Fr Michael Sinnott (82) was kidnapped by an extremist Muslim gang in October 2009. He was released after 31 days; the Department of Foreign Affairs stressed at the time that no ransom had been paid.
The Columban missionary, who is a native of Barntown, Co Wexford, is retiring, and leaving the country for good.
“It really was a very difficult decision to make,” he said. “I realised that I’m going home and not going back, but I still think I made the right decision, that there is really nothing more I can do here in Manila, that there’s more I can do at home.”
In a send-off party held at the Malate Church in Manila, Fr Sinnott admitted he had a hard time deciding whether to retire in the Philippines or in Ireland.
“I will leave a big part of my heart here in the Philippines and I will always remember the people that I met and helped me,” he said.
Fr Sinnott spent much of his 58 years as a missionary in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, 890km south of Manila, where he also ran a school for children with hearing disabilities.
Despite the hardships, he said he had no regrets.
“I was delighted when I got my appointment to the Philippines and I’ve never been sorry ever since,” he said.
“For the long time that I’ve been here, it’s been a privilege for me to serve the people of the Philippines and I learned a lot from them – more than I gave – especially from the ordinary people, for their goodness and their faith.”