Candidates from the Tanzanian Province arrive in Chicago

Please help us welcome C.PP.S. candidates in formation Nestory Damian and Joely Kasmiry, who arrived from Tanzania in December to the formation house in Chicago to study at Catholic Theological Union.  

Joely is 28 years old and was born in the Kaliua District in Tanzania, the youngest of four children. He lost both parents at a young age — his mother to tuberculosis when he was 6 years old, and his father when he was 12. His eldest sister and his aunt stepped in to fill the void left by his mother’s passing, and his sister was instrumental in supporting his education and vocation.  

He joined the congregation in 2019 and began his first year of formation before earning his degree at St. Augustine University of Tanzania, Jordan University College. He completed his second year of formation at Kinda-Morogoro, in St. Francis Xavier Formation House in 2024.  

Nestory is 29 years old and was born the third of six children in the Tarime District in Tanzania, where his parents still live. He joined the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 2019 and completed his first year of formation before attending Jordan University College, from which he graduated in 2023. After a second year of formation, he began his Theology studies at Jordan University College prior to his selection to study at CTU. His hobbies are playing volleyball, singing, and playing the organ.  

What’s your favorite class at CTU so far?  

Nestory: Pastoral Ministry in Ordinary Time 

Joely: Reconciliation (based on the theology of Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S., and taught by Kevin Considine) 

What’s the best thing about living in the formation house? 

Nestory: Every time I am in the formation house, I experience the taste of community life. 

Joely: Community life is the way in which people feel belonging. 

Nestory and Joely prepared a Tanzanian meal for their housemates, which was well received. Nestory says, “I tried to cook the way I cook it in our home places because I wanted to bring the taste to the community and share with them another experience of how we cook our vegetables.” 

What have you enjoyed about the United States?  

Nestory: Meeting with other people from different cultures. Especially the international cultural diversity because in our class, we have people from other cultures, from Vietnam and China and others. Sometimes we share about the experience of their cultures and the general experience of their lives, and I’m now familiar with other cultures. 

Joely: One thing I am very interested in and I like is that people are open, and I like the open dialogue. For me, it's good when someone tells you the truth. He tells you how you feel. 
He's not hiding something. 

What do you miss most about home? 

Nestory: Family matters a lot, and I communicate with them using phones and just seeing them afar sometimes. And we had a large community life of 72 people at the seminary. But I know that I’m preparing myself to be a missionary, and I’m supposed to have new experiences in a new environment. But what I remember most is family. 

Joely: I remember my sister and other relatives because normally, when I got the chance to go for holiday or vacation, I used to go there and visit them. That is one thing I miss, the chance to visit them. But I feel okay about it, because my sister keeps me updated.