Restoring God’s Kingdom in Modimong: Fr. Lawrence Otieno Dominic and the Quiet Work of Mission
As part of our ongoing series highlighting priests serving on the 'Frontlines of the Faith', Restore God’s Kingdom is honoured to introduce Fr. Lawrence Otieno Dominic — a missionary whose daily work unfolds far from headlines, but very close to the heart of the Church.
Fr. Lawrence is a member of the Mill Hill Missionaries, originally from Kenya. He now serves in Modimong Parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rustenburg, in South Africa. His parish consists of sixteen small churches scattered across remote villages, connected by rough roads that become nearly impassable during the rainy season.
Some of these chapels have only three parishioners. The largest has sixty-seven. It's vital to note that this not a declining parish, it's a missionary one.
A Parish Spread Across Distance
To understand some of the challenges of Fr. Lawrence’s ministry, one must first understand the geography in which he works. Modimong is not a compact parish where parishioners walk to a central church. It is a wide rural expanse, stretching across approximately 176 kilometres of uneven roads that, in dry or wet weather, are always challenging.
Each village has its own small chapel — simple structures, often modestly built, sometimes maintained by the elderly who form the backbone of the community. There is no substantial local income. Most families struggle to meet basic needs. It is often pensioners who contribute what little they can at Sunday Mass.
The offertory cannot sustain the parish’s operational needs. Yet the sacramental and pastoral needs remain constant.
Fr. Lawrence’s responsibility is not symbolic. He must physically reach these communities in order to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, anoint the sick, visit the elderly, encourage young people, and support families living in material hardship. If he cannot travel, they simply go without sacramental, pastoral, & humanitarian care.
Primary Evangelization in Real Time
In many parts of the world, Catholic life is inherited. In Modimong, it is being planted.
This is primary evangelization — the patient, personal work of nurturing small Christian communities where the Faith is still taking root. It requires consistency, presence, and perseverance.
Imagine driving hours to celebrate Mass for three faithful Catholics. Where the world would.give up, Christ sees fidelity - for these are our brothers and sisters in the Faith, the scattered sheep of His beloved flock.
Imagine arriving in a village where an elderly woman has been waiting weeks for the sacraments. Imagine young people asking quiet questions about faith in a place where Catholicism is still unfamiliar.
This is the daily ministry of Fr Lawrence.
The Church grows in such soil — slowly, often unseen.
Fr. Lawrence’s work involves regular travel between villages, catechesis for small groups, preparing couples for marriage, baptizing children, burying the dead, and strengthening communities that could easily disappear without sustained pastoral presence.
He does this not because it is convenient, but because it is necessary.
Where Practical Support Matters
Restore God’s Kingdom was founded precisely to support priests in situations like this — priests whose work is vital but whose resources are limited.
In Modimong, one of the most immediate and practical needs is assistance with the costs associated with pastoral travel. Reaching scattered communities requires maintaining a vehicle and covering fuel expenses. Without this, visits become less frequent, and already fragile communities weaken.
It is not that grace depends on logistics. But priests do.
And when a priest is enabled to travel, communities are strengthened. When communities are strengthened, the faith endures.
Fr. Lawrence has humbly requested support through Mass offerings - and in this way the Irish faithfuls spiritual needs are met and help to provide for the South African faithfuls pastoral, sacramental, and humanitarian needs. Each Mass offering you send carries deep spiritual significance. At the same time, the stipend attached provides concrete assistance that allows Fr Lawrence to continue visiting remote villages regularly.
In this way, the generosity of benefactors becomes part of the missionary chain — prayer and practical support working together.
The Human Reality
One can picture the rhythm of parish life in Modimong.
A small group gathers under a corrugated roof chapel. Hymns are sung without instruments. Children sit quietly beside grandparents. After Mass, conversations continue outside — news of illness, worries about work, requests for prayer.
In another village, Fr. Lawrence visits a sick parishioner in a modest home. There is no hospital nearby. The presence of a priest brings not only the sacrament but reassurance that the Church has not forgotten them.
Elsewhere, catechism is taught to a handful of children who may be the future of the parish.
All of this work is essential for the salvation of souls.
A Shared Responsibility
The Church has always depended on mutual support across distances. The early Christian communities sustained missionaries through prayer and material aid. That pattern continues today.
When benefactors offer a Mass intention through Restore God’s Kingdom, they are not making an abstract donation. They are helping ensure that a priest can continue to serve communities who would otherwise see him less frequently — or not at all.
For readers of Catholic Arena, the invitation is simple:
Please remember Fr. Lawrence in prayer.
Please consider offering a Mass for a loved one through RGK.
Please support the missionary work of priests serving in materially poor but spiritually hungry regions.
...and please share his story so that others may become aware of the realities facing the Church in rural mission territories.
By helping RGK help priests such as Fr Lawrence, you really can make a positive difference in the most challenging of circumstances. You can be a conduit for God's grace and love in a world that so often rejects both.
God bless and keep you!
The photos above are of Fr Lawrence ministering to the sick, crippled, & disabled (he's delivering a Bible in braille to one person, some cooking oil for a family of 10 children in another, giving ashes for Ash Wednesday, and distributing Holy Communion)
Dr. Michael Kinsella
Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.)
