Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania conclude Executive Meeting with a thanksgiving Eucharistic Celebration.

Gordons, Port Moresby: The staff of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands farewelled the Executive Members of the Federation of the Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania in a solemn Eucharistic celebration on the evening of Wednesday May 14, 2025, an occasion which coincided with the feast of the Apostle Matthias.

Kairuku cultural group take a group picture with the Bishops after mass.

Joining them to add a special cultural touch to the solemnity of the mass was the Kairuku cultural group from St John the Apostle Parish Tokarara.

The main celebrant was His Lordship Bishop Peter Houhou from the Diocese of Gizo, Solomon Islands. Joining him as concelebrants was His Grace Archbishop Paul Martin SM from Wellington Archdiocese, New Zealand and His Grace Archbishop Peter Loy Chong from Suva Archdiocese, Fiji.

Archbishop Paul Martin SM gave a moving homily saying that the Feast of the Apostle Matthias is a feast day that brings about mixed emotions and feelings because he was the one that replaced Judas.

“We are reminded today that there was someone else who was chosen to be one of the 12 who didn’t take up what was offered…Then we have Matthias who was a great friend of Jesus and a disciple who didn’t make the top 12 the first time…But when his time came to step up, he said: Yes, I would! …And he did. He got up. He did the work”

He challenged the congregation to reflect on their lives and what they take out from this situation and encouraged them to constantly keep choosing and focusing on their call to follow Jesus in order to sustain it. “He also emphasized on Matthias’ willingness to evangelize once he was called into mission.

“For most of us, our lives have not been spectacular, we’re not in the top 12, we’re just ordinary people trying to be faithful to our call to the God who loves us, as stated in the Gospel that he called us by name”.

He concluded his homily by reminding the congregation of God’s ever faithful and constant love.

“The most important thing is knowing who we are and what we are in Jesus Christ who loves us…Let us pray to be faithful to our calling and that we don’t lose sight on what we are all about doing the ordinary things well in the following of Christ”.

Before the final blessing, little tokens of appreciation from CBC PNGSI were presented to the FCBCO Executive Members by the President of CBC PNGSI His Lordship Bishop Otto Separy.

Speaking on behalf of the FCBCO Executive Members, Archbishop Martin expressed his gratitude to the CBC staff for their warm hospitality and making their stay a memorable experience.

Meanwhile, Bishop Peter Houhou thanked his brother Bishops for giving him the opportunity to preside over the thanksgiving mass.

The Executive Members were in Port Moresby planning the next FCBCO meeting that will take place in Australia in a few years that will have all the Bishops within the different Episcopal Conferences in Oceania convene to share ideas, concerns, planning for pastoral action and engaging in collaborative efforts within the Catholic Church in Oceania.