Father David Farfan was celebrated for his 10th year of ordination Oct. 14 at the Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) Hall.
Farfan has been the priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on SIB lands for the past year. It was his experience with First Nations peoples in Ecuador and Columbia that landed him the local posting.
"I was approached by the chancellor of Vancouver archdiocese because of the experience that I have working with the Native communities," he said. "In Ecuador and Columbia, the place where I have been, I lived with farmers, but also with communities in the jungle and they are really indigenous tribes in the Ecuadorian jungle."
He sees his role locally as bringing the Catholic faith back to the Sechelt Nation, a faith that was disregarded by many after the abuse suffered at the hands of Catholic priests and nuns in the residential school.
"I am trying to work on the matter of bringing good understanding and forgiveness between the Sechelt Nation and the Catholic Church," Farfan said.
He took his Catholic studies in Rome and started his priesthood in London. After one year in London he moved to the Philippines, where he served for four years. There, he worked to build nurseries and schools and provide education to the poorest children in the area.
Next Farfan travelled to a mission on the border of Ecuador and Columbia where he worked hard to help the farmers flourish and fight for human rights and peace in an area fraught with a large narcotics trade.
Farfan helped farmers in the area find water, grow crops and learn sustainable farming practices. He also created scholarships through the selling of milk and cheese so local children could benefit from an education.
"I worked on filling the people not only with the word of God, but especially with what they needed, the main necessities," Farfan said.
Now that Farfan has re-located to the Coast, he plans to stay here for the long haul.
"It is difficult to find a priest who wants to spend his life close to the Native people," Farfan said.
Farfan holds mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish from Monday to Saturday at 9 a.m. and on Sunday at 10 a.m.
