Classes Begin
St. Fidelis Seminary came alive last week with the arrival of students for the 2013 school year, which in Papua New Guinea runs from February to November. After a week of orientation where they moved...
View ArticleSo Close
We were so close to getting internet at St. Fidelis this week … so close. A technician from Divine Word University visited the campus and climbed our rickety radio tower to do a trial installation of a...
View ArticleOf Flashlights, Frogs and Flying Foxes
It can be quite eery walking to the chapel in the pre-dawn time, just before the sun rises. I’d guess it’s about 100 yards from the friary to the grounds around the school, a grass path connecting...
View ArticleSome Thoughts on Teaching
I’m teaching seminarians! Me! (Gulp!) What an enormous responsibility this is. I don’t know if any of these men will ultimately be ordained to the priesthood but if some are, I will have had a tiny...
View ArticleWeekly Sports
I thought I would give uploading a video another try, keeping it short and sweet this time. Wednesdays are Sports Day at St. Fidelis. Time for the students to take a break from their studies and blow...
View Article7 Quick Takes Friday – Papua New Guinea
It’s been quite awhile since I wrote a 7 Quick Takes post, before I came to Papua New Guinea as a lay missionary. So, it’s about time that I wrote one with a South Pacific perspective. 1. Would it...
View ArticleTest Time
Like most schools, the time for exams eventually comes around. So it is at St. Fidelis Seminary where the first round of exams for the Propaedeutic seminarians began last week. I gave my first test in...
View ArticleYumi Gat Papa! (Habemus Papem)
Early Thursday morning, about 4am PNG time, I hear Br. Jim’s quick steps along the friary veranda. “White smoke! We got white smoke!”, he calls out. I knew that he had planned to get up at 3am to...
View ArticleA Bold ID’er
One of the tasks that I had last week was to make IDs for all the students. There’s really not a big need for them since the student body is so small, but the students like having them. Occasionally...
View ArticleProblems with Doors
One thing here in Papua New Guinea that always catches me by surprise is the trouble some people have with doors. The Sunday Mass at St. Fidelis is often attended by people from the nearby villages...
View Article“Here is some sky for you!”
A special shoutout to my great friend Matthew. Not only is he at the top of the Mail of Fame leader board, having sent me THREE separate pieces of mail, but one of them included a gift that anyone...
View ArticleA Plethora of Mail
I have been very blessed of late for receiving several pieces of mail from home. I can’t thank everyone enough for sending me mail and for incurring the not insignificant costs to do so. I really,...
View ArticleHoly Week at St. Fidelis
Holy Week at St. Fidelis was a wonderful time to share with the students. I wasn’t able to upload any of the video I have due to the slowness of the internet at the archdiocesan office, but here is...
View ArticleHoly Week Video – Part 1
Thanks to the good folks at Divine Word University, I was able to plug into real, fast internet yesterday. What a pleasure it was to update all the software that was out of date, restore my iphone...
View ArticleFacts and Features
With four months in Papua New Guinea under my belt, I thought I would offer up some facts and features about life at St. Fidelis Seminary and some of the things that I’ve encountered here on the...
View ArticleHoly Week – The Rest of the Videos
I finally have some access to high speed internet again and was able to upload the rest of my long awaited Holy Week videos. OK, may be not long awaited, but you may find them interesting. I’m not...
View ArticleWork Parade
Here’s another short video, called “St. Fidelis Work Parade.” Several times each week, the students divide themselves into various work groups and help with the care and maintenance of the school...
View ArticleSt. Fidelis Day
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...
View ArticleA Day @ St. Fidelis
What is a typical day like at St. Fidelis? Well, here’s a montage of video clips that might help give you an idea. Let me know what you think! A Day @ St. Fidelis Seminary from Steve Nelson on Vimeo.
View ArticleA Trip to Rempi
A couple of weeks ago, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands was having its annual meeting just down the road from St. Fidelis. One Sunday morning, Nate Johnson...
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