A few weeks ago I wrote about a hike by the students and staff of St. Fidelis Seminary into the mountains to the village of Halopa. This was to honor the feast of St. Jean Vianney, the patron saint of priests. You can read that post here.
I promised then to post some video of that time with the villagers of Halopa. I had to re-edit this after my first attempt to upload to Vimeo because I hit some size limit on the file.
I wanted to share as much of this as I could with you, to give you a sense of what it was like to be guests of the village and what the Mass, especially the music, was like. I ended up splitting the video into two parts, which you will see embedded below.
Papua New Guineans are very proud of their culture, and the unique culture of their village. You’ll see this expressed throughout. Some people may roll their eyes at the dress of the people, and the processions during the Mass, but I’ve come to appreciate how important some of these things are to bridging the gap between very different cultures.
The hike up and down the mountain to Halopa was very tough, but the time spent in the village was really great. I’m happy to share it with you here.
Vianney Day – Halopa – Part 1
Vianney Day – Halopa – Part 1 from Steve Nelson on Vimeo.