Farewell Mass at Ba Parish, Fiji. - Photo: Fr Peter O'Neill
With the closure of China to foreign missionaries in 1949, the Columbans accepted an invitation from Bishop Victor Foley in Fiji to send the first group of Columban priests to work in Fiji. The first two Columbans to arrive in Fiji in late 1951 were Fr Charlie O’Mahony from Geelong, Australia, and Fr Roderick Hoult from Wellington, New Zealand. In February 1952, they were joined by eleven Columban priests from Ireland. These men received the traditional Fijian welcome ceremony from Bishop Foley and a group of Catholic Fijian Chiefs, including Columban Fr Ioane Gukibau’s grandfather, Ratu Sikeli. Fr Ioane has been assigned to our Columban mission in Peru for many years.
After their arrival, the Columban priests were sent to Ba on the west coast of the South Island of Viti Levu to study Fijian and Hindi for one year. Three weeks later, the plan changed, and they were all dispersed to various parishes to continue their studies. Fr Dermot Hurley from Ireland became the first Columban parish priest of Ba Parish in 1953.
Seventy years later, on my recent visit to Fiji as the Regional Director of Oceania, I had the honour and privilege, together with the Columbans currently working in Fiji, to join the traditional Fijian ceremony prepared by the parishioners of Christ the King Parish, Ba. This time the ceremony was different.
On 25 February 2023, we were warmly welcomed by the newly installed parish priest, Fr Pio Matotolu, and the local community for the farewell celebration to the Columbans after seventy years of service in the parish. I was invited to unveil and bless a plaque to commemorate the Columban service to the community and preside at the thanksgiving eucharist. Columban Fr Felisiano Fatu from Tonga, Vice Director of Oceania, preached the homily.
The church was packed. Parishioners had travelled long distances, some as far as two hours away, from the ten villages in the mountains, the six villages on the coastlands and the six communities from the town of Ba. Local diocesan priests and many parishioners from the neighbouring parishes and Suva joined the festivities. The hymns, sung with gusto and beautiful harmony, almost lifted the roof.
Ba Parish farewell celebration. - Photo: Fr Peter O'Neill
Seventy years later, on my recent visit to Fiji as the Regional Director of Oceania, I had the honour and privilege, together with the Columbans currently working in Fiji, to join the traditional Fijian ceremony prepared by the parishioners of Christ the King Parish, Ba. This time the ceremony was different.
Following the Mass, everyone gathered under the makeshift shelter erected on the church grounds for the traditional Fijian ceremony, which entailed the offering of whales’ teeth (tabua), yagona plant and mats, as well as the offering of a cooked pig and root crops that were used for the sumptuous meal afterwards. At one stage during the ceremony, a group of elderly men sitting in a circle chanted songs in the local Fijian dialect while several young men interpreted the chants through movement.
A most sacred part of the ceremony was the seeking of forgiveness from each other. One of the parishioners offered a whale’s tooth seeking forgiveness from the Columbans for any wrongdoing or harm the parish may have done over the years.
Fr Pat Colgan, the last Columban parish priest, accepted the people’s tabua of forgiveness and, on behalf of the Columbans, offered a tabua to the parishioners seeking their forgiveness for any mistakes and hurts the Columbans may have caused the people of the parish. It was a most moving and inspiring ceremony of genuine peace and forgiveness.
After the formal ceremonies, the parishioners lined up to express their individual thanks and appreciation to each Columban. The outpouring of love and support for the many Columban priests and lay missionaries who served in the Ba parish was remarkable.
This year also marks the seventieth anniversary of Xavier College, Ba, which was founded by the Columbans in 1953 to provide education to secondary school boys. Later, girls were invited to study at the school, too. In 1987, the Columbans handed over the management of the college to the Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel from India. The college is now governed by a Board of Governors from the Ba Parish for the Archdiocese of Suva.
Over seventy years, many Columban priests, lay missionaries, and priest associates have journeyed with the people of Ba parish as they grew in faith and faced the joys and difficulties of life. Columbans have accompanied the people when their homes and villages were destroyed due to the more frequent cyclones caused by global warming.
Goodbyes are never easy. Even though the Columbans have physically departed from Ba Parish, we will be forever united with the people in heart and spirit. We thank God for the many blessings we have received along the way.
Fr Peter O'Neill
Regional Director of Oceania
directoroceania@columban.org.au
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