Fr Kevin Medilo SM, the popular Parish Priest at St Andrew the Apostle Parish, in Marayong, who has been a strong advocate for migrants and refugees and a member of the diocesan Interfaith Commission, has left to take up a new position as head of his congregation in the Philippines and Thailand.
Fr Kevin was appointed District Superior of the Marist Fathers in the Philippines and Thailand at the beginning of June while still the priest at Marayong, but returned to Davao City, in the Philippines, at the beginning of July to start the role full time.
His appointment comes ahead of the worldwide gathering of leaders of the Marist Fathers in 2025, which happens every eight years in Rome, at which they appoint their Superior General and plan the future of the congregation.
“Every eight years we come together, all the leaders of the Marist Fathers, and we look at our mission and ministries – what happened in the last eight years and then what is the future,” Fr Kevin said.
“Because like other religious congregations we are also aging and diminishing, the big decision will be how we restructure.”
Working with the poor
Fr Kevin was born in Davao City, in the southern Philippines, and remembers growing up thinking that everyone must be Christian because there were so many around where he lived.
His grandmother was one of the biggest influences on his religious upbringing, “because every Sunday she only had one request – that we go to church with her”. After joining the seminary in his local diocese he realised that he wanted to be a missionary – to work with the poor – and came across the work of the Marist Fathers, who run homes for street children in the Philippines, among other things. He realised they also worked in Thailand helping Burmese refugees from neighbouring Myanmar who were fleeing persecution. That convinced him to join their congregation.
Fr Kevin Medilo sm (left) is installed by Bishop Vincent Long as Parish Priest of St Andrew the Apostle Parish, Marayong, in 2021. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
Soon after joining the Marist Fathers he left the Philippines to undertake missionary work in Thailand. It was during those next 11 years that he also developed a passion for interfaith dialogue as a result of working with Burmese people, the majority of whom are Buddhist.
From Thailand he was sent to Rome for three years of study, before accepting the post of Parish Priest in Marayong in 2021, at the height of the pandemic.
But the start of his time in Australia was not easy.
Learning to be patient
His first 14 days in the country were spent in a quarantine hotel, and then settling into parish life was made difficult because churches were still closed and Mass was being held online. For experienced parish priests this would have been challenging enough, but for Fr Kevin, who had little experience of ministering to a parish, this was “a culture shock”.
“The pandemic was a special and difficult time, and as a priest [my challenge was] how to listen to different voices in the Parish,” he said, referring to some in the community who wanted to reopen the church, and others who were in favour of a more cautious approach.
“For me it was very important to listen to the people and to feel where they are, and at the same time to unite them, because we are one community.
“I was learning to be very patient with people, but also patient with myself because as a new priest in the Diocese, in the country, I had to learn so many things.”
Fr Kevin Medilo SM, second from left, with other members of the Diocese of Parramatta Interfaith Commission in 2022. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
He credits Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, the Bishop of Parramatta, Monsignor Ron McFarlane and other clergy members of the Parish with helping him find his feet during those early months.
‘Grateful for the experience’
This allowed him to immerse himself in parish life, learn about the multicultural nature of the area and the different ways these communities practiced Catholicism. He especially remembers being surprised at the strength of people’s Christian faith in the Parish – something he had not experienced on previous trips to Australia.
“There are so many Christians in this area,” he said. “I’m also amazed how people who live here are not just Christian, but others are very religious…Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist.”
His experience working with refugees came in handy when several parishioners approached him after COVID, asking if they could restart the parish’s social justice group and sponsor a refugee family.
“I said, ‘I’m hesitant because I’m new and I know and understand how difficult it will be to welcome a refugee family’. But I said if you want to do it I will be with you – full support. And they’re doing it.”
Since then the group has expanded and Fr Kevin is confident it will keep growing without him.
He said he had “a tremendous time being in this Parish and this Diocese. Bishop Vincent has been very supportive to me, and also with the Parish.
“Great things are happening in the Diocese with the Synod. I am really grateful for the experience here.”
