Joane Sigarara MSC retires from active military service.
Today our military chaplain, Fr Ioane Sigarara, MSC retired from active military. He served our military well in many places. May he be blessed in the next part of his life journey. I'm sure he leaves behind many friends who had their lives enriched through his friendship and service.
Looking back:
From the website, 15th December, 2011.
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During Mass on December 8, 2011 (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), Fr. Ioane Sigarara, MSC was sworn in as an officer (captain) in the US Army. Fr. Ioane is a Missionary of the Sacred Heart from Fiji who has been living and working in the United States for several years. He previously served as pastor to St. Anthony Parish in Hillsdale, MI and, more recently, has been working at St. Charles and St. Helena Parish Church in Clio, MI. Major Don Michael, who is also a deacon at St. Anthony, served as the witnessing officer. Fr. Ioane will be serving as an Army Chaplain. Now that he has been sworn in, his next step is to attend 12 weeks of officer training school. Congratulations Fr. Ioane and may God bless you in this new ministry. From the US MSC site. |
From the website, 9th May, 2014
EASTER IN AFGHANISTAN. Update from Fr. Ioane Sigarara, MSC [From the US MSC website]
Fr. Ioane, who serves as an Army Chaplain, was in Afghanistan during Holy Week.
'Easter blessings to all of you. We had some truly memorable Holy Week and Easter Services here in Afghanistan.
To begin with, the chief pastor of the Archdiocese for the Military services was here on his pastoral visit over Holy Week. I wrote him requesting that he confer the ministry of lector to one of my flock. The ceremony took place during mass on the Tuesday of Holy Week. So for us it was a double celebration, getting to be with the Archbishop and witnessing one of our own being invested to the ministry of lector in theater.
Due to a very international population here, one of the things I introduced at Sunday Masses was to have the readings and prayers of the faithful done in the various languages. So on a normal Sunday the 1st reading would be in French, 2nd in Italian and the prayers of the faithful in Portuguese, Tagalog, English, Spanish, Indian and Vietnamese etc.
For the Easter Vigil it was the full gamut of languages which made it very special. Having two extra priests was great indeed as I had five camps to cover. In all the celebrations went really well.
Abi Wood, THE COLLEGIAN, Hillsdale,USA.offers a memoir.
The Reverend Ioane Sigarara of Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Hillsdale, once a Fijian military man, will enter the United States Navy in January to serve as a chaplain.
Ioane grew up in Fiji-the islands where there are only two seasons: cool and dry or warm and wet. Ioane said he would describe Fiji as the place where fish and octopus are eaten raw for increased flavour, electricity is almost non-existent and "running water" is the creek out back.
Another unique characteristic of the Fiji Islands is the love of rugby that they inherited from British colonisation. Ioane said he played quite a bit growing up, and when he came to Hillsdale in 2007, he visited the college rugby club practice to provide insight into how to better their rugby game.
Ioane's passion was not limited to this sport, however. He said the Catholic community in Fiji is very strong, and even as a young boy, Ioane said he desired to become a priest.
As soon as he graduated high school, Ioane joined the military, as was expected by his family. His dreams of becoming a priest were put on hold. Ioane spent six years in the Fijian Navy. His duties ranged from serving on a minesweeper vessel to guarding the Israel/Lebanon border.
During his time in the navy, Ioane said he felt again the call to pursue priesthood. As he encountered countless young men and women returning from battle permanently scarred by the sights they had beheld, Ioane said he also developed a passion for counselling. Ioane returned home to become a priest.
Ioane said that this was a revolutionary decision in Ioane's family since everyone in his family was either a teacher or part of the military. They had trouble accepting this decision, he said. "They thought I was mad to become a priest," Ioane said, Nevertheless, Ioane followed through with his education, keeping his ties with the Fiji Armed Forces so he could minister as a chaplain.
