Seeds of Fr. Hillary Andebo’s priestly vocation were planted during his time as a refugee

By Kathy Gangwisch
Jefferson City

“God used the voice of that Italian priest to reach me,” said Father Hillary Andebo, associate pastor of Immaculate Conception parish, “yet I often wondered if it really was God telling me what to do. I read the entire Bible front to back while in school and decided that if the Lord was actually beckoning me He would allow me to continue my studies.” God continued beckoning Fr. Andebo toward priestly ordination and eventually to ministry far beyond the place of his birth.

A native of the central-eastern African nation of Uganda, Fr. Andebo is the firstborn of eight in his family where his father is Catholic and his mother of the Anglican faith (now called the Church of Uganda). His family are farmers who earn a modest living by selling the crops they plant and grow. The Andebos were forced into exile in Zaire in 1980 for four years due to war and strife in their homeland. Hillary was 14 when they were shuffled into the far reaches of Zaire where no cities existed. Using a machete, the family cleared land and built a simple shelter. In order to buy what they needed, Mr. Andebo and Hillary learned to make baskets, which they sold.

An Italian missionary priest who was working with the people in Uganda was among those who fled. “He would come to our refugee settlement to say Mass about four times a year,” Fr. Andebo remembers. The Catholic refugees simply prayed together when Mass was not an option. During his adolescence, young Hillary was among students whom the Italian priest addressed one day. “He asked how many among us had reached the seventh grade in Uganda,” said Fr. Andebo. “Five of us stood, one girl and four boys. Of the five he called only on me and asked, ‘Can you go to the seminary?’ I said ‘yes.’” “I had to travel 100 miles away to the preparatory school that trained young men to enter the seminary,” the priest continued. “Our final exams were given back home in Uganda, where I entered the seminary in February of 1985.”

That was when the aspiring priest immersed himself in the Bible and discerned that if the Lord wanted him to be a priest, God would allow him and help him to continue in formation. Continue he did, earning bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and divinity while deepening his relationship with Christ in Uganda. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 1999 and first served in his homeland. He then made a broad leap to Pittsburgh, Pa., where over a three-year period he earned his master’s degree in pastoral ministry.

During his first adventure in the United States, Fr. Andebo found many things that are far different from his African culture. “In Pittsburgh, I was invited to my first Thanksgiving dinner,” he recalled. “Before I left, they told me to take some of the food home. In my particular culture in Uganda, males never take food from a restaurant or someone’s home, so I looked around to see if they meant for me to put food on a plate. There were no plates, only plastic containers that I’d never seen before. I didn’t know what to do with them. I felt so embarrassed.” That day, he learned that food containers are just one more unique aspect of American culture.

“Something else I observed is that people in this country drive cars while eating or talking on cell phones, which is unheard of at home,” he said. “I remember one time in Uganda, I was riding my bicycle and eating an ear of corn. The police stopped me and told me to sit at the side of the road to eat before I continued my journey. Doing both at the same time was not allowed.”

His work in Missouri’s capital city includes visiting patients in local hospitals and nursing homes, taking Holy Communion, hearing confessions, praying with people, conversing with them, and otherwise offering spiritual help wherever needed. “I love the job God gave me,” he said. “I’d not asked for it, yet He called me to this and I am glad to follow His design for my life.”

He loves music, and the Lord has granted him a beautiful singing voice plus ability to play guitar, keyboards and a flute-like instrument known as a recorder. He’s also a songwriter. His talents don’t stop there. In seminary, he was the school electrician and the school tailor. He constructed a modest stone home in Uganda for his family. He has continued using those skills to help build up Immaculate Conception parish — physically and spiritually. “The best happiness is in God,” he said. “I am happy.”

Ms. Gangwisch is a member of Immaculate Conception parish. This article was originally published in the August 2009 issue of News from the Pews, the parish’s quarterly publication.