November 22, 2021
By FATHER RAYMOND IGBOGIDI
Guest columnist

I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ – Mt 25:35.

This is a line from Scripture that has become very meaningful in my personal life since I came in 2015 to minister in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

I am from Nigeria, educated and ordained for the Diocese of Warri, and although I had some experience of studying in the U.S. and assisting in parishes during vacation periods, my time at St. Christopher the Martyr in Metairie has been my first, long-term experience of ministering as a priest in the U.S.
Both our historical background and the modern media have had a great impact on our daily lives. As a stranger – as an African coming to minister in Louisiana, a Southern state, I did wonder if I might encounter racism. If I were to believe the media stories, I could anticipate that life might be, at best, a little uncomfortable and, at worst, very difficult.

As I write this brief testimony, my heart is full of love and gratitude for all those I have met and ministered with and to during my six years here. I can truly say that I have been that stranger who has been wholeheartedly welcomed.

If you are not from a race that is different from the accepted “majority,” you can never know what it is like to live in skin that shows others that you are “different.” You cannot know what it is like to fear being that stranger who is not welcomed, and even worse than not welcomed, that stranger who is hated and who suffers because of his or her race.

Therefore, my joy and gratitude is so much deeper because – hand on heart – I can say that in all my time here, I have never been treated badly because of my race. People have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, bringing me food, inviting me out for meals or into their homes, offering me gifts and, most of all, offering me their friendship.

I have been wholeheartedly welcomed by so many here: Archbishop Gregory Aymond and the clergy in the archdiocese; Father Frank Candalisa and the deacons at St. Christopher who were my first ministry companions here; my beloved parishioners and parish staff; the staff and students of St. Christopher School; Father Mike Mitchell and God’s Special Children, who are children with special needs for whom a special Mass is celebrated; by all the medical professionals I have met over the years; by the journalists and editorial board of the Clarion Herald; and so many others I meet in all aspects of my daily life.

There are too many people to mention.

But in a world where negative stories in this domain are front and center in media stories, I want to add my small voice of thanks to all those who witness to Jesus by showing me love and making me the stranger who is welcomed in your midst.