Although he had also considered a career in the military, his curiosity about the priesthood grew after seminarians visited the Catholic boarding school he attended in Colombia. He later pursued philosophy studies at Seminario Maria Immaculada of the Diocese of Garzón in Garzón, Huila, Colombia, before coming to St. Joseph’s.

“The Holy Spirit kind of inspired me” to come to the United States, he said, as “it wasn’t in my plans to come up here.”

He recalled the time a bishop from the United States visited his seminary in Colombia in search of recruits to help with the burgeoning Hispanic community.
“Good luck with all that—I’m not going there,” was James’ first reaction, he said.
“I didn’t like English at all when I was in high school” and “I wanted to be close to my family,” classmates and friends. “I said, ‘I’m not leaving my country.’”

Parish assignments have included St. Margaret of Cortona and St. Helena, both of the Bronx; St. Joseph-St. Thomas on Staten Island and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Elmsford.

Among his apostolic assignments at St. Joseph’s Seminary were prison ministry; St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, Yonkers and serving the poor at Casa Juan Diego, Yonkers.

He concedes he was “very afraid” the first time he visited inmates. “I’m a short guy,” he said, compared to those he thought would be “the big criminals.” Now, “I will never see them as criminals, but as human persons who have rights and need to know about God.”

Pastimes include playing soccer and riding motorcycles. He prays as he plays and rides. On the soccer field, he feels the presence of God in the fraternity of the players. “As a priest, I will be praying together with my teammates in order to win souls for God.”

And as the air whips around him on his motorcycle, he knows he’s never alone. “You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it. It’s the same with God. Even though you are on the bike by yourself, He is accompanying you on the road all the way.”

Father Benavides will celebrate his First Mass Sunday, May 24 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Elmsford. Auxiliary Bishop Gerald T. Walsh will deliver the homily.