The Australia Province will soon welcome a newly ordained priest, Fr Roger Kyaw Thu SVD, as he takes up his first assignment to his homeland of Myanmar.
Roger, together with three other Divine Word Missionaries, was ordained last month by Bishop J. Terry Steib SVD, the Bishop Emeritus of Memphis Tennessee, at the Church of the Holy Family in Chicago, USA.
He said it was a time of both excitement and thanksgiving.
“I was nervous as I realised I was going to be ordained for big responsibilities in the Church,” he said.
“But also excited that I would be able to finally get a break from school and get to do something with my life in ministry. I was excited about what God has in store for me.”
While none of Roger’s immediate family members were able to join him in person for his ordination, they were able to join in via livestream. Some of his relatives living in the US were present at the ordination Mass.
Roger grew up in a rural village in Myanmar and comes from a farming family. He went to primary school in his village and helped out on family farms before and after school.
Having grown up Catholic, Roger said he first discerned a call to the priesthood at age 14, having been inspired by the life and holiness of his pastor.
At 16, he joined the minor seminary in his home diocese while studying at a public high school. After high school, he went to university, majoring in Mathematics, and stayed in the intermediate seminary, learning some English there.
Roger’s first contact with the Divine Word Missionaries was in 2014 when he accepted a scholarship which the SVDs offered to his home diocese, giving him the opportunity to study at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa.
Spending time with the SVDs in Chicago Province helped open his eyes to the possibility of missionary life.
“The community living and the idea of going to places where you are most needed really attracted me to consider missionary vocation,” he said.
“Over the years, I have found the joy of meeting new people and of being welcomed by strangers. I think I am in love with the God who surprises me with strangers.”
Roger decided to join the Divine Word Missionaries in 2016 after two years of getting to know the SVDs in the Chicago Province, professing his first vows in August 2019.
Following his priestly ordination, Roger said he is excited about taking up his first missionary assignment to the Australia Province which incorporates Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.
He said he is looking forward to being able to go home and see his family after 10 years in the US, but is also keen to embrace new opportunities coming his way.
“My hopes and dreams are that I will be able to walk with the people in Myanmar as they are suffering the terror of civil war,” he said.
“I hope to be able to do something for them. To be the sacrament of God’s love and care for them. I also hope to encourage some candidates to join the SVD.
“I am looking forward to relearning the culture and the language I have been away from for 10 years. I am also looking forward to working with others in ministry.”
Roger will begin his first assignment in September.
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Newly ordained Fr Roger Kyaw SVD with the ordaining prelate, Bishop J. Terry Steib SVD, at the Church of the Holy Family in Chicago, USA.
BOTTOM LEFT: Roger is pictured with fellow SVD ordinands on the day.