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Fifty years have passed since a young priest with strong ties to the Albany Diocese boarded a ship bound for Hong Kong, where he was to begin a new life as a Maryknoll missionary.

Rev. John Cioppa recalled being filled with a sense of "wonder and gratitude" that has only deepened over his time in the priesthood.

A native of Green Island, Father Cioppa attended St. Joseph's Church there, then St. Ambrose in Latham. He graduated from LaSalle Institute in Troy and was just 17 years old when he entered the Maryknoll seminary in Ossining, N.Y.

Assigned to serve in China, he he worked diligently to learn all he could of the Chinese people - their beliefs, culture, language and traditions - prior to his passage.

He spent years as a teacher, school supervisor, planner and builder; his time as an instructor at the Maryknoll Fathers' School in Hong Kong in the early 1960s was followed by a position at the Bishop Ford Center.

Father Cioppa helped to lay the foundation for Bishop Ward Primary School and was pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Kwun Tong, where he was instrumental in opening a pastoral center and the Kwun Tong Maryknoll College. He served on the general council of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America and was project director for the Holy Spirit Study Center in Aber-deen, Hong Kong.

Half a century later, Father Cioppa's reflections on his experiences at home and abroad have filled a book. "In His Own Words," written in English with Chinese translations, was prepared as a keepsake of the priest's golden jubilee by parishioners at St. Patrick's parish at Wang Tau Hom, Kowloon, where Father Cioppa has served as associate pastor since 1987.

Included are many homilies that Father Cioppa delivered over the decades, from recollections of the days as a boy when his grandmother would "drag" him to church to his eyewitness account of Hong Kong's transformation from "a city filled with refugees to one of the most prosperous cities in the world."

Father Cioppa expressed hope that the Chinese will use that financial power to assist the economies of other countries.

In one passage of the book, he observes: "Life basically is a search, a journey. It is a never-ending process of conversion and growth. It is better not to look for answers, but to try to live the search each day, to open ourselves to the grace of the day.

"I think that is what Jesus meant when He told us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. There are no shortcuts and magic formulas."

While sidelined a few years ago due to surgery, Father Cioppa said he gained a greater appreciation for the Sacrament of the Sick: The experience "moved me to reflect a little deeper about life. We all need faith and trust in God and support and encouragement from others....The struggles in sickness and in wellness [are] the same."

His greatest comfort came from acknowledging that he was in the prayers of friends and loved ones and in reflecting on the number of times (365) the words "Be not afraid" are repeated in the Bible.

Father Cioppa, who returns to the Albany Diocese annually to visit relatives, has also visited Africa, Canada, China, Latin America and many other countries. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing and walking, which he refers to as "strolling with your soul.

"I know I have been blessed - extraordinarily so," he said.

While it's too soon to write the final chapter of his life, Father Cioppa hopes his legacy will refer to "wonder and gratitude." He called these "the two basic responses of a Christian.

"When I look back over my 50 years as a Maryknoll priest," he concluded, "I am amazed at how God has led me step by step, and all I can say is, 'Thank You, thank you so much!'"


(02/11/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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