Italian Divine World missionary Father Dario Monegatti has left Papua New Guinea after serving the nation for 52 years, on Aug. 3. (Photo: The Society of Divine Word)
Catholics in Papua New Guinea delivered emotional messages as they bid farewell to an elderly Italian missionary priest who served the country for over five decades and was admired for his efforts for peace during the civil war.
Father Dario Monegatti, a member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) left the country after 52 years for retirement, the congregation said in a statement on Aug. 3.
Father Monegatti, first arrived in PNG in 1971. The SVD said the priest had dreamed of doing missionary work since he was in a minor seminary.
Besides his regular pastoral work for people in the country’s remote areas, the priest is credited for his significant role in promoting peace during the Bougainville civil war in 1989-1991. The conflict left an estimated 15,000–20,000 people dead.
The conflict, dubbed the largest in Oceania since the end of World War II, erupted between the security forces of PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups on Bougainville.
“The whole situation had been a challenge to Fr. Dario in his own way, he had exerted efforts in peacemaking, visiting the prisoners of war camps on a daily basis, offering physical and spiritual guidance including food and clothing to them, and giving them spiritual advice,” the SVD said.
“He never stopped dreaming for peace and he continued to work for it. He preached so much of peace in his Sunday homilies,” it said.
In February 1992, the priest and the chiefs commenced the peace dialogue with the ringleaders of opposing factions despite non-cooperation on their part.
In 2013 he was given the country’s Loguhu Award, Companion of the Order of the Star of Melanesia for his service to the PNG people.
His extraordinary work led Catholics to deliver a touching message for the priest’s farewell and recalled their experiences with him.
Catholics offered heartwarming messages to the priest and recalled their experiences with him as the missionary prepared to leave the country.
Mathias Aviva Pihei said he was one of the political prisoners with his wife and four children during the Bougainville conflict.
“He visited us daily, sometimes twice a day, just to ensure that we were still there and unharmed. He explained that he had to visit prisoners daily so our captors would not harm us if they knew he would call in the next day. He was our beacon of hope in the hopeless situation,” he recalled.
He said the priest was not afraid to speak out against the BRA, even when he was threatened with being shot several times.
“His only response was... 'If you have to kill someone, you kill me. I am from another country and I have no relatives here who would grieve and retaliate for me. But killing your own people and causing disharmony to your own people is something I don't understand,'” he said.
Daisy Rowaro, a Catholic woman said she remembered the priest in the 80s riding a bicycle from village to village.”
“And later as an adult hearing how you helped during the conflict in Bougainville,” she said.
Bill Olmi, another Catholic described how Catholics in Dirima Catholic Mission in Gumine, Simbu province, a place the priest served in 1985-1986 still have recollections of “a priest who walks almost every day.”
“[He] prefers fire roasted sweet potato and water over any properly prepared meal. We are greatly indebted to your services,” he said.
Father Monegatti hails from Pejo, a commune in Trentino, in northern Italy. He joined SVD together with a friend from their village in 1953. He was ordained a priest in 1970.
The Society of Divine Word is the first missionary religious order to arrive in PNG in 1896. Today, members of the congregation serve in seven dioceses across PNG.
PNG has approximately two million Catholics, approximately 27% of the country's total population, spread over nineteen dioceses including four archdioceses.
