Three new seminarians on their journey

5 seminarians

Holy Cross Seminary welcomed three young men on their vocation journey, two of them preparing to become priests of Auckland diocese. 

Joseph Tang, 30,[ is a seminarian for the diocese of Dunedin. Mr Tang comes from the Vinh diocese in Vietnam. 

“When I was about 12 years old, I decided to become a priest. I went to my neighbours and I watched a video with them. A lot of times, I watched that video. In that video there were some nuns and priests singing Catholic songs,” he said. 

He told his parents he wanted to become a priest because, in that video, the nuns and priests looked so holy. 

Around the same time, he was also given a rosary by his parish priest, who asked him to pray the rosary every day. 

“I tried to do it every day. I went to church to do it with people in the parish, and when I went back home, I did another one,” he said. 

He lived with the parish priest for two years after high school, and then went to study cultural management at the university.  

However, he said he wasn’t sure what path to take, so he worked in construction, marketing, and even handed out fliers to make a living. 

“I felt it was really complicated. It is not my life. I wasn’t happy. People in my life were very competitive and used bad language. I thought, this is not my environment,” he said. 

He thought about going to Indonesia to be a priest but his brother, a priest in the Christchurch diocese, asked him if he wanted to be a priest in New Zealand. 

When Christchurch diocese didn’t work out for him, he applied to the Dunedin diocese. “They opened their hands and welcomed me,” he said. 

Mr Tang said he wants to become a “holy priest, humble and simple”. 

 

Vaka Fatongiatau, 34 is studying to be a priest in Auckland diocese.  

“I started to have the feeling to become a priest in 2019. It was a strong feeling, a desire to be a priest, to be a servant for the Church and to serve the Church,” he said. 

Mr Fatongiatau came to New Zealand from Tonga in 2014. Even back then, he said, he already felt the desire to be a priest. “It took me almost ten years (to decide),” he said. 

He said the attraction to the vocation started in his teenage years. 

“Over the years, I wasn’t thinking about it. I just ignored the feelings for priesthood. But it kept coming back,” he said. 

In the meantime, he worked for Fisher and Paykel Healthcare.  

“I met with some priests and spent time with seminarians, and I started to have the feeling that priesthood is my calling,” he said. 

He said his parents were happy that he has finally decided to pursue this vocation. 

“I see myself as a loving priest . . . who will preach the Gospel,” he said. 

 

Mineva Bob Fe’ao, the youngest of the three at 29, hopes to become a priest for Auckland diocese. 

Mr Fe’ao was born and raised in Auckland by Tongan parents.  

“I felt the call when I was a child of seven years old. And in my teenage years, I attended De La Salle College and I still felt the call,” he said. 

Mr Fe’ao recalled that he used to spend his intervals at De La Salle in the chapel, either praying the rosary or just sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament. 

However, after high school, unfortunate circumstances made it necessary for him to seek employment. His parents suffered health setbacks and he had to look after them, as well as his siblings. 

“I’ve been working in the hospitality and manufacturing industry, supporting my family financially. During that time, I’ve had a lot of life experiences. And from these life experiences, I’ve kind of become deaf to the call,” he said.  

After putting his younger siblings through university, Mr Fe’ao felt at a loss. “I asked myself, ‘what do I want to do with my life?’,” he said. 

That’s when he turned to Mother Mary. 

“She was the one who directed me to maybe re-listen again to the call that was given to me in my younger days. It was like I had a St Paul conversion moment. Mother Mary was my Ananias. St Paul went to Damascus and Ananias opened his eyes. Mother Mary was my Ananias who made me listen to the call again,” he said. 

Mr Fe’ao, who used to be a member of the Tongan Catholic Lataki and the Mangere Catholic Youth, said he aspires to be like St Alphonsus Liguori and St Joseph. 

“I was emotional coming here. I’m really happy having God as the captain of my compass. I trust in him,” he said.  

“I felt like I’m fulfilling what God wants for me. It’s in God’s love that he has called me to this vocation and I’m responding with love for him.” 

 

 

fb-share-icon
Posted in

Rowena Orejana

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hamish says

    The Cure of Ars was told by the devil
    that if there were three like him his
    power would be broken.
    (Fr Hebert, “Saints who raised the
    dead”-400.)
    Saint Leopoldo Mandic had a small
    library of testimonials of penitents
    who shared their stories of the
    confessional.
    Over a hundred miracles of the
    Eucharist exist on the internet if
    anyone went looking, and if you
    are in Lanciano, Italy , or in Portugal
    you can see them still- the miracle.
    Little children will thank you for
    all eternity for bringing them to
    the faith.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *