Fr. Sinnott Leaves for Ireland

MANILA, Dec. 3, 2009- The 79-year old Irish missionary who was recently held by unidentified armed men in southern Philippines for 31 days left at 1:05 AM today on board Etihad Flight EY 421 for a five-week vacation in Ireland by way of Abu Dhabi.

Interviewed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport past midnight today, Fr. Sinnott said "I feel find going back home and looking forward to the weather, it's windy, wet and cold."

He said he will visit Ireland after first visiting Pagadian City and will be back on the 15th of January and proceed to Pagadian. While he was scheduled to return to Pagadian late last month, he was advised by his attending physician to remain in Manila to recover from the one-month stay in the boondocks of Mindanao.

"I wish my friends in Pagadian will have peace and no more kidnapping," Fr. Sinnott said when asked of his Christmas wish for his closest friends in southern Philippines which he also considers home.

He said expects his relatives back home to ask him about his experience being a kidnap victim and hopes to share about his mission in Mindanao.

"I hope the Filipino people and the Catholic church in the Philippines will be able to obtain peace in Mindanao without any bloodshed we hope the elections will be successful and we'll have an honest president," Fr. Sinnott said when asked of his Christmas wish for the Filipino people.

Fr. Sinnott will celebrate his 80th birthday in Ireland during the second week of December.

Fr. Patrick O'Donoghue, regional director of the Missionary Society of St. Columban accompanied Fr. Sinnott during the trip. (Melo M. Acuna)