Mass celebrated on the boat by Frs Donal McIlraith (left) & Pat Visenti (right) on the way to Rotuma island. Photo: Fr Patrick Colgan SSC
There have been a steady number of Columban ordinations to priesthood over the past few years. They include Kurt Zion, a Filipino now on mission in Myanmar, in 2015; Gonzalo Borgez and Rafael Ramirez, Chileans now serving in Korea and Myanmar respectively, in 2016 and Ryu Sun-Jong and Seok Jin-Wook, Koreans, now in Taiwan, in 2017. Lastly, on November 31, 2017, Pat Visenti became the first Columban priest from the island of Rotuma.
Rotuma is an island nation nearly 600 kms north of Fiji. Though ethnically and linguistically different from Fiji, it has been politically joined to Fiji since colonial times. Pat Visanti was born and raised a Methodist, but when he was 12, his mother along with Pat, his brother and his sister, joined their father as Catholics. Pat finished his schooling in Suva and then joined the bank. After several years as a successful bank worker he decided to try his vocation and he joined the Columbans.
I happened to be the Rector of Columban Formation and also Vocations' Director at that time. Before he joined us I remember being impressed when he bounced up to do a reading in the Cathedral at a lunchtime Mass when no-one else could be found. When he then started intoning the Alleluia in a confident voice, I thought 'we need people like this in the Columbans'. Now we have him.
The ordaining Fijian Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, during his homily, was generous in his praise of the Society's cutting-edge work in the Pacific and globally in the areas of justice, ecology and interreligious dialogue. At the time of Pat's ordination, Fiji had just relinquished the chairmanship of the UN COP23 Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, and Archbishop Loy said it was the Columbans who most helped him develop the Catholic contribution to it.
After the ordination, we were treated to an extraordinary display of the customary feasting, dancing and singing by the large Rotuman community of Suva. The famous Rotuman communal dance which takes about an hour was included. This took place in the Hall of St Joseph’s High School, run by the Cluny Sisters. Their Provincial, Sr Allison MacAlaster, who had helped Pat arrive at this day, was very happily in attendance. We were joined too by all seven major Rotuman chiefs (the majority of whom are not Catholic) and the President of the Republic of Fiji, Major General (Retired) Joji Konrote, himself a Rotuman. He, individually, and on behalf of the nation and Government of Fiji, spoke highly of the contribution of the Columban missionaries in Fiji since their arrival in 1952.
The choir for both Pat's ordination and first Masses was the Archdiocesan Liturgical Music Ministry. This is a valiant group of volunteers who made their way every night for two months to a hall to learn and practise hymns - in English, Fijian, Rotuman, Hindi and Spanish - to a perfection that made both ceremonies joyful and often tearfully solemn.
Pat spent 18 months in Pakistan as part of his formation and he will return there as a priest missionary later this year. Archbishop Loy expressed his joy at small Rotuma sending a missionary to Pakistan in the person of Pat, just as the island of Rabi is 'on mission' in Taiwan in the person of Columban Fr Taaremon Matauea. Now that we have seminarians from the Kiribati and Solomons, there is every reason to hope that they too will soon be representing their island nations in Columban locations throughout Asia, South America and elsewhere. With the ordination of Peruvian Salustino Villalobos (already appointed to Taiwan) on the same day as Pat Visanti, the Society has indeed much to celebrate and anticipate in this our 100th year.
Months of planning went into these events but especially the 'pilgrimage' to Rotuma which followed. The Columbans had hired a commercial boat called the Brianna so that up to 140 people could accompany Fr Pat to his home island for his First Mass there.
We left Suva on Wednesday, November 29, 2017. The sea was amazingly calm both going and coming. This was a blessing as the engine broke down half way there and when repaired, the boat could only travel at four knots and this meant we spent an extra day on the high seas.
Rotuma is a dream island, small with white sandy beaches and the 2000 Rotumans live in beautiful villages along the sand road that encircles the island. They had prepared a feast of fish for us but had to eat it themselves as we did not arrive that day. When we arrived on Saturday they had trucks ready to take us to the parish of Our Lady of Victories in Sumi, the district of Pepje. There they accommodated the 60 of us who comprised the Columban party. The other guests were Rotuman relatives and friends of Pat's, some returning home after many years.
The First Mass in Rotuma was held on the First Sunday of Advent at the beautiful Church of St Michael. The music and liturgical dancing were superb. It was scheduled for Saturday but our late arrival meant a quick change of plan. It was also an ecumenical event. The Methodists had planned to join us on the Saturday but with the change in schedule, they moved their Sunday services to 7:00am enabling them to join us. Their palpable joy at Pat's ordination was very moving to us.
The Mass went well. Fr Pat showed no signs of nervousness but then he did not have to preach. He had given me that task! After Mass we gathered outside and the first cultural event was the bringing of gifts by the Methodist community, a mountain of food and mats. After this there was the traditional welcome to all of us who were on the Island for the first time. This is called the Mamasa. We all sat on specially prepared mats and were formally welcomed.
The traditional dance came next. The Catholic community had offered to drop this, as generally the Methodists don't dance on Sundays. However, the main Methodist chief made an exception and the dance went ahead.
Then followed the traditional Rotuman banquet, a true feast and something we will never forget. A young lady served each of us food on a large banana leaf. It included taro (the local root crop), chicken, beef, pork and a tin of corned beef that took me back to my childhood in Macroom in County Cork, Ireland.
The evening was well on when the feast finished so we sat around, chatting. And, of course, there was some Kava consumed. It was truly a day to remember!
Columban Fr Patrick Colgan has been a member of the General Council in Hong Kong since 2012.
LISTEN TO: A boat ride to his first Mass
(Duration: 8:24mins, MP3: 3:84MB)
Related links
- Read more from The Far East, April 2018
