A priest who taught boarders from American Samoa at Chanel College in Moamoa, Samoa, Fr. Kevin Mears, died of a heart attack in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
The Wellington-based priest, died at Kaikoura Hospital several hours before he was due to conduct a Christmas Eve Mass.
He was 81.
Mears went to Kaikoura to help the local parish following last month’s 7.8 earthquake.
At Chanel College, which used to be an all boys boarding school, Fr. Mears taught students from Samoa and American Samoa who now hold leadership positions in government, business, church and community.
Mears was a Marist priest, a group within the Catholic church whose members model their lives on Mary, the mother of Jesus, often by working to educate young people
The New Zealand Herald reports that on the morning of Christmas Eve, several days after flying in from Blenheim, Fr. Mears went to the hospital with a heavy cold.
While there he had a heart attack and could not be revived.
Mears was a much-loved figure in the Catholic community, and was known to offer his help around the country in times of need.
He had spent about 12 years in Samoa, teaching at a religious school.
He returned often, and had strong ties with Wellington’s Samoan community.
