In fact, there is no turning back, but conversion in my priestly life. Amazing? not much… “In regular training sessions, when it comes to professional matters, the most frequently asked question we get is: what did you do before?. When I say, 'I am a priest and I am still a priest, but there comes a time when I stop'.
Passionate about woodworking since childhood, when he came to Japan, the missionary discovered the strong carpentry tradition here. But initially his mission there was complicated, 'I couldn't figure out how to live as a priest in Japan'. After three years in Japan, I asked the Paris Foreign Missions Association to have time to think about my mission, to find a project to bring to Japan, specifically to "make a bridge".
“Carpenter comes naturally to my mind: first of all because I have always been passionate about it, and also because the profession perfectly matches my desire to do something more handmade.” Accepted by the diocese of Bordeaux, his current life is both learning woodworking and pastoring in the parish.
The joy of two meaningful lives
“Learning is a whole new mission for me! The Landes region has lost its strong Catholic character. I am seen as an element of diversity…!”. Encounters happen naturally during training, “since I am an apprentice, we are all equal. There is no “priest-faith” imbalance as I felt in Japan. I'm so happy to be here, simply to be their priest and tell them about God!"
In parallel with the week-long apprenticeship, the priest doing the weekend ministry, Father Loustalant finds his balance: “I have a life that is a little more rooted in daily life, this does the lessons. My preaching is enriched!”
This depth is what the young missionary lacks most in Japan. “I feel there is a great distance between my priestly life and the lives of my parishioners, I cannot get close to them.”
A project following the path of the Message of Praise to God Laudato Si'!
Deeply rooted in daily life, learning a manual trade, rooted in a land to give life to one's missionary life: these are the three axes of the priest's program and also "a way to Live the Message of Praise to God Laudato Si' ” to the fullest . Far from Japan, Father Bartholomew still lives to the fullest the mission he received: “God is good, he gave us missionaries, salt of the earth and light of the world, nothing more. other than ourselves! For me, this is done through this apprenticeship!”
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