Bula! Spreading the Good News in Fiji

Projects in Wairiki

Building a Parish in Nawi

 We began our work in Fiji, somewhat by accident, when I took a month off to rest and do some writing for my 25th anniversary of ordination. I ended up on the Island of Taveuni, in the northern section of the Fiji Islands. I stayed at a small but wonderful resort (with no electricity or air conditioning!!) called Makaira, and I met John and Roberta who owned and managed this beautiful place. A few days after my arrival, I went down to the Catholic Center in Wairiki and met the Pastor, Fr. John Crispin SM. (He is now in Suva and is the Secretary for the Bishops of Oceana.) I saw the wonderful classical Church building which was built approximately 150 years ago, Holy Cross, and the attached school with grades from kindergarten through high school, serving over 800 students. Fr. Crispin invited me to lunch and a tour of the Catholic Center, and within a week I was saying Mass, in English, and bare feet! (In Fiji, shoes are not worn in your house or God’s house.)  It was very evident from the tour that this facility needed many repairs and some TLC after standing through many storms, earthquakes and time. Fr. Crispin learned that I was the Director of the Propagation of the Faith for the Diocese of Charleston, and he spoke about their many physical needs and asked if we could provide some needed assistance. And so our work began in Fiji.

 To date we have provided assistance to complete a village church on the island of Vanua Levu, a nursery on the island of Rabi, assistance in Wairiki with building a kindergarten, teacher’s houses, print machine for the school and a new roof on Holy Cross and other renovations. The largest project was building a new station church for the village of Naselesele. It was around four years ago when visiting Taveuni that the village elders asked if I could help them build a new church as the present building was small, termite eaten and in poor condition. After checking on the status of the project with Fr. Crispin, I nervously said, yes, and soon the old church was torn down and construction began on the new church. Many pictures were sent and I was amazed at the villager’s hard work and building skills. Roberta Davis from Makaira was the indispensable manager for the project, managing the funds, ordering materials, and solving problems.  On August 25, 2014 the new Naselesele church was blessed and dedicated!!

Rev. Msgr. Edward D. Lofton, Director

2023-Update....Bula from Fiji!

Koroivuno Village, Vauna Levu, Fiji

Doing missionary work is vital to the very nature and function of the Church, so says the Vatican II document Ad Gentes.

The truth of this statement became very evident to Msgr. Lofton on his recent mission trip to the Fiji Islands.

The Office of the Propagation of the Faith was asked to assist the village of Koroivuno (Turtle Village) in renovating and expanding their old parish church building. Several years ago, when they learned that the Office of the Propagation of the Faith was building a new Church on the West end of the neighboring island of Taveuni, they donated some wood from their small forest to help with the project. That church project was completed and dedicated by Archbishop Peter Loy Ching, of the Diocese of Suva in February 2022.

 On his recent trip, Msgr. Lofton made arrangements to visit the Koroivuno village to thank them for their generosity and to assess the scope of their project. To his surprise he was greeted not only by the local parish Pastor but also by three seminarians, two of them studying for the Diocese of Suva and the third waiting to be ordained to the Deaconate with the Columban Order. Then he learned that the two Diocesan Seminarians were actually from a very small neighboring island of Rabi. In 2008 Msgr. Lofton had visited that island when he heard that a local Sister was building a kindergarten for the island children and she had run out of money to finish the project. The Office of the Propagation of the Faith provided funds to complete the kindergarten and the two seminarians had directly benefited from the work of that missionary sister. The local Pastor told Msgr. Lofton that eight vocations had comes from this area around Koroivuno village, including Rabi Island.

“Sometimes when you are working to build the Church in very remote area, you wonder if your missionary efforts will have a positive effect on the overall Church”, Msgr. Lofton said that “Surprisingly, they really do!”

The Koroivuno Church project will cost about $70,000 dollars. If you would like to help with this project or are interested in learning more, please call Helena Moniz at the Office of the Propagation of the Faith, 843 696 9095.

Update on Our Progress in Fiji

Bula from Fiji! The latest news from Fiji. Last year I asked for your help repairing the convent, hoping the Sisters of the Sacred Heart would return to Waikiki. The good news is, due to your prayers and financial support so much has been accomplished. Floors, walls, plumbing, wiring, ceilings, and roof were repaired or replaced as needed. New appliances were installed. The goal is to have them back by Christmas. We thank you for your prayers and donations.

We also asked for help feeding children in the Catholic boarding school. They continue, as my counterpart in Fiji, Roberta tells me, to eat just above the poverty level which is better than going hungry. Students who live in the dorms come from the smaller outer islands that do not have schools. The boarders live on campus all year with the exception of Easter, Summer and Christmas break. No weekend visits unless it is an emergency. Children who live on Waikiki attend the Catholic boarding school as day students. 90% of the schools are parochial and the vast majority of those are Catholic. The parents are simple farmers or fisherman.

