Missionary Society of St. Columban, Order
From The Catholic Guide
The Missionary Society of St. Columban, approved by the Holy See in 1918, is an international missionary organization sent by the Catholic Church. Today, the Society's mission is to:
Cross boundaries of country, language and culture to establish the Church among peoples who have not heard the Gospel. Help churches mature until they are able to evangelize their own people. Promote dialogue between Christians and those of other religions.
Contents |
A Brief History of the Columban Fathers
CHINA
"You are not here to convert the Chinese; you are here to make yourself available to God."
This was the advice Father Edward Galvin gave to the first Columban priests and Sisters in China in the early 1920s. His words go to the very heart of who we are as Columban missionaries. As missionaries we simply make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit.
Since the mission of the Church is the work of God, or as St. Luke puts it, the work of the Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit who is the source of our missionary vocation as individuals and as a missionary society of priests. Nothing but the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit can explain our individual missionary calling or how we as a foreign mission society began, the countries where we have chosen to work or what we have been able to accomplish.
As the Vatican II Bishops stated in the Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity: "The Holy Spirit...implants in the hearts of individuals a missionary vocation and at the same time raises up institutes in the Church who take on the duty of evangelization, which pertains to the whole Church, and make it as it were their own special task."
In his encyclical on Missionary Activity, Pope John Paul II, describing the first evangelizers, wrote:
"The coming of the Holy Spirit makes them witnesses and prophets. It fills them with serene courage which impels them to pass on to others their experience of Jesus and the hope which motiviates them. The Spirit gives them the ability to bear witness to Jesus with `boldness.'
"When the first evangelizers go down from Jerusalem, the Spirit becomes even more of a `guide,' helping them to choose both those to whom they go and the places to which their missionary journey is to take them. The working of the Spirit is manifested particularly in the impetus given to the mission, which, in accordance with Christ's words, spreads out from Jerusalem to all of Judea and Samaria and to the farthest ends of the earth."
As it was in the beginning, so too it is the Holy Spirit who directs the Church's mission in every succeeding generation. Through a mysterious but providential set of circumstances, the Columban Fathers began with Father Edward Galvin. Before going to the seminary in Ireland he seriously considered becoming a missionary but in deference to his parents' misgivings about missionary life, he entered the Maynooth seminary where young men were trained for their home dioceses. In 1909, on the day he was ordained, his bishop, having no opening for him in the diocese, advised him to go to America and return home in three years. Fr. Galvin went to New York and became an assistant in Holy Rosary parish in Brooklyn, New York. It was there he met Fr. John M. Fraser, a Canadian missionary, who was then returning to China.
Fr. Galvin told Fr. Fraser that he had long been haunted by a desire to be a missionary and that he had read every book in the Brooklyn public library that had anything to do with China. Although Fr. Fraser discouraged Fr. Galvin's enthusiasm for China, he finally said, "If you want to go with me, you'll have to hurry. You'll need permission from your bishop."
Fr. Galvin wrote immediately to his bishop and within a few weeks received permission. On February 25, 1912, he was on his way to China. In those days, the Catholics of the English-speaking world played a minor part in the foreign mission work of the Church. Of America's 17,000 priests, less than 50 were in the field as missionaries.
In China Father Galvin was shocked at the poverty and wretchedness he found. He was even more appalled by the spiritual poverty. Here were millions of friendly and industrious people who, because of the lack of missionaries, knew nothing of Christ. But what could one priest do on his own? More missionaries was the answer but who would recruit them?
Father Galvin bombarded his friends with letters seeking help, and in 1916 two priests joined him, Fathers Patrick O'Reilly and Joseph O'Leary. They soon realized that if they were to have any lasting effect, they needed to set up some kind of an organization. The two new arrivals urged Father Galvin to go home and organize a new Mission Society. He hesitated. A novena of Masses was suggested.
"When the novena was completed," Bishop Galvin later wrote, "we knelt down in my room facing each other. I cut the leaves of our Bible and on the top of the right-hand page read the following verse:
`I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.' " - (Jos. 1, 9)
Father Galvin broke the tense silence saying, "I have my orders, I'll go."
In June 1916, he returned to the United States and visited priest friends and bishops from San Francisco to Brooklyn. He shared his plans with them. He got encouragement from them. In August, he sailed to Ireland - to Maynooth, where he got his first recruits. An able young professor, Father John Blowick, joined him to help establish a mission to China. By October, the new society numbered eight priests. Frs. Galvin and Blowick With the blessing of Pope Benedict XV, Fathers Galvin and Blowick spent 1917 planning and laying foundations. On June 29, 1918, the Society of St. Columban was formally approved. The first Columban seminary was opened in Ireland. A few months later the American headquarters was established in St. Columbans, Nebraska. In a few years a seminary was opened there too. In 1920, with the Society already numbering 40 priests and 60 seminarians, Father Galvin led the first pioneer band of missionaries to China and Father Blowick devoted his energies to forming the new Society. The Columban Fathers were on their way.
