24/07/11 Strong, multicultural Church awaits Pope Francis in Papua New Guin

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Strong, multicultural Church awaits Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea

The life of Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea is a melting pot of cultures and traditions, says missionary priest

A missionary priest is seen with native tribal Catholics in Papua New Guinea. (Photo: Agencies/Vatican News)

By UCA News reporter

Published: July 16, 2024 12:21 PM GMT

Updated: July 16, 2024 12:41 PM GMT

When Pope Francis visits Papua New Guinea for the first time this September, he will find a Catholic Church in multicultural expressions.

“These are very ancient peoples with very ancient traditions," said Father Mario Abzalón Alvarado Tovar, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC).

Papua New Guinea, encompassing the eastern half of the New Guinea island in the southwestern Pacific, is where European missionaries introduced Christianity in the 19th century. The nation has some 10 million people, 95 percent Christians. 

"For them, the Pope's presence confirm‎s their journey as a Church, as the people of God,” said Alvarado, the Guatemala-born missionary.

The missionary priest spoke with Vatican News ahead of Francis’ Sept. 2-13 visit to Asia and Oceania. The pope is scheduled to travel through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore.

The MSC missionaries were mandated to the PNG mission in the 1870s during the time of the order’s founder and French Catholic priest, Jules Cheval‎ier.

Beginning of a new mission

According to Alvarado, the MSC missionaries established their mission on the island in 1881 and celebrated the first Mass on July 4, 1885.

Since then, they have become pioneers of Catholicism in the nation. The missionaries set up several missions on the southern coast among the Roro and Mekeo tribes.

"In fact, since 1881, we have been in Papua New Guinea, marking the beginning of the modern era of the Church there," Alvarado said.

"There had been minimal presences many centuries before, in very ancient times, but since 1881, we have been present continuously. In a sense, we are pioneers of the ecclesial growth in Papua New Guinea."

Catholics make up about 30 percent or 3.5 million in Papua New Guinea, and they are spread over 19 dioceses.

Francis will be the second pope to visit Papua New Guinea. Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1984 and 1995 when he beatified Peter To Rot, a married catechist who was killed for his faith in 1945.

'The Land of the Unexpected'

The priest said Papua New Guinea is a multicultural world, and the Church there is multicolored, multilingual, and multiethnic.

"There is a saying that describes Papua New Guinea, 'the land of the unexpected'."

The country beholds “a very ancient cultural tradition” but with “a way of life very different from the Western world,” he said.

"Pope Francis will find a Church with a strong practice of faith, but in the style of Papua New Guinea, of the islands of New Guinea, of the mainland, of the highlands, and of the coastal areas," he said.

"We need to change the SIM card in our heads when we arrive in Papua New Guinea."

A multicultural Church

Alvarado said the life of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea is a melting pot of cultures and traditions, mixed with many rituals and dances born from a rural world of jungle, rivers, fishing, and hunting.

"We missionaries have a province with more than 115 missionaries, all natives, and there are several congregations in the Church of Papua New Guinea. They are a straightforward people in that sense, but very multicultural, multilingual, multicolored,” he said.

“It is difficult to describe in words, but there is a rhythm of time where what we say in the missions becomes evident: the people have the time, and we have the clocks. For them, time is always present. That is the great people of New Guinea."

Church growth despite challenges 

During the early years of evangelization, missionaries faced various challenges, such as difficulties in understanding practices like cannibalism, health issues, the lack of infrastructure, and the cultural and religious world of the Papuans.

Practices of cannibalism “have now practically disappeared," he said.

But there were more challenges like health issues.

“It was a time of malaria and diseases because these were people with almost no contact with the West. The physical difficulty of having no roads and no infrastructure. The cultural world was also challenging; our missionaries initially did not fully understand their religious world and practices,” he said.

However, the Gospel was present, the seeds of the Kingdom were always there, and Jesus was there, but with practices that initially made it difficult to reconcile things, he added.

Current challenges 

Papua New Guinea has made significant socio-economic progress, and the Church is strong. Still, it faces notable challenges, just like other regions of the world, including climate change, mining that does not respect local communities and systemic poverty.

"There is systemic poverty in Papua New Guinea despite being a country with vast natural resources. Many international companies are exploiting the country. Climate change is felt strongly, as it is a country heavily dependent on its natural resources. Deforestation and large-scale monocultures affect the people,” Alvarado said.

Mining ‘without a human face’ is also a major issue and the Church is deeply affected and strives to stand with the most needy.

“Additionally, the tribal world is a challenge for foreigners and the Church alike — how to respect tribal or clan structures and evangelize from within while respecting and trying to heal the anti-values within all social and ecclesial structures,” he added.

Local vocations

Thanks to the pioneering works of the missionaries, native vocations have emerged among the Papuans.

Peter To Rot is the first native lay Papuan to achieve sainthood; many local faithful consider him a model.  

"Pope Francis will find native bishops and priests," he said. "Foreigners have done great work, but they are becoming fewer and fewer, and the challenges remain. I'm sure Pope Francis will feel them deeply because they are very evident in Papua New Guinea.” Alvarado said.

The country has formation houses with native religious vocations, religious, diocesan, and committed laypeople.

Establishing the Kingdom of God is not impossible. Still, it requires “taking off our shoes” on such sacred ground as Papua New Guinea and changing our own frameworks as missionaries, he insisted.

“We need to enter the culture and promote the Gospel from within. This is one of the Pope's most consistent propositions to missionaries."

Like the faithful in other countries the pope is scheduled to visit, Pope Francis's presence “is a confirmation of their journey as a Church, as the people of God in Papua New Guinea, specifically,” he added.

* This is an edited version of a feature by Renato Martinez published on Vatican News on July 11, 2024