A life of challenges and joys16 min read

Fr. Joji Reddy Boyapati is pictured with his family, right to left in birth order, with their mother sitting in front. One of Fr. Joji’s older sisters is a nun with St. Ann’s Congregation. (Submitted photo)

Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald Staff

Fr. Joji Reddy Boyapati, serving at St. Michael’s in Iron River, will clearly be missed when he returns to India in April due to his expiring visa. During a well-attended presentation on March 19, the cheerful priest shared many photos and his personal story, noting it was the first time he had ever done so.

From the Southern Indian state of Telangana, Fr. Joji gave a brief overview of the Christian history of his country, beginning with the arrival of the apostle St. Thomas on the Malabar coast in the first century to the missionary work of St. Francis Xavier in the 16th century, all in the southern part of the country surrounded by the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

St. Teresa’s work in Calcutta, on the far eastern border near Bangladesh, expanded where Christianity exists, but Fr. Joji explained that the northern and eastern regions of his country are mostly Hindu, but with the large number of vocations in the south, missionary work has expanded into those regions.

After situating his story geographically, Fr. Joji introduced his family in a slideshow. He explained the challenging situations they have lived through, beginning with the death of his paternal grandmother while giving birth to his father. Raised by his sisters, Fr. Joji’s father felt the loss of his mother throughout his life.

Both of his parents came from large, traditional and devout Catholic families, and neither had the opportunity for schooling or gaining literacy. His father did attend seminary for a short time, greatly valued the priesthood and encouraged his own children to be open to religious callings.

Fr. Joji is one of seven siblings, but given the circumstances of his parents’ economic misfortunes, the family had to move back to the paternal grandfather’s home. The oldest two were unable to receive schooling, and while Fr. Joji and the younger children were schooled, it was at different Catholic boarding schools.

For second through fifth grade, young Joji was living at a school run by the St. Ann’s Congregation, which one older sister would later join. He shared a picture and one of his few vivid childhood memories with his parents from the day of his first Communion on Dec. 3, 1982, a “special, memorable day.”

To relieve the financial burden of education costs—the children were all in Catholic schools—Joji returned home at 10 years old and went to the local school ran by the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel.

He described how this period was the “most important stage of my life. I was completely shaped by the powerful Catholic presence in my village.” In a village that also had strong Muslim and Hindu presence, he felt surrounded by religious faith, recalling the calls to prayer and church bells ringing throughout the day. “I would hear the Muslim chants, later the Catholic church bells.”

All these celebrations helped him develop a strong intercultural understanding, “living like brothers and sisters” across religions in the friendly village.

Fr. Joji shared his gift and enjoyment of writing, which he used to write dramas and skits for school and community celebrations. Comedy was his preferred style, and he would also act. He explained how the Brothers encouraged Catholic youth to be well-rounded and intermix with their peers. He was also athletic, playing basketball, cricket and badminton.

“There was a lot of poverty,” he confirmed. “We had a lot of creativity and local initiative.”

Looking back at their family challenges, only spending time together on holidays and during the summer, he admitted he still wonders, “How did I manage that? Sometimes I still cry thinking about the poverty and tough time, but I see how I was so joyful. God was taking care of me!”

The seeds of his priestly vocation are closely connected to Fr. Joji’s father, who was employed at the local parish church. He was sacristan, bell ringer and did many other tasks, often accompanied by young Joji. From a young age, the priest was also ringing church bells for morning Mass and the Angelus, leading the rosary and serving at the altar.

“I was always so close to church life,” he said, “I had no other thought about my life but to serve God.”

He entered seminary in 1991, at age 15, after attending a summer vocational camp. Just four years later, his beloved father died.

Fr. Joji spoke about stages of his priestly formation in India, a similar trajectory as in the States and around the world.

In the years of philosophy, he said, “It’s very important to learn about God, human beings and oneself. The wisdom each priest should have is this: a global understanding of God, nature and self.”

He was then selected to attended a national seminary with men from different states, each with their own language and culture. This year of exposure had its challenges but overall, Fr. Joji said it was “amazing” and further developed his outlook and later ministry.

For theology, he returned to his regional seminary and was ordained April 24, 2002. Although he had received further education, including Education Studies and English Literature, the new priest fell God calling him to pastoral work.
“I never dreamed about going out of my native place,” Fr. Joji confessed. “There was a lot of work to do in my own home diocese, but God compelled me.”

He said a sabbatical is offered to all the priests in his home diocese, as the diocese depends on the financial support they send back, as well as the global and pastoral experience these priests receive. His application was first accepted in the Diocese of Alberta, Canada, where he moved in 2017.

Arriving in later November, he was greeted by locals tossing snow as a sign of welcome. Although he had learned English in school and seminary, the different terms and accents took getting used to. He said the people “are so kind, wonderful and loving,” which made it a little easier for him to adjust to the extreme winter climate.

The parishes he was assigned had been previously closed for lack of vocations, and there was much work to do. With churches long distances apart and no established church staff or volunteers, he did most everything for himself, including shoveling snow. Being a new driver in this great “wilderness where there were very few gas stations,” Fr. Joji said it was a time of being “completely dependent on upon God.” He also expressed his great gratitude for the “good souls through whom God helped me a lot.”

He shared his personal reflections of wondering why God sent him to Canada, especially when he had been doing a lot of great work in parishes in his home diocese.

Very interested in youth and family ministry, he would offer Sunday youth Masses and summer camps for the children to learn catechism, prepare for sacraments and develop other interests and skills. He would also offer classes about specific books of the Bible, complete with an exam at the end.

The answer to his question was a story. After being on the road all day celebrating Christmas Masses, he arrived to the last Mass with snowy weather. Noticing a young mother with two children he had never seen before, he observed them during the Mass.

“I didn’t know where they came from but looked very poor. They looked unfamiliar with the church, she fed them some snacks and they slept most of the Mass,” he said.

Greeting them after Mass, he said the mother had tears in her eyes. Her children felt happy to celebrate the birth of Jesus after the church being closed for so many years.

“I had so much joy… God brought me there to save simple souls, humble people.”

Fr. Joji also shared a photo of himself with a boy altar served in the sacristy. He was proud to have taught the boy, even prouder that this boy, now in ninth grade, says he wants to be a priest.

“Such a great joy,” he smiled, and told of other youth he has worked with who have responded to God’s call to priesthood or religious life. He then laughed, saying he will look forward to hearing which vocations will be coming from St. Michael’s.

Given the toll the long winter climate was taking on Fr. Joji’s physical health, he was accepted for the Diocese of Superior with the help of a cousin priest who was here as well. Making a short visit back home to India before coming to Wisconsin in early 2020, Fr. Joji was forced to stay in India through the pandemic.
“A precious time for me,” given that he was able to spend that year with him mom, celebrating daily Mass at home, even the Holy Week liturgies at home with his siblings and their children.

Seeing his mother, now in her 80s, is what he most looks forward to when he returns to India this spring. While he is grateful for the experiences and relationships developed in the Diocese of Superior, he said his mom doesn’t have many years left, and that relationship and time is irreplaceable.