St. Patrick Kinuta Papar

ember 29, 1881, Rev. Kilty was directed by the St. Joseph Society Kuching, Sarawak to establish a Mission in the Papar district. He began his mission by administering to the people along Papar River. Rev. Kilty himself made a home at the river bank of Papar River and began to preach of Christianity among the local people. The attempt of Fr. Kilty, Fr. Punleider and Fr. Alexander to establish a Mission in Simpudu was not well received by the local people. It was only when they reached Kinuta, that the first Roman Catholic Mission was successfully established in North Borneo. The arrival of the missionary to Kinuta in 1881 was well received by the local people and the Village Chief, Leo Kiat Savau granted them a site on a hill near the banks of Kinuta River, the present St. Patrick Kinuta Roman Catholic Mission site. Several years later the St. Joseph Society for Foreign Mission, Kuching Sarawak applied to the North Borneo Chartered Company British Government to allocate a 7.01 acre of land for the Roman Catholic Mission. In 1900, Rev. Aloysius Gossen brought a padi field land of 1.395 acres adjacent to the land from the Kinuta Village Chief, Leo Kiat Savau where the Kinuta Catholic Mission is. Between the years 1881 to 1887, no historical proof of the early mission movement in the Papar district was recorded. Their early movement was considered as atravel and researching. The early missionaries had to learn the local dialect and culture before they can introduce the Roman Catholic teaching. In the early arrival of the missionaries, many of them were distressed because of the foreign environment and many also fell ill. Kilty requested to be transferred to Mission India in 1883 where he died on December 30, 1889. He found it hard to adjust to conditions which were unpredicteable. In Character he was a very shy, quiet person and suspicious of other people. Therefore, he felt inadequate and requested to be transferred. Proof of Christian Mission in Papar district are many. However, less is known about the Kinuta Mission, the oldest Catholic Mission in North Borneo. Based on interviews on the village folks at Kg. Kinuta, they confirmed the elders account of the early mission. The first Priest was Rev. Kurz. According to Luciana Wong 74, her uncle Bosinal Pondizi told her that he (Bosinal Pondizi), together with Leo Kiat Savau and Sabadan Mutalam help Fr. Kurz to build a small church and the parsonage from ‘nibong’ and ‘rumbia’. Close to the church, stood a coconut tree with exceptional height. According to Luciana Wong, she saw the tree in her childhood years. The picture painted by Luciana Wong is the exact description of the First Papar Mission in 1890 in the Good News book written by Rev. John Rooney. Recollection the Christian growth at Kinuta Mission between 1894 to 1944, ie.t. 50 years after Rev. Gloysius Gossen arrival, 468 of the St. Patrick Kinuta Mission people were baptized. The lukewarm growth of the Roman Catholic may have been due to the Kadazan culture which were strong in tradition, culture and closed mind. New concept were quite unacceptable. Based on interviews, the Priests staying at the Kinuta Mission rear cows, buffaloes, goats, pigs and chicken besides planting rubber trees and fruit trees around the hills of the Kinuta Mission. The church and residence during Rev. Aloysius Gossen arrival in 1893 was the church and house built by Rev. After 1936, the St. Patrick Kinuta Mission underwent changes where the padres were transferred when WWII began. Without the presence of the padre the St. Patrick Kinuta Mission came under the jurisdiction of Limbahau Mission. It was at this juncture that the Kinuta Mission felt it’s lost. The padre only came once a week to perform the mass. In 1960’s, due to insufficient number of padre and the additional outstation mission at Limbahau Parish, the mass was only held twice a month. Things changed drastically after 1972 when the rule in Sabah required missionaries to leave the country. The situation aggravated the whole catholic church in Sabah and with that, the mass with the padre at St. Patrick Kinuta Mission was only held once a month. Today, with 98% of it’s community, namely Kg. Kinuta, Kg. Padawan, Kg. Tomui, Kg. Bungug, Kg. Titimboungon, Kg. Sabandil and Kg. Purak are Catholics, celebration of Eucharist are being held on alternate Sundays. In the absence of priest, Liturgical Word would be conducted by Cathechist. ST. PATRICK KINUTA CATHOLIC MISSION SCHOOL

The arrival of Rev. William in 1900 brought many changes to the Kinuta. William built a church and parsonage/boarding school about 150’ X 100’ in size. The zinc was imported from Germany and the wood from Sandakan. The church was used from 1902 until the third church was built in 1980. The construction of the church and school were financed by Rev. William, a padre who used much of his own money to develop the mission.