As many longtime parishioners know, St. John the Evangelist has been supporting Sacred Heart Seminary in Uganda for many years and our connection to the seminary is Fr. Achilles.
In 2002, Fr. Achilles travelled from Uganda to Portland, Oregon, to begin a Master's Degree in Education at the University of Portland. He had been appointed to teach Physics, Chemistry and Biology at Sacred Heart Seminary in 1996, the year he was ordained as a priest. He was sponsored to study for his Master's Degree in the United States by the Holy Cross Fathers who work in the District of East Africa. While visiting a priest in Vancouver and attending a deanery meeting at St. Joseph, he came to know Fr. Armando, the pastor at St. John at the time. Fr. Armando invited him to assist him at weekend Masses at St. John, and according to Fr. Achilles, “I was happy to be connected to a Parish because I could get away from the University and meet other people.”
Fr. Achilles graduated in 2004 and returned to the seminary. In 2005, Fr. Armando invited him to visit St. John and it became his “second home.” In 2007, Fr. Achilles was named rector at Sacred Heart and the parishioners of St. John initiated a special collection to support the seminary. Over the subsequent years, St. John Parishioners have continued to support the seminary and the students, many who come from very poor families and cannot afford the tuition without support from our parish. Some of the projects funded over the years include the purchase of water tanks, the repair of buildings, construction of bathrooms and latrines for the boys, the purchase of food for the students, as well as uniforms, salaries for teachers and support staff, repair of gutters to collect rain water, extension of perimeter wall, furniture, and much more. Parishioners have also donated countless laptop computers over the years, and even soccer shoes!
Sacred Heart is a high school that accepts boys at the age of 12 and above who have a vocation to the priesthood. In 2007, when Fr Achillles was named Rector, there were 130 students. Today, thanks in large part to the generosity of our parishioners, there are currently 270 students.