The Holy Spirit continued to blow in unexpected quarters. Six Sisters of Loretto from Kentucky arrived in China two years later to staff a school started by Columbans and open an embroidery school for young women. An interest in China led a group of young Irish women to establish the Columban Sisters. In 1926, six Columban Sisters arrived in China to work with Father Galvin. Dreams rarely follow the dreamer's blueprint. The priests and Sisters encountered unexpected problems and extremely difficult situations in China. Even though they were well-received, they had more than their share of hardships. It was usual for annual floods, droughts and plagues of insects to bring starvation to the provinces. Relief boats, sent by charitable organizations, were looted by bandits who themselves were starving. Poverty and ignorance intensified the daily distresses of hunger, leprosy and tuberculosis. Such tribulations were part of the experience of each missionary. But the worst was yet to come.
From 1921 to 1950, China was in constant chaos. In the 20s, the Nationalist Chinese Army fought the Communists. War lords, many of them vicious brigands, fought anyone who got in their way. Add to this the freelance bandits who fought for no cause except their own, often seeking trouble for its own sake. They held individuals ransom and would loot a city unless it paid to be left alone. In the midst of all this chaos, Father Galvin was consecrated Bishop of Hanyang in 1927. When bandits attacked Columban priests in remote mission stations, they made such serious threats and demands that sooner or later something tragic was bound to happen. On July 15, 1929, Red Army bandits captured Fr. Timothy Leonard. After a few days as a prisoner, he was murdered by them. Other Columbans were taken captive and released, but one, Fr. Cornelius Tierney, died after three months in harsh captivity.
In the fall of 1932, Chiang Kai-shek's troops began attacking the Reds with a vigor never seen before. The Communists fell back on all fronts and once more people could move about with relative safety. "The reign of terror," wrote one Columban, "far from weakening the appeal of the Catholic Church in this area, seems to have strengthened it." It was an extraordinary time as thousands expressed a sincere desire to enter the Church.
In 1933, the Holy See designated a new territory for the Columbans and Columban Father Patrick Cleary was appointed in charge of the Vicariate of Nancheng, south of Hanyang.
In the following year, the relative peace that began the year before was shattered by the disastrous flood of the Yangtze river that left thousands homeless. Columban priests and Sisters exhausted themselves in caring for sick and dying refugees.
On the night of July 7, 1937, China's war with Japan, which would in time become a part of the Second World War, began. Columban priests and Sisters were called on to care for thousands of wounded Chinese soldiers as well as countless refugees afflicted with cholera.
Of frequently recurring disasters Bishop Galvin said, "Calamities are forerunners of waves of grace." He recalled that when the Columbans arrived in 1920, there had been 17,000 Catholics in Hanyang Vicariate and in 1932 there were 55,000.
World War II followed in 1940 and a new era of turmoil and destruction began. Cities and towns were bombed and reduced to rubble. American and Australian Columbans, regarded as enemy aliens, were repatriated to their home countries in exchange for Japanese civilians. Those who remained were restricted in their movements.
The war had hardly ended when it became clear that Communist forces under Mao Tse-tung would soon defeat the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek. In 1946, the Holy See entrusted a new mission, known as Huchow, to the Columban Fathers. Three years later the Communists took over this area and before long they were in control of all of China. Several Columbans were thrown into jail and eventually all the Columban priests and Sisters were expelled. Bishop Galvin and Bishop Cleary was expelled in 1952. By 1954 every one of the 146 Columbans serving in China were "expelled forever." On September 19, 1952, a weary, haggard man stumbled across the Red China border into Hong Kong. Forty years of heroic missionary service had ended - Bishop Galvin was even branded a "criminal." Three and a half years later death came quietly for this great missionary.
In spite of the nightmares of banditry, war, bombings, destruction, death, disease, flood, famine and suffering, the China venture begun by Bishop Galvin was one of the most heroic and successful mission apostolates in modern times.
When the Columban Fathers celebrated their golden jubilee in 1968, someone asked Bishop Cleary, "If Fathers Galvin and Blowick had foreseen the catastrophe in China, would they have stopped in their tracks?" The bishop,81, considered this for a few moments before answering, "Probably not. The harvest that was garnered was immense. The good seed remains in the ground for a second spring."
That good seed not only remained in the ground in China but it put down deep roots and bore splendid fruit during the years of cruel persecution of every Chinese Catholic - bishops, priests, Sisters and laity without exception. An account of Chinese Catholics' fidelity and heroism reads like that of the Christians who suffered and died during the persecutions of the early centuries of the Church.
Today the Church in China is experiencing a second spring in spite of restrictive and controlling efforts of the Communist government. We Columbans continue to long for and are preparing for the day when the doors of Bishop Galvin's beloved China will once again be opened wide to the whole world.
The Holy Spirit had more than China in mind when He stirred up a missionary vocation in the heart of Father Galvin and in those who followed his dream for China.
