Fr Matthew Reese
“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
—Revelation 7:9-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today at the noonday Mass, we’ll hear these beautiful lines from the Revelation to John. It’s a fitting passage: a reminder of the universality of the Church, a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice—the Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world—because today we commemorate the Martyrs of New Guinea.
In early 1942, as the Japanese forces began entering the South Pacific islands, many Europeans fled these posts and returned home, mostly by way of Australia and New Zealand. But missionaries of all stripes remained to minister in a moment of crisis.
Writing to his clergy, the Anglican Bishop of New Guinea, Philip Strong, wrote:
“One thing only I can guarantee is that if we do not forsake Christ here in Papua in His Body, the Church, He will not forsake us. He will uphold us; He will strengthen us and He will guide us and keep us though the days that lie ahead. If we all left, it would take years for the Church to recover from our betrayal of our trust. If we remain—and even if the worst came to the worst and we were all to perish in remaining—the Church would not perish, for there would have been no breach of trust in its walls, but its foundations and structure would have received added strength for the future building by our faithfulness unto death.”
On September 2, 1942, eight clerics and two Anglican laymen were summarily executed by the Japanese forces. One of them, a Papuan lay catechist named Lucian Tapiedi, now stands silent vigil, carved into the stone of the 20th Century Martyrs frieze, above the great west doors of Westminster Abbey.
Tapiedi’s name remains, but behind him stand 332 other martyrs of Papua, whose service to the cause of Christ has not been forgotten.
Their witness reminds us of the witness of all those across history who have laid down their lives for their faith—and those who are still dying, even today. That we may never forget this sacrifice, and never cease in the cause of peace, Tapiedi, pray for us.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Matthew