Dubai: Reverend Father Tomasito Veneracion, known to parishioners of St. Mary’s Catholic Church as Father Tom, may be leaving Dubai for good but he is taking home with him sweet memories of a fruitful ministry.
The Filipino parish priest of St. Mary’s Church on Oud Metha Road flew home on Saturday after 12 years of service in the Gulf, including five years in Dubai. He was installed as parish priest on July 1, 2009, after serving in Doha for seven years.
Father Lennie Connully, currently serving the Vicariate as Vicar General, based at the Bishop’s House in Abu Dhabi, was installed as the new parish priest on Friday.
Father Tom said he was leaving with a thankful heart not only to the congregation but also to the UAE government.
“My message is one of gratitude for not only their tolerance but also for [their goodness],” Father Tom, 54, told Gulf News.
“Some countries are very tight about their faith but in Dubai and the UAE [they are not]. I think it reflects that the people here are highly intelligent.”
Father Tom said the decision to go home was a difficult one.
“It was not the Bishop’s decision. It was my own decision,” Father Tom said. “I really want to rest and to pursue some things that I like to do like getting reconnected with my own people.”
Father Tom said he is not taking a break from priesthood but is only taking a sabbatical from administrative duties. He has not had a sabbatical since entering priesthood 24 years ago.
“My feelings are ambivalent now. I feel good, relieved that I can move on and start something new but my heart also bleeds because I love Dubai, especially the children whom I really treasure.”
Father Tom said he has grown so much as a priest and as a person with his service here.
“This is a metropolitan city. It’s much more complex and complicated when you deal with complex and complicated people but it brings out the best in you also,” Father Tom said.
“In the beginning, I temporarily renounced my nationality so that no one can accuse me of serving only the Filipinos. It was symbolic of course but it was also a message that I wanted everyone to know that I’m serving everyone. So now I’m reclaiming my nationality as I go home.”
Father Tom said his stay in Dubai was a great learning experience. There were challenges along the way especially when the church saw a boom in attendees after the Dubai Metro became operational.
All of a sudden, new faces came and the church had to be run in a different manner, he said. From an ethnic-based organisational structure, Father Tom had to shift it to become more ministerial.
The ethnicities were blurred; everyone served according to their ministries and not from where they come from. The church now has more than 80,000 parishioners.
One of the parishioners, Lesley, expressed sadness at Father Tom’s departure. But he hailed him for his contribution in his spiritual life.
“Fr. Tomasito made me fall in love with my faith all over again. The effect he had on so many people was at times daunting,” Lesley said.
“He has a wonderful sense of humour, which I think is essential to help keep our religion in perspective. Laughter is a gift from God who asks us to admit our human frailties and limitations.”
For Father Tom, his Dubai journey was the highlight of his career as a priest that will stay with him for as long as he lives.
“I think the church of St. Mary’s in Dubai and myself, with my unorthodox ways, were really meant for marriage. We were meant to be together for some time,” Father Tom said. “I think it was a good marriage.”
