In Pace Christi

On Tuesday morning, the 15th of August, Feast of the Assumption of our Lady, we received the news of the tragic death of Fr. George Adiang Kur Nok. He was on a bus travelling back from Zimbabwe, where he had been preaching a retreat to the Sisters of the Precious Blood. Just outside Polokwane (Pietersburg), the bus had an accident. Fr. George himself had quite a number of accidents while in South Africa, but he always escaped with minor injuries. In this accident, however, Fr. George suffered severe head injuries from which he died soon afterwards.

Life in Sudan and his missionary vocation
Born in 1961 in Renk, diocese of Malakal in Sudan, Fr. George was the third of nine children, of whom only four survived. After finishing his matric examinations, he studied to become a teacher. His favourite teaching subject was Arabic. Fr. George did not just teach, but was also concerned about the faith of the Christian students and used to speak out clearly, fearlessly giving witness about his Catholic faith. During this period he came into contact with the Comboni Missionaries. Eventually he entered the postulancy in Khartoum and, in 1995, did his novitiate in Namugongo, Uganda. In 1997 he was sent to Elstree (UK) for his scholasticate. It had not been easy for him to learn English and to study theology in a new language. Yet, to his fellow students he gave the example of making a great effort to overcome the difficulties of learning a foreign language. He was ordained deacon in England and received his ordination to the priesthood in April 2001 in Malakal, Sudan.

Ministry in South Africa
Fr. George was appointed to the province of South Africa in 2001. He arrived there on 10 October, the day of the feast of our Founder St. Daniel Comboni. After visiting the various communities and meeting with the confreres, he was sent first to Glen Cowie to learn Northern Sotho and then to Burgersfort to start his missionary service. For three years he lived and worked in Burgersfort. In 2004 he was appointed as vocation promoter and moved to Pretoria.

He organised a good number of meetings with the young people and on Sundays he was always willing to supply in the various parishes, wherever there was a need. He was loved and respected by the youth and by the vocation promoters of the other Institutes. He had the gift of encouraging the young people not to be afraid to speak out openly about what was on their mind. He was not happy to have them repeat what others were saying, but wanted them to express their own thoughts and share them with others.

A man of deep faith
Fr. George, having a deep faith, was positive in his outlook on life and in his encounter with other people. He was generous in whatever had to be done in the mission of Burgersfort. He was always ready to reach out to all at anytime. He shared with confreres in a deep way about his experiences as a missionary and also about very personal matters without difficulty. Imitating Our Lord, Fr. George was gentle and humble of heart and a good shepherd to the people he served. His cheerfulness, warmth and goodness as well as his prayerful life were noticeable.

Even those who never lived with him in the same community can remember how, when he was presiding at the Eucharist in small groups, he often began to chant a refrain of his own, and how, gradually, it was possible for us to pick up the refrain and to sing along with him, creating a very prayerful atmosphere.

Fr. George lived in that spirit of freedom and joy that comes from knowing that we are God’s children and in close relationship with the Father. He was relaxed, never forcing an issue, saying what he had to say with simplicity and cheerfulness. Even when it was difficult to understand straight away what he was trying to say, as he used the words in his own way, his message got clearly through.

When there was something he didn’t agree with, he just said so, explaining why he thought otherwise. He did not bear any grudge in his heart. This made everyone open up to him, looking together for a common understanding.

Recent events
A few months ago, while visiting Mount Ayliff, his car was stolen and stripped. Another unpleasant incident happened earlier in the year, as he was driving through Pretoria. He saw a man at a traffic light, apparently selling roses. Fr. George, in his kindness, opened the window of his car to tell him that he did not need roses. The man immediately showed him that he was holding a gun concealed among the roses. He told Fr. George to open the rear door of the car. The man got inside and demanded from him his cellular phone and his money. Fr. George complied to his request. Then the man asked him what kind of work he was doing. At his reply: “I am a priest”, the man needed a further explanation, for he did not know who a priest was. Only when Fr. George pointed at the liturgical vestments lying on the back seat of the car, he was in fact on his way back from a funeral, did the man understand. Struck by having robed a minister of religion, he said: “What have I done? Will God forgive me for this?” In his simplicity Fr. George replied: “How would I know? I am not God.”

The funeral service
The funeral of Fr. George took place at Maria Trost, Lydenburg, on 26 August 2006, with Mgr. Paul Mandla Khumalo, bishop of Witbank, presiding.

In spite of the difficulties in getting a visa and in booking a flight to South Africa, the only surviving brother of Fr. George and the vice provincial of Khartoum, Fr. Paul Annis, arrived in the morning of 26 August in Johannesburg, just in time for the funeral, attended also by Fr. Bernhard Josef Riegel (vice-provincial of South Africa), many confreres, some Sisters of the Precious Blood from Zimbabwe, friends and faithful.

We are grateful to the family of Fr. George for having allowed their son to be buried in Maria Trost, next to grave of Fr. Günter Brosig who had been the spiritual director of Fr. George. The Sisters of the Precious Blood gave witness to Fr. George’s faith, as they quoted him saying during the retreat: “Are you really missionaries? Then you belong to the country and the people to whom you are sent, which means that it is in that country you should be buried.”

May Fr. George find the fullness of life and joy in the presence of the living God.
(Fr. Bernhard Josef Riegel, mccj)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 232 suppl. In Memoriam, ottobre 2006, pp. 117-121