I was a scientist before I became a priest. I became hooked on astronomy as a boy. As I teenager, I was interested in the entire universe, then my horizons expanded. I received a B.S. in Physics from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, my hometown. If the world had been a better place, I never would have become a priest. I do a few things for a few people. God has to do the rest.

       Rather than go to graduate school, since I was already thinking of the seminary, I worked for two years as an electronics technician. Then I left my parents and younger sister to join Maryknoll, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America.

       I was sent to Taiwan, where I learned Mandarin. Returning to the USA, I was ordained a priest on June 8, 1985. I spent a total of six years in Taiwan, and 9 of the past 15 years in Hong Kong. I divide my time between St. Anne’s Church in Stanley, an international parish, and the HSSC. Remember the name Sloboda with an “l” as in “slow boat to China.”