The hand of God can be seen in the vocation journeys of many Conventual Franciscans, but it stands out rather profoundly in the life of Fr. Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv., a young friar set to begin his fraternal apostolic year, in the fall, as a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore.
Unlike most of the young men he will encounter at Curley, Fr. Raad’s early years were ones of extreme hardship and persecution in war-torn Iraq.
Born in 1986, into a large Christian family which included five sisters and a brother, in Mosul, Iraq, Fr. Raad recalls a good family atmosphere based in faith and trust in God. That was the good part.
During the early part of Raad’s childhood, Iraq was embroiled in a violent war with neighboring Iran and he endured many years under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Personal tragedy also intervened when Raad’s father died when he was just eight years old.
By the time Raad turned 17, he and his family had endured the first Gulf War and the second one was just getting underway. Despite the daily battle to survive the hardship of such circumstances, he felt a calling he could not shake.
“Life can be tough on us sometimes and it shapes us in many ways,” said Raad recently. “I was a young man who had many dreams and one of them was to be a priest. I honestly did not pay attention to this dream, rather it was a thought (which) came to my mind once and I thought it will leave me alone. I was mistaken.”
Following the war, Raad recalls that the persecution of Christians within Iraq worsened, as Islamic terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda lashed out. These actions, instead of dissuading his faith and call to vocation, drew him closer to God and stronger in his resolve to become a priest. Despite the risks he became more involved in Church ministries in Iraq, but felt he needed even more.
“The persecution started to shape my vocation and made it clear that I should serve God through proclaiming his message of love and peace by doing his will,” said Raad. “Moreover, the call got stronger and even was more annoying. I could not resist the call to pursue my vocation in life to be a servant of God. I received many hints from God on a daily basis.”
The first major step on his vocation journey came in 2007 when Raad and his family were able to move to Syria. Later that same year, the family was granted visas to go to Canada, where his mother and siblings still reside. There, he learned to speak English and became familiar with Western culture. Time moved quickly and soon 10 years had passed as Raad continued to contemplate his future and his calling. There came a time, however, when he could no longer deny what was in his heart.
“The call to lay my life down for God was still a strong desire for me,” he stated. “Based on God’s calling and my openness to His call, I started to look for a religious community where I would feel at home.”
Searching for a little inspiration and perhaps some guidance, Raad did an internet search for St. Francis of Assisi.
“He is very famous and I heard about him back home in Iraq, and also in Syria. After I Googled his name, the website of the Our Lady of the Angels came up. I clicked on it and took a glimpse at what the order does and what the friars do. I was full of energy when I read and saw what the Conventual Franciscan order does for the Church and the poor. I decided to send an email to the vocation director and we went from there. I joined the order in 2017.”
Raad, who loves to play and watch soccer in addition to reading, watching movies, hiking and traveling, received a diploma in Tourism from the University of Mosul and graduated from the Catholic University of America with a B.A., this past May. During his apostolic year at Curley, he will be teaching theology and religion before embarking on four more years of theology study as he prepares for the priesthood.
His time at Curley will be important as it fits into the path he hopes to take for his ministry.
“I want to pursue work with the youth,” explained Raad. “They need our attention and care. Most of them are lost and struggling with life. We need to be part of their lives and show them that some people still care for them and want to see them be successful. Most young people are away from Church because they are afraid to be judged or rejected. I want to open the door to anyone because God made the church for everyone, not only for good, clean and smart people. I consider myself full and I’m here with God’s help doing his will in my life.”
As for his goals as a Conventual Franciscan Friar, Raad listed the following:
• Trust in a loving and omniscient God.
• Service to the underprivileged and disenfranchised.
• Validation of the unique value of each individual.
• Enjoyment of beauty, and reverence for all of creation.
• And sharing what it means to be a Franciscan …. It is a time to change people’s hearts not only by words but by deeds.
“So, my life was tough and shaped me in a way,” Raad summarized. “I will be forever grateful to God that it did happen this way.”
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