Father Phil Guimaraes

Discover the Vocation Episode

I was born in 1953, the youngest of four, in Padrão, Lousã, Portugal. My father, Porfïrio, was a truck driver and my mother, Mercedes, was a housewife who managed the family properties and looked after the household. At the age of eleven I entered junior Seminary in Buarcos, near Figueira da Foz, Portugal. This was short lived because the whole family immigrated to Canada in 1966.

I studied French and Spanish literature at Laurentian University in Sudbury, where I met and married Sigi in 1975. After graduation we moved to Simcoe and, together, established Edgil Pool Services Ltd., a swimming pool service company. We were happily married for 38 years, till Sigi succumbed to brain cancer. 

I retired shortly after selling the company. But the Good Lord had other ideas for me. Within a month of retirement, I applied and was accepted to the Permanent Deaconate program at St. Peter’s Seminary. After three months of study I felt the Holy Spirit pulling me back to my childhood dream of the Priesthood and to my joy and excitement I was accepted. I have just finished my pastoral year, during which I was ordained a Deacon in June. God willing, I will be ordained to the priesthood on May 2 ^nd, 2020.

I enjoy watching soccer. My favorite team is Benfica. I enjoy reading, gardening, watching movies, and woodworking. My favorite Saint is St. Thérèse de Lisieux because she is about simple things and the love of God. My favorite quote is “Not my will but Thine be done.
My advice to a young man thinking about the seminary is to not be afraid and come and check it out. Listen to the voice inside you. If the Lord has other ideas for you, He will let you know. Please pray for me as I pray for all you. God bless you!