Meet Fr. John “Junior” Jwad

Father John as a seminarian at St. George Church.

By Michael Antoon

John “Junior” Jwad was born to a faithful and loving family on May 7, 1996. The youngest of three siblings, he was baptized and confirmed by the late Monsignor Suleiman Zia Denha. Junior attended St. Fabian Catholic School in Farmington Hills from kindergarten through eighth grade, taking his First Holy Communion there. He continued his education at Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, graduating in 2014.

After two years of college, Jwad entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit as a seminarian for the Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle, USA. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2019 from Sacred Heart, he went on a mission year to serve in Lebanon.

Returning from Lebanon, he transferred to the Chaldean Diocese of Mar Addai in Canada, enrolling at St. Phillip’s Seminary in Toronto. It was there, at St. Philip’s, that he graduated with his master’s degree in theology in 2023. He was ordained a subdeacon in October 2022 and a deacon in May 2023.

At the time of this interview, we await the ordination to the priesthood of Deacon John Jwad scheduled for November 1, 2023. He is to be ordained at Holy Family Chaldean Church in Windsor, Ontario, through the laying of the hands and invocation of the Holy Spirit by His Excellency Mar Robert Saeed Jarjis, Bishop of Mar Addai Chaldean Catholic Eparchy in Canada.

Faith Background

Junior was blessed with faithful parents, Issam and Thikra Jwad, who ensured that he and his siblings attended Mass every Sunday as a family. Father John remembers praying in the car daily on the way to school. His mother taught (and still teaches) First Communion classes at St. Thomas.

Being the youngest, Junior remembers tagging along with her weekly and sitting in on Sister Therese Shikwana’s lecture for parents while his mother taught her class. At such a young age, he could comprehend the content at the level of the adults Sister was teaching. Father John also fondly remembers Sister Therese telling him he was asking too many questions.

After receiving First Communion, Junior began altar serving at St. Thomas Chaldean Church in West Bloomfield with Father Frank Kallabat (now Bishop Francis) and the late Father Emmanuel Rayes. When Father Rayes got sick, he remembers His Excellency Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim coming to St. Thomas to celebrate the Chaldean Mass. Seeing these three holy priests encouraged Father John to live the same life of service and joy. Father John was a dedicated volunteer throughout his youth, teaching Catechism and First Communion and attending and subsequently leading the high school youth group at St. Thomas.

Around the age of 10, Father John took an interest in learning to read and write Chaldean. On his 12th birthday, he read the Epistle (Shleeha) for the first time at Chaldean Mass. From then on, he began to serve all the other liturgies and became heavily involved with the subdeacons of the church, joining them in Rumsha (evening) and morning prayers and serving alongside them in the Mass. He greatly credits Shamasha (Deacon) Khairy Foumia and Shamasha Najib Ayar for helping him learn the language. He also appreciates them for giving him their places for readings and parts, encouraging him to learn more.

Call to the Priesthood

Growing up, Fr. John admits he was not a good student and was more of a troublemaker. He says he was rebellious and pulled many pranks. He stayed very close to the church and his faith throughout his life. Fr. John says he thanks God for the many experiences he was given in these years of living an everyday teenage life. He believes these experiences helped him understand his vocation and, more importantly, choose his vocation freely.

Fr. John remembers his earliest childhood memory was that he did not just want to be but knew he would be a priest. Some power and force within him confirmed that God would call him to the priesthood one day. He also remembers that at a young age, though he didn’t know what this call meant, as he matured, his understanding of the priesthood grew as well. The priesthood was not just wearing a cape and doing sacraments. He eventually realized it was also a life of service and giving up oneself for the good of the other, the good of the Church, and the good of all people.

Regarding mentors, he says again that Bishop Ibrahim played a considerable role in his life and vocation. Fr. John says the bishop didn’t do anything to pressure him, it was simply the bishop’s joy and demeanor, the way he spoke, walked, and dealt with his people, that inspired him. As a little kid in the sacristy, an altar boy, Junior says the bishop was so humble and loving to him and all the young servers; how meaningful it was that he was bishop of the whole diocese and such a strong leader, but still, he opened himself to these children.

He also says that anyone who told the bishop they had a test, for example, would be checked back on to see how their test went. “Bishop Ibrahim took great interest in our lives, even though we were just little children, and he truly cared and was a father figure to many people,” says Fr. John.

