(L-R) Michael Fendel, Fr. Pedro Walpole SJ (PhD), Mariana Waqa, and Ben Walta in the Eco-Justice Hub community garden in Brunswick (PC: Columban Mission)
On Tuesday 28th of July, the Columban Partnerships Coordinator for Oceania, Mariana Waqa, visited the Jesuit Ecological Hub in Brunswick. This was at the invitation of the hub’s Ecological Justice Coordinator, Michael Fendel who set up a meeting with his colleague, Ben Walta (Advocacy & Engagement Officer), and visiting Irish Jesuit priest Fr. Pedro Walpole SJ.
Pedro Walpole SJ coordinates the River Above Asia Oceania Ecclesial Network (RAOEN). An estimated 200+ million people living in Asia and Oceania identify as indigenous or tribal. He lives with the upland Indigenous Pulangiyēn community, and responsible for APC Cultural Educational Center. He is part of the social apostolate network of JCAP and Director for Research at Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) Philippines.
During the meeting Mariana was pleasantly surprised to hear that Fr. Pedro knew and worked many times with Columban International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Coordinator, Amy Echeverria at high level global meetings. The Jesuit team extended an invitation for Columban networking when Fr. Pedro and his team arrive in Fiji later this year where they will work closely with Archbishop Peter Loy Chong in preparation for the COP31 meeting which is being hosted by Turkey this year.
Mariana shared that Columban priests and missionaries work closely with their communities where church activities and prayer liturgies on care for our common home are part of parish life. Connecting the Columban Mission Centre with Jesuit Social Services provides ample opportunities for exchanged learnings across our community of networks, particularly parish groups experiencing and working for ecological justice in the islands. Their stories, indigenous knowledge, connection to sea and land, and Catholic spirituality demonstrates hope in the midst of the world’s ecological crisis.
The meeting finished with discussions on possible collaborations between the Columban Mission Centre and Jesuit Social Services relating to ecological stewardship in Melbourne. It was a delightful morning of open conversations about partnering together in the mission to protect our common home and the bio-diversity of God’s creation.
Adi Mariana Waqa is the Regional Partnership Coordinator at St Columbans, Essendon.
