Life History of the late Father Michael Lomiri

(1944-2008)

On the first of March 2008, many were saddened by the untimely death of Fr. Michael Lomiri. Here we pay tribute to his life.


Michael Lomiri was born on 26^th May, 1944 at Sikuraurau village near Takaba at a bush in Moli area nearly at the end of the Second World War.

He was the first born child of Logino Vanakolo of Sirovanga and Madalen Majalaqole of Moli. Michael has three other brothers and two sisters. The youngest of them all is Father Calistus Tavisibatu a priest of the Dominican Order.

Michael thought of becoming a priest when he left school. Because of this aspiration, he talked with the priests and sisters who were his teachers. Seeing that Michael had this great desire, they sent Michael to St. Joseph’s Tenaru to complete his primary school as Tenaru at that time was a Senior Primary standard. In 1960, Michael completed his Senior Primary class at Tenaru and in 1961, he entered St. Peter Chanel College Minor Seminary at Ulapia, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. After completing Form 4 in 1964, he came home to Moli, Solomon Islands. His inspiration to become a priest was so great that Michael thought of completing Form five and six before entering the Major Seminary.

News came from the seminary (Ulapia)that Michael for Form five and six because he was not academic enough to precede his tertiary studies for the priesthood.

Michael was so upset after the Bishop informed him of this sad news. His Bishop at that time was the late Bishop Eusibuis John Crawford O.P, D.D.

Michael, despite this sad news, didn’t give up his great desire to become a priest. He went and asked the Bishop to find ways possible for him to become a priest. To help Michael to make use of his talent, Bishop Crawford asked Michael to do a teaching career, and they would help him to do his studies in Australia. Even this offer was not accepted by Michael because teaching doesn’t save his priestly desire. He only wanted to become a priest, nothing else.

Finding no other ways to help Michael for his priestly studies, Bishop Crawford informed Michael with these words.

“

If God calls Michael to be a priest, then let God Himself works his own ways to help him.”But he (Bishop) asked Michael to be patient and accept the teaching career offered. Seeing that there was no other way, Michael finally accepted and he became a teacher. Michael taught in various primary schools run by the Catholic Church in the Western and Choiseul provinces of the Solomon Islands. He was also doing translation works for the Gizo diocese at Moli Catechetical centre. Michael was a teacher and a Bible translator for more then ten years. Even in these then years, the thought of becoming a priest didn’t vanish from Michael’s mind.

He only hoped that an opportunity might come to take him to the priesthood, a desire that he never forgot. Then, one day it came that Michael happened to meet one of the aspirants to the priesthood at that time, Lawrence Hotomo (Hotomo was at that time a Diocesan priest, but left and now married) informed him that there was a late vocation Seminary for the Diocesan priest at Erave, in the West New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, and that Lawrence Hotomo was willing to help Michael if he was still strong in his desire to become a priest.

Michael was now a happy man again, and without delay, he informed Bishop Crawford again to help him to enter this Late Vacation College (Seminary). Keeping his words that was spoken to Michael when he came back from Ulapia in the 1960s (sixties), Bishop Crawford finally accepted Michael to enter Erave Late Vocation college.

In 1976, Michael Lomiri did his late vocation studies at Erave. He did his studies for two years at Erave and in 1978 – 1979, Michael did his final two years of Major Seminary studies at Holy Spirit Major Seminary at Bomana, Port Moresby.

On 3^rdDecember, 1980 a happy Michael Lomiri was ordained at Sirovanga Mission station by the late Bishop Eusibus John Crawford, the same man who spoke to Michael with the words, “Let the God shows his own ways Michael, do not give up.”

Father Michael Lomiri served in most parishes of the Gizo Diocese during his priestly life. The last parish that the late Father Michael Lomiri served before his death was Sirovanga. After Bishop Luciano Capelli asked Michael to be a Parish Priest of Sirovanga, he arrived there for only two weeks. And on the 1^st of March, 2008, the late Father Michael Lomiri died at the same Mission station where he was ordained 27 years ago. Late Father Michael Lomiri was buried in front of same church where his parents gave him up to the Bishop for the Catholic Church’s Priestly Ministry.

Written / Recalled by

Paul Telovae.

Fr. Michael Lomiri

The volunteer Priest

By Bishop Luciano

Ability is a skill, it makes science advance... Availability is a virtue; it conveys a message of submission to God's will and total dedication in building his kingdom.

KOVATA Parish in Sirovanga is not the easiest parish in the Gizo Diocese. It is composed of 21 Villages along a very long stretch of east Choiseul coast. In some parts the parish extends a long way deep into the island mountainous bushes. For this reason a decision was taken in the last assembly of 2005 to divide the parish into two.