"The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8)
When you make yourself available to God you can be taken in new and unexpected directions and find yourself making unforeseen decisions. Just as the Columban missionary journey that began in China still leads to new undertakings.
NEW UNDERTAKINGS
1929 - Mission to the Philippines 1933 - Mission to Korea 1936 - Mission to Burma 1948 - Mission to Japan 1951 - Mission to Peru 1952 - Mission to Fiji 1953 - Mission to Chile 1958 - Decision to give diocesan priests the opportunity to work with us in mission areas 1978 - Mission to Taiwan 1978 - Decision to invite qualified laity to participate with us in the mission of the Church 1979 - Mission to Pakistan 1982 - Decision to invite candidates from local Churches in which we work to become members of the Society and share our missionary enterprise 1985 - Mission to Brazil 1986 - Mission to Belize and Jamaica
PHILIPPINES
In 1929, three Columbans were sent to the Philippines in response to an urgent plea for priests. In this Catholic nation thousands of parishes had been vacant for over 40 years, ever since Spain had ceded the Philippines to the United States. Older people had become indifferent to their faith and the young were growing up in ignorance of religious truths.
Over the next ten years more Columbans were sent to take over vast areas on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao. These were pioneer days. Columbans were engrossed in rekindling the faith of a people scattered over immense areas while struggling to provide for their spiritual needs, training catechists to instruct the children and at the same time rebuilding churches that had fallen into ruin.
The Columban Sisters arrived in 1939. Their purpose was to provide Catholic education for poor youths.
In 1942, this feverish activity came to a halt when the Japanese invaded the country. Some Columbans spent the war years hiding in the hills with their people; others were imprisoned. Six died violent deaths in the course of the war.
When the war ended, the job of reconstruction began again. The need of the young people for education was so great that schools went up in every parish. The Columban Sisters were deeply involved in this effort, administering some of the local schools as well as supplying teachers through a teacher-training college they had established. Over the years a network of schools, ranging from kindergarten to high schools and colleges, was established. New territories were taken on, notably the island of Negros in 1951.
During all this time, there was no end to the variety of projects aimed at improving the lives of their people, the majority of whom were mired in poverty. These efforts continue today.
To meet the demands of a constantly growing Church, the emphasis has been on training lay leaders to direct Basic Christian Communities in recent years, especially for those remote areas and villages that a priest can visit only periodically.
Much has been achieved over the years. Where once extensive territories were almost solely served by Columbans, today there are some 10 dioceses with their own Filipino bishops and priests. But the goal of the Columban Fathers is not only to build a self- sufficient Church but to instill a missionary spirit. That Columbans are succeeding in this is evident from the Filipino priests, Sisters and laity who have become Columban missionaries and are serving today in Japan, Brazil and Pakistan.
Today, as well as in the past, all these activities are carried out in a political and economic climate that poses serious problems of social justice. These problems coupled with periodic upheavals caused by earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions create additional hardships as well as opportunities to share the aspirations, the suffering and toil of the people and so lead them closer to Christ.
The growth of the local Church with its own bishops, priests and religious has allowed Columbans to take on new apostolates: e.g. caring for handicapped and homeless children, working with tribal peoples, peace initiatives between Catholics and Muslims, promoting long-range programs to improve the lives of their people.
Since 1929, some 350 Columban priests, 24 Columban Sisters and 14 lay missionaries have labored in the Philippines. Today there are over 100 priests serving the people in various apostolates.
KOREA
In 1933 nine Columbans on their way to China received word to go to Korea instead. The previous year, Bishop Galvin, writing of the chaos in China, strongly advised, "I think the society ought to look for some other field in which to work." Korea became the "some other field" with its own problems and its own rewards. Within five years of their arrival, Columbans were entrusted with two missions, Kwangju and Chunchon.
The early years were dominated by harassment from the Japanese who occupied Korea. This harassment culminated during World War II when all Columbans were either put in jail, placed under house arrest or deported.
At the end of the war, Korea was divided into North and South, the Communists taking control of the North. Four years of an uneasy peace were followed by the Korean War in 1950. Columbans saw 17 years of patient effort wiped out as the Communists spread terror, ruin and death over the land. Six Columbans were martyred by the Reds and one died in prison; two survived the infamous Death March to North Korea.
Once again the blood of martyrs became the seed of Christians as countless thousands embraced the faith. At the same time Columbans had to deal with a flood of hungry and homeless refugees. In 1955, the Columban Sisters came to Korea, and quickly set up clinics and eventually a hospital to care for the sick. The 60s were a time of consolidation of the phenomenal growth of the Church. Political tensions resumed in the 70s and 80s as Columbans were part of a growing Church, struggling with a military dictatorship. The Church's stand on justice and human rights led to a renewed interest in the Church and a new wave of converts.
