A new father at St. Mary’s Father Chris Unachukwu MSP

The new Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church is Fr. Chris Unachukwu MSP. The initials MSP stand for the Missionary of St. Paul, where members can be assigned all over the world, wherever there is a need.

According to their website, the of members Missionary Society of Saint Paul “undertake the observance of the evangelical counsels of Chastity, evangelical Poverty (Simplicity of Life) and Obedience in imitation of Christ…the members who carry out, in a special way, the missionary mandate and commitment of the Catholic Church where the Church most needs them.” Or as Fr. Chris said, “go without delay to where you are assigned.”

Fr. Chris, as his parishioners call him, is from Nigeria on the west coast of Africa, and is bordered by Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, and Cameroon in the south. It is over 7,000 miles from Wimberley.

English is the official language (as they are a former British colony) but they have multiple major and minor languages that are spoken in the rural areas. The area is very different from Wimberley and Central Texas. In the northern part, “the Islamic fighters were trying to expand the caliphate in northern Nigeria…though growing up in the eastern part of Nigeria, I grew up in peace.” He is the second child, with five boys and two girls. His mom is still alive at 93.

Fr. Chris’ journey to here and to the U.S. came by the way of a broken ankle. A story in itself, but each journey begins with the first step. His step, in this case, happened to be a painful one.

The passage to the priesthood began early on, one of his uncles is a priest and he preferred to hang out with the kids that were “organized and respected kids… at the minor seminary.”

He went to the university, graduated with a B.A. and took courses to manage his father’s business, which he did from 1991 to ’95. But he decided to go back to the seminary taking such courses as Greek, Hebrew, French and local languages in 1995. He achieved his priesthood in 2006. His assignments were in Africa: Nigeria, Liberia and then South Sudan.

South Sudan, mainly Christian, broke away from Sudan which is mainly Muslim. Beverly Nolt was the CDC’s Deputy Director for South Sudan from 2012 to 2019. She had to evacuate the American Embassy in South Sudan in 2015.

“(There are) so many military factions in South Sudan, so many tribes with deep seeded animosity, especially between Dinka and Nuer…I can attest my staff were saved by the Catholic Church, sent away from the horrible conflict to safe camps in neighboring countries.”

Fr. Chris was sleeping in the night when the attack happened. “The rebels attacked South Sudan. While I was running away, I broke my ankle. A broken ankle is better than death.”

The ankle was bad, real bad. They gave him a 50/50 chance of ever using it again. It was a dire situation. Fr. Chris’ older brother was a doctor in California and was sent the x-rays. “Take the next flight here,” his brother said.

The prognosis was still 50/50. So for the next year or so he traveled back and forth between South Sudan and California, getting the ankle fixed. Finally he was assigned to Houston, the MSP’s regional U.S. headquarters, but first he was sent to Mexico to learn Spanish.

When he was done with his Spanish studies in Mexico, he was then assigned to St Francis de Sales in Houston, then to Sacred Heart in Crosby, Texas and 2019 became pastor there. In June 2020 he was assigned here.

“With the pandemic, it became ‘who would come to Mass?’ Trying by every means we can to communicate. (Now) people can join everyday. You can access the streaming on Facebook and Youtube, simultaneously. ”

For more information on St. Mary’s Catholic Church see their website at https:// smwimberley.org