Father Lolesio Gisa, who has been serving as parish priest for Harden and Cootamundra since September last year, was officially inducted at a ceremony at St Anthony's Church in Harden last Sunday morning.
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Fr Gisa was inducted by Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Archbishop of the Canberra/Goulburn diocese, which embraces the Harden/Cootamundra parish.
Originally from Samoa, he was ordained a priest in the archdiocese of Samoa in December 2008.
The Catholic church is the second-largest church in Samoa since several of the smaller churches combined to form the Congregational Church of Samoa.
Fr Gisa has been in the Canberra/Goulburn diocese since he was asked to move to Australia to help the church here, arriving in 2015 on a working visa.
He served as assistant priest in parishes in Canberra until he moved to Goulburn in 2018.
He also serves as a chaplain for the Samoan community in the diocese conducting a mass at St Matthew's Church at Page every fourth Sunday.
He has found the Harden and Cootamundra communities very welcoming.
"I love it here, it's a peaceful place, the people are beautiful. Now when I walk down the street everyone knows me, especially the parishioners, who introduce me to our brothers and sisters."