Two seminarians preparing for ordination bring mission to a Chicago parish.

For Maryknoll Seminarians Patrick Okok and Matthew Sim, the road to lifelong mission has been marked by joy and humility. The deacons, who will be ordained to the priesthood on June 7, have been trained for ministry in vibrant faith communities across the globe.

Okok, from Kenya, and Sim, from Singapore, currently assist at St. Benedict the African parish in Englewood, a resilient neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

Okok says he has been enriched by the parish community. He adds that he especially treasures the hospitality hour after Sunday Mass. “Those conversations have nourished me,” he says. “As Christians, coming together, sharing stories and food is communion.”

“In catechism and RCIA, young people discuss issues like social media addiction and violence,” Okok continues. “Despite challenges, the idea is to stay strong as a faithful community and pray with people and for safety on our streets.”

Sim uses his technical skills to live-stream the parish’s Sunday Mass from the church adorned with stained glass windows and wood carvings. He and others on a team work together to animate an online community through the Zoom and Facebook live chats. The liturgy — with its joyful music led by a spirited choir — becomes interactive and accessible to those who cannot attend.

“My dad is 98 years old,” a parishioner told Sim. “Before I come to church, I turn on Facebook for him so he can participate in the Mass and see his friends who he misses so much.”

The conversation was a moment of grace, Sim says. “I thought this was just a simple technical job,” he explains, “but now I see it as a ministry of care to the homebound.”

A HOME IN COMMUNITY

Matthew Sim, 45, was born and raised as a Buddhist and Taoist in Singapore. He joined the RCIA program at Nativity Church in Singapore and then grew in the Catholic faith while teaching in Hong Kong. He was baptized in 2011. “The first seed of priesthood was planted in me,” he says, “when I felt that God was calling me to serve the Church during my final preparations for baptism.”

Sim’s first spiritual guide was Maryknoll Father Michael Sloboda, and Sim found himself drawn to the mission society. “The diversity of mission activities and spiritualities attracted me,” he says. “The mission is anchored in the needs of the people, and also the gifts that the missioners bring.”

Joining Maryknoll in 2016, Sim studied philosophy and theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He completed a spirituality year for candidates before going to Bolivia for Maryknoll’s Overseas Training Program of living and working in a foreign mission setting.

“Singapore is very communal; whatever we do, we aim to do it for the common good,” he says. “Going to Bolivia was an opportunity to experience the same belief, but through their own cultural expressions. It felt like home and at the same time, a refreshing take on what I am familiar with.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sim and other Maryknoll missioners served at Hogar San José, a home for the elderly in Cochabamba. Out of the 21 people they cared for, seven passed away from COVID-19 while he was attending to them. while under his care. “It was difficult to accept what was happening initially, but with spiritual guidance from Maryknollers and other wisdom figures in Cochabamba, I was moved spiritually to understand that God had put me there to be with them so that they could feel loved by God before they returned to the Father,” he says.

Sim also served in an afterschool project run by Maryknoll called Apoyo Escolar. Some of the parents of the children he tutored would leave home as early as 3 a.m. to work at La Cancha, the city’s sprawling market.

“Students wake up very early to help their parents,” he says. “If they have younger siblings, they take the role of parents.” This, Sim says, awakened in him an awareness of the reality of what some children go through. It also helped him understand the importance of opportunities and education for a different future.

Returning to the States, Sim was placed at the U.S.-Mexico border. He served at Cristo Rey Church in El Paso, Texas, where Maryknoll Father Raymond Finch is pastor. Besides assisting at Mass and preaching as a deacon, Sim participated in the parish’s many activities and established a Bible exploration group.

Sim also volunteered at the Holy Family Refugee Center. “I tried to be a bridge between the refugee center and Cristo Rey,” Sim says. The parish Bible group led the Way of the Cross in Spanish at the migrant center together with the refugees. “I applied what I learned in Bolivia,” he says, explaining that, in mission, it is important to use both the head and the heart.

“I hope people who dream of serving the Church join us in mission,” Sim says. “Maryknoll can offer that because our charism is to go to [other] places, to live among people, to be a presence with and for the people, inviting all, including ourselves, to transform our lives for Christ.”

HEARTS AND MINDS

Patrick Okok, 34, was born and raised in the village of Usah in the Kenyan southwestern Nyanza province. Early on Sunday mornings, his parents would prepare him and his 12 siblings for Mass, warming their bathwater and giving them coins for the collection. From an early age, Okok felt drawn to the priesthood.

At 16, he decided to pursue this calling. “I asked my catechist, ‘How can I become a priest?’” Okok recalls. “He suggested joining the altar servers.” Okok took this advice.

During his college years at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Okok  got to know Maryknoll Father Lance Nadeau, serving there as chaplain. “Listening to his homilies, I came to admire how he was preaching,” Okok says. “It made a lot of sense looking at the country, the political situation, and the student life in the university. He merged all those and connected them with the Gospel.”

While studying philosophy in Kenya, he joined Maryknoll in 2017.

Okok completed his spirituality year in Chicago and, with Sim, was sent to Bolivia for overseas training. However, only five months later, his elder sister passed away, and Okok returned to Kenya for her funeral. He planned to go back to Bolivia — but borders closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, Okok served for 10 months at a Maryknoll parish in Tanzania. “There were two groups of Small Christian Communities,” the seminarian says, one for parents and the other for youth. “I got engaged working with youth.” He also made Communion calls to the sick.

When the borders reopened, Okok returned to Bolivia. There he volunteered at Hogar Nuestra Casa, a shelter for survivors of domestic violence in Cochabamba.

Okok, who has a bachelor’s degree in education with a major in mathematics and physics, tutored the girls in their studies. “There were 18 girls living at the home,” he says. “When I left Bolivia, three girls were joining the university.”

Returning to Chicago four years ago, Okok says that serving at St. Benedict the African parish has strengthened his call to mission. “I’ve learned that before I move to a new place, God is already there, among the people,” he says. “I’m joining them in this journey, putting our hearts and minds together, seeking what is possible and listening to what God continues to call us toward.”

Click on the arrows to view the slideshow below:

Okok and Sim, who earned master of divinity degrees, adapted well to the mostly African American congregation and its newer parishioners from Latin America. Father David Jones, the pastor, says the parish embraces diversity. “We are the voice that calls for unity, reconciliation and respect for humanity,” he says.

“We attend St. Benedict because it’s welcoming,” says African American parishioner Adrienne Alexander, whose husband is Mexican. “Our three daughters participated in the Nativity play organized by Deacon Okok.” She adds that they are “excited about coming to church.”

The parish has been fortunate to have the seminarians, Alexander continues. “We are happy to play a role in their journey, and glad to know they will take a piece of our community with them around the world.”

Okok and Sim will be ordained at Maryknoll’s headquarters in Ossining, New York. As the men embark on a lifetime as missionary priests, Father Jones offers these words of encouragement: “Remain humble, always strive to follow your vocation, and trust that God is leading you.”

Featured Image: Maryknoll seminarians Deacons Matthew Sim and Patrick Okok (left, right) will be ordained June 7. As part of his formation, Sim served at Cristo Rey Church in El Paso, Texas. (Matthew Sim/U.S.)