Fr Arbo’s Induction in St John Fisher, Kidbrooke

Saturday 26th October 2013

The Rite of Induction of Fr Arbo Lucas Lekule was held in the church of St John Fisher, Kidbrooke.   The principal celebrant was The Right Reverend Patrick Lynch, Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Southwark.  

A large number of parishioners travelled from OLI to celebrate with Fr Arbo on this wonderful occasion.   The Mass was simple, beautiful, memorable and certainly moving.   The parishioners of Kidbrooke were very welcoming, and after the Mass, the celebrations continued in the hall (in the school opposite) where a fantastic spread was laid on by the parish.    There was an enormous cake which Fr Arbo cut with a rather suspiciously young picture of Fr Arbo on it (we asked him if it had been air brushed, but he claimed it was a genuine picture taken only the day before)!

In his speech made just before the end of the Mass, Fr Arbo commented on people asking him “if it was a promotion” to be made parish priest.   His answer was “not really, but more of a challenge.”   Of course, it is a promotion, but I think these words remind us of the challenge any priest faces in any parish (and especially a new one for him) in dealing with all that life, the parish, the community and the people throw at them.   He asked us all to remember him in their prayers as he settles into his new community.

Congratulations Fr Arbo on your new appointment and we all wish you all the best in the future.   You will clearly be missed in Tolworth!

Andrew Richardson