Iato Olivier Noclam was born in Tanna, Vanuatu and grew up in a traditional village where life was simple and neither Jesus, or Christianity, were ever mentioned. Today, Olivier is a Divine Word Missionary in Alice Springs, where he is immersing himself in the language and culture of the Arrernte people and reaching out to those in need, especially prisoners in jail.

“I grew up in a very simple and traditional village known as Lamnatu, where life depended very much on what land provided. We were all related and everybody knew each other. Life was simple, there was lack of finance, but everyone had a piece of land and grew what was necessary to live,” he says.

“In Lamnatu, every evening after schooling, I would run to the river to fetch the water with my brothers for cooking and drinking. At night we would light the fire to keep us warm while our mother prepared our meal because there was no electricity. I grew up as any of my contemporaries did, believing in the existence of spiritual and physical world. Nothing was mentioned about Jesus or Christianity.”

Fr Olivier says his knowledge of Christ grew as a child when he started going with his mother and sister to the Catholic Church in the neighbouring village and eventually, they were baptised. His relationship with Christ and awareness of a religious vocation grew when he moved to the capital, Port Vila, to study. He decided to become a Divine Word Missionary after meeting SVD priest, Fr Edgar Javier, while in Fiji.

“After a few conversations with him, I realised that the SVD was my ideal way of being a missionary – being universal, international and presenting the gospel in a different culture, especially to those who haven’t heard of Christ,” he says.

Fr Olivier undertook his SVD formation and studies at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne. In 2001, he spent 19 months in Mexico as part of the SVD Overseas Training Program. After returning to Melbourne and finishing his studies, he made his final vows in 2004 and was ordained a priest in 2005, before spending seven years as a missionary in Cuba. Last year, he returned to the SVD AUS Province and was assigned to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, Alice Springs, where he is busy with pastoral activities and getting to know the local people.

“I was appointed as the chaplain to the Arrernte and Warlpiri Christians in Alice Springs,” he says. “My pastoral activities revolve around celebrating Mass in various communities, distributing bread at night in the town camp, visiting the jail and centre of rehabilitation.

“Working with the Arrernte people has been my biggest challenge ever: the difficulty of learning the language and culture as a whole. The social, political, and economical issues in Alice Springs make the nature of our ministry more complex and hard. The distance between communities is very great. From time to time I would travel 200 to 300 km and spend the night in the tent. Most of our communities do not have a place for the priest to stay overnight.”

As time has gone by I became more aware of the reality of where I am. I started to set up relationship with the Arrernte and Warlpiri mobs through our special Sunday Eucharist and other pastoral activities.

Fr Olivier says that every Tuesday he has the opportunity to visit prisoners in the local jail.

“This has been a life-giving experience for me,” he says. “It was hard in the beginning to interact with the inmates, but now it’s easier. We’ve become more open to each other and sharing our Christian experience.

“We gather together people from different backgrounds and denominations, sing songs in different languages and share the gospel. Afterwards they come up individually and ask for a blessing or prayers.

“I am thankful to God for giving me this opportunity to be able to let them know that even though the outside world might reject them, there is someone who loves and accepts them as they are. And that is the merciful and loving God.”

Fr Olivier says he is also grateful to God and his parents for guiding him along his way.
“I thank all the people who have been part of my ongoing journey,” he says. “The catechists who prepared me for baptism and the one who gave me the idea to follow this path I’m on, this adventure of love and service; the priest who gave the chance to choose, the SVDs and all the lay people who have been there for me, supporting me in their prayers and in their companionship.

“Everything is from Him and by Him and for Him. Glory belongs to Him forever!” (Romans 12:36)