This year is very special for all Columbans as we celebrate our Centenary, one hundred years since Rome formally recognised the Society, which was founded in 1916.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our co-founders, Bishop Edward Galvin and Fr John Blowick for their foresight and vision in founding a new Missionary Society, ‘The Maynooth Mission to China’.
To initiate a new venture like this in the turbulent year of 2016 demanded a huge leap of faith.
From the beginning, this new venture captured the imagination of the people of Ireland and elsewhere.
It was the beginning of a great Missionary Movement followed by the founding of many other Missionary Societies and Congregations including the Missionary Sisters of St Columban, the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, the Medical Missionaries of Mary, Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa (Mount Oliver), St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan as well as the Legion of Mary.
Over this period of time we have been privileged not only to have worked in China but also in Australia, Belize, Brazil, Britain, Burma (Myanmar), Chile, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan and the United States.
From the beginning, each of these areas presented different challenges. As Bishop Galvin once said of the mission in China, ‘we do not know what the next twenty-four hours will bring’. This has been true for many missionaries.
The one thing that has remained steadfast, even in moments of great hardship and uncertainty, is God’s presence and fidelity.
A number of Columbans have met with violent deaths and have suffered great hardships. Some have been tortured and even kidnapped.
Looking back over the one hundred years of mission we can honestly say that no matter what the difficulties were, Columbans and other missionaries remained faithful and continued, in as far as possible, to stay with the people no matter what the hardships were and the uncertainties that lay ahead.
We have experienced many changes over the years in our understanding of Mission. We have tried to adapt to the signs of the times and the challenges that each decade brings bearing in mind that what we are about is God’s mission.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people from the various cultures where we worked and are working who have warmly welcomed us. God has been present among these people long before our arrival.
As we look back over the years we can feel proud that we have always tried to follow in the footsteps of the Lord by reaching out to the poor and the most vulnerable. We continue to do this. Today we also see that an integral part of God’s mission and our mission is caring for the earth and the environment. May we continue to be large in our loving, generous in our service and tread lightly on the earth.
We have worked in many cultures where Christianity is a minority religion. We have lived and worked with people of the other great religious traditions, Buddhists, Muslims and others. We have a lot to learn from them.
The big challenge today is to continue our small efforts in breaking down the barriers that do exist. This is particularly true in relation to Islam especially in Pakistan, southern Philippines and in Myanmar.
Ireland has become a more diverse and multicultural country. People from other cultures have greatly added to the richness of who we are as a nation. Just as we have been warmly welcomed as missionaries may we extend the hand of friendship and welcome to people seeking a better quality of life.
In recent years one small initiative that Columbans in Ireland have taken, in partnership with the Columban Sisters, our lay missionaries and co-workers, is through the Columban Centre in Store Street in Dublin. It is a place of welcome for migrants and refugees seeking a better quality of life, some of whom have been forced to leave their own countries. Welcoming the stranger is at the core of our mission as Columbans.
Our work would not have been possible were it not for the generosity of the people of Ireland. The Far East Magazine has been our flagship from the very beginning of the Society and it is still going strong.
Through the Far East we have the privilege of communicating with you and sharing our stories as Columban Missionaries. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to you our readers and benefactors who continue to make huge sacrifices in supporting our work. I feel not only grateful but also very humbled by your generosity. Thank you once again for your support.
Our numbers may be smaller but we have been truly blessed in now having members from Asia, Chile and Peru and the South Pacific as well as Columban Lay Missionaries. It is to these that we will pass on the torch as we move into a new era of mission. We place the future in God’s hands.
It is very fitting that the theme for our Centenary celebrations is ‘Sharing Gospel Joy’, a theme very close to the heart of Pope Francis. We look forward, in a spirit of joy and hope, in participating in God’s mission into the next 100 years.
Pope Francis in his message to the Society on the occasion of our Centenary asks, ‘that we also deepen our commitment to finding new ways of bringing the newness of the Gospel to every culture and people’. I wish you every blessing and good health for 2018.
Fr Pat Raleigh, Regional Director, Columbans, Ireland.