About 25% of Samoans are Roman Catholics who were among the first group of missionaries to convert Samoans to Christianity. The host family with whom we are with are devout Catholics. The church is across the road from us.
Every day starts with the ringing of the bell (gas cylinder hit with a hammer) at 5:00 am for Rosary. Like other churches there are two services on Sunday; one in the morning and one at 4:00 pm. There may be other services during the week as well. This combined with numerous other events during the week occupy a full schedule for parishioners.
Mass is festooned with fragrant leis which are ceremonially brought forward and placed around the necks of the priest, other church leaders, guests, symbolic icons, alter, pulpit, etc. A traveling priest conducts Mass and is shared by several other churches on the island. When an ordained priest is unavailable, services are conducted by local “pastors’.
Confession is held twice a year, before Christmas and Easter. It is done as a group. Communion and baptisms are done whenever a priest conducts Mass.
Catholics seem to be the most liberal of the churches. They do allow drinking of beer and Ava after the service. They don’t proselytize and don’t read who gave what size offering.
Trying to understand any faith as an outsider is a superficial and often wrong exercise. But like Catholic churches in other parts of the world, the faith somehow blends local customs into the religion.
An interesting footnote is that our host father’s father played piano in a Protestant church when Catholics did not permit musical instruments. He tried to dissuade his son from following in his footsteps which he of course ignored. He now does not want his son to play, but I hear the sounds of a guitar late at night.
Catholic Church in Iva
Interior
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