Guinea. This information comes from Bishop William Fey, Bishop of Kimbe, and from Fr. John Pfannenstiel,communications officer for the St. Augustine Province.

Papua New Guinea received its independence from Australia in 1975. The nation celebrates its Independence Day today, September 16. Part of those celebrations is the awarding of honors to a few individuals for outstanding contributions to the country. Archbishop Steve has received the highest honor: "Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL) and conferred the title of 'Chief’. The award recites: ‘for service to the Catholic Church and the community of Southern Highlands through many years as a Capuchin Missionary priest and later Bishop of Mendi Diocese for 40 years until appointed Archbishop of Madang in Feb. 2011."

Archbishop Steve was in Rome for the past several days to attend a meeting of all Capuchin bishops worldwide. (Mid-America's Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput was unable to attend the meeting because of pressing issues in his new archdiocese.)

On his way back to Papua New Guinea, Steve will stop in Colorado Springs to spend some time with his brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Erica Reichert. He will be in Denver to visit and celebrate with the friars on September 21 and then in western Kansas to visit other family members.