As one of many non-American priests in the Diocese of Gallup, Fr. John Paul Madanu willingly traveled thousands of miles from his home and family in order to serve people and communities that are completely new to him.
Not one to dwell on the difficulties of his vocation, Fr. Madanu was assigned to St. Paul Parish in Crownpoint, and immediately – and literally – rolled up his sleeves and got to work addressing challenges facing the church.
As part of our series featuring priest of the diocese, Fr. Madanu spoke with The Voice of the Southwest about his vocation, his background, and his hopes for his ministry.
Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How long have you been in the Diocese?
I came in the month of July, July 2nd. Before my coming here, I was in the Diocese of El Paso for almost eight years.
Did you choose the Diocese of Gallup or is that where you were sent?
I chose it because I applied to some of the Dioceses. The Diocese of Gallup was the first one to reach out to me. After saying yes to Gallup, there was another Diocese that they asked me to join, but I needed to tell them, you know, I need to be grateful to [Gallup] because this is the Diocese that first reached out to me and they need priests. That’s the reason I needed to come here.
What’s your impression so far?
It’s good and there’s a lot of work to do.
It’s the spiritual aspect and everything like, you know, the priest does not only care for the religious side, taking care of the spiritual needs. But more than that, building the community and then taking care of the buildings here. Most of the times, we inherited [parishes] from the Franciscans. So that’s the reason there is so much to do, to interact with the people and to achieve through the ministry.
Do you have any goals for the parish or things you want to accomplish?
The bishop gave me the appointment letter on the 27th or 25th of July. So I took the appointment letter, and went to see Crownpoint. I spoke to this man who takes care of the books. He said there is not much in the operating account. So the first thing I needed to do, I needed to disconnect TV, and get the campus on one internet bill.
Then some of my friends came and fixed the skirting for the trailer where I live. When I came, it completely broke. I could see all the wildlife creating their homes. I needed to reach out to this family there and I told them, hey, I need this help. So they spoke to a company in Santa Fe and they just came and fixed the skirting and finished the job.
Now I want to do the parking lot. So that’s another project. There are so many goals to be achieved.
And you’ve been enjoying getting to know people locally?
It’s a challenge because these are the parishes where, you know, I see the people – most of the people – only on Sunday. Throughout the week you don’t have anybody. So you’re just by yourself there in that parish. And like 25, 30 people come to the parish and most of them are elderly.
What is needed is at least they have that joy and satisfaction. They have the priest in that community. That makes a big difference.
What part of India are you from?
I’m from southern part of India, from Andhra Pradesh. A few years back it was bifurcated and it was now two states. My home is in Telangana, but I’m the priest for the Diocese of Srikakulam. That’s in Andhra Pradesh, another state.
And how did you figure out that you were called to be a priest?
My home was just behind the regional seminary, where all the brothers are. Every Thursday they have the ministry, they come and visit. So what happens when they come, they bring the little stories and moral books to give us. I remember I was studying my fifth standard and I went to the boarding school and I saw the priest. I decided I needed to be a priest, maybe at the age of 12.
Do you have brothers and sisters?
I have a brother and sister.
Was your family that you became a priest?
Yeah, they’re happy. My parents are uneducated. They would hear the homilies preached by the priest and we have a tradition, like suppose you hare cultivating vegetables. If you get the first crop, it’s not for you – it should go to God. It should go to the Church. So whatever they do with the first crop, so they believe even with their children. They make sacrifices to God.
Are you the oldest?
I’m the oldest.
What do you like most about being a priest?
It depends always on how you take it. So you want to be active, you want to be busy, and you want to be available to the people who depend on you. Even for me that’s what my call is. Sometimes you are tired, sometimes you are exhausted, but at the same what is more important is being available to the people.
You may preach a beautiful homily and people will come and say “Father what a beautiful homily that you preached” but after one month they may forget. But if you are there – suppose somebody’s dying and maybe they want to have Confession outside the office hours – and when you reach out to them, that homily they will never forget. They remember that.
How did you decide you wanted to come to the United States?
We have more vocations in our Diocese. Also to generate some income for our diocese. So since we have more vocations, more priests, my former bishop decided to send some of the priests outside.
All my formation for 11 years in the seminary was only within one state. There was no exposure. Sometimes you want to have a different experience, different culture. That gives more ways to learn to improve yourself, to embrace the other culture. Also I was tired of working in the school – I was in the schools for eight years. So soon after my ordination Bishop placed me in the schools, and I was tired of teaching – well, not entirely tired of teaching. I enjoyed it because if you’re able to educate a child the whole family life will be changed, even that child. I believe that of that point.
But I had this desire to have a different exposure to culture, to the people. So that led me to come to the United States.
And do you have anything that you enjoy doing in your free time?
I never try to be free. So I try to do the hard work. All my life, especially in the United States, I kept myself busy even if I was in a small town. Before I came here I was working in a little town but it’s very active – we had three masses with 110 people coming to the church. We had to take care of the garden, clean the the parish or the classrooms. So I kept myself busy.
Is there anything else that you want people to know?
We need to have more priests, we need to invite the younger generation to come and to serve. That’s what’s important. Sometimes people say “I don’t know how to answer God’s calling”, but it’s very simple – just say yes, then you will understand whether God is calling you or not.
And I’m enjoying my life, I’m enjoying my ministry and ready to take up all the challenges.
To view all of our interviews with priests of the Diocese, click here.