A life-long dream was realized the weekend of June 8-9 when now Father Joshua Maondo, 29, was ordained as a Maryknoll priest June 8 at Maryknoll, New York, and then celebrated his first Mass in St. John the Evangelist Parish, Dunellen, June 9 with the Kenyan family and community, including Father Alphonsus Kariuki, pastor, that have embraced him.
Father Maondo, along with Father Charles Ogony, were ordained by Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne of the Archdiocese of New York in the Mission Society’s Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel, Westchester County, N.Y., before a full congregation, including a choir of Kenyans from New Jersey, Minnesota, Seattle and other parts of the country.
Father Maondo, who was born in Kakamega in western Kenya and whose faith was nurtured at a young age by his grandmother, celebrated his first Mass in St. John the Evangelist Parish, coinciding with the Kiswahili Mass held every second Sunday of the month in the parish. Kiswahili is the Bantu language of Swahili.
Father Maondo first learned about Maryknoll missionaries while studying at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, and his life-long dream of becoming a priest became a dream of becoming a Maryknoll Missioner.
According to the MaryKnoll website, Catholics in the U.S. have responded since 1911 to the worldwide cry of the poor by becoming Maryknoll Missioners – priests and brothers. Today, Maryknollers help people overseas build communities of faith.
Some work in war zones with refugees, others minister to the sick, the elderly, orphans or people with AIDS. Through lives of service, Maryknollers translate the Gospel of Love into different languages and in different cultures.
Father Maondo trained overseas two years for mission formation in Cochabamba, Bolivia, at the outbreak of COVID-19. There he ministered to prisoners in the maximum security prison of El Abra and served as a tutor for children at Hogar San Martin-San Vincent home for at-risk children and youth.
He returned to the U.S. to complete his studies at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, working with the immigrant community, serving as a deacon in St. Basil-Visitation Church, and assisting at St. Benedict the African Church, as well.
To learn more about Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers visit: https://missionarysociety.org.