Maryknoll Missionary bids Mindanao goodbye

“Adios” or “Goodbye” in English is a word that you will hear from Fr. Jeremiah “Jerry” Burr every time you separate ways, and soon he will tell this to all the people he served in the parishes of Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, and Davao City for good.

Fruitful and prosperous, this is how Fr. Jeremiah Burr, a Maryknoll priest, describes his experiences being a missionary in Davao region. Fr. Burr who spent his life serving for 52 years in the different dioceses in Davao region, and the last missionary of the order in Davao, goes home.

Fr. Burr is now 79 years old. He is a native of Montana in the Western United States. He arrived in Davao on 1967, along with 55 Maryknoll missionaries sent to help the diocese of Tagum and Archdiocese of Davao in administering the parishes. Fr. Burr was first assigned as Parish Priest in Baganga, Davao Oriental. According to him in an interview with the Davao Catholic Herald and DXGN, it was the most memorable experience to him where the road going there is not that good compared today. It used to take two days to go to the place.

According to him, what he appreciates most about the Filipino is their Faith, “Makita nimo ang tawo dira sa simbahan nga kinasing-kasing gyud ang ilang pag-ampo,” he said. It also helps him with his faith and prayer life.

When asked why he decided to go back home, he enumerated, “I am not in the best of health anymore. My heart will remain here in the Philippines, specially to the people whom I serve. But my brain said it’s time to go back home. I think it’s better that way to follow my brain because I am making my own decision rather than there will be someone who will tell me to go, I rather do it on my own. And lastly, we have a saying in our congregation: we go to a place where we are needed but not wanted, and we stay until we are wanted but not needed.”

When asked of what he can say to all the people that he served for 52 years, he said fluently in Bisaya, “Daghang salamat.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Joe Hizon, who served for 41 years at the Maryknoll missionaries, expressed his gratitude to them for the spiritual guidance that they imparted to him and the support to his family. He started to work with them when he was 22 years old. Now that Fr. Burr is leaving, he said he can now retire and enjoy life with his family. (Mark Joy Guantero Basallajes, OFM)