What you notice first about Lena and Coleman’s new priest is his laugh. It’s a robust, carefree sound that comes easy and often in a conversation.
The Rev. Nonito Jesus Sirios Barra, 47, a missionary to the U.S. from the Philippines, believes he has much to delight in since arriving in the Green Bay Catholic Diocese on Aug. 26.
In speaking with the Times Herald last week, his laughter was heard from the first handshake to the hug goodbye 30 minutes later.
The jolly sound filled his small office in Lena, a room that looks as if he rarely sets foot inside. The liturgical books that litter the desk look as though they’ve never been opened, and the white walls are barren, save for a quilted wall hanging of the Last Supper tacked to a bulletin board and a “Home Sweet Home” poster of LeBron James in Cleveland, given to him by Deacon Peter Gard.
Sirios Barra is a fan of the Miami Heat, a team coached by Filipino-American Erick Spoelstra which lost its superstar James to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gard said he knew the new priest could take the ribbing, because his sense of humor is one thing the people of St. Anne’s appreciate.
Sirios Barra is serving as parish administrator of St. Anne’s Parish, which has sites in Lena and Coleman. Sitting behind his desk, he breaks into laughter when describing the December 2013 meeting that eventually led him to Lena.
“Could I go now?” he recalled saying at the time. Eight months later, he arrived in Green Bay.
He said he was excited about the opportunity to work in a new environment and in a new community.
“I like to see new places because it can be an opportunity for me to learn,” he said.
He was familiar with the U.S. because of his trips to visit friends and see his sister and her family in Illinois.
“The first time I came here to the states, in one month I visited 11 states. People were telling me, ‘You’re crazy to do 11 states.’ I spent a lot of my time traveling in a plane,” he said.
He said he’s faced a lot of “adjustments” since arriving in Wisconsin, refusing to label them as challenges.
“But I am giving myself time,” he said. Sirios Barra is three months into his assignment, and although he doesn’t know how long he will remain at St. Anne’s, his work visa allows him to stay 2½ years and is renewable for another 2½ years.
One aspect of American life has come easy for him.
“When it comes to food, there’s no problem,” he said. “I like eating.” Burgers are a favorite.
However, another aspect of Wisconsin leaves him yearning for his native land.
“The weather, of course,” he said, describing what makes him homesick. Average temperatures are in the 70s and 80s in the Philippines, with low temperatures dipping to 55°F.
However, this is not his first experience with cold, ice and snow. In 2009, he vacationed in Illinois during the winter.
“I enjoyed the winter for the first five days,” he said. “Then after that I said to my sister, ‘Buy me a ticket, I’m going to Texas.’ She got me one, and I went to Texas for the rest of the vacation.” Again, he laughs, remembering the moment.
“Maybe I will get used to this weather and accept the reality I will be here for the rest of the winter,” he said.
While living in the Philippines, he went running three times a week and played basketball, activities he hopes to continue indoors here. He’s been invited to go hunting and ice fishing and said he’d like to experience these Wisconsin traditions. He’s also been asking questions about football. The game of football he played in the seminary is what people in the U.S. refers to as “soccer.”
The size of his congregations, past and present, is also much different.
In his last parish assignment, he was pastor of a parish serving 18,000 Catholics. In comparison, St. Anne Parish is home to about 600 families. Sirios Barra said Catholicism is widespread in the Philippines — the population is 90 percent Catholic — yet here, too, he’s witnessed the strong faith of worshipers.
“When we asked them for help to share their blessings to give food for the food pantry, we got a very positive response. It shows they are really concerned with the poor and are practicing what they believe to serve other people in need,” he said.
He described the people of St. Anne’s as “sweet persons” who are friendly and supportive.
“They’ll always say ‘Hello,’ ‘Hi,’ ‘Good morning,’ ‘Good afternoon.’ They’ve got all these kinds of greetings, and you really feel that you are home,” he said.
Celebrating Mass is also comfortable for Sirios Barra.
“We have the same liturgy, in essence, although there are differences,” he said.
He regularly attends religious education classes and teaches faith lessons, but he also interacts with students outside the classroom by attending their football, volleyball and basketball games at Lena and Coleman schools.
“I like to be with people,” he said. “I like to be close to them, but I’m starting with the kids and the children because I look at them as the future of the church, so I have to get them to feel they’re welcome to the church, that this guy, this priest, cares for them.”
“His involvement in the parish is so important,” said Jim Goffard, a volunteer at the pantry which operates Tuesdays at the Lena site. Goffard compared his ministry to that of Pope Francis saying, “He’s out where his flock is, not in his office.”
Sirios Barra volunteers at the pantry, and one of his jobs is to wheel grocery carts of food for clients from the pantry to their vehicles. In Coleman, he shares lunch and a weekly game of cards with a group of retirees and said he enjoys both the food and the company.
Gard said welcoming the new priest has been easy for the parish, both because of his personality and the parish’s recent experience with Rev. Celestine Bykewaso, of Uganda, who ministered at St. Anne’s for seven years before moving to a parish in Marinette.
“The people around here are very accepting of having an international priest, and he’s done really well,” Gard said.
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