Fr Francis Xavier Gsell an MSC Priest from France spent over 40 years working as a zealous missionary in the Northern Territory In 1906 he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Mission in Darwin and in 1911 he gained government approval for the establishment of a Mission on Bathurst Island nearby in the Arafura Sea.

His outstanding work among the Aboriginal people in Bathurst and Melville Islands was continued by his Australian confreres. These Missionaries have shown great love for the wonderful Tiwi people. Some have even been buried among them. And now to-day we find two Melanesian Missionaries, Fr John Romi (Malagunan) and Fr Karl Bernard (Paparatava,). They both come from the Island of New Britain, PNG, the land of Blessed Peter To Rot.

Eventually he lived on the island as head of the mission until 1938. He was a patient good person, a genuine respecter of local customs and always willing to travel with the people at their pace. In 1938 Gsell returned to the mainland to take up his appointment as Bishop of Darwin, a post he held until 1949. He was also influential in establishing missions at Port Keats (1935) west of Darwin, and Arltunga (1943) near Alice Springs.

The MSC Monastery at Kensington is not new to me. In forty years as a missionary in PNG I have visited the Monastery a number of times. In the mission we know that this is a haven. But it is also the base of the MSC Mission Office, which reaches out to the whole South Pacific, indeed, to many other parts of the world.

It gives me the opportunity to thank, wholeheartedly, all of the donors, who are supporting this office. In 2001 we celebrated the Silver Jubilee of our diocese, but we had still to build a cathedral, a real challenge for such a remote place, with no access by road. We needed a lot of help, beginning with a qualified Architect. Mr John Donnelly was providentially sent by Fr Adrian. John came all the way to Kerema to draw up the Cathedral plans free-of-charge.

The town of Kerema has no reticulated water supply. The MSC Mission Office provided us with four big water tanks for the new priests’ house. People from the nearby market also come daily to fetch water. And in the dry season even Elcom begged for water to cool down their generators.