In Las Piñas, a long goodbye to beloved Irish priest

Fr. Gus O’Driscoll, SMA, after delivering his homily in his last Mass held at Good Shepherd Parish in Las Piñas on Aug. 20, the day he left for Ireland. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Love, it is said, must not only be a thing of the heart but also of the mind.

The adage may well describe the journey of Fr. Augustine O’Driscoll, an Irish missionary priest assigned to the country 23 years ago and who had since become a beloved figure for his flock at Good Shepherd Parish in Barangay Pamplona Tres, Las Piñas City.

“Father Gus” made an enduring impact on his parishioners’ lives that when news reached them last year of his scheduled reassignment back to Ireland, some of them went to the extent of requesting his order, the Society of African Missions (SMA), to make him stay longer.

“If it were up to my heart, I would gladly stay here as I have grown to love the Philippines as my home away from home,” the 64-year-old priest explained to the members of the parish, where he served first as vocations director for nine years before becoming the parish priest. His missionary calling, he said, involved “letting go and moving on.”

He was echoing the words of SMA’s founder, Bishop Melchior de Marion Bresillac, who maintained that “as missionaries, [we] must not hold on to something, no matter how pleasant and fulfilling. It’s not for the missionaries to keep; they must pass it on.”

When it became clear Father Gus’ departure could no longer be delayed, the parishioners made sure that they won’t be giving him up without a “fight”: “despedidas” or sendoff parties were held nonstop.

He was, after all, the pastoral head not only of one church but seven chapel communities under its jurisdiction. Cultural presentations, Irish-themed tributes, musicals, “early Christmas” programs, prayer meetings and special Masses were held in succession to honor him and celebrate his work.

The events often left him emotional and the parishioners, heartbroken. A special issue of The Shepherd’s Staff, the parish newsletter, came out last month just to convey their gratitude and well-wishes.

“Grabe! We will truly miss him. He was the only one who listened to me about my problems,” one wrote.

To them, Father Gus wore many hats as a caring pastor, excellent administrator, prudent steward of parish resources, source of inspiring reflections and homilies, counselor, confidante, friend.

He arrived in the country in 1992. Life is said to begin at 40, but in his case, that fresh chapter began in a foreign land he barely knew. His knowledge of the Philippines was almost limited to what he had read in a missionary magazine produced by Columban Fathers in Ireland, broadly titled “The Far East.”

Little did he know that he would be adapting quite easily to his new home and its people.

Under the diocese of Parañaque, Father Gus and his team focused their efforts on the setup of six “Priority Commissions” (Commission on Services to Human Promotions, Commission on Liturgy and Popular Religiosity, Basic Ecclesial Commission, Commission on Youth, Comcare, Commission on Family).

To date, the parish, with the help of many church workers, is effectively implementing its pastoral plans and programs for all its sectors—Youth Encounter, Young Adults Ministry, Life in the Spirit Seminars, Parish Renewal Experience (PREX) and Journey in Faith to Action.

Among the impressive projects Fr. Gus undertook were the building of an attractive parish pastoral center; the renovation and expansion of the mortuary chapel which now houses a family room and a separate rest room; livelihood and feeding programs; educational programs for 75 grantees and 26 Young Servant Leaders Educational Program (YSLEP) scholars; annual Christmas gift-giving for over a thousand indigent families; a very active PREX formation program; and pilgrimages to the Holy Land, among many others.

In his farewell speeches, Fr. Gus reciprocated with his own outpouring of gratitude to the people of Good Shepherd.

When he finally left the country on Aug. 20, the parishioners took comfort in the lyrics of his favorite church hymn, “The Galilee Song”:

So I leave my boats behind!

Leave them on familiar shores!

Set my heart upon the deep!

Follow you again, my Lord!

To this they added a special line: “Carry on, Fr. Gus. Get to the next shore. We now let you go simply because the Lord says so.” With Mona E. Montevirgen