JAMAICA — When the holiday season comes around, Father Victor Bolaños’ first priority is making Christmas a memorable one for the children in his parish.
It starts with having a toy for every child and it continues with having them behold a living Nativity scene that represents the true gift of Christmas.
Father Bolaños has been the pastor of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Jamaica since the spring of 2022, but he’s been a part of the parish since 2016.
For the past three years, Father Bolaños has organized a special event for the Epiphany, which marks the visit of the Magi who followed the star of Bethlehem to visit Jesus. Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 6, the 12th night after Christmas.
“I found these farmers from upstate New York who are able to bring their two camels to our church, and we have brothers who dress in costumes like the Magi so the kids come and there is a catechesis outside and then they go downstairs,” explained Father Bolaños. “We answer their questions, there is music, and then we give them the toys. It’s all about the families, communion, peace, and love,” he added.
Father Bolaños was born in Colombia and raised in Ecuador. He studied to become an engineer in electronics and telecommunications. While he was working for a company in Ecuador, he was offered the opportunity to be contracted to the company’s business headquarters in Hauppauge, Long Island. He arrived in America with a working visa and stayed with the company for 10 years as a project engineer.
The children at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jamaica participate in the Three Kings Day celebration.
In 2008, Father Bolaños made a pilgrimage to Australia with Pope Benedict XVI. He said that the preaching was extremely powerful. “When I was there I felt the calling and it was clear to me,” Father Bolaños recalled. “So when I came back I quit my job and entered the seminary, and I was ordained in 2016.”
He also said that he did not go on the pilgrimage because of Pope Benedict. He greatly admired Pope John Paul II, and it was during the pilgrimage that he became fond of Pope Benedict and his theology. Father Bolaños said, “He was unique, and I came to admire him a great deal after being with him on the pilgrimage.”
Since then Father Bolaños has participated in pilgrimages to Lisbon, Portugal, with families from his parish. “We went to Lisbon with the diocese and had two groups. The group I was with had 22 people, and it was all about the youth experiencing their faith through the pilgrimage.”
According to Father Bolaños, the live Nativity scene, the party, and the presents for the kids would not be possible without the help of Bright Christmas. He originally found out about the program when he received a letter in the mail signed by Msgr. Sean Ogle, who had visited with him at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He discovered that the Bright Christmas fund was started in the 1960s by Don Zirkel, then editor of The Tablet, who saw the financial struggles many families faced trying to make the holidays happy. In the early 1980s, The Tablet’s Editor Emeritus Ed Wilkinson took the reins and helped the Bright Christmas fund continue to grow. And the tradition continues today, nearly 60 years later, to help put a toy in every child’s hand.
According to Father Bolaños, what makes Bright Christmas so unique and special is that its main focus is on the children. “As the number of children in our CCD keeps growing we struggle with needing room for more classes. This year we had 110 students for confirmation, up from 80 last year,” he explained.
“When we ask for money it’s always such a great help. We just try to do as much as we can for the little ones.”
If you want to donate to Bright Christmas, just head to TheTablet.Org.