In the course of time, the original territories entrusted to the Columbans were divided into four dioceses. Each now has its own Korean bishop and priests. Urban parishes established in Seoul have been turned over to the diocesan clergy.
Today the original goal of setting up a self-reliant local Church has been replaced by a vision of promoting life for the poor and those deprived of basic rights. Traditional parish work has given way to new ministries reaching out to the urban poor, workers, farmers, alcoholics, gamblers and the disabled. A new generation of Korean Columbans - priests, Sisters and lay missionaries - have put on the mantle of mission and are working in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Chile, Peru, Fiji and the Philippines.
Today there are 58 Columban priests, 30 Sisters and 5 lay missionaries carrying on the work in which 266 Columban priests and 58 Sisters have participated over the years.
BURMA (now called MYANMAR)
At the request of Rome, the Columban Fathers went to Burmain 1936. The northern half of the huge Mandalay Vicariate, peopled with Kachins, Karens, Shans and Burmans, was entrusted to eight Columbans. This territory became the Prefecture of Bhamo.
A mountainous jungle area, roughly the size of Indiana, meant traveling on foot or pony with a pack mule to carry supplies. Hikes of five to ten hours in a steamy jungle were the norm as the priests set out to develop mission stations in far distant villages. They concentrated their efforts mainly among the Kachins whose belief in spirits made them more open to the Gospel message. But three Columbans were assigned to work among the Shans who were Buddhists.
In the three years before World War II, 18 more Columbans joined the mission. In 1942 when the Japanese invaded Burma, 21 were arrested and interned in Mandalay. Two of the remaining four escaped into China and two managed to remain in the hills with their people. On the day Mandalay was liberated, four of those interned were injured by a stray shell and one of them died later as a result of his injuries.
When the war ended in 1945, missions and schools were reopened, ruined churches and dwellings rebuilt, new areas explored and two high schools were opened. The Columban Sisters, who arrived in 1947, opened a boarding school for girls in Myitkyina and later a clinic in a remote jungle village.
In 1948, Burma became an independent nation and the government limited the number of Catholic missionaries in the country. At that time 30 Columban priests and 6 Columban Sisters were working in the Kachin State. During the following 18 years, 10 Columban priests and 4 Columban Sisters were allowed to replace those who had died or who had to leave because of illness. New parishes and schools were opened. By the end of 1952 the number of baptized Catholics had grown to 7,000 with an additional 5,000 catechumens. Six years later there were 13,000 Catholics and about 7,000 catechumens, 19 brick and wooden churches, a number of clinics and a school system.
As the number of Catholics grew, more and more catechists were trained. Many resided in widely scattered outvillages. The priests too were spread over a wider territory, 13 in one-man parishes. In 1960, the Prefecture of Bhamo became a diocese and the newly ordained bishop became bishop of Myitkyina, the capital of the Kachin State.
The 60s saw the insurrection of the Kachin Independence Army that sought to create an independent Kachin State. This insurgency continues to the present day and has caused innumerable difficulties for the people and the Church. In 1965, the government nationalized all the mission schools. The parishes continued to maintain the boarding section of the two high schools as hostels for boys and girls from the hills and provided many vocations for the priesthood and religious life.
The following year missionaries who had entered Burma after 1948 were forced to leave the country. This left 21 Columban priests and no Columban Sisters.
Realizing that their days in Burma were numbered, the Columbans decided to devote their energies to the formation of local priests, Sisters, catechists and lay leaders. In this way, they hoped to leave a self-reliant Church when they were forced to leave.
In 1977 the diocese was handed over to Bishop Zinghtung Grawng, the first Kachin to be ordained a priest. When the Columbans withdrew from Burma in 1979, Bishop Grawng, not yet 40 years old, had a dozen Kachin priests, some 40 Sisters from two congregations and a very active laity.
Today Bishop Grawng has an auxiliary bishop, Bishop Philip Za Hawng to assist him, 30 Kachin priests, 17 convents of religious Sisters from four different groups, and an incredibly active laity. Their combined efforts have achieved an increase of well over 20,000 Church members in the past decade, bringing the total number of Catholics in the diocese to about 90,000.
With continuing Columban support and in spite of many hardships resulting from an unstable political situation, the Kachin Church will continue to grow as a mature apostolic community.
JAPAN
The Columban Fathers entered Japan in 1948 at the request of the bishops of Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Fukuoka. The country was just beginning to recover from the devastation of the war, and people of every class were turning to Christianity. There were great expectations for the Church.
The majority of the newly arrived Columbans, numbering 22 by the end of 1948, were assigned to parishes, ranging from fishing villages to city centers. While the people were busy rebuilding their devastated country, so too Columbans were busy buying sites, building and repairing churches, halls and rectories.
As life improved, the wave of interest in religion subsided. Even today there is only one Catholic for every 3,000 persons. Although many Japanese admire Jesus, read the Bible and have respect for the Church's various institutions, most are satisfied with a superficial contact.
