Rebiamul, Mt Hagen: After ninety years of having Bishops and Archbishops of different ethnicities, languages, and skin colour having helped to build the Archdiocese of Mt. Hagen, it has finally come to pass that someone with so much courage, speaks the same language as the people from Western Highlands, and has the same skin colour finally had a raise of hand when the call came.
From left to right: Bishop Jozef Roszynski SVD, His Eminence John Cardinal Ribat MSC and Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa.
Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa’s ties to the church goes back to his late father, one of the first Catechists who was responsible for bringing earlier missionaries into the land of Rebiamul, and then into parts of Western Highlands and neighbouring provinces as well.
The Coadjutor Archbishop was born on February 22, 1971. He did his first philosophical years of studies in Good Shepherd Seminary in Maiwara (Madang Province) and Fatima (Jiwaka Province) in 1991 and 1992. He entered Holy Spirit Seminary in Port Moresby in 1995 before being ordained a priest in 1999.
Apart from his title as a clergy, Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa holds a doctorate in the field of Systematic Theology, a qualification which he gained from the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia.
The Ordination of the new Coadjutor Archbishop took place in the parish of Rebiamul on Saturday, August 3, 2024 with pre-celebration feasting and dancing to commemorate the historical event not only for the Catholic Faithful, but for all people of goodwill, even highly respected academics and associates of Coadjutor Archbishop Clement flew in to Hagen to witness and support one of their own in his achievement in the Church.
The historical celebration saw thousands of people coming in from not only the outstations and parishes in the province of Western Highlands, but also from other provinces and the world as well bringing in gifts, food and money as a way of support towards their newly ordained coadjutor Archbishop.
The Principal Consecrator during the Episcopal Ordination was Archbishop of Mt Hagen Archdiocese, Douglas Young SVD with Bishop Arnold Orowae from Wabag Diocese and Bishop Paul Sundu from Kundiawa as co-consecrators.
The Ordination itself was centered around the theme; ‘Bilong Lotuim na Lukautim’. A phrase taken from 1 Corinthians 3:8.
In an inspiring homily fit for the occasion, Archbishop Young SVD highlighted and acknowledged the work done by the Divine Word Missionaries that brought faith into the Highlands Region paving way for development and also acknowledged the early Catechists who bravely put their hand up to work alongside the missionaries. The fruit of which was now the reason why this big celebration came to be as Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa is a descendant of one of the early Catechists.
Leading the beautiful and angelic choir were seminarians from Good Shepherd Seminary in Fatima. A choir that complemented the atmosphere of ordination.
In his acknowledgement speech after the Episcopal Ordination, North Waghi Member of Parliament Honourable Benjamin Mul congratulated Coadjutor Archbishop on his Ordination and highlighted the need to support one another.
“I am privileged to be here to show my support to our new Coadjutor Archbishop. Although I belong to another denomination, I felt the need to come and show my support to this big celebration. This is a unique quality that is embedded with the norms and practices of the Highlands Region”.
Mr Mul expressed sentiments of joy and appreciation to see many others from other denominations who also turned up in numbers to show their support to the Catholic Faithful and the Archdiocese of Mt Hagen.
“Despite the fact that we all are from the different churches, we must always acknowledge the fact that it was through the Catholic church that our forefathers, our fathers, and now us, know how to read and write through the schools and aid posts that were established by the early missionaries”.
CBC President Bishop Otto Separy expressed sentiments of joy and congratulated Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa on his appointment.
“It’s always a blessing to the Catholic Church to see a local Archbishop/Bishop being appointed to look after the flock and we are yet again blessed to have our very own Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa.”
Bishop Separy also expressed his appreciation to the people for their effort in ensuring that this historic Episcopal Ordination was a success.
In the meantime, Archbishop Douglas Young SVD while congratulating Coadjutor Archbishop Clement Papa announced his official retirement on his birthday next year as he turns 75 on January 23, 2025.
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