Priest, ex-Sayyaf captive, leaving Phl

MANILA, Philippines - After spending most of his priestly life in Mindanao, Columban missionary Fr. Michael Sinnott, who was seized by the Abu Sayyaf in 2009, is now leaving the country to retire in his native land, Ireland.

The CBCPNews, official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), yesterday said the 80-year-old Sinnott is due to leave the country tomorrow. 

Last Tuesday, a send-off party for him was held at the Malate Church.

In the gathering, Sinnott admitted how difficult it was for him to decide whether to retire in the Philippines or in his native land. 

“It really was a very difficult decision to make. I realized that I’m going home and not going back but I still think I made the right decision that there is really nothing more I can do here in Manila, that there’s more I can do at home,” he said.

He added: “I will live a big part of my heart here in the Philippines and I will always remember the people that I met and helped me.” 

Sinnott’s 58 years as a missionary were mostly spent in Pagadian City where he witnessed people live a life in poverty, armed conflicts, and the daily struggles of too little food and too little hope for the future. 

When he arrived in Mindanao in the early 1950s, he was just a young priest just a few years out of the seminary. 

“After ordination, two of us were sent to Rome and we know that time that one of us would be going to Japan and one to the Philippines but we don’t know who… I was delighted when I got my appointment to the Philippines and I have never been sorry ever since,” Sinnott said. 

Working in one of the country’s poorest regions was hard, but he said it was all worth it. 

On Oct. 11, 2009, heavily armed men abducted Sinnott from his house in Pagadian City. He was forced to walk into the mountains despite having a serious heart condition and without any medication.

He was released in a coastal village in Zamboanga City on Nov. 11, 2009, after a month in captivity.

After his release, he was reassigned to the Columbans’ provincial headquarters in Manila and was never assigned again in Mindanao.

“For the long time that I have been here… it’s been a privilege for me to serve the people of the Philippines and I learned a lot more from them more than I gave, especially from the ordinary people for their goodness and their faith,” Sinnott said.

“I also would like to thank the Columbans for their support. We sometimes have arguments but I have to say that every time I was in trouble, they were always there to help me,” he added.