Father Robert Rodriguez

Greenwich Village altar boy grows up to bring God’s mercy

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Growing up in Greenwich Village, Robert L. Rodriguez quickly learned to differentiate between good and the not-so-good neighborhoods and to steer clear of “shenanigans” that could get a young boy in trouble.

 

In one park in particular, it was not uncommon to come across people who appeared to be “spiritually abandoned,” he said.

 

It is for those such people, among others, that Father Rodriguez, now 26, wanted to become a priest, “to save my soul and the souls of others” and “to give the people the mercy of God, to remind them of his mercy, of his love.”

 

On a visit home a couple years ago, he ran into an old friend from Our Lady of Pompeii grammar school who had heard he was studying for the priesthood. “All of a sudden, he asked, ‘I messed up yesterday, can you hear my confession?’”

 

“I told him, ‘I’m not a priest yet; I would love to, but I can’t.’” Instead, he suggested a number churches inside and outside the neighborhood where his friend could receive the sacrament of reconciliation.

 

“In a way, it was like one of my many confirmations that I should become a priest,” Father Rodriguez said.

 

He was 9 or 10 years old when he first heard the calling to the priesthood. As an altar boy at Our Lady of Pompeii, Robbie Rodriguez, as he was known, watched in awe as his pastor at the time, Father Ralph Bove, celebrated Mass “with joy and love,” Father Rodriguez recalled. “He used to joke around after Mass, ‘You’re going to be taking my place one day.’”

 

At first, young Robbie dismissed the remark, replying, “‘Ha ha. Nice joke, Father. No.’” But somewhere, somehow, the reality that he could one day become a priest “kind of clicked,” Father Rodriguez said.

 

The appeal to the priesthood also came through Msgr. Kevin Nelan, pastor of Immaculate Conception parish and regional vicar of South Manhattan. Robbie Rodriguez first became acquainted with Msgr. Nelan when the priest celebrated Masses at La Salle Academy in Manhattan, where Robbie went to high school. At the time, Msgr. Nelan was administrator of nearby Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. He eventually offered Robbie a job in the rectory and church after school and on weekends and during the summer.

 

The son of Alan Rodriguez and Lauryne Bochinis, he has an older brother and an older sister. He earned a master of divinity degree in theology and a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John’s University.

 

Academics were a challenge, he concedes. “I wasn’t the best student.” But he smartly prayed about his struggles with studies, especially when pulling an all-nighter. “‘God, help me finish this paper,’” Father Rodriguez remembers saying on more than one occasion.

 

He entered St. John Neumann Residence, for men considering the priesthood, in 2006, the year he graduated from La Salle Academy.

 

His apostolic assignments included St. John the Baptist parish, Yonkers; Calvary Hospital and St. Philip Neri parish, the Bronx. Summer assignments included St. Teresa’s parish, Staten Island.

 

Pastimes include painting, cooking, baseball, basketball, linguistics, reading, military and ecclesial history, learning about the lives of the saints and reciting movie lines.

 

All the above, in their own way, are a beautiful reflection of God, he said, and remind him to rejoice in the beauty and goodness of life.

 

That, and a sense of humor for which he is well known, will also help him carry out Christ’s work, wherever he serves. “It’s essential,” Father Rodriguez said. “To be a priest, you have to be joyful.”

 

Father Rodriguez will celebrate his first Mass at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan Sunday, May 25 at noon. Msgr. Kevin Nelan, pastor of Immaculate Conception parish and vicar of South Manhattan, will deliver the homily.