When Fr. Michael volunteered to go to cover the place left empty by Fr. Simon, the Incoming Novice Master of the OP 1 was deeply touched by his generosity and availability. He was aware of not being a young man any more, he was aware of his painful and disturbing leg wound, and yet he volunteered... no one else did. 1 ordered him jokingly to climb the 117 steps and never to come down again, soon I would send him a young priest to assist him in the large pastoral area assigned to him.

He immediately set for visiting the villages and the school causing his leg wound to give him more troubles. He died on the battle field, a champion of availability to God's will generous to the last.

Fr. Michael has thought the diocesan priests a new value: obedience to God's will does not simply mean do what you are told. It means inner quiet and peace needed to discern it in prayer, openness and trust to discuss it with the bishop and then courage to volunteer in doing it without waiting to be told, no matter what the cost is... even in danger of death.

Only deeply attentive people to God's will are able to do this and only those who are prayerful can find God's will, Fr. Michael indeed was a quiet and prayerful person, respectful for God and His will as well as for every person he met especially the poor and the simple who have always been his favourites

Proof of his generosity, humility, and prayerfulness could be found in his Breviary which he prayed daily very devoutly. The holy images in his breviary contain prayers for Generosity, Humility, courage and deeper faith.

Fr. Michael was not perfect, he was not born holy, he struggled through his life's personal History. He struggled in his vocation, he struggled in his apostolate, he struggled with his health and he never gave up. He is a winner because he fought to his very end refusing to sit quietly and rest, choosing service to his ministry no matter the cost. In his moving . Wk. to the "come and see" vocation pre­seminary candidates last January, he elaborated in his vocational struggles, recognizing as the source of his strength the absolute certainty that God was calling him...

In one of his private conversations with me he lamented a lack of interiority in general in young priests, manifested in the lack of visibility of the priest during prayers time with the simple prayers and simple people ... This made him suffer because prayer was too important in his life. I am certain this is the real challenge of Fr. Michael to our diocese as we focus on growth: "renewal is not doing lots of different things; renewal is going deeper in our motivations and intensity of love for our Master matched with unparallel passion for our neighbour's souls, here and now, no matter what the cost is"

Thanks Fr Michael; you gave us a model to up to...

Thanks also to Fr Albert his good friend, for volunteering to take his place in Sirovanga ... You learned well from Fr Michael ... That speaks of continuity of the same message Fr Michael gave us... we are with you Albert, He is with you, you are not alone there. This decision you made seems to be a true inspiration from a friend you treasured so much... imitate him He substituted you in Noro as went for Holiday, now you substitute him as he went to heaven... (Please do not follow him there too soon...

May Fr Michael intercede for us all in our common effort of growth and renewal.

+Luciano Capelli, sdb

Bishop Gizo Diocese

BISHOP BERNARD O’GRADY OP - CONDOLENCE MESSAGE ON THE DEATH OF FR. MICHAEL LOMIRI.

I was very sad to hear of Father Michael’s sudden death at Sirovanga. He had many great qualities in his own quiet way and chief among them was perseverance in the face of adversity and generosity. From when I first knew him as a student from the time he first went to Ulapia for his preparation for priesthood he had to battle for his vocation. He never failed to tell people that being accused of being a ‘bushy and unfit to be a priest’ he was more determined than ever to continue. When he returned to Gizo he offered Bishop Crawford to help as a catechist and with the new work of translating the Liturgical texts. Bishop Crawford heard his pleas to return to priestly studies and eventually and not without further struggles he was ordained a priest, the second diocesan after Laurence Isa to serve the people of the new Diocese of Gizo. He served in all the different parishes as well at St. Dominic’s of the diocese of Gizo. In that pastoral work he quickly built a reputation for wisdom and understanding of others who were also struggling.

He attended a couple of priestly renewal courses at Canberra while I was there in the 80s and was often around for a meal and a chat. He never lost a kind of liking for the Dominicans and Marists that he worked and lived with and once told me it helped him better understand his role as a diocesan priest.

Different people will have many stories of his time with them but I am sure his gentleness and devotion to prayer will be spoken about. After his time in the Philippines in Mindanao he was able to help many people with his newly acquired skill of massaging and even though I was hesitant about it myself, I eventually allowed him to help me too!

To me as his Bishop he was open with problems and always respectful but honest in a way I much appreciated. He never hesitated to do what was asked of him in a truly generous spirit.

Others here in Australia who have heard of his passing have asked me to pass their condolences to his family and many friends, to Bishop Luciano and the priests, religious and catechists also to the people of the Diocese of Gizo amongst whom he was held in the highest regard as a priest and man of God.

May he rest in peace.