How An Archbishop, A Priest and Colorado Catholics Built a 15-Year Friendship with a Parish in Tanzania
Father James Spahn, Archbishop Emeritus Samuel Aquila and Northern Colorado Catholics have helped build schools and support a mission community — while discovering how much their brothers and sisters in Tanzania have given them in return.
When St. Paul wrote that God makes all things work for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28), he probably wasn’t picturing that an affinity for African animals could lead to a 15-year-long, cross-continental friendship.
It began when Father James Spahn was a zoology major at Colorado State University, dreaming of visiting Africa to study its fauna. When God called him to become a priest, that dream seemed destined for the back burner. But then a priest mentor mentioned that he had a sister parish in Eritrea and the idea stuck.
“I always thought it’d be neat when I was a pastor to have a sister parish in Africa,” Father Spahn recalled.
Years later, a World Mission Sunday visit from a Tanzanian priest from the Diocese of Geita would open the door for Father Spahn to connect with a sister parish: Kristo Mfalme (Christ the King) Parish in Nyantakubwa, Tanzania.
Over the 15 years that followed, that sister parish relationship would follow Father Spahn to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Northglenn and St. John Paul II Parish in Thornton, where he currently serves as pastor. Over time, Archbishop Emeritus Samuel J. Aquila also became part of the friendship.
Together, Father Spahn, Archbishop Emeritus Aquila and parishioners have taken several trips to visit their sister parish across the globe. Through the faithful’s generosity and archdiocesan support, the relationship has supported a local orphanage and helped build three new schools — a girls’ high school, a feeder school and a boys’ high school — as well as a parish center and a retreat center.
Along the way, they also built something less tangible but just as lasting: a friendship with a mission diocese.
“I see divine providence. It wasn’t just coincidence,” Father Spahn explained. “God made it happen. God brought me to those people, and now we have a close relationship.”
Archbishop Emeritus Aquila is greeted by students upon arrival to Nyantakubwa, Tanzania. Archbishop Emeritus Aquila blesses a new multipurpose building for the boys' high school being built Father George Nkombolwa, pastor of Kristo Mfalme, introduces Archbishop Emeritus Aquila.
(Photos provided)
To the Ends of the Earth
Having made the journey several times, both Father Spahn and Archbishop Emeritus Aquila emphasized that the trip from Denver to Nyantakubwa is not an easy one. It’s a two-to-three-day trek involving a number of flights — one of which is 15 hours — as well as a ferry and a bumpy car ride.
But that trip to the ends of the earth has profoundly impacted the two priests each time they have visited.
“They were amazed that a bishop from the United States would come there, stay there among them for five or six days, be with them and celebrate Mass with them,” Archbishop Emeritus Aquila said. “They were amazed that we’d come all that way to show them real respect and dignity, reinforcing that they too are children of God and that the Lord loves them.”
“‘Why would you come from America to visit us?’ They literally say that!” Father Spahn added. “They are humbled and grateful, but they’re surprised that we did this.”
But once the shock wears off, real friendships form.
“The friendships that I’ve made — the pastor, the bishop, some of the priests are dear friends of mine,” Father Spahn noted. “Those are my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“It’s beautiful to see how much good has been done with the donations that have come from different families or the parishes that Father James has been at, and the generosity of the people,” Archbishop Emeritus Aquila said. “It’s great to see the community that is being built and that is continuing to grow.”
Father Spahn noted that the schools they have helped build now enroll more than 300 students and rank among the top schools in the country, with several alumnae going on to become doctors and engineers, giving back and building up their communities.
Archbishop Emeritus Aquila celebrates a Confirmation Mass in Nyantakubwa. Archbishop Emeritus Aquila receives a material donation from the congregation. Archbishop Emeritus Aquila confirms a young man in Nyantakubwa, Tanzania.
(Photos provided)
A Living, Universal Faith
More than the physical buildings being constructed, though, the Catholic community in Nyantakubwa is alive with faith, both priests emphasized. Even with limited formal catechesis and difficult access to the sacraments — some walk for two hours to get to Mass! — the people overflow with faith-filled joy.
“I’m always struck by the prayerfulness, the reverence of the people, seeing the intensity with which people pray the Mass,” Archbishop Emeritus Aquila said, recalling several liturgies in which he has participated in Tanzania, from Confirmation Masses, building blessings, an anniversary Mass for the local bishop and more celebrations.
That reverence is seen through a local tradition in which the Magnificat is sung to begin the Mass, Archbishop Emeritus Aquila noted. It can also be seen through their generous but meager donations of coins, crops, animals and more, recalling the widow’s mite in the Gospels (Luke 21:1-4).
Through it all, though, the beauty and universality of the Church is on full display, the archbishop emphasized.
“I’ve been on every continent except Antarctica, and it’s powerful to see the same faith in the Eucharist,” he said. “The Eucharist is what unites us. It is the same Mass. The prayers are similar — they’re in different languages, of course, the language of the people, but it really shows our unity in faith. It really is Jesus Christ who binds the universal Church together. It’s the one God that we are worshipping — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and all of us are brothers and sisters with one another.”
Brothers and Sisters in Christ
The 15-year relationship has become more than a stream of donations from afar. Rather, it has brought Catholic Social Teaching to life through a solidarity rooted in shared dignity, prayer and unity.
“What we are doing elevates human dignity,” Archbishop Emeritus Aquila noted, pointing to their work with a local orphanage and their outreach to children with special needs. “Our faith says that every human being, no matter who they are, is created in the image and likeness of God. So by going there, it is reaffirming that truth, showing that we are willing to sacrifice, put up with the heat and, at times, with no electricity or running water.”
Working alongside the community, the archbishop, Father Spahn and the others they have brought with them over the years have helped the parish to grow and advance.
“It really does help them to become more self-sufficient and to break the poverty cycle,” the archbishop explained.
For those unable to make the days-long trek to Tanzania, Father Spahn and Archbishop Emeritus Aquila encourage prayerful support and solidarity.
“I hope there would be a greater awareness of the universality of the Church, to see these as our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Father Spahn said. “Then, I hope that people would pray for them, because they face many challenges.”
In addition to prayer, Father Spahn and Archbishop Emeritus Aquila encouraged the faithful to support their brothers and sisters financially. The success of the 15-year friendship, Father Spahn emphasized, is thanks to the generosity of parishioners across Northern Colorado. No parish offertory money funds the trips, though parishes and the Archdiocese have supported building projects in the community.
At the end of the day, though, the long-running cross-continental friendship continues to highlight the unity of the faith, Father Spahn said.
“We're all God's people, and we all have the same desires. We all want to have love, family, friends, to get by, to survive, to be happy and to have joy. We all have the same longings, the same desires, and so it just shows the commonality of humanity,” he concluded.
