The St Theresa Catholic Church at Lepea is a few months away from completing its long-awaited church building, after almost seven years of dedicated work by its parishioners.

The new house of worship for the Catholic community in Lepea, Vaitoloa, Lotopa, Pesega, Se'ese'e, Tuanaimato and Alafua is still a work in progress but is set to be unveiled on 15 December. 

The building project started in December 2014; the church is now counting down the final six months until the building's official opening. 

The project is managed by committee members from both the 7 am and 8.30 am mass. 

The Chairman of the St. Theresa’s Jesus The Child Lepea Catholic Church Cathedral Construction Project, Salausa Dr. John Ah Ching, told Samoa Observer that fixtures and other pieces were ordered from overseas arrived two weeks ago, including four church bells from London, England and stained windows and tiles from New Zealand. 

“We have everything that we ordered here, it arrived successfully two weeks ago. The only things left are some timber for the ceiling, but there is not a lot," said Salausa.  

"Our target is to officially open this magnificent work on the 15^th December this year, but of course it depends on the progress and the actions." 

“There are 46 windows and 46 doors of the whole temple, each door and window cost $10,000 and we give it out to our entire church family members to contribute and donate as their offering to honour their love once who developed this church in the beginning.”he added

The Chairman said that there are more than 70 church families all together when they combine the two different Mass groups - the English Mass at 7 a.m. and Samoan Mass at 8.30 a.m. 

“We have another three big windows at the front, and each window cost about $50,000 each. Most of the families have already made their offers, so there aren't many doors and windows left that need to be paid.”

The church community have been fundraising tirelessly for many years, and chasing the dream of a new Church building since the old building was pulled down. The fundraising has included a weekly barbecue stall, golf tournaments, tausalas and more. 

“We have a radiothon and telethon scheduled for next month, on July 31st, and we hope for the kind support and generosity of our people, to help us fulfill and achieve our goal,” said Salausa. 

Father Ricky Bernard, who is the foreman of the project, was not available for comment but team leader Olosaa Tumatavai told the Samoa Observer that another builder from their team left for seasonal work overseas and reduced their numbers from 20 to 19. He said they will do the best they can to meet the target.