Although assigned to parishes, Columbans always saw themselves primarily as missionaries to the unevangelized. Their parishes, with a small number of Catholics, are considered as centers for the evangelization of the thousands of unevangelized in the surrounding areas.
Over the years, Columbans have continually sought ways to meet people. Their efforts have been on a one-to-one or small group basis, with a view to interesting people in Christianity and the Church, or at least trying to instill Gospel values in their lives.
To make contact as well as to serve the needs of people, they have established kindergartens for non-Christian children, taught English in local schools, conducted counseling services and performed marriages for non-Christian couples. To provide opportunities for non-Christians to know Christ, a short course on Christianity was designed and is periodically promoted in their areas. An effective marriage preparation course was introduced that led to the setting up of the Happy Family Association, that promotes natural family planning.
Through their stance on the broader issues of the dignity of human life and of peace and justice, Columbans have found opportunities to work with various organizations. At the same time they have patiently nourished the faith of their people, few though they are, so that they will give ever more effective witness to their neighbors. They have encouraged a missionary spirit in their people, bringing them in contact with Catholics in other Columban countries. In the last fifteen years, Japan has seen a growth in its foreign population, both legal and illegal. Many are Catholics from Vietnam, Latin America and the Philippines. Some Catholic communities now have more foreign members than Japanese.
The influx of foreigners has enriched the local Churches with an awareness that the Church is a universal and evangelizing Church. Japanese Catholics have new opportunities to serve these fellow Catholics who encounter many problems working in a culture not their own. To aid the new members of their flocks, Columbans have facilitated priest and lay missionaries from other countries to come to Japan.
The wave of foreign workers has provided new opportunities for cooperation between local Churches and non-Christian groups working in various ways to promote social justice.
Since the beginning, over 160 Columbans have struggled to bring Christ to the people of this highly industrialized nation. Today some 50 Columban priests and 3 lay missionaries continue to plow and plant the Gospel seed in the sure hope that their efforts will one day produce a rich harvest.
PERU
When the Columbans came to Lima in 1951, they took responsibility for a parish on the northern side of Lima, extending from the Rimac River to the Chillon River. Fifty-thousand people lived there. Most of the area was farmland worked under the hacienda system - landed gentry and peasants. The continuous urban sprawl, provoked by population growth and migration from the provinces to the capital city, forced Columbans to divide and subdivide the original parish. There are now at least 25 parishes where in 1951 there was only one. More are surely to come as the suburbs continue to expand. The population of the area is now nearly two million and still growing.
These parishes did not come about by slow organic growth but by sudden eruption. Overnight a vast settlement of primitive shelters would suddenly appear where before there were only open fields and dusty valleys and mountain slopes.
Columbans responded to these invasions by helping the people to learn to trust one another and in this way gradually develop a sense of Christian community. Building new parishes from scratch, they began by gathering the people in small groups for prayer, for worship and for catechetical instruction. At the same time they accompanied the people in their struggles to get in light, water and sewerage into their areas.
They organized support groups for the youth, mothers and the elderly, encouraging them to minister to their peers. The people enthusiastically accepted the challenge. Columbans provided training for catechists and lay leaders to assist them in building vibrant Basic Christian Communities. The Columban Sisters who arrived in 1963 undertook work in health clinics. They assisted mothers' clubs by teaching the women ways in which to improve their standard of living. They organized and participated in prayer groups with the women, giving them a sense of their own dignity and self-worth. They trained catechists who in turn prepared children and adults for the sacraments.
In each area as the communities grew, so too did the need for a decent chapel or community center where they could come to pray and worship together and support one another. That involved the ever-recurring problem of securing adequate sites and the building of a series of chapels for the various communities in a given parish area.
All this took place in a climate of a devastating, year-after-year inflation rate coupled with periodic violence caused by radical groups. This made their efforts all the more difficult and added to the suffering of the people, already burdened under indescribable poverty.
During these years of exhausting and at times frenetic pastoral activity, Columbans struggled to instill a missionary spirit in the hearts of the people. Their efforts have borne fruit. Laity from the older parishes are now helping people in the new settlements to build Christian communities. There are a number of Peruvian seminarians studying to become Columban missionaries. In October 1995, the first Peruvian Columban priest was ordained and is now serving in Fiji.
Over the years, 77 Columban and 67 priest associates have devoted their lives to the people of Lima and have left behind them a legacy of vibrant Christian communities where once there was only barren empty land. Today, 29 Columban and priest associates, 15 Columban Sisters and 3 lay missionaries are serving the poor in Lima and in the highlands of Peru.
FIJI
The Marist Fathers had been working in the Fiji Islands for over a century when 13 Columban priests joined them in 1952. At the invitation of Bishop Victor Foley, S.M. they came to provide for the needs of the Church in Fiji and to reach out to the non-Christian Indian population.
