 |
| One of the three radio towers, later removed
after the war. |
On a ridge at the easter end of Weno island,
a two-story concrete building stands fortress-like, the only construction
in sight. To the west loom the islands of the Chuuk lagoon, their
heads in the clouds. When it is quiet you can hear the waves pounding
on the reef, ten miles off on the horizon. But it is seldom quiet.
Ninety five boys and sixty five girls from all the island nations
in the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, Republic
of the Marshall Islands, India, Japan study in this historic landmark;
they are the students at Xavier High School.
Ninety years ago the land the locals called
Winiku on which Xavier High School now stands had been purchased
by the German Capuchins from the Pwaraka clan for the Catholic
Mission. Until 1938, a wooden church and a priest's house marked
the site. But in that year the Japanese Government chose this
location for a bomb-proof radio and communications station and
commissoned the Mabuchi Construction Co. to erect the building.
(Since that time the people of Chuuk have referred to the site
as "Mabuchi"). They built a strong massive structure
of reinforced concrete. Heavy steel windows were added protection
against attack, and the attack came. In 1944, U.S. Navy planes
bombed and strafed the building in what was called Operation Hail
Storm. And when the smoke cleared, the building was a virtual
ruins.
In 1952, the U.S. Civil Administration recognized
the title of the Catholic Mission to the property. In the same
year Most Reverend Thomas J. Feeney, S.J., D.D., Vicar Apostolic
of the Caroline and Marshall Islands determined to establish a
secondary school in the former Japanese radio station. The work
of reconstruction began at once and on September 8, 1952, Xavier
High School opened its doors to 21 boys from the then Truk District.
The following year found students from the Marshalls, Pohnpei,
Yap, and Palau enrolled at Xavier. In 1976, Xavier High School
accepted the first female students and since that time the enrollment
has grown to 151 students.
Related
Reading:"GHOSTS OF THE PAST....A VISION
OF THE FUTURE,"
by Francis X. Hezel, SJ,
