Parishoners celebrate Father Simon Wilson

Part of a renewed drive to encourage young men to follow their vocation into priesthood, Catholic Parishioners on Saba gathered Thursday evening for a special celebratory mass at the Sacred Heart Church in The Bottom.
The mass marked the 33^rd anniversary since the ordination of Saban born Fr. Simon Wilson currently serving the Diocese of Willemstad in Curaçao. He presided over the mass together with Fr. Danilo Pastor calling local families and young men in particular to listen to the calling for the priesthood vocation. The thanksgiving mass also honoured the priest’s parents Marianne and Augustine Wilson, present only in spirit as well as his brothers George, Ivan, Franklin, Elijah and sister Antonia, Cheryl and Marilyn. Fr. Wilson spoke of the difficulty in finding the words to reconnect and relay to his community. Looking at the photos of his July 4, 1980, ordination he recalled the special day, the visiting priests’ procession and noted that all the priests then gathered passed away. He remarked how time moves on and contemplated the continued central role of the church in its spiritual and social ministry. Fr. Wilson reflected on his personal experience of divine calling into that ministry as a young man and called on those gathered to contemplate on their lives, with all the struggles and temptations but also the good they have fulfilled. He spoke of his pride in being a member of the clergy but also of his pride in his Saban roots even though he never served on the island. That connection is what drove him to accept the parish’s calling to celebrate his ordination here and seek to move young men to secure the continuity of the diocese with Saban Catholic clergy. He places great hope in the eye-opening impact of the upcoming youth trip to Trinidad and Tobago, where they will be exposed to people in poverty as well as be joined by youth from throughout the Caribbean region. He remarked that the calling to serve completely and freely in the ministry of the universal church stands open to all, that the doors of opportunity are open to youth across the world to come and serve in the vineyard. He called on the parishioners to continue to follow the divine calling through their lives in communion with the Catholic community and plant the good seed for its future. Fr. Wilson called on his family for a special blessing and all present were invited to a tent reception in the courtyard where all recollected their youths and renewed ties.
Source: “The Daily Herald” 3013-07-08