Due to a shortage of priests, two parishes where English was generally spoken had to be staffed immediately by Columbans. Three were assigned to a Marist school to gain some experience in Fijian education. Within a year, these three opened Xavier College, a secondary school in the predominantly Indian western province, with the aim of coming into contact with the Indian people.
Of the rest of the Columbans, four were assigned to learn Fijian and four to learn Hindi. Within the year they were assigned to five parishes with others soon to be set up.
As the Columban numbers increased, they took over the founding and development of other parishes and apostolates, especially among the Indian population. Several Columbans spent time in India to gain expertise in the language and an understanding of Indian culture.
A few Columbans devoted their energies to special apostolates: the training of Fijian catechists and of teachers for schools in towns and villages spread over the islands. Columbans remained in charge of the Catechetical Center and the Teachers' Training College until the local Church developed the expertise and personnel to take charge of these.
As the numbers of diocesan priests increased, Columbans were able to turn over to them the many parishes that they had developed in the towns and remote villages on the main islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and in the Yasawa Group.
Columbans also provided professors for the staff of the Pacific Regional Seminary, opened in 1972, and continue to do so. In 1988 Xavier College was turned over to the Monfort Brothers.
Today, except for four parishes, Columbans have placed themselves at the disposal of the archbishop to serve with Fijian priests in whatever parishes the archbishop may assign them. The purpose of this arrangement is to acknowledge and foster the leadership abilities of their fellow diocesan priests.
Other areas in which Columbans have made a major contribution are: promoting housing for the poor and natural family planning, organizing an archdiocesan newspaper, producing low-cost religious books and pamphlets and translating liturgical books into Fijian.
In recent years, several Columbans have promoted courses and seminars aimed at promoting racial and religious harmony and breaking down the racial prejudice that surfaced after the military coup of 1987.
In 1986, Columbans began accepting local vocations and preparing them for missions outside Fiji. Two Fijian Columbans were ordained in 1995 and are presently serving in Peru and Australia. Two teams of Columban lay missionaries from Fiji are working in Chile and Ireland.
Twenty-two Columban priests and 5 lay missionaries are now carrying on the work to which some 60 Columbans have devoted their efforts since 1952.
CHILE
In 1953 three Columbans were sent from Peru to take over the parish of San Andres in Santiago, Chile. They came to a Church in crisis, a crisis common to much of Latin America: an acute shortage of priests and religious. Although Catholic, the people knew little of their faith and practiced it even less.
That was the beginning of a Columban effort to develop Christian communities in the continually growing, poor housing tracts on the outskirts of Santiago. In fifteen years' time, the Columban effort went from 1 to 7 parishes and from 3 to 28 Columbans and priest associates caring for 200,000 people. They started with small wooden chapels that were gradually replaced by more substantial chapel/community centers.
In the mid-60s, to cope with the increasing mass of people, a pastoral plan to build Basic Christian Communities was adopted and a new catechetical program was introduced. The latter prescribed preparation courses for Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Marriage. This pre-sacramental preparation was put in the hands of trained lay people.
Where once the priest was the sole religious force in a parish, zealous lay men and women now provide for the spiritual needs of their brothers and sisters.
For the priests, this means a new role of guiding and supporting a zealous laity as well as working with a hundred hands instead of two.
In 1974, the Columban Sisters came to Chile to work with families and youth groups and to provide adult catechetics. Fourteen Columban Sisters continue this work in Chile today.
All this activity was carried out in a situation of dire poverty resulting from lack of employment and in a volatile political situation that at times caused violent social unrest. The violent political and economic turmoil brought many hardships and much suffering for the people. Much poverty still exists although the political climate is now much more stable.
True to their missionary charism, Columbans have tried to instill a missionary spirit among the Chilean people they serve. Since 1983 they have been receiving lay missionaries from abroad and recently sent two Columban Chilean lay missionary groups to the U.S.A and to Fiji. A number of Chilean students are preparing to become Columban missionaries.
Over the years 79 Columbans and 39 priest associates have served the people of Chile.
In recent years Columbans have undertaken work in other areas of Chile. Today 33 Columbans and priest associates, and 8 lay missionaries labor in the poorer areas of Valparaiso, Copiapo and Iquique in the north of Chile as well as among the Mapuche tribal people in the south of Chile.
TAIWAN
Taiwan is a densely populated country of 21.5 million people living in an area the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. Of the three quarters of a million Christians, less than 300,000 are Catholics.
The first group of Columbans went to Taiwan in 1978. In the highly industrialized dioceses of Hsinchu and Taipei, Columbans minister in parishes that include a number of small struggling Christian communities. These communities are made up of people from different tribal and Chinese groups. Columbans try to foster acceptance and cooperation among these racial groups and to strengthen these communities.
Two of the parishes operate day-care centers for mentally handicapped children, most of whom are from non-Christian families. The children receive a level of personal care, training and education that is uncommon in Taiwan. Efforts are underway to join with other centers throughout the island in the hope of raising the standard of care for such children.
