On April 26th, the seminary had its annual St. Fidelis Day Celebration.  Not only did the students have the day off from classes, but they got to sleep in, spend the morning playing sports, celebrate the memorial of this first of Capuchin martyrs with all the Capuchins in the Madang area, and wow us with their “mumu” prowess.

What’s a mumu?  It’s the PNG version of what you might call a luau in Hawaii.  Basically, a whole pig, along with fruits and vegetables is steamed in a pit of heated rocks in a banana leaf lined pit.   It is an important cultural experience that often accompanies important events – weddings and such.

The Highland and Coastal versions of mumus vary somewhat and the various groups take great care and pride in their particular form of mumu.

Read more about St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen here and here, an important martyr in the Counter-Reformation and patron of our seminary.

Here’s a gallery of photos from our celebration.  (Note:  There are some photos of the butchered pig which you might find disturbing, so don’t look at those too closely  😉

We were very fortunate to have Archbishop Stephen Reichert, OFM Cap., along several other Madang area Capuchin priests, celebrate Mass for us while the mumu was cooking.  Also attending were all of the Capuchins from the Padre Pio Formation House which is just down the road from St. Fidelis Seminary.