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Fr. John McEvoy

Back in Time! Fr. John McEvoy MSC in 1975. 

The remaining year and a half of my first mission term was spent in Tamavua as an assistant to J.J. O' Loughlin while Gerry devoted his full-time energy to being Chancellor of the Archdiocese. The people of Tamavua at this time ('75 -'77) were also gathering funds to erect a church within the parish.
 
 

Up until now from 1968 the parish made do with a wooden hall (put up by Arthur Tierney) when Tamavua Parish was cut off from St Agnes, Samabula. There was a piece of land opposite the church hall and the then Columban house in Lakeba St. The Parish Council were determined to put up the new church on this piece of land.


On many occasions I challenged them at meetings regarding the wisdom of building on this site as it was in no way near the center of the parish. A piece of land came up for sale on the corner of Princes Rd. and Mead Rd.
Once again, I tried to persuade the parish to try and buy this big site and make it the parish center as it also backed onto Villa Maria which is also owned by the Archdiocese. At one of these meetings things became rather heated and the then Chairman of the Parish Council stood up and warned me that if I ever mentioned this topic again that he would report me to the bishop and have me removed from the parish. I guess I rested my case with that.
 
The site was eventually bought by Morris Hedstrom and developed into the present shopping complex with plenty of space and parking all around. The new St Joseph the Worker Church was eventually built on Lakeba St site and hemmed in by the then Columban house. Good luck, bad luck who knows? If the church was not built on that site, the Columbans might never have moved to Nasese!!

Back in time...Holy Communicants at Navala, Ba during the year Fr. John McEvoy was Parish Priest at Ba parish. Fr. John served there from 1990-1995.

Arriving in Fiji in 1972, Fr. John McEvoy was assigned to St Agnes Parish, Samabula till 1975. He had the opportunity of spending 5 months in Koro Island between 1977 – 1978 having further studies in Fijian language and getting to know the culture.

During the 1990's members of the Region discussed the need for a new Central House that would be suitable for retired members and that would have space for offices. Fr. John McEvoy was the Regional Director from 1994 to 2000. With the help of Fr. Eugene Ryan, the then Bursar General and a Property Committee, he bought a piece of Archdiocesan land in Nasese and decided on a plan suitable for the site. Fr. John blessed the first pouring of cement and when the house was built on schedule without any injuries or problems the Hindu contractor asked him to bless the next building job he was about to start. The new Regional Columban house was completed in the middle of 1997.

“It is only recently that I realised that I arrived here in Fiji only 20 years after that 1st group of 13. At the time of my arrival on 2nd Nov 1972, that group looked so mature and so organised – we really looked up to them.”

“My 1st appointment was to St Agnes Parish, St Joseph the Worker, Tamavua, Vanuakula, the Gold Mining Parish of Vatukoula, Ba, Raiwaqa – supplied in Kadavu for several years Christmas/Easter, Also in Sigatoka when John Doyle and Eddie McColgan was sick or home on holidays.”

In 2015, Fr. John was appointed back to Fiji and became Parish Priest of St Pius X Parish Raiwaqa. He was also elected Vice Director of Fiji. In 2018, Fr. John was elected Regional Director again for one year (last Regional Director of Fiji). As on the 23rd of Nov 2019, the Regions of ANZ and Fiji amalgamated and became the New Region of Oceania. He was elected the Columban Leader, Fiji – and Vice Director of Oceania - while still Parish Priest of Raiwaqa Parish. In August 2020, he became full time at the Country Leader’s Office at Central House, Nasese, and on weekends doing pastoral supplies in various parishes when needed.

Fr. John McEvoy has spent a total of 31 years in Fiji but basically, he has been associated with Fiji for 50 years. He is now retired at St Columban's, Navan, Ireland.