Sue Seconi

The Catholic Parish of Hastings – Te Parihi Katorika ki Heretaunga welcomed new parish priest Fr Marcus Francis and Fr Anthony Htun on Sunday 2 February 2020.

There was a sense of homecoming for Fr Marcus as he grew up in Hawke’s Bay, and it was special for him to have his father Michael in the congregation.

Fr Anthony Htun is from Myanmar and arrived in the Palmerston North Diocese on 1 November last year. This is his first appointment. Ordained on 19 March 2002 he completed his Masters in Theology in New York in 2007.

‘We are called “Donum Fidei: in Latin meaning, ‘Gift of Faith’. Despite the scarcity of priests in my home Archdiocese of Yangon we have been gifted to the Diocese of Palmerston North for three years,’ Fr Anthony said.

Fr Marcus and Fr Anthony said they were looking forward to their new appointments.

Published in WelCom March 2020