Fr. John also acknowledges that many priests and deacons contributed to his formation, whether spiritually, pastorally, or liturgically. He says that in these past years, Bishop Jibrail Kassab taught him the meaning of discipleship after retiring and moving to Michigan; how a priest must be a faithful messenger of Jesus Christ. Especially seeing how Bishop Kassab visits and serves all people, without distinction, night or day, and has made himself available to all those in need, even after retiring.

He is a great example, like Fr. John Jwad, of a servant leader.

Community Involvements

Fr. John mentioned that if God had not called him to be a priest, he would have most likely followed his aspiration to become a lawyer. He explained that he greatly loved law and public speaking in high school. Even today, Fr. John says he enjoyed history, philosophy, and canon law in seminary. Possibilities included becoming a teacher, professor, or writer – which is why he loved writing for the Chaldean News.

After returning from the Holy Land on a pilgrimage in 2011, Junior Jwad decided to write an article on this first-of-its-kind pilgrimage for youth and submit it to the Chaldean News. He says they liked the article so much they asked him to continue writing. From then, every month for the next couple of years, you could find a religion-based article by Junior Jwad.

Later, in 2015, he was approached by John Zia Oram to begin a daily segment for the Chaldean radio program that he had sponsored. Then, a year later, he was asked by the Chaldean Voice Radio to give a weekly segment—a weekly lecture, which he is still doing to this day. Listen to 690 AM on Saturdays and you’ll be sure to hear Fr. (then Deacon) John provide insight on our faith, culture, and community topics. He reminds us of many traditions that our older generation remembers from their life in the village, such as traditions of the Chaldean Church, its teachings, and feasts, as well as current community events.

Serving in Lebanon

Throughout his spiritual year in Lebanon, Fr. John lived in a Maronite Seminary located next to the beautiful Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa. While residing at the Maronite seminary, he spent much of his time doing humanitarian work with a Muslim convert priest, Fr. Majdi Allawi.

He says Lebanon was a fantastic experience for him, being entirely away from home, in another country for the first time. This time was very freeing for him and is a time in his life that he constantly remembers and misses greatly. Fr. John says he learned many things about life and claims that one’s perspective on life changes when one sees actual suffering.

He encountered many Chaldeans waiting in Lebanon after escaping from the Islamic State. These Chaldeans had been waiting there for five to six years for a chance to emigrate for a better life. Even through their suffering and pain, he remembers them to have been extraordinarily joyful, happy, and welcoming. He saw their love for the priests and the Church and their great faith and hope in God’s providence in their time of despair.

Time in Canada

A vocation to the priesthood requires sacrifice and dedication. In the same way husbands must give their lives to their wives, and wives to their husbands, the priest, a true representative of Christ on Earth, must give his life to the Church. According to Fr. John, the most significant sacrifice in going to seminary is being away from your structured life, family, friends, and home. However, he says that seminary is helpful for a man to be able to detach himself from things of this world and to be able to dedicate himself to a life of prayer and self-giving. The life of a priest requires a man to be flexible, and it needs one to be able to change his life for the good of the Church and the good of his people.

Reflecting on his time at St. Philip’s Seminary in Toronto, Ontario, Fr. John feels that the formators and fathers of this seminary truly treated the seminarians as their children. They are guided with love and faith and are supported by these great fathers to succeed. He says that seeing this “fatherhood” in your life encourages you to give others this love.

Regarding the Chaldean Church of Canada, he notes it was terrific to be in a place different from your home. Although very similar as a church, you’re in a different environment with people you meet for the first time. Learning about these other groups of people, he came across many newcomers, those who had come in the last 5-15 years. Hearing of their culture and way of life, he learned more about different villages and learned the history of the people of the church of Canada.

Fr. John also says that the people of his diocese have a very traditional way of dealing with clergy, being so new to the country, and have a very humble and loving spirit towards their clergy.

“When you realize you made a difference in the lives of many in the community, even helping one person overcome an obstacle, you receive a joy that cannot be compared to any other joy,” explains Fr. John. “It cannot even be compared to the pleasures of this world; no wealth, power, or popularity can equal this. To realize that God, through you, made a difference in someone’s life brings you true joy. You were able to help, to teach, to serve, and even just to be present.”