At the Pontifical North American College, seminarians are encouraged to spend a summer experiencing the Universal Church away from the Diocese of Columbus. This summer, my brother seminarian, Michael Rhatican, opted for a parish experience in Ireland and a missionary-service-to-the-poor immersion in Calcutta, India. I chose to serve at a parish in Tanzania and the Camino Primitivo pilgrimage-hike in Spain.
I landed in Tanzania around sunset after a full day of travel from Rome and got my first (and only) glimpse of the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival and the usual customs rituals, I exited the airport to find a parishioner who would drive me to the parish.
At this point, it was dark. We drove down the two-lane main road of the country with much construction and many bumps. Arriving at the parish near Mount Meru, I discovered that, in addition to the pastor, I would be living with a parochial vicar and diocesan seminarian.
During my first summer as a seminarian for the Diocese of Columbus, I served at (what is now) Chillicothe-Waverly Our Lady Queen of the Apostles parish with four different priests. The parochial vicar for most of my summer, Father Milton Kiocha, is a priest of the Apostles of Jesus from Tanzania.
During that summer, I found him to be a priest that, even when tired, was joyful and generous. He took me with him to the Chillicothe Correctional Institution for his last Mass, which was one of the most moving events for me during my time in seminary.
He also offered to let him know if I ever wanted to go to Tanzania. Looking for something to do outside of the United States for a summer, I sent him a message. Within an hour he planned out my entire summer!
I was thankful to join him, Deacon Reed Hauser and other mission workers from the Columbus diocese in Father Kiocha’s hometown near Moshi for a few days, even going on a safari in the Serengeti with some of the group. Natural beauty (and more than 100 different species of animals) was really a sight and experience of a lifetime.
A majority of my time was spent in a parish near Arusha: Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary. It has a large church-school complex, a mission church down an uncomfortably bumpy dirt road and more than 30 “small Christian communities,” which are basically neighborhood groups of Catholics in remote places.
Mass was at 6:30 a.m. every morning, which many people walk to and from. Remember that main road I mentioned earlier? There are people walking alongside it through most of the country.
I must not fail to mention that I landed in Tanzania without knowing the language, food or culture. I learned a few phrases in Swahili and found out I do not, in fact, like all food but loved the culture. These joyful people, filled with faith, were a great witness.
On Corpus Christi Sunday, I went to the remote mission church with the pastor. Both the remote and main parish churches prepared altars for a Eucharistic procession meant to take place that day. They canceled additional Masses that Sunday at the main church so the entire community could celebrate the festivities together (as is ideal every Sunday).
This time of year was a rainy one. That did not stop the procession from taking place. Wearing my boots and white cassock (in places near the equator, cassocks can be white in color) we went into the rain and through the mud.
Another highlight of my time in Tanzania was the children of the parish.
In the village, most of the adults do not speak English, unless they are businessmen or work in tourism. However, many children know English and very much enjoy learning songs or the names of sacraments in English. (They also liked my beard and looking at themselves on my phone screen camera.)
Within parish boundaries were convents for two religious orders of women. Every opportunity to visit was a joy.
On Mondays, the entire parish (a few staff, priests and seminarians) is off. It was a great opportunity to travel to the main city of Arusha on public transit with my best friend for the summer, Alphonce, who will soon be ordained a deacon.
He shared his culture, food and city with me. I shared with him many things about America, even American fast-food companies Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken – both of which he now likes.
Most impressive was 16 men who were ordained priests in a brand-new cathedral, which seats more than 2,000 people and was standing room only. The liturgy lasted more than six hours. (For comparison, Sunday Mass averages an hour-and-a-half to two hours.) It was complete with an entrance procession in which 200 seminarians (including myself) joined, an hour-long homily and several rounds of announcements.
What a joyous occasion!
I thank the people of Tanzania for their great hospitality during my time there. They taught me many practical things about being a priest, especially the importance of priestly fraternity, joy and hope.
Tumsifu Yesu Kristu!
Christopher Dixon is a diocesan seminarian studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
