100 Years Of Perserverance
Columbans have helped a tiny, resilient Catholic community of Indians find their place in Fiji.
By Fr. Patrick McCaffrey

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The names of the first three Catholic families from India in Nabala and Nagigi are inscribed on this memorial.
It was 100 years ago when a married couple, Arokiam and Santhoniamma, arrived in Fiji from Tamil Nady in southern India. When they reached Fiji’s shores on April 29, 1906, they were just two of the approximately 60,000 indentured laborers brought from India to Fiji between the years 1879 and 1916 during British colonial rule to work in the recently established sugar cane plantations.

Arokaim and Santhoniamma were sent to work in a sugar cane plantation on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second-largest island, where they settled in the village of Nagigi.

Working and living conditions for these new arrivals were difficult. The Australian overseers were demanding taskmasters. The working hours were long and backbreaking in the hot Fiji weather. Wages were minimal. Food was scarce.

Arokiam and Santhoniamma felt isolated from their fellow workers. They spoke the Tamil language of southern India while most of the others were Hindi speakers from northern India. They were the only Catholics among the Hindu workforce.

Their isolation would slowly end. A year after their arrival, Arokiam and Santhoniamma were joined by another Catholic couple from Tamil Nadu, Abbu Bernard and his wife, Ratnamma. Five years later, they were joined by another Catholic couple, Rafaele and Wulliamu, who were Malayalam speakers from southern India.

Over the subsequent years, these three Catholic families and their descendants supported one another and preserved their Catholic faith. The nearest Catholic Church was 50 miles away, established by Marist missionaries just a few years before the families had arrived in Fiji. Occasionally, the priest from the church in Nabala visited these families, and the families would make the journey by boat from Nagigi to attend Mass in Nabala.

Abbu Bernard emerged as the leader of this small Catholic community in Nagigi. He gathered the families regularly for prayer and built a small church in Nagigi as a visible sign of their presence.

Later, Arokiam and Santhoniamma and their family and Rafaele and Wulliamu and their family moved to a nearby settlement in Naleba. Abbu Bernard visited them regularly and prayed with them. Gradually the descendants of these three Catholic couples intermarried, and the Catholic community grew.

Fiji’s Racial & Political Divide

Fiji's long-standing racial disputes between native Fijians and Indians date back to the early days of colonial British rule, which began in the 18th century.

The first British governor was Sir Arthur Gordon, whose policies influence Fiji even today. To promote economic development, Gordon instituted a plantation system in Fiji.

The government invited the Australian Colonial Sugar Refining Company to open operations in Fiji, which it did in 1882. The company operated in Fiji until 1973.

To provide cheap non-native labor for the plantations, the government looked to its crown colony of India. From 1879 to 1916, about 60,000 Indians were brought to Fiji as slaves.

The descendants of these laborers account for about 44 percent of Fiji's population. Native Fijians account for about 51 percent. Much of Fiji's troubled racial relations stems from disputes between these two ethnic groups.

A Saintly Man’s Dedication
In 1945, John Konrad Jacob was appointed as a catechist to this community, which had grown into 12 Catholic families. Despite the efforts of Abbu Bernard, however, the Catholic faith and practice had waned over the years. The Catholic community was in danger of being absorbed into the larger Hindu community.

John Jacob was a saintly, dedicated man. He immediately set about visiting and instructing the Catholic families in faith and practice. He was fluent in Hindi, Tamil and English. This meant he could mix easily with everyone in the community.

Above all, John Jacob was able to work with the Catholic priests in Nabala and arrange for more regular Masses and ministry from the priests there.

In 1952, Columban priests first arrived in Fiji, looking to establish a presence as Catholic missionaries. We soon took over pastoral responsibility for the parish of Nabala from the Marists. They continued to work with John Jacob and regularly visited the families there.

In 1965, the parish of Nabala was subdivided, and a new parish was established in Labasa, which is halfway between Naleba and Nabala. The Nagigi/Naleba Indian Catholic community became part of this new parish, which was named Holy Family Parish.

Columban Father Dick O’Sullivan, the founding father of Holy Family Parish, was a fluent Hindi and Fijian speaker, so he was a reassuring force who was able to make the Nagigi/Naleba community a part of the wider parish community.

In 1971, the Nagigi/Naleba community built its own church, Holy Cross Church in Naleba. The building and opening of the church proved to be a great community-building exercise for this fledgling Catholic community. They were joined for the opening of their “cathedral” by all the people of the Labasa parish. I was privileged to be part of that happy, memorable celebration.

Celebrating A Milestone
Since 1971, Columban priests, lay missionaries and Marist Missionary Sisters have lived and worked among the community in Naleba. Over these years some indigenous Fijian Catholics have settled in the Naleba area and are now part of that community.

On Sept. 23, 2006, the community of Holy Cross celebrated the arrival of the first Catholics, such as Arokiam and Santhoniamma. from India 100 years ago. Their arrival had grown into what became Holy Family Parish. The Naleba community invited all the people of Holy Family parish to join them for the celebration. They came in their hundreds.

It was a day of celebration and thanksgiving for the growth of the Naleba/Nagigi community and for the development of Holy Family Parish over the past 100 years. It was a time to look back in gratitude and look forward in hope that this Catholic community may continue to be enriched by the presence of Jesus.

Columban Father Patrick McCaffrey was ordained in 1967 and has been a missionary in Pakistan and Fiji. He returned to Fiji in 2006 after a 28-year absence.