The esteem in which a New Zealand missionary priest was held was demonstrated by the turnout at his funeral.
Among those at the funeral for Fr David Mullins, SM, at St Patrick’s church in Panmure on December 31 were Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi, who had travelled from Tonga, a former Tongan Prime Minister Dr Feteli Vakaʻuta Sevele, Lord Sevele of Vailahi, as well as an official representative of King Tupou VI. Also present, resplendent in their red blazers, were members of Tongan touring rugby teams of the 1960s and 1970s, with which Fr Mullins was involved. And there were many dozens of other Tongans, there to pay their respects.
Among the concelebrants were Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn, Hamilton emeritus Bishop Denis Browne and the Marist Oceania provinicial Fr Setefano Mataele, SM, whom Fr Mullins baptised many years ago.
Fr Mullins died, aged 88, at St Joseph’s Home in Ponsonby on December 24.
Before Mass, Society of Mary New Zealand provincial Fr David Kennerley referenced Genesis 12 and God’s call to Abram (later the patriarch Abraham). God told Abram to “go out from your land from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land I will show you”.
“Those words,” Fr Kennerley said, “in a sense were also learned by Fr David Mullins. Not only do they contain a challenge, indeed a cost, but also a promising reward. I will show you a land that is a place of great blessing. For Fr David, that land was Tonga and its people.”
Fr Mullins arrived in Tonga aged 26, and was to spend many decades working for the Tongan people – 30 plus years in Tonga, 8 years in the United States and 3 years as a Tongan chaplain in New Zealand.
Among the many and various roles he played in Tonga were principal of ‘Api-Fo’oau College, president/chairman of the Tonga Rugby Union, head of the Tongan Amateur Sports Association, chef de mission for the Tongan team at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, director of Catholic education, secretary of development in the local diocese, and founder of the parish of Kauvai.
Pamphlet
The esteem in which he was held was also demonstrated by the production of an illustrated pamphlet summarising his contributions to Tonga, a pamphlet referred to several times by Dr Sevele, which was given out at the requiem. In the centre of the pamphlet was a photo of the 1969 Tonga national rugby team, the first to make a tour outside the Pacific Islands, with Fr Mullins third from left in the front row with the title “manager”.
Dr Sevele told the Panmure congregation that Fr Mullins’ story was “amazing”. In the 1950s, the young priest set up a plan to improve the standard of teaching and of academic achievement at ‘Api-Fo’oau College, a boarding school at which classes were held three days a week and work was done in plantations to support the college two days a week.
According to the pamphlet, during his six years at the college, Fr Mullins co-operated with Bishop John Rodgers, SM, in arranging overseas education for more than 50 pupils to provide them with an education sufficient for further studies at universities, teachers’ colleges or seminaries.
Sport had not been part of the curriculum at the college before Fr Mullins arrived, but he quickly changed that. He set a goal to win the national rugby title for the first XV within four years and, starting from scratch, this was achieved and was repeated three times.
Fr Mullins saw rugby as part of character formation for the young people of Tonga, Dr Sevele said, adding that the priest saw that sport could be an avenue for success for young people too.
In Tonga at that time, Dr Sevele added, “there was quite a bit of bigotry among the various denominations”. But Fr Mullins saw rugby and sport as “something that unifies”.
The former Prime Minister said he refers to Fr Mullins as “a pastoral missionary – he reached out to all Tongans from all walks of life”.
His abilities in administration were utilised by Bishop Paddy Finau. According to the pamphlet, women’s groups, family life, farming projects and low cost housing projects all benefitted from his planning. He worked in all the parishes on Tongatapu.
In 1985, Bishop Finau asked Fr Mullins to be the first chaplain to Tongan migrants in the United States. The pamphlet stated that he travelled far and wide setting up 17 communities for which he fostered good relations with local parish priests. Earlier, in the 1970s, he had spent three years as a chaplain to Tongans in New Zealand.
Homily
In a homily at the requiem Mass, Fr Des Darby, SM, touched on some of the personal qualities of his confrere – great strength of character, great determination, faithfulness and loyalty – which he applied in his pastoral work, which later included helping out in Auckland diocese (check).
Fr Darby said it was likely Fr Mullins was imbued with these qualities by his father, Jack, a twice-wounded veteran of the campaigns at Gallipoli and the Somme in World War I. His father would later become the sports editor of The Press newspaper in Christchurch. Fr Darby said a skill at writing might have been passed from father to son too – as Fr Mullins wrote several books – on Bishop Rodgers, Bishop Finau and on Gallipoli.
Fr Darby posited that God looked upon Fr Mullins with “a benign eye”.
“I would suggest that everyone who is here, especially the priests, would be a bit envious of David’s last day. He celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass at the Little Sisters. He preached on the birth of Christ. And then, after Mass, not feeling very well, is cared for, receives the sacrament of anointing and quietly gives his life into God’s hands.”
Fr Darby also referenced the words of St Paul to Timothy – “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race to the finish”.
“Well David, you have run your race, you have kept faith the God and with the Tongan people, whom you loved so well.
“No doubt there were times when he struggled, had problems,” Fr Darby added, “that’s the human experience.”
“So we pray for mercy on him in this requiem Mass. Though, as a priest of the Society of Mary, a family member, a pastor, a friend, he has a right to our prayers, because of those relationships.”
At the end of the Mass, Fr Mullins’ casket was taken from the church by members of past Tongan rugby teams. Other, younger pallbearers later carried to coffin to the Marist section of the adjacent cemetery, where he was laid to rest.
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