Catechists are the cornerstone of the Catholic Church in Fiji. Jakobo epitomizes the generous voluntary service that catechists give to their people and to their Church. He leads the Liturgy of the Word and preaches when there is no Mass in his large village of 800 Catholics. He conducts funerals. He instructs couples for marriage, parents for the baptism of their children, and young people for confirmation.
Some years ago Jakobo, then in his forties, accompanied me to a Catholic village some distance from his own. The villagers gave us a great welcome. Over the long weekend, we prayed, did some planting in their gardens, washed in the river, drank yaqona, shared stories and feasted with them.
As is common in these situations, some people slept on the soft matted floor of the house where we were being entertained. On the third morning, Jakobo woke up to find that a young girl, Melania, not yet twenty was lying beside him. After exchanging greetings she said to him, “Are you ever going to get married”?
“I might if I found the right girl,” he replied.
“Well, some of us are ready,” she said meaningfully.
“But I am too old for you,” exclaimed Jakobo, surprised. “I’m not interested in young men,” said Melania, “They don’t know how to treat a woman properly.”
Jakobo thought about it and later arranged for some of his relatives to approach Melania’s father. Marriage was agreed. I asked Jakobo about a wedding present. He needed a saddle for the horse for visiting villages. I duly got him the saddle and left Fiji sometime later.
A few years later I returned on a visit and found Jakobo and Melania very happy. They had a baby girl after ten years of marriage. I asked Jakobo if he still had the saddle I gave him. He said that he had the saddle but added sadly that someone stole the horse some years ago. Jokingly I said that, for his next marriage, I would get him a new horse. “No,” he said. “Things are fine as they are.”
Columban Fr. Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.