Comfort in darkest hour
WHEN Father Francis Ferriggi was assigned to Townsville’s Gulliver Parish, he was given a role that petrified him.
Fr Francis was to also look after Townsville General Hospital.
“For the first few weeks, I was scared to death,” he said.
“The hospital itself as a ministry looked so daunting.
“I had never been in charge of such a big hospital and knowing I was on call 24 hours a day, even though I’m not often called, was scary.”
His fear soon changed to awe when he met some of the amazing people who worked at the hospital.
Fr Francis said the men and women at the front desk deserved credit.
“They have to have a nice front sometimes in the face of abuse and pain and people breaking down because a loved one has died,” he said.
Fr Francis was born and raised in Malta and he first worked in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995 before a stint in North Queensland.
He then went to Great Britain where he hoped to stay, but found the cold weather was too much of a drain, and so he came back to North Queensland and has been 2016.
“It’s a good place,” Fr Francis said. “I like that the distances are so short and everything is so close.”
Fr Francis said water was the number one issue for his parishioners, followed by crime.
“The elderly don’t feel secure,” he said.
If he hadn’t become a priest, Fr Francis said he had a passion for research chemistry and writing. in Townsville since