Bishop Appelhans And

Fr. Bachus

THE Rt. Rev. Stephen Appelhans, Vicar Apostolic of Eastern New Guinea, was an American, and was consecrated a Bishop at St.

Mary’s Mission House, Techny; Il linois, USA, on November 30, 1948.

Bishop Appelhans was then 43 — young for a Bishop. But at the same ceremony, a fellow American became the youngest Bishop in the world. He was the Rt. Rev. Leo

Arkfeld, Vicar Apostolic of Central New Guinea, who was then 36.

These two young bishops took the place of Bishop Francis Wolf, of Alexishafen, and Bishop Joseph Loerks, of Central NG, who had been killed when a Japanese prison ship on which they were travelling was strafed by US planes in 1944.

In Australia, in 1944, Bishop Appelhans became director of the Mission of the Society of the Divine Word in New Guinea. He went to the Territory about 1945.

His was the task of rebuilding the fine mission station that had existed at Alexishafen before the war but which had been completely

destroyed during the Jap occupy, tion.

The Roman Catholic missions a New Guinea have followed ft custom of the country and usi; air transport extensively—many y the younger missionaries (inclwl; ing Bishop Arkfeld) pilot their o’o planes.

A number of them have bed killed in air accidents FatHj.

Kirschbaum, a noted anthropoo* gist, before the war, Father Joo Glover a couple of years ago, as now Bishop Appelhans and FatH: Bachus.

Father William Bachus, American, also of the Society of 1 Divine Word, was attached to t Mission of St. Mary at Lae, as was loved by all in the distrhf Catholics and Protestants alike.

He was one of the first peoples! visit the Mt. Lamington area afis the eruption in January.

Bishop Appelhans (right) photographed at Alexishafen with Mr. C. W. Mansell (Islands representative of Mungo Scott Pty. Ltd.) a few days before the Bishop’s death.