Fr Leo fights the good fight and finishes the race
By Catherine Sheehan
For Fr Leo Zenarosa, sport is the perfect way to evangelise in modern Australian society. Despite the busy schedule that comes with being Administrator of the Bridgewater-Brighton Parish, most mornings Fr Leo rises at 5am, spends time in prayer, and then goes out running for one or two hours before returning to parish duties.
He always prays while he is running especially to his favourites—Our Lady, St Paul, and St Therese of Lisieux. It is also a great way for him to connect with the local community.
“I believe that sport is my calling to inspire people,” he said.
“I meet a lot of people while I’m running. I literally run in Bridgewater so that they will know me.”
“I love them. They become my friends and I believe it’s because of the prayer that I offer as I do my exercise.”
With the blessing of the Archbishop, Fr Leo recently competed in the Ironman 70.3 Tasmania race which consisted of 1.9km of swimming, 90km of cycling and 21.1km of running around Hobart. This year’s event attracted more than 700 participants from around the world.
Not for the faint-hearted, the swim component saw competitors dive off the Brooke Street Pier into choppy waters not long after 5am, swim past Battery Point and then back to finish at Princes Wharf.
Once participants jump into the freezing water madness ensues, Fr Leo said, with much pushing, shoving and kicking, as people struggle in the rough waters.
“Everyone wants to finish,” he said. “They are scared. I’m scared too.”
“If I had no faith in God, I would have stopped in the middle of the sea. It’s good that I trained in the ocean, it’s good that I wear my Rosary.”
“The spirituality and the mentality is very important. It’s essential to finish the race.
“You’ve got to put in your mind that, ‘I can do this’.”
“I said one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be. And while I’m in the ocean I called on all the saints in heaven, ‘Let me finish it, Lord, let me finish it’.”
Usually that distance swimming would take him 57 minutes, Fr Leo said, but on this occasion he completed the swimming component in 49 minutes.
“I really smashed it as if the Lord was giving me extra strength.”
Fr Leo said he offers up the pain he endures in such events for those who are suffering.
“I offer it especially for those in my area here in Bridgewater, for the sick, the dying, the depressed and lonely, hopeless.”
Fr Leo finished the entire race in seven hours and said it was the thought of those he was praying for and their suffering that got him over the finish line.
“Ultimately, I felt I had to face those whom I promised, ‘If I finish this, you can also face your problems’.”
Through his training consisting of running, swimming and cycling in the Bridgewater area, Fr Leo said he has even managed to attract some people to attend his Masses.
“I met lots of friends, and some of them are attending my Mass at 12 noon, the young ones especially because they love competition, running.”
Fr Leo said he has loved sports since his childhood in the Philippines, where he was influenced by his father who was a boxer.
He is currently training to compete in the Airport Hobart Marathon.
Not surprisingly, Fr Leo has a particular love for St Paul’s well-known passage in his Second Letter to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
“St Paul is my favourite saint… You’ve got ups and downs in life but what is important is to finish.
“I’m very proud that I will die as a priest and I will die believing in Christ and bringing people to Christ in whatever way possible.”
