Deacon Zinjin N. Iglesia thought he would stop practicing Catholicism in college. Instead, it’s where he discovered the love of God.
Attending Mass one day connected him with the campus ministry events, including a free Chinese food night for new students. The food enthusiast even packed his Tupperware for leftovers. Soon, he was making friends on a retreat, encountering Christ in adoration and going to confession for the first time since his first confession.
Deacon Iglesia was born Feb. 28, 1995, in Virginia Beach, the second child of Norman and Florence Iglesia. He graduated from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach in 2013 and then started college at George Mason University in Fairfax.
Though he was raised in a culturally Catholic Filipino family, “I had very little understanding of the church and who Jesus Christ is. I wanted to have fun (in college),” he said. “I found myself depressed and yearning for more meaning.”
Experiences with the GMU campus ministry inspired him. “It was the first time I fell in love with Jesus Christ,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, but I made a big shift in my life.”
Deacon Iglesia headed into his senior year with a girlfriend and applications sent to his dream dentistry schools. Then he traveled to Poland for World Youth Day, starting with a pilgrimage following the footsteps of St. John Paul II’s life. “I fell in love with a saint who I felt took me by my own hand and walked with me to come even deeper (into relationship) with the Lord,” he said. In prayer during adoration, he heard Christ calling him to be a priest.
Being mentored by and seeing the example of Father James R. Searby, then the new George Mason chaplain, helped him envision himself as a priest. After graduating in 2017 with a pre-dental and biology degree, he headed to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He enjoyed the rigorous but rewarding formation and the time spent with classmates. In his free time, he enjoyed traveling, photography, exploring nearby Philadelphia eateries and brewing coffee. “My room has become Starbucks at the seminary — I call it ‘Gathering Grounds,’ ” he said.
As a priest, Deacon Iglesia looks forward to hearing confessions. “In discovering my own woundedness and encountering the healing powers of Jesus Christ, I am very excited to be his wounded healer — encountering people in their woundedness, just as I am wounded, and hopefully being the hands of Christ and the voice of Christ,” he said.
