April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PRIEST-ADMINISTRATOR
Priest new to Diocese is inspired by Guadalupe
Priest new to Diocese is inspired by Guadalupe
"She didn't ask me if I wanted to go to Mexico or not," remarked Father Sarihaddula, who came to the Albany Diocese last July.
Twenty-odd years ago, Father Sarihaddula was a brother with the Missionaries of Charity, the religious congregation Mother Teresa founded in 1950.
As the sixth child of eight, the young man wasn't afraid of his new mission: He said he was "brought up with obedience and spirituality." In fact, several of his four brothers and three sisters are in religious life.
Moving to Mexico came with struggles. The young brother did not speak Spanish; it took him about six months to get used to the new language and culture, while he lived in a parish and attended the seminary.
However, having been a social worker for five years through the Catholic bishops' conference of India before becoming a missionary, he noted that "it is not hard for me to mingle with people."
The time in Mexico shaped his ministry; he became devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who inspires him to this day. The title is a reference to Mary's appearance in 1531 to Juan Diego, a Mexican peasant; a basilica was built in her honor.
"She is the woman who is really standing next to me and leading me," Father Sarihaddula told The Evangelist.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas -- North and South -- so it may be no coincidence that, in 2008, Father Sarihaddula went from one to the other. He was reassigned by the Missionaries of Charity to the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, where he worked mainly with Hispanic Catholics.
Father Sarihaddula served at Our Lady of Sorrows parish in Queens for a year and a half and then St. Matthias in Ridgewood for almost eight and a half years. There, he got to know Msgr. Edward B. Scharfenberger, who became Bishop of the Albany Diocese.
In July 2015, Father Sarihaddula came to the Albany Diocese, as well. He lived at St. Augustine's parish in Troy and celebrated Masses at St. Anthony's parish in Troy, Our Lady of Americas Shrine Church in Albany (a mission of Blessed Sacrament parish), St. Cecilia's parish in Warrensburg, St. Edward's in Clifton Park and Sacred Heart in Margaretville.
Now, he has been named priest-administrator for St. Joseph the Worker parish in West Winfield/Richfield Springs. Father Sarihaddula wants "to be with people. Listen to people, pray [with] the people, work with the people." He's particularly interesting in serving Spanish-speaking Catholics, saying that "God is waiting for them at the church."
Father Sarihaddula would also like to offer workshops under the theme, "The Lord is waiting for you to do something beautiful, for God, through His people." He led one workshop at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Troy, with parishioners from St. Edward's in Clifton Park participating. Father Sarihaddula noted that it was both a chance for him to connect with them and for the Catholics from different parishes to connect with one another.
"I feel there is so much to be done," said the new priest-administrator, who wants his charges to "feel that we are in one body and spirit in Jesus."
Father Sarihaddula terms his mission "DD," for "devotion and discipline."
Discipline, he said, encompasses "how we participate at the Mass" and serving God "to others or through others, with love, by listening [and] accepting them for who they are. That's my mission."
His work, he said, is already "full of joy and challenge."[[In-content Ad]]
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