A Dream Turns Into Reality, Saint Peter Church Rises From Friendship and Faith on Koro Island

A dream was turned into reality, as the Church of Saint Peter was consecrated in Vatulele Village on Koro Island on Saturday 16th August, 2025.

The newly built Saint Peter Church was constructed at a cost of over $200,000 through the generosity of a donor from Australia, Mr. Peter Warnes, and the unity of the faithful and communities on the Island of Koro.

It marked the power of an extraordinary journey of friendship and faith.

The initiation of the initiative started with a simple bond between a Fijian son and an Australian child, and it was not through the usual meeting and planning for a project.

In the late 1980s, 79-year-old Mr. Peter Warnes who has over 60-years of experience in finance and his family started visiting and holidaying at what was formerly known as Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa on Yanuca Island in Fiji.

“We started coming to Fiji just after my first son, Ben, was born, in 1986.  When he was about 2, we started to come and we stayed at Shangri-La Yanuca Island, Fiji which was formerly known as Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa.”

“We then had Patrick in 1988 and the 4 of us, you know, came back to the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa. All the time, they went to the bure to be looked after … so, Patrick and Netani Koroi who worked at the resort, they had a friendship that was almost inseparable,” Mr. Warnes recalled.

After a couple of years visiting and holidaying in Fiji, Mr. Warnes invested in an activity for leisure that interested his wife, and they bought the jet ski and scuba diving operation at Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa in 1999.

It was then when they built a relationship with Lepani and his wife Va who are from Vatulele Village, on Koro Island.

“So, on it went and my wife liked diving or she wanted to dive. We ended up buying the jet ski and scuba diving operation at the Fijian in 1999. Netani Koroi was working at Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa but then he came to work for us. So, we were very, very good friends.”

“Lepani who is from Vatulele Village, he was the captain of the fleet lady, deep sea fishing boat. So we used to go out fishing, so we knew Lepani, we knew Netani, and our friendship just grew and grew,” Mr. Warnes shared.

The Warnes family made their first visit to Koro Island in 2009, which they have now confidently and proudly called their “second home”.

Peter and his son Patrick accompanied their companions Lepani and Va to attend a service at the Methodist Church, unaware that there was a Catholic community, during their first visit to Vatulele Village.

At that time, the faithful from Vatulele and neighboring Nabuna villages would take turns to host a liturgy or mass in their homes, served by catechists and the priest for Koro Island.

“The first time we came here in 2009, we went to the Methodist Church because Lepani and Va are Methodists. We just went along with them on a Sunday morning.  I was unaware that there was a Catholic community here.”

“Patrick and I went to a liturgy here in 2012. So I said, well, you know, here they are having a liturgy in someone’s house. Why can’t they have another house and the house of God? So, that’s where, like, the idea started,” Mr. Warnes shared.

The Warnes family and the faithful had a divine encounter in 2012.

An elder of Vatulele Village, 69-year-old Sailosi Rokolou vividly remembers that day.

“In 2012, on a Sunday … an Australian, Peter Warnes, joined us in a liturgy held in a house in our village. Mr. Warnes asked us if we had a church, and we said that we were yet to have one in the village. He then asked us if we had any plan to construct a church.”

“We said that we had already started collecting money for the project. We told him that we had only collected $12,000 and it had already been deposited in the bank. He then asked for our bank account details, and he left Fiji for Australia again,” Mr. Rokolou recounted.

Mr. Warnes response was prompt and powerful, he obtained their bank account details and raised the funds needed to commence with the construction of the church within three weeks after he returned to Australia.

“In 2012, that’s when we decided to go ahead and raise some money. One of the catechists said to me, because I asked him, I said, how much money do you think you need for a church? He said, oh, this amount and they had saved an amount over seven or eight years.”

“I did some calculations and I said to myself that with this savings rate, it’ll take them till 2035 before they have a church, based on what he thought they needed.”

“I went back home and while having lunch with a few of my friends … some of them are Catholic, I said “Boys, what do you think? I said, I don’t think it’s fair. So, within three weeks, we had the money that they wanted and we sent it up,” Mr. Warnes explained.

As shared by the faithful from Vatulele and Nabuna villages, the events that followed were a testimony to their resilience in the face of adversity.

After they received the initial donation of $50,000, they bought tin and cut timber to build a make-shift shed as their place of worship which was damaged by Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016.

“So, straight after the make-shift shed was damaged by STC Winston … we started building the foundation of the church. In 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and the demise of our carpenter halted the construction of our church.”

“After the first carpenter passed away, we had to look for another carpenter, the second carpenter could not complete the work and the third carpenter was able to finish the construction of our church,” said 69-year-old Sailosi Rokolou, an elder of Vatulele Village.

The Catholic community from the three villages of Vatulele, Nabuna, and Nacamaki rallied to provide support and assistance in the construction of the church.

As it is custom in the iTaukei culture, the villagers took turns helping with cooking for workers and assisting with the building of the Church of Saint Peter in Vatulele Village.

Mr. Rokolou reflected that they faced a lot of difficulties and challenges, but he would always remind the faithful that they will always reap the fruits of patience and hard work that they have sown.

As for Mr. Peter Warnes, Saint Peter Church represents more than funding and building – it symbolizes a philosophy of giving back to the community.

“I have been privileged enough because of the talents God gave me to do what I have done … to have a good lifestyle and raise my children and educate them well. Now, it’s time for me to give back. As I said, it’s not about me, it’s about us.”

“So, here we are on just almost the best day of my life. You know, it’s just remarkable. I’m so thankful for God and for the community here in Vatulele and Nabuna, to the elders of both villages, and the happiness that Fiji generally has brought to our family over many years,” Mr. Warnes said.

The Saint Peter Church now stands as a beacon of faith for the people of the two communities, Vatulele and Nabuna, and for the faithful from other neighboring villages on Koro Island.