PRAY HARD!

Father Richard Ho Lung, #Jamaican Roman Catholic priest, poet, and musician, born 87 years ago today on 17 Sep 1939, in Richmond, St Mary. Best known as the founder of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP), a religious order dedicated to serving the destitute. He was ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus in 1971. Before founding his order, he pursued a career in literature and music, teaching at the University of the West Indies while gaining acclaim as a poet and, notably, as the "reggae priest", fronting the music group Father Ho Lung and Friends, which toured internationally with a hit single and an acclaimed musical. While serving as associate pastor of St Thomas Aquinas Church in Papine, Jamaica, Ho Lung ventured into the depressed community of Mona Commons, where he shared in the struggles of the people and identified the absence of family life and community as a central problem facing the poor. In response, he founded the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston on July 19, 1981, a lay religious congregation of Brothers (and later Sisters) under the motto "Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross." The order grew rapidly, expanding to minister to thousands across eight countries with hundreds of brothers and volunteers. Ho Lung's life and work are chronicled in Joseph Pearce's authorised biography, Candles in the Dark (2013). He was invested as an Officer of the Order of Jamaica in recognition of his humanitarian contributions. #Jamaica #Caribbean