How did you become a priest?
I have two uncles who are priests. They are diocesan priests, and they belong to a bishop. They work in a particular locale, or an area like Birmingham diocese or Westminster diocese in London. Priesthood wasn't strange for me as a child, because they used to come home. When I look back at my memories, my most joyful and the most powerful, good memories I have was when they were present in the house. There was a great freedom and joy. Everyone was relaxed, and that shaped my interest in what these fellows are about. Eventually, my family emigrated to London - I'm originally from Sri Lanka - and in London, I went into the church in terms of being an altar server, being very much part of the church in Kilburn. I got to know the priests who were in Kilburn. They were a missionary order, the oblates of Mary Immaculate. By just being with them, I began to think about what my life was going to be about. During confirmation time, when I was about 15, I had to think about what my life was going to unfold into. I was thinking of doing medicine, so I'd done my advanced level and applied for medicine. It was during that time that I began to think: “Why do I want to do medicine?” At the heart of it was helping people to be well. I was remembering back to my uncles who brought that wellness with them and I thought maybe there's something here for me to think about. I began to talk to a priest who I knew, and in fact I was talking to a priest from the age of about 15 and then we lost contact. I got a postcard through the letter box from a priest who had just taken over from him. I hadn't had any contact with the priest for about a year and a half. I thought the postcard said, “Come and see me if you're still interested.” So I went up to see him and I've never turned back since then. I even decided to defer going into medicine and to check out for about nine months. We had a pre-novitiate experience just to go and see if this is for me.
