A Letter from the Shrine Director
March 31, 1997
Dear Friend of St. Jude,My first assignment as a priest was to Nigeria. The 17 years that I spent there were wonderful. Even though I have been back in the States for over 20 years, the desire to return to the missions never left me.
For the past several months I have been talking with my Provincial Superior about the possibility of my going to an overseas mission again. He has been wonderfully supportive of my dream and I am very grateful to him.
I will conclude my time as Director of The Shrine the end of June and a month later I will be - God willing - in The Solomon Islands. It is a dream come true. There are Dominicans from Australia already in the Solomons. I will be with them, helping the Solomon Islanders who want to become Dominicans.
The six years that I have been Director of The Shrine have been among the best years of my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you. It will not be easy to leave The Shrine and the wonderful people that I have met here. But after twenty years I can no longer ignore what seems to be a call to return to the missions.
Fr. Bede Jagoe, O.P. has been named the new Director of The Shrine. I have known Father Bede for almost 45 years. I think be is a wonderful choice for this wonderful ministry. Please give him the same support that you have given me.
Let us keep one another in prayer.
Peace