Columbans also work among the Atayals, a tribal people who eke out a living in the mountains of Miaoli County. This area is a government-established reservation. All but the resident Aborigines are required to obtain a pass to enter. The aboriginal people in Taiwan suffer from poverty in sharp contrast to the majority of the population, and they are in danger of losing their culture and natural resources.
Concern for the most marginalized segments of Taiwan society inspires other Columban apostolates. Ministries have been undertaken to prisoners and to the homeless. Twelve Step spirituality groups have been established for alcoholics and their families.
Workers in Taiwan are often poorly treated by their employers in ways that deny their basic rights and human dignity. This is especially true for foreign workers. Recent years have seen an enormous influx of foreign contract workers, both legal and illegal. Most of these workers are Thai or Filipinos, although some come from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and mainland China. Columbans founded two centers in Hsinchu to promote the spiritual and social well-being of workers: New Life Workers' Center in Taoyuan in 1984 and Hope Workers' Center in Chungli in 1987.
New Life Workers' Center is well respected among indigenous workers and labor unions. Hope Workers' Center emphasizes service to migrant workers and women's issues. Both centers encourage indigenous and foreign workers to set aside attitudes of competition and animosity so as to present a united front for the betterment of all workers. Other services provided by the centers include legal support and action, care for the environment, information exchange, faith-sharing and companionship.
These centers are now run by trained local lay people. Columbans continue their involvement with the centers in a variety of support, coordination, liturgical and networking roles.
In all their apostolates in Taiwan, Columbans seek to discover, live and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people of other faiths, to promote the rights of the oppressed and the stewardship of creation and to witness to the communion of all people.
The 11 Columban priests and 4 lay missionaries serving in Taiwan work as a team by sharing responsibility and decision-making in all their apostolates.
PAKISTAN
In this predominantly Islamic nation, Columban priests, Sisters and lay missionaries continue to develop a mission begun in 1979. Catholics in Pakistan are a small minority of less than one percent of the population. In the city of Lahore and in Sheikhupura, 30 miles from Lahore, Columbans are working to form and strengthen local Christian communities. The majority of their people are poor, landless and illiterate. They live in small colonies in the midst of Muslims and earn their living by doing the most menial of jobs. To provide for the spiritual and material needs of their people, Columbans have concentrated on forming Basic Christian Communities, training lay leaders and promoting literacy through formal and informal education programs.
Living in the midst of Muslims, dialogue is a very important aspect of the Columban apostolate. This takes place chiefly in day-to-day contacts with Muslims, in the friendships they build with them and in working with concerned Muslims on issues of social justice that affect both Christians and Muslims.
In 1983 Columbans extended their efforts to the diocese of Hyderabad, a vast area in the Sindh desert of southern Pakistan. There two Columban teams serve the Parkari Kohlis, a tribal people of Hindu origin.
The majority of Parkari Kohlis are tenant farmers continually in debt to large landowners. Although the Parkari Kohlis are the main focus for the Columbans, they are in contact with other tribal groups and minister to a number of Catholic Punjabi communities.
Working out of two parish centers in Matli and Badin, Columbans with their catechists are frequently on the road, visiting their people who live in small settlements scattered over these vast desert areas.
To provide needed health care for their people, Columbans oversee a vaccination program and a TB treatment center in Matli. Mobile teams vaccinated 4,500 young children in four years and the program continues. These efforts not only benefit the people but they promote genuine friendships with Muslims and Hindus.
To provide education for their people, the majority of whom are illiterate, Columbans in the Sindh have organized adult literacy programs, established small rural schools and oversee a boarding school for primary children in Matli.
Present-day Islamic resurgence is on the rise and from time to time this creates difficult problems for Christians.
Pakistani women are subjected to grave discrimination. They live segregated, secluded lives in their homes, at school or at work. The Columban Sisters and laywomen volunteers from the Philippines, both arriving in 1990, have been a special gift to the women of Pakistan.
The Columban Sisters serve in Hyderabad and Kunri in the diocese of Hyderabad. They engage in pastoral and educational work and are involved in primary health care as well.
The Columban lay missionaries work chiefly with the women, supporting them in their struggles, praying with them and helping them to reflect on their lives in the light of faith.
More than anything, the example of the laywomen missionaries and the Columban Sisters, the responsible freedom with which they act, their confidence in their own dignity and self-worth as women, speak louder than their words and are more effective in what they do.
These are the Columbans serving in Pakistan today: 15 priests, one of whom is a priest associate from the Philippines, 6 Sisters and 4 lay missionaries.
BRAZIL
In 1984 it was decided that the dioceses of Barreiras and Salvador had urgent needs and that we actively seek personnel for a new mission there. In 1985, 11 Columbans arrived in the state of Bahia to work among the poor in those dioceses.
In the coastal city of Salvador they were entrusted with two new parishes in the densely populated shantytowns on the outskirts of the city. Within a few years Columbans took responsibility for neglected areas within other existing parishes.
