Brother Pius Oyoo of Kisumu, Kenya joined the Dominican Missionaries as a seminarian in 2010 after encountering a group of deaf children in a church in Kenya. He studied Theology at the Apostles of Jesus Seminary in Nairobi and obtained a Bachelor Degree in Sacred Theology and entered the Dominican Missionaries novitiate in Illinois in 2016.
After spending two years in the formation program in USA, Brother Pius went back to Kenya to volunteer his services with the deaf children in Kenya, particularly at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf in Nyangoma, Kenya on the shores of world famous Lake Victoria. This Catholic School for the Deaf is run by a group of dedicated Franciscan Sisters who teach over 300 deaf children in this school.
Brother Pius is completing his three year post-novitiate formation program as a missionary brother and will return to USA in the winter of 2020 to prepare for his ordination to the priesthood.
Brother Allan Induswe and Brother Martin Ekweariri at the First Holy Communion ceremony for two deaf girls from the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, CT. They spent several months teaching CCD to a group of deaf children in ASL. Our seminarians do pastoral work with deaf children as part of their novitiate and formation program. In this way they are introduced to the pastoral care of deaf people and to develop better sign language skills to communicate with deaf and disabled people.
We also serve the Catholic Deaf people in the Archdiocese of Newark, Diocese of Joliet, Diocese of Brooklyn, Diocese of Ogdensburg at Camp Mark Seven and Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Father John Maria Abulag of Philippines who joined the Dominican Missionaries after spending a year as a candidate for a strict hermit community in Missouri spent several years with us in the formation program.
He made his novitiate with us in 2012 and after his novitiate he was sent to Recolectos School of Theology in Philippines as he had partly completed his studies there before coming to USA to become a hermit monk.
He spent 3 years finishing his Theology studies and obtained MA degree in Theology in 2016 and returned to USA to live with the Dominican Missionaries community.
He is currently assigned to do the deaf apostolate in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois at St. Mary Immaculate Church in Plainfield, IL after serving at St. Mary’s Church in Mokena, Il. for 2 years.
He took several courses in ASL in Merrimac Community College in Illinois and spent a summer in an intensive ASL
Father John Maria at St. Mary’s Church in Mokena, Illinois where he served as an assistant to Father Dindo for two years as part of his priestly training.
Father John Maria with Bishop Pates of the Diocese of Joliet at Father John Maria’s installment as an official candidate for ordination to become a transitional deacon and future priest.
Brother Martin Ekweariri of Nigeria entered the Dominican Missionaries in February 2018 after finishing his eight years of Philosophy and Theology studies in Ibadan, Nigeria, obtaining a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from Saints Peter and Paul Seminary. He also spent three years as a school room teacher and has a certificate in education.
After completing his one year novitiate program with the Dominican Missionaries in New Britain, Connecticut he entered one and half year long Clinical Pastoral Education program at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Ct., studying to become a Board Certified Hospital chaplain. Recently, he finished his CPE program and successfully obtained a Board Certification as a hospital chaplain. He was recently hired as a Catholic hospital chaplain in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and he hopes to become an ordained priest in the near future.
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