This week has been a blessing to the The Mary Help of Christians (MHoC) Sabama Parish, Port Moresby.
For the first time in a long while, the church is housing three Mother Mary.
The most recent, Our Lady of Sacred Heart (OLSH), arrived on Sunday.
OLSH is from the Bereina Archdiocese in Central Province.
From Kerema, OLSH travelled through Mekeo areas and is currently in Port Moresby.
The Parish in Sabama received OLSH on Sunday where she will remain until next Sunday, January 21.
The parish has seven Liklik Kristen Kommuniti (LKK), and each will host OLSH in their communities for a night of prayer.
Mothers from the Kirakira LKK had OLSH last night. But for them, it was very emotional, says chairlady Marian Boko.
“Most of these women are from Kairuku and Goilala. And OLSH is originally from Yule Island,” she said.
According to the church history, OLSH was the one who directed the first missionary in 1885 to Yule Island. It was from there, Christianity (Catholic denomination) spread into the mainland Mekeo and further into the mountains of Goilala.
“Most of these women are pioneer students of OLSH School on Yule Island, so it’s really a privilege to have her here with us,” said Boko.
Catholics believe that Mother Mary is the mother of Jesus, the intercessor to her son.
“She takes our prayers to her son and we get blessings,” Boko explained.
So having three mother Mary at one parish, at the same time, is special, she said.
“This year for MHoC is challenging. The church is small, and the population is growing big so we’d like to build a new church.
“We’re working very hard to raise funds this year to build the church and also celebrate our silver jubilee next year. These 3 mothers: Mary Help of Christians (original), Our Lady of Sacred Heart (Bereina) and Lady of Holy Rosary, have brought blessings to this parish,” she added.
OLSH will leave the MHoC Sabama parish on Sunday afternoon for St Michael’s at Hanuabada, then to Gerehu.
From there, OLSH will be taken back to Inawaiya village, Mekeo, in the Bereina diocese.