The Congregation’s presence in Tonga was inspired by the invitation of Bishop Soane Patita Paine Mafi, DD. The first SS.CC. member to arrive was Fr. Chris Kaitapu, he himself a native of Tonga. Following him was Fr. Clyde Guerreiro, from Hawaii, and Fr. Francis Subal Nayak, from India. On December 4, Fr. Paul Zaccone, of Omaha, Nebraska will arrive. With him a lay missionary, Micah Hicks, will come to Tonga.
The Provincial of US, Johnathan Hurrell, wrote a few days ago:
I have just recently returned from our SS.CC. Tonga Mission. It seems they are doing well in the ministries: Clyde Guerreiro is now chaplain for the Catholic English-speaking community in the Diocese; Francis Subal Nayak is working for Caritas and is now the Pre-Novitiate director; Kris Kaitapu is parish priest for the St. Anthony of Padua Basilica.
We have two candidates in the pre-novitiate in Tonga: Semisi (James) and Soane (John), who are eighteen and nineteen years of age. The pre-novitiate will begin on October 1, 2013. The Tonga community members are formulating a plan using the Province Plan of Initial Formation as their guide. We are beginning the process of securing US visas for the Tongan pre-novices, so that, should they be accepted, they would make their novitiate in Hawaii.
Clyde has been appointed the Superior of the Tonga Mission, effective September 7, 2103. In this capacity, he will be finalizing negotiations for our house in Tonga. Clyde, Kris and Subal are looking forward to welcoming Paul Zaccone in the first week of December. Arriving with him will be Micah Hicks, a volunteer who comes to us through the “Living Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary” missionary experience opportunity, a part of the SSCC Youth and Young Adult Program. Both Paul and Micah will be teaching in the Tongan schools.
(Click on image to go to US Province web site)
09/29/2013