Father Lovell U. Soller, 37, was born in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. He has one brother and one sister and attended San Pablo Major Seminary and Immaculate Conception School of Theology before being ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia on April 29, 1996. Father Lovell was an associate pastor, a vice chancellor for his archdiocese, and a seminary formator before he came to Hawaii in June 2006. He was an associate pastor at Big Island parishes Malia Puka O Kalani in Keaukaha and St. Joseph in Hilo until this month when he became administrator pro tempore at St. Benedict Parish in Honaunau and its two missions on the west side of the island.
1. What is your favorite childhood memory?
Going to church after classes in the afternoon with my classmates and paying a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. I was so overwhelmed with the quiet atmosphere inside the church; I really felt that we were in a sacred place. Then we played in the front church grounds until the bells tolled for the Angelus and we’d listen to the recorded Angelus the Church played. After that, we went home.
2. What is your favorite Bible passage?
John 10:10. “… I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” This reminds me how valuable life is and challenges me to promote life and its values in a secular world that endorses the culture of death.
3. Do you have any hobbies?
With my simple camera, I like to take photos of beautiful scenery. I put them in the computer and use them as screensavers, as images for power point presentation, for photo stories and the like.
4. What is your hidden talent?
It’s not a fully developed talent, but I can draw some cartoon characters and do some sketching.
5. Who in this world would you most like to meet?
I wanted to meet John Paul II when he was alive but I did not have the chance. Now, I want to meet Pope Benedict.
6. What is your favorite television show?
All sports channels. I simply love watching games especially basketball, boxing and tennis.
7. Where is the one place you have never been but always wanted to visit?
The Holy Land. I want to have a pilgrimage to the places where Jesus lived, visited and performed his ministry.
8. What is the biggest challenge facing the Catholic Church today?
The credibility of the Church as a guardian of morality in the face of numerous scandals, modern science exploration such as stem cell research and human cloning, and the growing number of people who believe in moral relativism, which advocates that moral actions depend on your personal viewpoint. The objective moral values which the Catholic Church teaches are compromised, not considered or even rejected.