April 3, 2017
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2013 as part of the “Paths to the Priesthood,” a series exploring Paulist priests’ vocation stories.
From growing up on a New Mexico cattle ranch as a young boy to tending sheep on God’s ranch, Father Baca’s journey to the priesthood started young, but came to fruition as a young adult.
Father Baca grew up in a church-going family with three brothers and one sister. His grandparents also lived on the ranch, and Father Baca credits them with “playing a big part in the foundation of my faith.”
“We made time for [church] on Sundays,” said Father Baca, 46, referring to the busy life on a cattle ranch.
Father Baca first considered the priesthood during high school, after which the future Paulist attended the University of San Diego, majoring in Spanish and Latin American Studies. He then went on to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces for graduate school and earned a teaching certificate in Spanish and Bilingual Education.
“I became serious about [the priesthood] when I was living in Houston,” Father Baca recalled. “I was involved in my church and was drawn to it in a profound way.”
Father Baca was working as a part-time cattle rancher and secondary Spanish teacher when he first encountered the Paulists in Chicago while discerning his call at a Conventual Franciscan Perpetual Adoration Shrine and retreat center known as Marytown.
“Their diverse ministries and their devotion to the Holy Spirit” attracted Father Baca to the Paulists, and he entered the Paulist novitiate on Aug. 28, 2000.
He began graduate theological studies at the Catholic University of America the following year.
“I loved CUA,” he said. “I got to study along with some of our future bishops, and it was a great experience. The faculty was awesome, and it really solidified my vocation. The Holy Spirit led me to the right place. A strong sense of Catholicism and my family background was nurtured at CUA.”
Like hundreds of Paulists before him, Father Baca was ordained at the Paulist mother church – the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City – on May 20, 2006.
“It was overwhelming and a grace-filled moment,” Father Baca said of his ordination. “It was like nothing I have ever experienced. The emotion, support, prayers, family, the Holy Spirit was all there. Wow!”
Father Baca’s first assignment took him to Immaculate Conception Parish in Knoxville. After one year, Father Baca became associate pastor at St. Paul the Apostle Church, the mother foundation of the CSP’s, in New York. He served there for two years before heading to his current post as Associate Director of the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas in Austin.
Being present to God’s people at all times during their lives is what Father Baca enjoys most about his Paulist priesthood.
“Whether it is celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, celebrating the sacraments,” he said, “it is all God’s work and I am humbled to cooperate in His plan.