In this interview, Fr. Frans Baartmans reflects on nearly forty years spent in India, where he chose to live among low-caste communities in the slums. He speaks about learning their language, understanding their history, and sharing in both their struggles and their hopes for a better future. Living simply alongside them, he became part of their daily lives, supporting their efforts to rise out of poverty. Through education and community projects, he helped empower people to improve their circumstances and work towards a more decent and dignified life.
Fr. Frans, a Mill Hill Missionary from the Netherlands, shares how his journey took unexpected turns. After his ordination in 1961, he was first sent to Borneo, where he spent ten years serving local communities. He then returned to the Netherlands for a few years, speaking to different groups and institutions about his missionary experiences in Borneo. Later, he was appointed for mission work in Kenya with the tribal communities and began further studies to prepare, but in what he describes as a blessing in disguise, after completing his studies, another priest was sent in his place. Instead, inspired by the long history of Mill Hill missionaries in India and the opportunities that were so obvious, he went to Varanasi, finding himself right at the heart of Hinduism, where he found his new home and family.
