Editor’s note: As the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday approaches Oct. 18, The Catholic Spirit and the Center for Mission, which supports the missionary efforts of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, are collaborating on a series of stories about priests and religious from other countries who are serving in the archdiocese. This series highlighting the fruits of world mission will conclude Oct. 8 with coverage of the Sept. 24 beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, who led the mission-supporting efforts of the U.S. Society of the Propagation of the Faith.
Father Joseph Kureh, originally from Myanmar and now the associate priest of St. Bernard in St. Paul, has a blessed role in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: He is a missionary to his own people as they make a new home in the United States.
Father Kureh, 59, grew up in Karenni State in Myanmar and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Loikaw in 1993. His home country has experienced much civil unrest in his lifetime, most recently a coup in 2021, which established the military junta that rules Myanmar today.
“The whole country is suffering, because the military tries to aggress the people, bombing the schools and churches and clinics,” Father Kureh said.
Large numbers of Karenni refugees have relocated to the United States in recent years, with a particularly large influx in 2009. Many settled in the North End neighborhood of St. Paul, where they were offered material and spiritual support at St. Bernard. In 2013, Father Mike Anderson, then-pastor of St. Bernard, wrote to the bishop of Loikaw and requested a Karenni priest to meet the needs of the refugee population; that priest turned out to be Father Kureh.
“My bishop told me, ‘Father Joseph, go to the U.S.! … Go see your people, and stay with your people, and pray with your people,’” Father Kureh recalled.
Like Moses upon hearing God’s voice in the burning bush, Father Kureh was initially anxious and unsure about this call to mission. “I said to my bishop, ‘You can send that priest, or that priest, or that one.’ … But he said, ‘Father Joseph, listen to me and obey me!’”
Father Kureh’s rather unique role as a missionary has embodied Jesus’ great commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Many Karenni refugees wish to be baptized upon arriving in the U.S., Father Kureh explained. “When they arrive here, they think, ‘Here in the United States, it is better to be a Catholic and go to church,’” he said. Catholics make up around 1% of the population of Myanmar. Buddhism is the country’s predominant religion.
“(Baptism) is the first priority,” Father Kureh said. He baptized 14 children in June.
While ministering to the refugees of his home country, Father Kureh has navigated his own challenges as an immigrant to the United States. “It was so hard for me at the beginning, but I said ‘God, according to your will, I will do what you want me to do,’” he said.
By walking with the Karenni refugees in the archdiocese, Father Kureh believes that he is also serving the suffering church in Myanmar, understanding them to be one in Christ despite geographic separation. This mission, he said, is only possible and fruitful when it remains rooted in Christ’s love: “I believe that (Christ) loves me so much, and that is why I can do his mission and serve his people.”
