Fr John Loboka speaking to Eye Radio in an exclusive interview on Monday, 20th March 2023. Photo Credit: Awan Moses/Eye Radio.

When Pope Francis arrived in the country for his historic ecumenical peace pilgrimage in February, he preached in Italiano on several occasions, and his excellent South Sudanese translator equally became the center of attention.

The pope, whose ancestors are from northern Italy, speaks fluent, albeit accented, Italian, the language in which the vast majority of his public appearances are held.

He openly admitted in the past that English is not his strength and said “My English is poor!”

So, when he arrived in South Sudan, a country whose official languages are English and Arabic, it was imminent that he had to have a translator and the translator was highly rated for the way in which he fluently and confidently interpreted the Pope’s message to thousands of South Sudanese.

The translator is Father John Loboka and he is fluent in English, Arabic, Italian, Swahili and French.

All the time, Loboka was seen sitting close to Pope Francis to interpret his preaching and conversations as well as communication channeled to the pontiff from English and Arabic into Italian or vise versa.

A few days after Francis departed to the Vatican, Father John Loboka received a letter of appreciation addressed to him by Pope Francis.

The 86-year-old Argentinian penned the letter thanking him for his excellent work.

In the letter, Francis said interpretation is certainly not an easy work and said he was greatful that father Loboka did it with courtesy and gentleness.

“I am truly happy about this recognition and I was quite surprised because as you might have seen the letter of the Pope, it was written exactly a few days after he left South Sudan,” he told Eye Radio during an interview on Monday.

“This was the work I was asked to do, but I am truly impressed that he is grateful and he could sit down and write a letter of personal appreciation for the work that we did during his [Pope] stay here,” he added.   

“He wrote the letter which reached me a little bit later but it took me by complete surprise I admire so much the sensibility of the Pope and that he did not take anything for granted.”

On the other hand, Father John Loboka said he feels privileged to have been at the service of the Holy Father.

He said despite living in Italy for more than five years, he never had the opportunity to become close to or make any translation to Pontiff.

“That was my first time to do that for the Pope it is a matter of fact.”

“I lived in Italy, I saw Popes John Paul II, I saw Pope Benedict at quite some distance and I never imagine that one time I will be asked to do this work for the Pope, so it was my first time.”

Ordained in October 1998, the 54-year-old South Sudanese clergy is fluent in English, Italian, Arabic, and Kiswahili and speaks French and his mother tongue.

“It is providence that has placed me in this context of languages just from my origin, my father, my mother from an early age, I was exposed to this multiplicity of languages.”

Loboka adds that “I feel very much honored to have been called to give this service to the Holy Father.”

“The Secretariat of State this time choose that when the Pope is here somebody from the local community [should translate] so I was asked to do that and so it is an honor for our country and for me as a person.”

Who is Father John Loboka

Father John Loboka is the firstborn of Morris Lu’bang Langwa, a famous agriculturalist and Mrs. Theresa Morris Lu’bang.

He hails from Yondoru of Lainya County in Central Equatoria State.

Born in May 1969, Loboka completed his primary education in 1983 at St. Joseph Primary School in Juba.

Before joining the Seminary, he served as an Altar boy at St. Theresa Cathedral in Juba.

He later joined and sat for Sudan School Certificate in Khartoum in 1989.

“I joined Seminary at an early age. I was 13 years when I joined the Seminary at the Apostles of Jesus in Rajaf it was a secondary school and from that time we were being trained to become Missionaries.” He said.

Father Loboka is now a Ph.D. holder in Arabic and Islamic Studies, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology, Diploma in Philosophy among others.

Between 2005 – 2008 he served as Lecturer for Islam and Muslim Culture at the Pontifical Beda College, Rome.

He was also a visiting Lecturer at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic studies in Rome between 2008 – 2014.

Additionally, Father Loboka was the Vice-Rector of A.J. Major Seminary in Nairobi – Kenya between 2002-2003.

Other positions that he held include Rector for Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum, Nairobi, and the acting Rector for St. Paul’s Major Seminary Philosophicum in Juba.

Father Loboka mainly taught the history of Islam, Islam, and Muslim Culture, Comparative Study of World Religions, Islam and Inter-religious Dialogue, Philosophy of Religions and Physics, Mathematics, Italian, and Latin among others.

According to him, he was inspired to become a priest to propagate the gospel and encourage South Sudanese to value humanity.

“I became a priest 25 years ago and my dream and desire were always to bring the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to our people in South Sudan.”

“So Christ has come to reveal to humanity what it really means to be human. Values of love, forgiveness, brotherhood these are essential values that we are South Sudanese we need to hear time and again.”