There are limited government programs for health-care and no food subsidy programs in the villages. The local government has asked the Catholic Church to help with health-care and feeding the poor. Until recently, Roberta’s husband, John, a world-renowned fisherman, would supplement their meals with his catch of the day. Sadly, John died in his sleep a few weeks ago. To help feed the students for this school year we are in need of approximately $9,000. Education and faith will open so many doors for these children and change their world.

We are blessed to live in a country where there is an abundance of churches. In missionary territories churches are often far and few in between. Churches are usually found in larger cities not in the villages. There is a call for us to help change this situation. Typically, parishioners pack a lunch as they walk an hour each way to attend Sunday mass. We have supported the construction of 3 churches and refurbished 3 older ones. We encourage Fijians to center their lives on Christ, His church and His teachings by building and repairing churches, preschools and refurbishing other schools. It is because of you that we are successful in our missionary projects. The church is the heart of the community. Your faith and support allow us to be a great team doing God’s work.

The people of Turtle village have asked us to partner with them as they build their local church. Vesi wood is a protected species of tree that grows on the island. It cannot be sold publicly or exported; it can however be harvested for the good of the community, including building a church. It is termite resistant. We have seen churches built over 200 years ago in Fiji with no rot or bug infestation. Wisely this is the wood they have purchased to build the church in Turtle village. The villagers have raised enough money for the land, foundation, and ceiling.

I humbly ask for your prayers and financial support which will allow us to help feed the children for another school year and build the church with the people of Turtle village. Like you, the people of Fiji deserve to have eternal life with Christ.

The work we do is not limited to Fiji, we have served in Nepal, India, Africa & Ecuador. We have hosted missionary speakers from around the world asking them to share the life and the needs of the missions. With the help of the faithful in the Diocese of Charleston we have made a positive long-term impact in mission territories.

Again, I thank you for the support of our mission efforts.

Vinaka vaka levu.

Hurricane Update

Hurricane Winston Hits Fiji Islands……and the blessing is all our projects were spared!

On Saturday Feb 20^th, 2016, the Fiji Islands were hit with category 5 hurricane Winston with sustained winds of around 160 miles per hour and gust over 200 mph. Said to be the most severe storm to ever hit the Western Pacific, it caused total destruction to anything in its path as it moved through the chain of islands. Many smaller outer islands have still not been heard from and the Fijian Government is still doing damage assessments and emergency assistance.

The office of the Propagation of the Faith has been involved in building and repairing churches in the northern section of the islands for the past ten years. The main Catholic center on the island of Taveuni at Wairiki with its 150 year old church was renovated three years ago and it received a complete new roof along with external and internal repairs. A completely new church was also completed three years ago in the village of Naselesele located on the northern end of Taveuni.

This past summer, Msgr. Lofton was asked to assist a small village, Nawi, on the neighboring island of Vanua Levu, with the repairs of an older church. After visiting the village and check the condition of the church it was determined that, the building was not reparable and it needed to be demolished for safety reasons. Msgr. Lofton just returned from Fiji three weeks ago after ordering materials for a new church and negotiating with a builder to begin working on the foundations for the new church.

News of the terrible storm caused great concern to as Msgr. Lofton who was worried that all the work done on the islands was destroyed and the people of Fiji had lost their home and lives. All attempts of communication failed as phone lines and cell towers had been destroyed.  Columbian Father John McEvoy and Donal McGrath who were near the epicenter of Tropical Cyclone Winston wrote in one of the first emails to be sent after the storm, that in this Holy Year of Mercy, the storm …"had no mercy on us whatsoever. It wreaked havoc throughout this little island nation…" They go on in their email to list the magnitude of the destruction that had taken place in their area to Catholic Schools and Churches.

Msgr. Lofton heard from some friends in Taveuni that the destruction was wide spread but the 150 years Church in Wairiki had survived as well as the new church in the village of Naselesele. They had suffered some damages but were in sound condition. He has great concern about the small village of Nawi which boarders the ocean and faced 36 feet of water from storm surge.

If you would like to help the people of Fiji finish building their church, please consider making a tax deductible donation to Propagation of the Faith. Checks should be made out to "Propagation of the Faith"  and sent to:

 Propagation of the Faith

 St. Theresa the Little Flower

 11001 Dorchester Road

 Summerville, S.C. 29485

ATTN: Helena Moniz

Thank you in advance for your prayers and generosity!