Columban Fr Iowane Naio celebrating his ordination with the parishioners. - Photos: St Columbans Mission Society
Another language, another culture, another mission.
Our newest Columban missionary priest, Fr Iowane Naio, has already lived many different lives. He speaks five languages and has lived in five different cultures. He will soon add to that number. But his roots are in the Namau Settlement, about 10 km from Ba town on the western side of Viti Levu, Fiji.
When he was in class 3, his Indo-Fijian farmer father was cutting cane and asked for Iowane to live with his family. Iowane didn’t know why his parents agreed and didn’t ask them. He found it hard to adjust at first, but the farmer and his wife were very loving to him. He enjoyed playing soccer and learning to read and write Hindi. He used to participate in a Fijian dance called Meke and in Hindi drama for the school concerts.
Iowane returned to his Fijian family after finishing class 8 because that was the deal, although no one had told him beforehand. The extended Indo-Fijian family brought him back and, using Fijian ritual, apologised for any hurt they had caused him and thanked his Fijian family for him. They, in turn, thanked the Indo-Fijian family for caring for him. Then they all had a party, and Iowane felt good about the way things were concluded.
Three years later, his Indian father died suddenly, and his widow asked for Iowane to live with them again and take her two young children daily to the bus stop. Iowane was upset to be separated again from his twin brother, but his Fijian mother persuaded him to go. He lived happily with the Indian family for the next four years until they emigrated. But in Form 6, he lost focus and failed the Fiji School Leaving Certificate Exam. It seemed there was nothing for him now but sugarcane farming.
One sugarcane farmer, Hari, promised dishonestly to give him some land if he and two of his brothers cut his cane for a few years, but in 2009 another farmer, Prakash, who was emigrating, made a written contract with Iowane to give him his farm after five years of cutting cane, and he kept his promise. It was the happiest moment of Iowane’s working life when he gave the farm to his family.
Oceania Regional Director, Fr Peter O'Neill, blesses Fr Iowane during his ordination. - Photos: St Columbans Mission Society
In 2010, while potato farming in the highlands, an Assembly of God pastor taught Iowane to match his lifestyle with the Word of God and wanted him to become a minister. He refused but began to think of becoming a priest. He prayed for this intention and told a Columban lay missionary about his desire. An IQ test and seminary English test revealed his intelligence.
So, after some preparation, he was accepted as a Columban seminarian.
He studied for three years at the Pacific Regional Seminary in Suva and was then sent to our Columban House of Studies in Manila to study theology. He felt challenged there at first but afterwards was grateful to have studied theology at Ateneo de Manila University. Columban formation there broadened his understanding of mission and stretched him to discover his potential. Pastoral work with the third generation of people living in a cemetery shocked him to the core.
Three years later, Iowane was sent to Peru for training. After studying Spanish in Bolivia, he went to a parish in Lima, where he struggled to adapt to the cold in the early months. But the Columban hospitality encouraged him greatly. He related well to the people and found they accepted him with his limited Spanish. He enjoyed playing soccer with the neighbourhood youths. The COVID-19 lockdown, however, made interactions difficult. Religious gatherings were replaced by Zoom prayer sessions. Iowane had responsibility for shopping for the presbytery household, and he continued to exercise as much as possible and learn from the people of the parish and his pastoral advisor. His quiet self-confidence drew respect and trust.
Iowane returned to Manila, finished his theology course, and was ordained a deacon before returning to Fiji. The newly minted Rev. Iowane worked as a deacon in Labasa parish on Vanua Levu from November 2023.
As a deacon, he preached regularly at Mass, celebrated weddings and funerals, brought communion to the sick, and participated in community prayer meetings and discussions. He emphasised ministry as a self-sacrificing service and asked a religious sister and a teacher to critique his homilies with him. He has shown patience in the face of anger and challenge from some people in a community far from the parish centre.
Iowane’s ordination on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, was a memorable occasion. About 500 people attended. Fifteen volunteers spent a rainy night preparing two big pigs, dozens of chickens and mountains of root crops for the earth oven in which they were cooked at our Formation House.
The generosity, self-sacrifice, and community of Pacific culture on display. “We are honored to be part of this great function,” they said.
The ordination was conducted in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Fijian, with elements of Fijian culture integrated. The reception afterwards was held at the Columban Center House in Suva. Fr Iowane was accorded a traditional welcome with a yaqona ceremony. The guests enjoyed the yaqona, food, and social mixing.
Fr Iowane will take up his mission assignment at the end of this year. Where? In Pakistan. The journey continues. Another language, another culture, another mission.
Columban Fr Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.
Listen to "Many strings to his bow"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - May 2024
