I Have Not Taken My Journey Alone

Father Nick Harding, OMI, truly exemplifies the life of a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate. After years of discernment, and a decade of diocesan ministry, Fr. Nick was reminded of his early experiences with the Missionary Oblates and felt a call back to the missions. Since then he has answered the call and served as a missionary in Tijuana, Peru, Cuba and the United States. Throughout his life and mission work, Fr. Nick has proven what it means to be a specialist in difficult missions.

Of his missionary journey, Fr. Nick says:

I have not taken this journey alone. God has been by my side, a constant source of strength. My brother Oblates have been there, too, as a source of inspiration. Friends like you have been my co-missionaries, offering prayers and financial support so that I can work among the poorest of the poor. It has been a long and winding journey, and I pray that there are many more twists and turns to come.

Scroll to read more about Fr. Nick’s missionary journey.

Will you please consider a gift today to help Fr. Nick Harding, OMI, and 3,500 Missionary Oblates serving the poor and abandoned here in America and in 70 countries around the world? As a co-missionary, your financial support in any amount will truly be a blessing to our missions.

Here are the Fathers of Everybody

Beginning his OMI ministry in Tijuana, Fr. Nick Harding saw first-hand the need for spiritual formation and education as a means to break the cycle of violence and poverty that affect so many of the most abandoned people around the world. After traveling the world to find his true calling, he found the place where God most needed him was right across the border where God called him to minister to the “poorest and most beautiful people” in the world.

After eight years in Tijuana, Fr. Nick was sent to the Andes Mountains in Peru. He recalls “my new home became a region that has snow-capped mountains all year long, a major climate change from the desert-like conditions of Tijuana.” This mission included ministering to hundreds of thousands of parishioners—many being indigenous farmers—with no other priests to minister for as far as six hours away in some cases. The area in Peru included huts with no sewage or running water that nearly 100,000 people lived in and a prison which incarcerated 2,000 people whom the government only provided basic nutrition for. All in all, the Oblates are responsible for ministry at the prison and more than 100 food pantries to serve the local population.

Following his work in Peru, Fr. Harding worked for a few years back in America at Oblate shrines and parishes in Massachusetts and California prior to spending a year in Cuba, where the Church is legally restricted.

The faith in Cuba has been so weakened by Communism because two generations have grown up unchurched. Part of our ministry is to speak the true faith, but it has been a real eye-opener to see how few actually practice. There are few sacraments of First Communion, Confirmation or Marriage.

Things are slowly changing in the island nation. One day, as Fr. Nick went to a house with one of his colleagues, a 6-year-old boy eagerly went to tell his mother: “Here are the fathers of everybody.”

From Cuba, Fr. Nick returned to Texas where he was first a diocesan priest so many years ago. This time, however, he returned as a missionary. Fr. Harding helped resurrect a program called “Christ on the Streets” that serves the homeless population in Brownsville, Texas and within walking distance across the border in Mexico.

Along with feeding the hungry, Fr. Nick also takes on the heavy work of dealing with the “narco-violence” in the region. The drug cartels from south of the border create a huge challenge and much violence in the region. “I have had funerals here for several young men in their 20s because of it.” He recalls. “Just last week I talked with a woman from Venezuela who was kidnapped and held for three days before she managed to escape.” The kidnappings are a source of revenue for the cartels beyond drugs. Their members regularly nab migrants and refugees and demand ransom from friends or relatives to allow their safe passage.

“I continue to heed the advice given to me by other Oblate missionaries.” Says Fr. Nick. “Be natural, be yourself, be like a child, spend extra time with the people. I hope to help everyone I work with see that they, too, are called to be disciples and missionaries, and that includes you.”

Again, will you please consider a gift today to help Fr. Nick Harding, OMI and 3,500 Missionary Oblates serving the poor and abandoned here in America and in 70 countries around the world? As a co-missionary, your financial support in any amount will truly be a blessing to our missions.