Rempi Church rehabilitation

Rempi Church rehabilitation

 

By Patrick Matbob

St Boniface church Rempi.

IF you drive 35 kilometres north along the north coast road in Madang, you will pass St Boniface Catholic Church at Rempi.

The aging 80-year-old church building and the primary school are situated on the left on top of a hill overlooking the village by the seaside. Unknown to many people is the history of this mission and the contribution it has made towards the spread of the Catholic faith as far as the highlands of PNG.

Back in 1927, St Boniface was a small bush material church when a young American SVD priest was appointed there.  Fr William Ross who later became famous as a pioneer missionary to the highlands of PNG had his humble beginning at St Boniface. It was his first parish posting after arriving from US to join the largely German and European Divine Word Missionaries at the nearby Alexishafen Catholic mission headquarters.

Fr Ross welcomed the move to Rempi where for the first time he lived on his own away from the community life at Alexishafen.

Discarding his white tropical suit for khaki shorts and shirt, he even took to smoking brus the local tobacco so he could enjoy his conversations with the village men.

The Rempi people were once fierce cannibals who were feared by surrounding tribes but the establishment of the German colony had eliminated the practice and brought peace into the area.

One of the first things he did was to build a school and taught the children with the help of a catechist. In fact, he got on so well with the children that they taught him the Rempi language which was a difficult language for outsiders to master. Fr Ross remembered it as a tonal language with one word pronounced different ways could have different meanings. But he tried hard and soon spoke the language fluently, in fact more fluent than he would ever speak the Hagen language.

After some months at Rempi and with the increase in the number of baptized Catholics, Fr Ross decided to build a permanent church building to replace the bush church. He raised funds for the building in US and the church was built by Br Hyginus. Made of cement, arched wooden timbers and stained glass windows, the church with its mini dome and spire became the centre of faith for the local people.

In 1927 an Australian Government patrol officer Jock McKay was planning to carry out a patrol into the mountains behind Rempi and Fr Ross obtained permission to accompany him. In the mountains at Saruga, they were attacked by a tribe firing arrows at them. McKay retaliated by firing over their heads with his rifle and was able to make contact with them. Fr Ross saw that the people’s health was in a pitiful state and planned to return with a doctor, Br Gerhoch, who was an expert on tropical medicines.

Soon Fr Ross was making regular patrols into the mountains behind Rempi. The going was not easy climbing the Edelbert ranges which rises as high as 2000 metres above sea level. However, with the help of carriers from Rempi and the new found mountain friends, he was able to successfully carry out his mission work there. He built a permanent church in the mountains at Sigu and after four years of climbing up and down the mountains, baptized nearly 1000 new Catholics – an increase from 120 when he first arrived.

The trips into the mountains were actually preparing him for his biggest mission yet which was to trek into the highlands and establish a mission in Mount Hagen. The special relationship that Fr Ross had developed with the local people would also help him because he was able to recruit carriers, teachers and catechists for his Mount Hagen mission.

 In early 1930s the Leahy brothers made contact for the first time with tribes of about a million people living in the fertile valleys in the present day Western Highlands province. When the exciting news of the discovery of people reached Alexishafen, Bishop Wolf appointed Fr Ross in 1933 to go into the Highlands and set up a mission there. It was not until a year later on February 15 when the expedition was able to set out. The group left Alexishafen for Bogadjim on the Rai Coast by boat then trekked over the Finnisterre Ranges into the Ramu valley then up to Bundi and over the Bismarck ranges into the Wahgi valley and on to the present day Mount Hagen. Assisting him were his trusted followers whom he had lived amongst and baptized at the Rempi mission.

As Fr Ross and his followers moved on into the highlands and into the nation’s history, the mission he had established and left behind at Rempi continued to flourish. A number of church leaders, catechists and mission teachers began their education at the Rempi mission school and later became involved in mission work of propagating the faith in other parts of Madang.

In his book Readings in PNG Mission History, Fr Frank Mihalic lists two of the unsung catechist heroes and teachers from Rempi. They are Anselm Suasu and Willie Anut. Suasu was a papal medalist, who was born in 1907 at Kawe, Rempi and was trained as a Catechist. He was assigned to areas beyond Rempi where Fr Ross had worked and spent 48 years in church work before retiring to Alexishafen. Another famous Rempi catechist and church leader was Willie Anut who was born in 1925 and baptized by Fr Ross in 1928. He began his catechist work in 1941 when the war came to the country. He was drafted by the Japanese as a war carrier in the Sepik and after the war; the Australians wanted to court martial him for helping the enemy. However, he was able to win his case and return to Rempi where he continued his work. He was a teacher, a musician and a catechist for his people and was actively involved in church work up until his death in 1995.  

The church that Fr Ross had established was the centre of life for the Rempi people. However, more than 40 years later tragedy struck. Madang was hit by a large earthquake measuring more that 7.1 points on the Richter at about 3:55am on November 1, 1970 which damaged buildings, roads and the infrastructure throughout the province. St Boniface church which was only kilometers from the epicenter in the Bismarck Sea also suffered major damage. The whole concrete back wall of the church collapsed exposing the large crucifix hanging behind the altar. The church was restored but in the process lost its unique architecture of wooden arches, concrete dome and stained glass windows.

The population of the faithful has however, never stopped growing from the seeds that Fr Ross had sown. Today the small aging church is overflowing as ever with the faithful for Sunday mass and other religious activities. Concerned with the growing population, the local church leaders have decided to rehabilitate and expand the existing church. A committee has been formed to raise funds through various activities. Villagers have started by making donations in ‘Thanksgiving envelopes’ of which about 800 have been circulated.

Locals have also been contributing 50 coconuts from each individual to sell to raise funds. Other planned activities include a walkathon, a video show and sales of ice block.

Chairman of the Church Project Development fundraising, Adolph Mugau, said the committee has set the target to raise K30, 000. He said so far the villagers have been cooperating well with the fundraising.

A passbook account has been opened with BSP Madang and the account number is 1001379158 where donations can be deposited. Mugau said his committee hopes to raise the K30, 000 before seeking help from possible donors.

Rehabilitation of St Boniface church would not only help the Rempi community but would also help to restore and preserve the legacy of Fr Ross and the church workers from the Rempi mission who had a hand in shaping a part of PNG’s history.