It was in Chicago that I also met Fr. Charlie Duster for the first time. From Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Fr. Charlie had spent more than twenty years on mission in Fiji before coming to live in the Windy City in 2005. Since his last assignment in Fiji had been in Holy Family Parish (where Fr. Carlo is now the pastor), his conversations remained peppered with stories about its people.
Later, Fr. Charlie and I lived in the same Columban community outside Omaha, Nebraska. After his death there in 2017, another colleague who oversaw the disposal of his personal belongings gave me his travel bag, saying “You will be able to put this to good use!” Since Fr. Charlie loved to travel and made new friends quickly wherever he went, I continue to remember him fondly when I take that same travel bag on my visits to various Columban missions. When I told the history of my travel bag to the people of Holy Family Parish, they recalled many stories about Fr. Charlie, and we sensed that he was united in love and laughter with us within the communion of the saints.
Parishioners or Holy Family Parish, Labasa with Fr. Tim Mulroy holding Fr. Charlie Duster’s travel bag
Members of Holy Family Parish, Labasa with their pastor Fr. Carlo Jung Euikyun (L) and Fr. Tim Mulroy (R)
