About us

Fr. Eder Estrada Muñoz, FM
Born on July 9, 1982, in El Banco Magdalena, Colombia. Father Estrada was baptized on June 19, 1983, in the parish of Our Lady of “La Candelaria”, in the Banco Magdalena, Colombia. His parents are Otoniel Estrada Tovar and Beatriz Muñoz Cera, and he is the oldest of 5 children: Luis Carlos, Cristian, Adriana, and Jorge.
Before discovering his religious vocation, he studied Civil Engineering and graduated as an Engineer, working in that profession for a period of time. Father Estrada soon discovered that he had not really achieved the goal of happiness in that work, nor had he found happiness in material things. This is when the stirrings of a vocation to the priesthood first started, a restlessness that made him ask God for the first time what His plan was.
After attempts to find an explanation for his restlessness and seek spiritual help from some priests, the religious family of the “Franciscans of Mary” came into his life, and he decided to leave everything behind to live this experience. He resigned from his job and joined the Franciscans of Mary in 2008.
Since then, he has become part of this Catholic family, where he has discovered that only God can make us fully happy and that He deserves the best because He has loved us to the utmost.
Father Estrada pursued his theological studies at the Ecclesiastical University of San Damaso in Madrid, Spain. On June 6, 2013, he received from God the gift of being ordained as His priest. He began his Ministry in Madrid and also completed a six-month Mission in Mexico before moving to Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where he served as pastor of Saint Joseph Church from June 2016 to June 2025.
“I am a priest of Christ, of His Church, and a missionary of gratitude.”
