By Joanna Puddister King
FOREST – When Father Adolfo Suarez-Pasillas learned that a change in immigration requirements would force him to leave the United States for a year, his first reaction was uncertainty.
“At the beginning I panicked a little bit, because that was not within my life’s plan,” he said.
Father Suarez-Pasillas, a priest of the Diocese of Jackson who is originally from Mexico, had expected that after five years in the United States he would be able to obtain permanent residency. Instead, changes in immigration requirements meant he would have to leave the country, with no guarantee, at least in his mind, that he would be able to return.
“My future was uncertain,” he recalled.
But as he has learned to do throughout his priesthood, Father Suarez-Pasillas tried to look for God’s will in the unexpected turn.
“I always try to see God’s will in every event in my life,” he said. “Once I accepted it, I was at peace with this situation.”
That unexpected year would ultimately take him to the Diocese of Saltillo in Mexico, a longtime mission partner of the Diocese of Jackson, where an immigration challenge became an opportunity for ministry – and for Father Suarez-Pasillas to experience firsthand a relationship Mississippi Catholics have supported for years.
At the time of his departure, Father Suarez-Pasillas was serving as pastor of St. Michael Parish in Forest, St. Anne Parish in Newton and St. Michael Parish in Paulding, as well as administrator of Centro Católico in Morton.
Leaving those communities was difficult.
“We were all sad and disappointed,” he said, but he reminded his parishioners that they must trust that what was happening was within God’s will for both them and him.
The communities had experienced periods of time without a pastor before Father Suarez-Pasillas arrived, he said, and knew how to keep parish life moving forward. Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz appointed Father Augustine Palimattam administrator pro tempore during Father Suarez-Pasillas’ absence, allowing him to leave knowing the communities would be cared for.
The longstanding relationship between the dioceses of Jackson and Saltillo also provided Father Suarez-Pasillas with a place to continue his priestly ministry during his year away. Because the two dioceses were already in regular communication through their mission partnership, Bishop Kopacz was able to work with Bishop Hilario González García of Saltillo to arrange for him to serve there.
Returning to his native Mexico did not mean returning to familiar ministry.
Father Suarez-Pasillas grew up in Mexico and completed part of his seminary formation there, but he had never served there as a priest. Saltillo was also different from the parts of Mexico he knew, and much of his ministry took him into rural communities.
He found himself learning to be more flexible – traveling to remote areas, entering people’s homes and adapting to the pastoral needs and customs of the communities he served.
That experience, he said, deepened his understanding of the priesthood.
“Traveling to those remote communities and coming into people’s houses, experiencing the way they live and their values, was for me like living the Gospel,” Father Suarez-Pasillas said.
He compared the experience to Christ going from place to place, preaching, healing and encountering people where they were.
The faith of the people also left an impression on him.
“Overall, it was a great experience,” he said. “I am always edified by people’s faith and deep respect for the priest.”
One priest in particular provided an example Father Suarez-Pasillas said will remain with him.
Father David Martinez, the pastor with whom he served, continues an active ministry despite serious health problems following COVID-19. Father Suarez-Pasillas described him as a hardworking priest deeply dedicated to the communities entrusted to him.
“Basically, he is giving his life to the ministry,” Father Suarez-Pasillas said.
Despite health challenges and difficulty sleeping at night, Father Martinez continued serving his communities without complaint, he said.
His pastor’s example, along with the faith of the people Father Suarez-Pasillas encountered, helped turn what began as an unwanted interruption into a formative chapter of his priesthood.
Throughout the year, his connection to Mississippi remained strong.
Parishioners sent messages and gifts, and the continued support of the Diocese of Jackson allowed him not only to continue his ministry in Mexico but also to assist his family.
“I am grateful to them because due to their support, I was able to continue my ministry in my homeland,” he said.
He also knew that his bishop and diocese wanted him home.
“I felt that Bishop and the Diocese really wanted me to be back, which I really appreciate,” Father Suarez-Pasillas said.
A year after leaving, he was able to return to the Diocese of Jackson – and to the same communities he had reluctantly left behind. He resumed his ministry as pastor of the parishes in Forest, Newton and Paulding and as administrator of Centro Católico in Morton.
His year in Saltillo also gave Father Suarez-Pasillas a new perspective on the importance of the mission partnership between the two dioceses.
Many mission communities, he said, do not have the financial resources necessary to bring priests to their communities or maintain their chapels. Support from Catholics in the Diocese of Jackson helps make that ministry possible.
For Father Suarez-Pasillas, supporting the mission is also part of the call to discipleship.
“This is important because that is the Lord’s command: to bring the light of the Gospel to the ends of the earth,” he said.
Mission, he emphasized, involves both those who go and those who make it possible for them to go.
“To make a mission possible, we do not only need those who are going, but we also need those who support it,” he said. “Both are important, and both make sacrifices.”
Father Suarez-Pasillas said those who support the mission also receive something in return. He recalled a lesson he learned while volunteering at St. Dominic Hospital: People sometimes believe they are the ones doing the helping, when those they serve are actually providing them with an opportunity to encounter and serve Christ.
“We often forget that when we are ministering to our brothers and sisters, we are ministering to Him,” he said.
Now back in Mississippi, Father Suarez-Pasillas hopes more Catholics – including his brother priests – will have an opportunity to experience the Saltillo mission firsthand.
“We hear about it, but if we are able to experience it firsthand, then it will become something real and not just something we hear over and over again,” he said.
He points to Christ’s invitation: “Come and see.”
“See how the Lord is living in a different place than yours,” Father Suarez-Pasillas said.
Looking back, he sees his unexpected year away as another lesson in something he began learning during his seminary years: God sometimes places people where they would not choose to go, but where they may need to be.
“At the beginning we try to resist, we complain,” he said. “But once we accept it and try to live it, we will enjoy it.”
What began with uncertainty ultimately brought Father Suarez-Pasillas back to Mississippi with a deeper understanding of his priesthood – and of a mission partnership that, for one unexpected year, became his home.
For photos from Saltillo visit: https://jacksondiocese.zenfoliosite.com/galleries/parishes/saltillo-mexico?ct=3
