Gives up girlfriend to become a priest

“Don’t expect everyone to say thank God for you. In my 41 years of service I have been thrown out of many hospital rooms... Even to death they didn’t want to change. Never compromise it (priesthood), never apologise for it.” These were the words of advice Archbishop Edward Gilbert gave to newly ordained priest Fr David Khan, yesterday, at his Ordination to the Presbyterate at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Port-of-Spain. Archbishop Gilbert said it was important that the new priest be very perceptive of what was happening around him, and that he focuses on the community and accept the support of his brothers now, more than ever before.

He said that being a priest was not about administrating from a distance. “Your ministry must be visible to your people. Periodically, we need to be visible in the school. We need to make the priesthood tangible, accessible. God and his church should be tangible for everybody... And with the help of the IRO we will begin to advise the private sector and government that we are a religious people.” He said that maturity does not come from reading books, but progressively and gradually by following Christ. As Archbishop Gilbert spoke, Fr Khan listened closely as he sat among his parents and visiting relatives from Canada who came especially for the occasion. At the end of the hour and a half-long service, Fr Khan was robed by his mother, Joyce, who gave him a kiss on the right cheek and presented him to the congregation. When handed the microphone by Archbishop Gilbert, Fr Khan said: “What I will say for now is if you want to see me, my first mass is at San Fernando at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (today).” When Sunday Newsday spoke with his mother, Joyce, she said she felt proud to have a priest in the family. “This is a joyful occasion. This was his choice, not my decision. He made his own choice.”

In an earlier interview with the office of Communications, Archbishop House, Fr Khan said that he chose the vocation of priesthood over the girlfriend he had and a good job. He said he was thinking of marriage and settling down and owning a house and car. His girlfriend, however, acknowledged his calling and agreed to not stand in his way saying she could not compete with the Lord. Fr Khan said that his family supported his decision, although his mother “even to this day” kept questioning him as to whether he was sure he wanted to become a priest. She said his last words to her before his ordination were: “God bless!” Fr Khan grew up in La Romaine and is the last of ten children. Although his family is Roman Catholic, at secondary school he is intrigued by the Pentecostal faith. He said that Catholic classes  “were boring as hell, but it would always have me reflecting and thinking.”

When his sister joined the RCIA programme, he followed suit and later became baptised. After obtaining an advanced diploma in Computer Systems and Design he went into teaching, first at Tabaquite RC and later at Rosary Boys’ RC. He said that it was a voice saying “Come,” which he heard while walking along Harris Promenade, the same voice he heard at age 14, that influenced his decision to become more involved in the faith. In 1996, at age 23, he applied to and was accepted into the seminary. Recently, he graduated with a BA in Theology, Upper Second Class Honours, from the University of the West Indies.