School chaplain Brother James Walters is moving in January to the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, where he will be taking over and building up a parish there.
“I’m excited for the adventure. To experience a new place and culture very different from my own is something that really excites me. It’s also a tropical island, so I’m also excited to walk out of my house every morning and just look at the ocean,” Walters said.
Born and raised in De Graff, Ohio, Walters attended the University of Notre Dame where he earned his undergrad and Master of Divinity. During his time in college, he was drawn to the Congregation of the Holy Cross faith and decided to pursue it.
“I just really came to love the sense of community and the mission. Holy Cross’s big thing is education, and I really love education and working at a college,” said Walters.
After taking their final vows, brothers are supposed to receive a placement where they will educate and live out the values of the Congregation of the Holy Cross for at least three years before they can return home. The opportunity to move abroad to Papua New Guinea came about from the Vatican. They declared that the island of Bougainville was in need after a civil war in the 1990s, so they wanted to send a few volunteers to help build the parish back up.
In 2027, Bougainville will also declare independence from Papua New Guinea. The civil war in the 1990s between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea left a divide between the island and the mainland. Therefore, while helping the people religiously, they will also be helping them physically through whatever challenges are brought to them during this time.
“Becoming a country isn’t something that just happens. There is a lot that could happen, but obviously we hope and pray for the best. So, I’m trying to emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically prepare myself for whatever could happen. Expect the unexpected is my motto,” said Walters.
After the Civil War, all foreigners were kicked off the island, including most of the Holy Cross priests and brothers. For the last two decades, the people haven’t had enough priests and religious leaders to hold mass and other religious ceremonies. Therefore, the Congregation of the Holy Cross wanted to send him with seven others to Bougainville to take over two parishes of Hantoa and Tinputz.
Walters said, “We’re going in to support the people who have already been there but are understaffed. We will be helping to build up what’s already there.”
There are about 22,000 people in the two parishes. In preparation, Walters is in a semester-long training program to be an EMT. This training will be used in village clinics. He said he is learning a lot of pre-hospital care things that will be useful in case of emergencies. He’s also learning how to transport people because the nearest hospital to where he will be living is about 45 minutes away. In addition to his training, he will be preparing for the move by learning the native language of pidgin.
While Walters prepares physically, he is mentally preparing for the move.
“A lot of the preparation is emotional and spiritual. The life I’m going to be living is very different. We live in a place that is very well-to-do with resources, but preparing to have less of those kinds of things is something that I’m getting ready for,” Walters said.
The trip includes three people from India, two from Ghana, one from Bangladesh, and one from Uganda. All eight of them will be living and working together. He’s excited to learn about and be emersed in the culture of Papua New Guinea while also learning about the countries where his coworkers will be coming from.
Holy Cross hasn’t gone to a different country since the 1950s so Walters said this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Walters, 29, said, “I’m young and not a lot of people can say that they helped establish something new, so I volunteered. There’s going to be a lot of unknowns and challenges, but I’m in a place in my life where I find that super exciting. Because I have vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, I don’t have things tying me down to a particular place that a lot of people have.”
After living at Stonehill College for three years, Walters has made many connections with people who he will miss. He hopes that the fifteen-hour time difference will not stop him from keeping in touch.
“I’ve made great friends here at Stonehill over the last three years but also at Ohio and Notre Dame, so I want to keep those relationships to sustain me as I am a very extroverted person,” said Walters.
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