The people, mostly Afro-Brazilians, live in extreme poverty. Although most are baptized, they know very little about their faith. Many don't even have a knowledge of the story of Jesus.
Columbans in Salvador concentrate on developing Basic Christian Communities, forming lay leaders and organizing programs that promote the material needs of the people.
As these communities have grown, modest community centers were built where the people come together for worship, catechetical instruction, Bible study and social activities that help them improve their lives.
The diocese of Barreiras is 600 miles west of Salvador. Here a 60 by 36 square-mile area of scrub land and isolated cattle ranches was assigned to the Columbans. This vast area included three towns and hundreds of small settlements. Some of these settlements are almost totally built around families of African origin; others might be nearly 100 percent Portuguese background.
Within a few years, two more towns and two parishes in the city of Barreiras with outlying settlements were entrusted to the Columbans. As the main thrust of their work was to form strong Basic Christian Communities, Columbans made every effort to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life and to train lay leaders and catechists to serve the spiritual needs of their own people. Community centers were built for these purposes.
These centers were also used to serve the material and social needs of the people. Classes on health care, instructions on ways and skills to improve their lives were also provided.
In 1994, two new pastoral areas were undertaken in the diocese of Juazeiro, located in the most northerly part of Bahia. One is in the slums on the outskirts of the city of Juazeiro. The second is a rural parish, covering 3,500 square miles of semi-arid desert. For six years 9 Columbans and 5 priest associates together with 4 Columban lay missionaries from the Philippines worked in the dioceses of Barreiras, Salvador and Juazeiro.
Today three Columbans work to prepare the people to accept more responsibility for the faith-life of their communities - communities that will have their own lay leaders, capable of serving the needs of their people.
BELIZE and JAMAICA
In 1986 new missions were taken on in Belize and in the diocese of Montego Bay, Jamaica. There was a critical shortage of priests in these dioceses and the poverty of the majority of people in these countries provided another opportunity to serve the poor of this world in accordance with the vision of our founders.
The history of these countries tell of people struggling to free themselves from slavery, economic exploitation and dependency. Both countries were seen as very much mission areas and they had a further benefit for Columbans themselves.
Because English is the common language in Belize and Jamaica, these countries were seen as providing pastoral opportunities for a special group of Columbans. These were older priests who had served in administrative roles at home and were still anxious to work in a mission situation and would not have to learn a new language.
A number of Columbans volunteered and in 1986 five Columbans were accepted to work in Belize and five in Montego Bay.
For the next ten years in their efforts to build up and strengthen Basic Christian Communities in Jamaica and Belize, Columbans concentrated on special apostolates to youth and families. Catechetics and the training of lay leaders were also a primary focus for them. Working among the poor has led to special efforts to provide and improve health care, housing for the destitute and education for poor children and youths.
These efforts were very much in line with the aim of the local bishops to develop a strong local Church capable of providing for its own needs. After ten years missionary work, the Columbans withdrew from Belize in 1996. And from Jamaica in 1999.
MISSIONARIES IN THE 21st CENTURY
When Christian missions started, Jerusalem was the center and everywhere else was regarded as "the ends of the earth." As recently as 50 years ago the world could be divided into mission-sending countries and mission-receiving countries. Today the Church is established on six continents. So today the center is everywhere and everywhere is at ‘the ends of the earth.’ Today mission is from everywhere to everywhere.
The primary phase of mission, as defined by the Second Vatican Council (Cf. Ad Gentes, the Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, paragraph 6), is almost completed. We now move into a new phase of mission in which what we used to call mission receiving countries are now mission sending countries as well.
Our world is a world in motion. Never has there been such a movement of people as millions migrate from country to country in search of a life where they can work, live in peace and raise their families with dignity. America has been accustomed to this movement from its beginnings. People of all religions and backgrounds fled persecution and poverty and started a new life here.
Over the last two hundred years American parishes have received waves of immigrants. The process continues, but Germans, Italians, Polish, and Irish or the 19th and 20th centuries are being replaced by Hispanic, Asian, or Nigerian faces. In addition Western Europe now must cope with millions of migrants from other continents.
Columban Mission is responding to today’s needs, with migrant apostolates in such diverse places as Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Taiwan and the U.S./Mexican border.
In addition to recent changes in the location of mission, the agents of mission have also changed. Columban priests now come from such diverse countries as Fiji, Ireland, Tonga, Peru, Chile, Korea, the USA and the Philippines.
A further example of this transition can be seen in our Columban Lay Missionary Program. Today Fijian lay missionaries work in Chile, and Koreans work in the United States. The Philippines sends missionaries to Pakistan while Fijians work in the Philippines. American, British, Chilean and Irish lay missionaries also crisscross the globe. We believe the risen Jesus is as alive in all of them as He was in Paul and Barnabas on their journeys.
Reprinted with permission from the Missionary Society of St. Columban, U.S. Region
