“I believe that migrants need a shepherd to guide, direct, counsel and care for them while being away from their families and working in a foreign country,” said Father Rodolfo Jacobe of Missionary Oblates of Immaculate, who has been working with migrant workers in Hong Kong for 12 years. Earlier this year, Father Jacobe, together with another Oblate missionary, Father John Wotherspoon, sheltered infected migrant workers during the peak of the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Father Jacobe became involved in the work of the Mercy-HK in mid-February when Father Wotherspoon, asked him to help as the service coordinator for infected migrants. At that time, Mercy-HK offered shelter to migrant workers who were infected with the Covid-19 and needed a place to stay aside from their employer’s home. Father Jacobe became the contact person working with HELP for Domestic Helpers and the Philippine consulate general in Hong Kong.
Infected individuals were accommodated at Mercy-HK shelters for quarantine while waiting to be transferred to government-run isolation facilities. These workers also needed support while arranging their virus tests and travel tickets to their countries of origin.
As Father Jacobe recalled, God had blessed their services as Father Wotherspoon, and Lucia Leung of Mercy-HK remained uninfected even as they brought cases of infected domestic helpers to shelters from various meeting points during a period when Hong Kong’s caseload kept breaking records. “We consider this a miracle for those working in the vineyard of the Lord,” he said.
His assignments in the Philippines, especially in the southern regions such as Jolo, Bongao, and Cotabato, were challenging missions. He regarded his 14 years in the Vicariate of Jolo in the early 1980s as most challenging and yet enriching
He thanked the people who generously supported Mercy-HK during this critical period. “Finances were never a problem when people know their donation goes to needy people. Mercy-HK is very thankful to those shelter owners who took the risk of allowing us to use their facility as a temporary quarantine facility,” he said.
Currently, the shelters are used to support the terminated migrant workers and those who have labour cases.
Father Jacobe said that he joined the Oblates because he was impressed by its challenging missions, especially among the poor. His assignments in the Philippines, especially in the southern regions such as Jolo, Bongao, and Cotabato, were challenging missions. He regarded his 14 years in the Vicariate of Jolo in the early 1980s as most challenging and yet enriching.
Father Jacobe hails from a family of devoted Catholics, including his grand-uncle and uncle, who were both diocesan priests. He recalled that the vocation director of the Oblates visited his secondary school to conduct an entrance examination to their seminary when he was in his last year of schooling. “Two of us passed, but only me, with the encouragement of my parents, entered the seminary.”
After finishing secondary school, he entered the seminary and finished his degree course in philosophy at Notre Dame University, Cotabato City. Then, he continued his novitiate studies before moving to Manila to study theology at Maryhill School of Theology.
After two years, he was sent to Rome, together with two other seminarians, to finish their theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He recalled that his migrant ministry started at that time. Every Thursday and Sunday, he would assist the choir of the Filipino Catholic community for domestic workers when they came to two different churches in Rome to attend Mass. He also made himself available for counselling after Mass.
Hong Kong was his first foreign mission and he came to the city in July 2010. He volunteered to serve the migrants. His first assignment was as the assistant parish priest at St. Jerome Parish in Tin Shui Wai
In 1983, he made his perpetual profession before his diaconate ordination. He served as campus minister and teacher at Notre Dame of Jolo College. He was ordained a priest on 12 May 1984 and was then responsible for the ministries in education, formation of seminarians and vocation promotion for the congregation.
Hong Kong was his first foreign mission and he came to the city in July 2010. He volunteered to serve the migrants. His first assignment was as the assistant parish priest at St. Jerome Parish in Tin Shui Wai, caring for its English-speaking community.
Father Jacobe is currently involved in several services for migrants: as a member of the Diocesan Commission for Pastoral Services to Migrant Workers, as prison chaplain for Filipinos, and as the spiritual director of the English-speaking section of the Apostleship of Prayer in Hong Kong.
Father Jacobe began his prison ministry in 2012, mainly visiting Filipino male and female inmates at the Lo Wu Correctional Institution and Stanley Prison. He also joins Father Wotherspoon on visits to other correctional facilities when he has the chance. He listens to the stories of the inmates and, whenever possible, assists them in communicating with their families and looking for financial assistance for those who wish to study online.
Above all, as prison chaplain Father Jacobe finds it necessary to need to nurture their spirituality. “I reserve funds to buy Bible study guides yearly for each of them so that they can follow the readings of the day to help them reflect and enrich their spiritual life,” he explained.
