“People I Met on the Way” explores the life of Padre José Dillon who became a Divine Word Missionary and went to Brazil in 1973.  As a Liberation Theology missionary, he helped to empower communities in the remotest areas of the Amazon River to have access to better health and educational opportunities. In the favelas of Sao Paulo, he witnessed senseless murders and merciless crimes, and yet he set up health clinics in parishes, bringing herbal remedies and hope to the thousands of people who lived in these lawless communities who longed for a peaceful life.

His Passion Plays, that he scripted by candle-light on his riverboat in Santarém in the Amazon basin in the 1980s, are  re-enacted today on each Good Friday. Thousands of people from the river communities come to watch this play and José, now living and working in St Marcos in Sao Paulo,  receives  photos by What’s App of the event. 

Padre Jose visited Scotland and Ireland in 2023 and celebrated 50 years of his missionary work with his book launch.  He has sadly witnessed the destruction of the rainforest under the Bolsonaro presidency, but felt optimistic about the future as the new  era of President Lula dawned.  

“People I Met on the Way” was launched in May 2023 when Father Joe was visiting from Brazil. He held author talks at Gavin’s Mill in Milngavie and presented at St Andrew’s RC church in Bearsden

Click Gallery of Images below to view Father Joseph’s book launch