CTK’s Fr. James Ferry Celebrates 92nd Birthday and 61st Anniversary in the Priesthood
Fr. James Ferry, CTK’s regular 9 am Sunday mass presider for over a decade, celebrated his 92nd birthday last June 7.
He officiated the 7:30 am mass last June 11 and then joined the loyal parishioners for coffee and snack at the CAC tent after the mass. Fr. Bong Tupino prepared a birthday cake for the birthday celebrant.
The American priest who arrived in the Philippines with Gen. Douglas MacArthur celebrated his golden jubilee in 2006, an event that was highlighted in a Philippine Star article of June 9, 2006. On that date, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales presided over the Mass in honor of Maryknoll Fr. James Jay Thomas Timothy Patrick Paul Ferry at the Shrine of Jesus, located at the Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City.
Fr. Jim, as he is fondly called, has spent 50 years in the Philippines doing mostly pastoral and seminary work. In recognition of his valuable contribution to the Church, the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin even wanted to nominate him as a bishop, but Fr. Jim declined. For him, ‘to be a priest and a missionary priest is fulfillment enough.’ On Feb. 23, 2002, Pope John Paul II conferred on him the Medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
Fr. Ferry was born on June 7, 1925 in New York. Before starting his priestly life, he first served at the US Navy during World War II as a corpsman, that is, a surgical nurse, before he entered Maryknoll in 1946. When asked about his sea voyage with Gen. MacArthur, he would often say, ‘No, it was Gen. MacArthur who came with me. He boarded my ship.’
He had to leave the Philippines for a few years, but he returned in 1956 after he was ordained a priest of the Maryknoll Congregation. He was first assigned in Paete, Laguna but was later transferred to Mindanao where he spent 30 years in Tagum, Lupon, Baganga, Bato-Bato and Davao City. ‘Those had been wonderful years of mission work,’ Fr. Ferry said. It was during this time that he learned to speak fluent Cebuano.
For a time he was the regional superior for Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in the Philippines. He also taught at the Regional Major Seminary (REMASE) in Davao and helped train many priests and bishops. In 1989, he was re-assigned to Manila and in March 1996, Cardinal Sin appointed him Episcopal Vicar for Religious in the Archdiocese of Manila. In December 2003, Archbishop Rosales re-appointed him to the same office.
As Episcopal Vicar for Religious Men and Women in Manila, he used to teach Sacraments, Liturgy and Homiletics at San Carlos Theologate, Holy Apostles Senior Seminary and Maryhill School of Theology.
Aside from Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows, Fr. Perry also says masses and hears confessions at Greenbelt Chapel in Makati City. He also gives recollections and retreats.
When asked back in 2006 about his health, he answered, ‘I can’t complain. I have a full day’s work and aside from a few aches here and there, God has indeed blessed me.’
