Eric Reece
The Rev. Father Joseph Wasswa has been appointed by Bishop Michael T. Martin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, to serve as the Parochial Administrator of Holy Redeemer Parish in Andrews and Prince of Peace Mission in Robbinsville.
He will begin his work here on Tuesday, July 8.
A parochial administrator is the priest in charge who orders the life of the church. Wasswa will serve congregations in both Andrews and Robbinsville.
In the past, it was not unusual for preachers to have more than one church. I once served a four-church charge. I preached at two of the churches the first and third Sundays and two of the churches the second and fourth Sundays. By some miracle, I never showed up at the wrong church at the wrong time, as it was rumored previous preachers had done.
I knew one minister who had 10 churches. It took him five weeks to get around to all of them.
I am not that brave – or organized.
Years ago, the pastor of our methodist church in Robbinsville served seven other churches from Jackson, Swain and Graham counties. The majority of these churches were closed and some were taken by the lake.
Wasswa is from Kalisizo, Uganda. The distance from his hometown to Robbinsville is 12,317 kilometers (7,654 miles). He came to the United States to continue his theological studies at Belmont-Abbey College. He is from a large family of eight children. He felt called into ministry at an early age and started exploring becoming a monk of the Benedictine Order.
Founded around A.D. 529 by Saint Benedict, the Benedictines are the oldest monastic order in Roman Catholicism. They follow the rule of St. Benedict: to pray, work and support one another and the community. They have had a tremendous influence on the life of the church.
Along the way, Wasswa’s life took a different path – as God called him to become a parish priest. His love of God and people helped him discern the parish ministry was for him. A mentor, the Rev. Dr. Donald Haynes, always said of the call to ministry, “If you could do anything else – you would.”
It takes eight years of study and examination to become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
It is not easy, but the church will not send anyone out into the field until they are ready. Before his call here, Wasswa served a summer internship at Saint Mary, Mother of
God Roman Catholic Church in Sylva, so he is familiar with our beautiful Western North Carolina mountains.
He served at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury and most recently as Vicar at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Hickory.
In his spare time, he enjoys soccer, movies, reading about spiritual life, gardening and board games. He will have no trouble enjoying all these in our area.
As he begins his ministry here, please keep Father Wasswa in your prayers and welcome him to our beautiful home.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor at Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.