By Gerald Korson
Voice correspondent

The roots of Christianity in India go back to St. Thomas the Apostle, who preached the Gospel there in the first century in response to Jesus’ instruction to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).

Father Augustine Joseph

It is that very episode in Scripture that has long animated the priestly ministry of Father Augustine Joseph, a native of India who took up duties as parochial administrator of St. Felicitas Parish in San Leandro on June 1.

“That’s the command to proclaim,” Father Joseph told The Catholic Voice in a recent telephone interview. “This passage has always moved me from the early days of my life.”

His call to the priesthood was not all that surprising because he comes from a Catholic family that has been the source of many priestly and religious vocations over the years.

“Our family has a very rich priestly culture dating back centuries,” said Father Joseph. The diaries of a relative who was a priest several generations ago provided an inspiring witness in his youth.

Father Joseph has served at parishes in the Diocese of Oakland for most of the last 11 years. He was incardinated into the diocese in May.

Born in Kerala in 1961 as the youngest of three children, Father Joseph entered the minor seminary at the age of 15 and was ordained a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1990. He spent most of his next 17 years teaching philosophy at the major seminary of Salesian College in Dimapur. He also lectured at other Indian seminaries and for one year served as principal of a mission elementary school.

He first came to the United States in 1997 to study for a doctoral degree in education at the University of San Francisco, during which time he resided and assisted at St. Patrick Parish in Rodeo. After completing his doctorate, Father Joseph returned to India to establish a college to train and credential teachers and to serve as its principal.

His pastoral experience in the Oakland Diocese left a positive impression on him, and likewise he won approval from the now retired Bishop John Cummins. “I came for studies, and I decided to stay back,” Father Joseph said. “The bishop invited me to stay.”

So after three years administering the teaching college he had founded in India, Father Joseph decided to return. He was parochial vicar for three years at St. Isidore Parish, Danville, and for another three years at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton. He was transferred to Good Shepherd Parish in Pittsburg earlier this year before arriving at his present assignment in San Leandro.

Father Joseph said he finds great fulfillment in parish work. “I enjoy serving people and bringing them a message of hope, the message of the Gospel,” he said. “I like going out to families, building up family life and prayer within families.”

He said he finds ministering in the United States “much easier” than in India because Catholics here are more knowledgeable about the faith. “Here we can learn from the people,” Father Joseph said. His favorite Catholic devotion is to Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A librarian during his seminary days, Father Joseph retains a love for reading, with a preference for Church history and “spiritual books that help us to meditate and pray, such as the Ignatian spiritual exercises,” he said. He likes to keep up with papal documents and important new books. A recent favorite was “Jesus of Nazareth,” by Pope Benedict XVI.

“I like novels, but lately I have not been able to read much,” Father Joseph said, although he does keep up with current newspapers and magazines. He enjoys “almost all sports” and has played basketball, soccer and volleyball. He enjoys swimming in the warmer months, he said.

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