Beloved La Salette priest served on Kauai
Father Antonio “Tony” Abuan, a missionary priest of La Salette who served in the Philippines, California and four years as a pastor on Kauai, died in California Oct. 3. He was 65 and ordained for 36 years.
He was much loved for the care and empathy he held for his people.
“I witnessed and heard many stories about Father Tony’s love for the people,” said Father Geronimo (Eric) Castro, district superior of the La Salette Fathers in Hawaii and California.
“Different people from walks of life loved him,” he said “They shared about his being present, always there when he was needed, how they enjoyed his coming over to the house for dinner, or lunch, or just a visit. How he prayed with them, and over them, in their time of need, anointed them when they were sick, cried with them at a loss of a loved one.”
Father Abuan was pastor of Holy Cross Church in Kalaheo, Kauai, from 2014 to 2018.
Father Abuan was born in the Philippines on Nov. 13, 1954. He professed his religious vows as a La Salette missionary on June 16, 1981, and was ordained a priest on May 16, 1984.
His first assignments were as a parish priest in Ramon, Jones and Santiago and Aurora, Isabela, in the northern Philippines. He then was named director of La Salette Schools in Ramon and Jones.
In his early years of priesthood, the La Salette father actively promoted BEC-CO (Basic Ecclesial Community Organizing) and was involved in the Justice and Peace Desk in the Diocese of Ilagan, Isabela.
Father Abuan was transferred to Manila to serve as parochial vicar at Christ the King Church, from 1992 to 1996, and then pastor until 1999.
Father Castro also served at Christ the King in those days.
“I personally witnessed Father Tony’s dedication to reach out to the different people of the parish. He pushed for the organization of small communities, and for the celebration of the sacraments in the different chapels that were under the supervision of the parish.”
Father Abuan worked in California from 2000 to 2007 at parishes in Moreno Valley and Apple Valley.
Returning to the Philippines in 2007, he was assigned to Santo Nino de Congreso Parish, Novaliches, Quezon City.
In 2014, he accepted an offer to serve at Holy Cross Church in Kalaheo, until 2018 when he went back to St. Christopher Church in Moreno Valley.
“And even when he was no longer in their parishes, Father Tony made sure that he reached out to his former parishioners and lay leaders,” Father Castro said. “He visited them when he went home for vacation, messaged or called them to say hello and encourage them in their faith journey.”
“Father Tony was a faithful La Salette,” he said. “He loved to share a piece of his mind every time we’d gather for community retreat or meetings. Sometimes, we would make fun of him, but we knew and appreciated his love for the community.”
Father Abuan was preparing to go home to the Philippines on Oct. 27 to take care of a medical condition. He was on retreat with an ecumenical group in California when he died.
“Father Tony was a much-loved priest whose vocation was nourished and nurtured in his many different assignments,” Father Castro said. “God gave him to the church as a gift: as a pastor, a father in Christ, as a brother in the community. He has called him home. So we give back to God the gift he has given us.”
