Whether spoken in English, Spanish or Tongan, the defining characteristics of the Tongan Catholic community remain the same—a family bonded by heritage and united in faith.

It’s a community made up of people like John Folau, Christina Fetuu, Seini Green and Tolini Smith. All four were born in the kingdom of Tonga, a constitutional monarchy that is part of a great Polynesian triangle of islands in the South Pacific.

And all four found their way to the Diocese of Sacramento to become part of the 20-family Tongan Catholic community, made up of members of several Sacramento-area parishes and based at St. Anne Parish in south Sacramento.

Father Januarius Rodrigues, pastor of St. Anne, serves as the community’s chaplain. Father Soane Kaniseli, parochial vicar of St. Joseph/St. Teresa Parish in Auburn, celebrates Mass once a month for the community.

Born in the town of Nukualofa on the island of Tonga Tapu, John Folau grew up in family of seven raised by devout Catholic parents.

“The practice of our faith was something we took seriously back home,” he recalled.

Whether it was practicing native songs and dances for a Mass or wedding celebrations, his childhood memories were linked closely with the life of the church.

“It was the way we expressed our spirituality together in community,” he said.

When Folau moved to the United States in 1978 at the age of 22, like many immigrants from Tonga he made his home in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he moved to Sacramento in 1980, he found few people from his homeland. But with the appointment of a Tongan priest to Northern California in the late 1980s, the Tongan community began to grow.

Because dancing and music are an integral part of the Tongan culture, Tongan parishioners of St. Anne’s and members of other Sacramento parishes decided to form a choir. Every Monday evening the 20-member choir began coming together to practice singing songs in their native language.

Lupe Green directs the choir, which performed at the Jubilee of Jesus Christ 2000 event at Arco Arena last January. It has also performed at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and traveled to perform at Masses in Tongan communities in the East Bay and Stockton.

“We love music,” Green said. “For us, the celebration of Mass is singing to God.”

For Christina Fetuu, who moved to Sacramento from Tonga when she was in her late 20s, the Tongan youth group was from the beginning more than just a “good time” socially.

“When I was in Tonga, my life was the youth,” said Fetuu, who has served as president of the Sacramento youth group.

She says that working with the youth group to present drama and dances for special liturgies at St. Anne brought her more than new friends.

“I’ve enjoyed the Tongan community like family,” she said. “The youth group has brought me closer to the church.”

That is music to the ears of Tolini Smith. As coordinator of the Tongan religious education program, Smith teaches children the tenets of their faith and about a culture grounded in family values.

“We try to pull them away from the life of the street, from hanging out in malls, and re-introduce them to what they grew up with,” Smith noted.

What works, she says, is presenting opportunities for teens to reconnect with the Tongan community.

“We need to nurture the closeness of family and community, help them slow down and limit what pulls them away from their faith,” she said.

Raising her own five children has been first priority for Seini Green. But as a member of the Tongan Catholic community, what has enriched her life most is the women’s club she gets together with each week. The women, often accompanied by their children, work on knitting and crocheting projects which are sold to assist Tongan seminarians.

“We get together to talk, so say our rosary and pray together,” she said. “It’s really like a family.”

For Folau, Fetuu, Green and Smith and the 400 people present at St. Anne for a Mass April 28, the Feast of St. Peter Chanel was an occasion doubly blessed.

St. Peter Chanel was a missionary and martyr in the early 1800s on islands near Tonga in the Southwest Pacific.

Celebrant for the special Mass was Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia, who is Vicar Episcopal for Hispanics and Other Ethnic Communities. Bishop Garcia spoke of the example set by St. Peter Chanel about how to spread the message of the Gospel to others.

“Thank you for the blessing that you are in sharing the spirit of communion with us as the Tongan community in the Sacramento area,” he said. “I’ve seen how you share those gifts so beautifully.”

The Mass was the first official meeting of Bishop Garcia with the Tongan community, the significance of which was not lost on people like Smith.

“Bishop Garcia’s presence meant that we count in the Sacramento Diocese,” she said. “To be recognized like that means we have a voice there now.”

Also present for the event, which included a reception featuring Tongan delicacies and musical entertainment, was Msgr. Lava Enosi, Vicar General of the Diocese of Tonga.

In an interview with The Herald, Msgr. Enosi said that by keeping alive the spirit of the Tongan culture, the Tongan community is also serving God.

“I think it is important for the Tongan community to know who they are before they go out and minister to others,” he said.

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