The way his Catholic faith was taught and lived out in his family home along with the awareness that God is a merciful Father led Father Juan Pablo Noboa from his native Quito, Ecuador to the altar at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. where he was ordained June 17 as a priest for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Father Noboa was one of six men ordained that day by Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Among those in attendance to witness the joyful event were the new priest’s parents – Juan Pablo Noboa, Sr, and Ruth de Noboa – along with his three brothers, one sister, two sisters-in-law, and two nephews.

“I come from a Catholic family. Every Sunday morning, we would wake up, have breakfast together and then pray the morning prayer and then sing,” Father Noboa said. “Later on, it was a beautiful moment when we would share our experiences, share how the week went, and also if there was the need to reconcile with one another. I recall my parents asking each other for forgiveness and asking us for forgiveness as well.”

“I saw this reconciliation as a gift of God’s love. I have beautiful memories of prayer in my family,” he said.

He called it “a great help for me to see my parents in that moment reconciling and correcting us and exhorting us. It was a beautiful moment of communion where you see the fruits of the family as the domestic Church sharing the love of Jesus.”

Father Noboa and his family are members of the Neocatechumenal Way, a nearly 60-year-old Catholic movement dedicated to adult and family faith formation. An estimated 1.5 million Catholics belong to the Way in about 20,000 parish-based groups in more than 130 nations around the world. The Neocatechumenal Way, frequently referred to as The Way, has also established more than 120 Redemptoris Mater diocesan mission seminaries around the world, including one in Hyattsville, Maryland, for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

“My parents and grandparents have always been close to the Church. My mom entered the Neocatechumenal Way when she was single. Later, my dad also joined,” Father Noboa said. “This itinerary of adult faith formation in the Church has been fundamental in my faith journey.”

Father Noboa said he first considered the priesthood when he was about nine years old and was inspired by the “simplicity and joy” of Combonian Father Enzo Tavano, an 80-year-old Italian priest who prepared the future priest to receive his First Holy Communion.

“He was a fulltime priest dedicated to his flock and to his mission,” Father Noboa said. “He was joyful and wanted to die with his boots on. He had authentic love, joy and happiness. I thought I want the same thing for me.”

That thought of a vocation, he said, was put aside during his high school years when he started thinking about studying politics and economics at a university and eventually starting his own family.

“There was a moment in my senior year when I started receiving the acceptance letters and scholarship offers from Ecuadorian, American, and British universities. I had thought that I was going to be fulfilled when receiving them,” he said. “Instead, I felt empty.”

He was invited to attend a four-day vocational retreat “to which I arrived two days late because I attended the prom with my classmate,” and after attending that retreat sponsored by the Neocatechumenal Way, the future Father Noboa heard and answered the call to become a priest.

“God has a fantastic sense of humor, and He spoils us. I wanted to study politics and economics to eventually join an NGO (non-governmental organization) or work for the U.N. in order to help those in need,” he said. “I find it funny because the Lord had sent me to Washington, D.C., where important political decisions are made – but not to study politics, but to witness to what really saves and comforts someone is Jesus Christ.”

His being assigned to Washington, D.C., he added, proves that “the Lord pays attention to the smallest detail. He brings me here and shows me that what is really important is the announcement of the Good News. That Jesus Christ really is the answer.”

The new priest celebrated his first Mass on June 18 at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Waldorf, Maryland.

Father Noboa said he sees “many good things about being a priest, especially to go and announce the Good News of Jesus Christ and sharing that He is alive. He is real. He brings salvation.”

“One of the best things is seeing how the Good News brings joy to the people, that even in a world that is confusing to live in, there is hope.”

He looks forward to offering reconciliation through the Sacrament of Confession.

“I have experienced mercy from God. I need always to remind myself that I have been forgiven. He never gets tired of looking for you and inviting you back,” Father Noboa said. “In Confession I have received forgiveness many times – how can I not offer that to others?