In August 2002, Columbans here in Fiji were faced with a problem. At least one Mass in each of two of our parishes is celebrated in Hindi, the language spoken by Indo-Fijians, the Fijians descended from ancestors who came from India.

But we Columbans had one thing in our favor: Columban Father Palenapa Tavo acted as our parish priest while waiting for travel documents so he could work on mission in Pakistan. “Fr. Napa,” as we call him, had studied the Urdu language during his first mission assignment to Pakistan and had studied Hindi during his priestly formation in Fiji.

Hindi and Urdu have many similarities, so Father offered to celebrate the Hindi Masses out of the generosity of his heart.

Both the sacramentary and the lectionary are in Devanagari, the alphabet of the Hindi language, among others. So we had to transcribe the Devanagari into phonetic pronunciations in Roman script.

We had a head start, because Columban Father Diego Cabrera Rojas had done remarkable work transcribing the Order of the Mass from Devanagari to Roman script before leaving for his native Peru.

Our task, therefore, was reduced to transcribing the opening prayer, the prayer after Communion and the readings.

A Superb Performance
As Fr. Napa prepared to celebrate the Eucharist in Hindi for the first time, I prepared the Order of the Mass and the appropriate prayers and readers with help from our parishioners.

Master Gyan Want, Master Mul Deo Sahayam and Master Patrick Dass were always there if I encountered a difficult word. By Monday evening, my work was done.

The next day, Fr. Napa and I practiced the Order of the Mass and the readings, set both in Hindi and English for easy reference. Thanks to Fr. Napa’s training in Urdu and Hindi, it didn’t seem difficult at all—it was actually quite fun.

Other duties didn’t permit me to attend Fr. Napa’s first Hindi Mass, but parishioners told me later that his pronunciation was excellent and that his sermon—a mixture of Fijian, Urdu, Hindi and English—was outstanding as well.

Three months later, Fr. Isaiah Sela, a diocesan priest, came to Labasa, the area in Fiji where our parishes are located, to study Indian culture and Hindi. Master Dass volunteered to be his teacher.

Fr. Isaiah was a quick learner. He soon was easily reading the Order of the Mass written phonetically in Roman characters, and he was eager to celebrate the Eucharist in Hindi. Fr. Napa celebrated the one Hindi Mass in Labasa while Fr. Isaiah celebrated the other Hindi Mass in Naleba. It was a very exciting time!

Fr. Isaiah Sela celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in Fiji in the Hindi language.

We began our preparations for a Christmas Eve Mass to be sung in Hindi. Every night, Fr. Isaiah and I and others would gather at the home of Master Mul to practice. Fr. Isaiah is a musician in his heart, and he especially enjoyed the experience.

On Christmas Eve, members of the Holy Cross Catholic Community, nearly all of whom are Indo-Fijians, gathered for the Mass.

The celebration was beautiful: We had readings both in Fijian and Hindi, and Fr. Isaiah preached in Hindi and Fijian. The singing and liturgy were simply wonderful.

After Mass, parishioners feasted on Indian sweets, tea, chicken palau and tomato chutney. Over a tanoa (wood bowl) filled with yaqona, Fiji’s traditional drink, we sang Hindi hymns, our voices echoing across the sugar fields of Naleba and its neighboring villages.

Fr. Isaiah said good-bye to us during his farewell Mass in January. He thanked the community for accepting him so warmly into their families.

The community returned its thanks, sharing their gratefulness to Fr. Isaiah for his openness and courage as he entered into the beauty of their culture.

As I look back, I am amazed at how easy it seemed for both priests to celebrate the Eucharist in Hindi. Maybe they developed a fellowship over a good number of bowls of yaqona. But I believe it was more because we have shared the Eucharist together.

I am grateful to God for the generosity and openness of these men to make that courageous step of celebrating the Holy Eucharist in an unfamiliar language—all for the sake of the people God has invited them to share life and faith with, and all for the love of the Eucharist.