He was stationed at the mission on Yule Island and taught English to Belgian, Dutch and French students at the seminary while undertaking his novitiate.
[3] He was formally admitted to the order in 1896, but returned to Sydney the following year to train for the priesthood under the tutorship of Francis Xavier Gsell.
[1] One of his first tasks was to act as chaplain to Boer War soldiers camped at Randwick Racecourse awaiting departure to South Africa.
As assistant procurator he was responsible for "finding money not only to keep the three Pacific missions in food, clothing and medical supplies, but also to build convents, churches, presbyteries, dispensaries and schools".
He developed a friendship with Edward Hope Kirkby, who ran a small business manufacturing electrical appliances.
In response to the mission's financial difficulties, Pope Benedict XV despatched a special visitator, Robert Linckens, to investigate the situation.
With assistance from Tasmanian senator James Long, he subsequently brokered a deal with navy minister Jens Jensen, whose department had assumed responsibility for wireless infrastructure following the outbreak of World War I.
Long admitted receiving a payment of £1,290 (equivalent to $100,000 in 2022) from Shaw for "services rendered" and subsequently resigned from the Senate.