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Catholic Church Looks Overseas to Remedy Priest Shortage

Fairfield, Vermont - August 20, 2006

When Vermont's Catholic Bishop announced plans to close seven parishes due to a priest shortage, it shocked parishioners across the state. Now, church officials are going the distance to keep some parishes open.

There's a new face at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Fairfield. Father Daniel LoKannga is a priest from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. He recently celebrated his 20th year as a priest, but he has only been practicing his faith in Vermont for the last five months. "Bishop Salvatore Matano asked my bishop for some priests and I was the first to be sent here," said Father Daniel Lokannga.

Father Daniel is one of six priests from Africa recruited by the Catholic Diocese of Burlington to help alleviate the priest shortage. church officials say that by this fall there could be as many as 10 priests from Africa here in Vermont. "I think it's a short term solution, the long term solution is for the church in Vermont to generate its own clergy," said Father John McDermott.

Currently there are 81 priests in the state and over half of them are over the age of 50. Church officials are working on recruiting more members of the clergy. Just two weeks ago, the bishop held an open house for young men who may be interested in becoming a priest. "We had 14 young men from high school to college age who gathered for an evening mass with the bishop and dinner with the bishop and just talk, getting them to realize that its a wonderful life, it's a wonderful vocation and something they shouldn't be afraid of investigating," said Father McDermott.

"For someone to come to join Christ, he needs first to hear and to understand where he's going," said Father Lokannga.

The African priests will be in many different parishes during their temporary stay in Vermont. Church officials are excited about the unique perspective they will bring to this state. "I think they bring the sense of the universal nature of the church. the fact that the church isn't just in Fairfield or isn't just in Burlington, but the church is universal through out the world," said Father McDermott.

With seven parishes set to close sometime in the near future, the hope is priests like Father Daniel can keep Vermont's churches open.

Beth LeClair - Channel 3 News