Marian Mercy Mission

Francis Ona (1953-2005) established the Marian Mercy Mission (MMM) in 1993 in Guava village near the Panguna mine in Central Bougainville, part of the now Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) in Papua New Guinea. (Image at right) The movement was initiated in the middle of a civil war, which had forced Francis Ona to his home village of Guava in the Panguna Mountains. He remained in this hideout until the end of the conflict (1998) with help of roadblocks, preventing anyone from getting up the Mountain without his consent. While the movement had disciples in Koromira, Buin and Nagovisi (areas to the south of Panguna in Central Bougainville), the center of the movement was in Guava village with Francis Ona. After Francis Ona passed away in July 2005, the movement slowly dissolved.