Even though 2023 was the hottest year for 100,000 years, climate change may paradoxically plunge Europe into an Ice Age warns eco theologian and Columban missionary Fr Sean McDonagh. In February 2024 the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported...
Born and raised in the mountains of Peru, Columban missionary Fr Salustino Villalobos now finds himself serving God’s people in the mountains of Taiwan, writes Fr John Boles. The Holy Spirit is a great mover. In the Bible, the Spirit moves Jesus from Galilee to...
Last summer Josh Egan from Co Tipperary took part in the Society’s Invitation to Mission programme and travelled to Chile to learn about Columban mission there. He writes about some stand-out moments during his time there. I am currently a full-time student...
I am writing this crouched under a lazy ceiling fan, dripping with sweat and staring out at the squalid, chaotic, dust-blown bedlam that is Karachi, the biggest city in Pakistan. You might ask, “Who in their right mind would choose to live and work in such an...
As we prepare for Christmas, Fr Malachy Hanratty invites readers to ponder the birth of our Saviour by reading Luke’s Gospel. Joseph and Mary set out in trust Let us increase our thanks and pray for courage as we think about Joseph and Mary setting out in trust...
After witnessing a touching encounter between some young children and the Infant Jesus in the manger, Fr Kevin Fleming suggests parishes should make their Christmas Crib as accessible as possible. Last year I spent Christmas in my hometown of Ferbane, Co Offaly...
A Christian world and a world yet to be evangelised. That situation no longer exists. The people who have not yet heard the gospel no longer live in non-western countries. They are everywhere especially in huge urban areas. In large cities new paradigms are needed....
Columban missionary Sr Ann Gray writes about this year’s Columban’s Day gathering in the Swiss city of St Gallen, named after one of the 12 monks who left Bangor monastery in Co Down with St Columban in the 6th century as ‘Pilgrims for Christ’. ‘Whether we are...
November is the month of the Holy Souls when we pray for our dear departed. We Columbans also pray for our deceased members at Cemetery Sunday Mass in June. We are joined at the cemetery in Dalgan Park by the families of those Columban Fathers who have died. After...
Columban missionary Fr Oliver McCrossan visited the parish community of Pitogo in Zamboanga del Sur in the Philippines to see how they are replanting their mangrove forest as part of their commitment to care for the earth. Since the 1970s, the Columban Fathers,...