A Miracle for Kito: “Fr Finbar, I think I am now a slave!”
A Miracle for Kito: “Fr Finbar, I think I am now a slave!”
The following testimony was shared by Kito. It is anonymised and produced here with permission.
Kito attended his first PositiveFaith retreat at Douai in 2023, the same year he arrived in the UK to undertake a Masters Degree. For many reasons he wanted to stay in the UK after completing his degree later that year.
He would need to have a qualifying job offer from a Skilled Worker sponsor. Not an easy process. He was anxious and shared his worries with others. Fr Finbar Kealy OSB, a monk of Douai, who accompanied our retreatants in 2023, listened to Kito’s story and reassured him. “Fr Finbar tapped my shoulders” said Kito “and told me not to worry. I would get my stay in the country on a smooth ride.” Kito was awarded a Masters and in early 2024 he secured a suitable job offer in social care. Or so he thought.
“Yes, the work was promising… But my joy and personal time was severed. I was tormented by the employer’s rude and disrespectful approach to all the staff, including me, it was terrible. I wanted to quit. But to do so would mean the Home Office issuing me a 60 day notice to exit the country.”
When Kito arrived for our 2024 PositiveFaith retreat in July he felt very emotional.
“I arrived with a heavy heart as my workplace, whose five-year visa sponsorship I was on, was making me miserable. So, I came with the intention of speaking with Fr Finbar.”
Kito was sad to learn that Fr Finbar had died in June 2024. Still, Kito believes in the community of saints:
“I was moved in my spirit to go and ask Fr Finbar questions even in his death. So…Lazarus [took] me to his grave and there, as I made the sign of the cross, hot tears flowed out of my eyes. And what I voiced out was: ‘Fr Finbar, I think I am now a slave. Please is this the meaning of what you told me? Tell God that I need a new job and a comforting one. Please, I don’t want to lose my mind. Stress is killing me and men are torturing me.’ And with Lazarus, I left the graveside. My prayer was for God to grant hearing to the request of His servant Finbar, for my sake, not minding my sinfulness.”
After leaving the retreat Kito returned to his job. A friend asked him to send photos of his time at Douai Abbey and upon seeing Kito the friend was “disgusted” at how poorly Kito looked. “He told me it is time to quit the job.” The friend said he would speak to his manager. Having previously applied to the same company without success Kito was sceptical. To keep this account short: on August 5th Kito received a new job offer and on August 17th the Home Office approved the visa switch and granted Kito leave to remain for five years. After working his notice period, Kito left the employer in Luton, who had made him so miserable and relocated to a seaside town and began his new job as a carer on September 9th.
