Interview with Father Helmut Friembichler
Father Helmut Friembichler. He was born in Austria in the state of Salzburg, in Seekirchen. He is currently working in the parish of Henndorf and Köstendorf in the archdiocese of Salzburg since September 2017. He has been a priest since 1998. In 1991 he entered the seminary in Salzburg, he also studied for a year in Innsbruck.
- How did you get to know the missionaries of Jesus the Word and Victim?
I met the sisters from Peru in 2014 near my former parish in Mittersill.
- What was it that encouraged you to make the missionary experience in Peru?
When I met the mothers, I already had the idea in my head that if the Archbishop would grant me a sabbatical year (and this is what the law of the priesthood states when changing parishes), I would like to spend the time somewhere in South America.
This was preceded by a visit to San Ignacio in Bolivia in 2012 with a pastoral assistant who had already worked there as a volunteer. Thus I met poor people in Bolivia for the first time. From then on, this desire to spend some time in Latin America grew in me.
- Was the language an obstacle?
A certain obstacle was the language. Besides my pastoral work, I also tried to learn Spanish through self-study. Later, I occasionally received language lessons from a young student. With advancing age and increasing workload as a priest in three parishes, it was not easy to become familiar with the language.
- Could you tell us about your experience and some anecdotes?
At the end of October I landed in Lima by plane and wanted to spend a few more days in the city to get to know it and visit the holy places (the tombs of Santa Rosa and St. Martin de Porres).
When I took a taxi to the city centre, I was plunged into total chaos. The streets were congested, the taxi driver drove me to a car park and escorted me on foot to a hotel, helping me carry my luggage. He explained that there was a big religious festival and I didn’t know what that festival might be. I thought: the next big holiday was All Saints’ Day. So the next day I set out to find out. Of course, as a European, I did not know this feast: the Señor de los Milagros. I was amazed to see the big procession, the huge bands accompanying the procession through the city with solemn marches and the crowds of people on the move.
On the eve of 1 November 2016 I called the sisters in Lima and they immediately asked me by telephone to preside at the Holy Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints. I was a little worried about the language. But the sisters were extremely kind and cordial and, of course, also grateful, even though I celebrated in barely understandable Spanish, they were happy to participate in a Holy Mass on this feast day.
From Lima we went to Caravelí, where I was very well received by the community and got to know the Mother House, the heart of the missionaries, so to speak. From there we went to eight “Patmos” during the following months, from where we visited the villages.
It was not always possible to reach the most distant villages with a van. Therefore, we also went on horseback or even on foot with the help of donkeys to reach the destination. What impressed me was the extent of the country and that despite the unimaginable remoteness of the villages, the message of Jesus Christ reached there and churches were built, albeit in a simpler form. In some places you do find churches built with ornaments. The early missionaries did great things. I was impressed by the simple life of the people and their happiness. Then everything was a challenge for me: the climate, the altitude, the language, the simplicity of life. However, the sisters organised everything very well and took care of me, so that I felt very safe and could accept the challenges of every day.
- Would you recommend this experience to other priests?
To my brother priests in Austria, who do not want to be persuaded to do such a mission, I have told them that this year I have done the most pastoral work in numbers, because the sisters kept an accurate balance sheet. In this short time I celebrated 65 baptisms, 2232 confessions, 512 anointings of the sick, 5 marriages and 566 house blessings.
- Would you like to return to these mission lands?
I confess that my thoughts often fly to Peru and in prayer I always know that I am connected with these people and with the pastoral work of the missionary sisters. In my heart I pray to God that I may return once again to Peru.
- Anything else?
Finally a little story:
It was in a village in the region of Cañaris that I received a warm and exuberant welcome. Then I told the people that I was not the president. To which they replied: Precisely, well, we wouldn’t welcome the President like that. This told me that they had a very high level of faith in the Church and expected more from Jesus Christ than from any human possibility.
Father Helmut hopes to return to the missions in Peru, to proclaim Christ among the most remote, abandoned and poor.
