Fatima welcomes new parish priest
Father Desmond Noel Royappen has taken over as the parish priest at the Catholic Church of Our Lady Fatima.
A NEW chapter has been opened for the parish community at the Catholic Church of Our Lady Fatima as they recently welcomed Father Desmond Noel Royappen as their new priest.
Father Des, as he has become known in the community over the last few weeks, has transferred from St Joseph’s Church in Morningside.
“St Joseph’s is the oldest parish in Durban, and it was an honour to serve the community there,” he said.
In an interview with the Northglen News the passionate priest expressed his excitement at guiding the Durban North community. “When I arrived here I discovered a united parish with a great sense of compassion and a willingness to help fellow community members. I hope to build upon that and to create a church with great warmth that serves God,” he said.
According to Father Des he knew from an early age that he wanted to be a priest. “Priesthood is a vocation – it is a calling. I grew up in a wonderful Christian family with deep values and prayer, which reinforced the feeling that God was calling me to serve. It led me to discern a vocation to the priesthood,” he said.
Thirteen years ago his passion led Father Des to start the Life Teen Youth Ministry programme in South Africa. “The aim of the programme is to help teens grow in their faith and to lead teenagers to Christ,” he said.
In addition to the national programme, Father Des also created two popular Faith bands. The yellow bands read Credo Domine, which means “Lord I believe”, and the green bands read “Jesus, Mary and Joseph”.
“I noticed that a lot of young people wore the popular wrist bands, so I decided to create bands that would promote Christian values,” he explained.
Father Des Royappen has replaced Father Des Nair, who has been transferred to Westville.
Father Des has been transferred to the Our Lady Fatima parish after 15 years of service at St Joseph’s Church in Morningside.
