Fr Pat Raleigh writes about the recent visit of Fr Pat McInerney, the Columban Regional Director for Oceania, to Dalgan.
It is always a pleasure to welcome people like Fr Pat McInerney, he certainly enriched us with his presence and visit. A native of Adelaide in Australia, Pat is currently the Columban Regional Director for Oceania which includes Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
He came to Dalgan after attending an Inter-Religious Dialogue Meeting in Rome, an area he is an expert in.
Pat’s visit brought back many good and happy memories of our years living together in Lahore, Pakistan. Pat, together with Frs Tom O’Reilly, Jim Fleming, Robert McCulloch, and the late Paul Goddard and Pat McCaffrey were the pioneering group of the new Columban Mission to Pakistan in 1979. He spent many years in hte country.
Fr Pat Raleigh, Fr Pat McInerney and Fr Tom O’Reilly in front of St Columban’s, Dalgan. Photo: courtesy Fr Pat Raleigh.
During his visit to Dalgan, Pat gave us a very informative and educational talk on ‘Columban Mission Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’. He shared what the Columbans are doing in the Region of Oceania with particular emphasis on planning for the future.
He also visited Newgrange with Fr Tom O’Reilly and myself and described it as educational and fascinating.
Pat also had the opportunity to meet other Columbans who had worked in Australia and Fiji, including Frs JJ Ryan, John McEvoy and Pat Colgan.
Fr Pat McInerney and Fr Tom O’Reilly in the grounds of Dalgan. Photo: courtesy Fr Pat Raleigh.