Amarillo—Seminarian Roy Kafula was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate Dec. 20 during a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
A native of Lusaka, Zambia, Deacon Kafula, 38, is currently attending St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology at St. Meinrad, Indiana.
Born Chilombe Kafula on Sept. 1, 1976, he is the son of Ng’oma Kafula and Chilufya Bowa. The fourth of eight children, the name Roy was given to him because of the British-dominated influence in his childhood, since Zambia is a former British Colony.
“My father graduated from university as an engineer in construction and my mother is a college graduate,” he told The West Texas Catholic in an email conversation. “After high school, I entered university and trained to become an accountant and began working in that field.
“I discerned a call to the priesthood with a religious community, and after 14 years, that call discerned into diocesan priesthood, and earlier this year, I left religious life. I am so grateful to God that through those turns, I continued saying ‘yes’ to that call. The call to priesthood is an invitation to enter more fully into the life of God. Every call to the priesthood is unique and as distinctive and singular as the people who hear it.”
Deacon Kafula said it’s been an honor and privilege for him to meet and know the people of the Diocese of Amarillo.
“I always experience the power of God in these people I meet every single day, at daily Mass, in small prayer groups, in homes, at hospitals, in assisted living homes, for coffee at McDonalds, in the neighborhood and on Sundays after Mass,” he said. “if there is any richness and depth in my life, it is an accumulated wealth of experience with many wonderful human beings. The people who populate my life are treasures, and having lost a few to illness and aging, I now cherish and appreciate them all the more.”
Photo by Jim Banner. Additional photos from the Transitional Diaconate Ordination Mass will be featured in the Sunday, Jan. 18 issue of The West Texas Catholic.