It is with regret that we inform you of the death at 7:00 AM on Friday, 8th March 2024, at Zilverheuvel (formerly Missiehuis Vrijland), Oosterbeek, The Netherlands, aged 84, of
Father Gerard Mooij
Mill Hill Missionary
May he rest in peace
Gerard was born on 26th November 1939 in Heerhugovaard, Haarlem to Piet Mooij, a gardener, and Ursula nee Oudman. He had 7 brothers and 3 sisters. Gerry, as fondly called by his MHM colleagues, did his early studies in Hoorn (1952-1956), followed by a year in Haelen (1956-1957) and two years in the minor seminary of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Tilburg (1957-1959). He proceeded to Roosendaal for a two-year course on Philosophy (1959 – 1961). In 1961, he went to St. Joseph’s College, Mill Hill to continue his missionary formation and to study Theology and related subjects. He took his Perpetual Oath on 1st May 1964 at the College Chapel in Mill Hill. He was ordained missionary priest by Cardinal Heenan on 10th July 1965 in Mill Hill.
Following his ordination, Gerry took up his appointment to Kisumu, Kenya where he spent the next 51 years as a missionary. He arrived in Kenya at a time when Second Vatican Council ushered a lot of changes in the church. One of the significant changes was the use of the local language in the celebration of the liturgy. The hymns and songs and the ways of worshipping were to be more in line with the rhythms and traditions of the local people. Drums and other traditional musical instruments were to be used. While he was an assistant pastor in Kibuye Parish, Gerry published a prayer book and hymn book in the local language with the help of a local priest. He also produced a tape with new songs which were composed by different local choirs. While in Lwak Parish, he worked together with Fr. Bernard Verheij, sending out commentaries on the Sunday readings to Luo-speaking parishes in Kisumu Diocese and what was then Kisii Diocese, to help leaders of Sunday Services without a priest (Ibada Bila Padre).
One of the wise policies of the Diocese and the Mill Hill Society was that a young priest was appointed to be an assistant to an older priest for a good number of years. In Gerry’s own words: “I learned a lot from my parish priests during the 12 years or so with them. It was a blessing. We were friends who worked and relaxed together in the evenings. From them I learned the different skills such as building and plumbing which helped me tremendously when I started a new parish, Madiany, in 1978. I could always ask them in later years for advice and practical help.”
Gerry spent 15 happy years in Sega Parish, mostly on his own, where he built numerous chapels with the communities in the vast area where roads were poor especially during the rainy season. He started a 40-kilometre walk in which anybody could join, with a healthy competition among the communities to get as many participants as possible. This became an annual parish event – which at one time more than 3,000 people participated. After 35 years of working in rural parishes, Gerry took up the challenge of urban ministry when he moved in 1999 to St. Joseph’s Parish, Milimani in the city of Kisumu. He found urban ministry quite challenging but appreciated the goodness of the people in the shanty areas of Kisumu. While there, he agreed to become editor of the Mill Hill publication in East Africa, ‘Friends of Mill Hill Magazine’. After 10 good years in Milimani, he decided to hand over the parish to the local church. He was the last Mill Hill member in that parish since its foundation more than 100 years earlier. During his final 5 years in Kenya, Gerry stayed at the Mill Hill House, Kisumu and continued the editorial works of the Friends of Mill Hill magazine. On 1st July 2016, Gerry made the hard and painful decision to leave Kenya and retired to the Mission House Vrijland, Oosterbeek, a decision which a few years later he affirmed as the right move.
While in Oosterbeek, he enjoyed relatively good health. In 2023, he was admitted to hospital and after a while returned to Zilverheuvel in Oosterbeek. On 8th March 2024, Gerry peacefully returned to the Lord whom he faithfully served for almost 60 years as missionary. On 13th March 2024, a Eucharistic celebration will be offered in thanksgiving for Gerry’s life, starting at 11 a.m. in St. Josefhuis, Johannahoeve 4, Oosterbeek, followed by a burial in our Mill Hill cemetery there. The service will be livestreamed on: https://vimeo.com/event/2882273.
