History was made when three bishops from the Catholic Church in China visited Dalgan Park last week to honour the role the Columbans have played in the faith in China. It is the first Chinese episcopal delegation to visit Dalgan since the Society was founded in 1918.
Bishop Guo Jincai of Chengde Diocese is Vice President of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China. He was joined by Bishop Joseph Cai Bingrui of Fuzhou Diocese and Bishop Sun Wenjun of Weifang Diocese as well as Fr Wang Dongcheng, canon lawyer and lecturer at the National Seminary in Beijing.
They were welcomed to the China Room by the Regional Director, Fr David Kenneally and Vice Regional Director, Fr Padraig O’Donovan as well as Fr Eamonn O’Brien and Fr Dan Troy who is based in Wuhan as well as other members of the community in Dalgan. Fr Hugh MacMahon accompanied the Chinese students who are living and studying in Maynooth on scholarships provided by the Columbans.
Greeting the Chinese prelates, Regional Director, Fr David Kenneally told them he was “mindful of our long-standing relationship with China. We were formed to go to China, and to this day, our legal title is reflective of that relationship: the ‘Maynooth Mission to China’.”
He added, “We have a bond that no one can break with the Church in China. Many of our members have died in China and are buried there.”
The visiting bishops also spoke to Coluumbans in the afternoon about their dioceses and the number of seminarians, priests and religious.
The bishops also met with representatives of St Patrick’s College Maynooth where they discussed a possible future partnership with the seminary.
Rev Dr Séamus O’Connell, professor of sacred history at St Patrick’s College, who accompanied the delegation to Dalgan following their meetings in Maynooth, paid tribute to the Missionary Society of St Columban, whose links with China had “provided the foundation and the context” for the visit.
Fr David Kenneally’s address
The honour rests with me to welcome you to St Columbans in Ireland on behalf of the Columban Missionaries. We are hosting you in the Chinese Room. This room marks the significance of our relationship with the Chinese Church. It is forever before our eyes and in our hearts.
This room is where we have formal meetings and informal chats. There is no other room in this house that is named after a country and that in itself reflects our ever-present relationship.
I bring you greetings also from our incumbent Bishop Tom Deenihan. He is currently leading a Diocesan Pilgrimage for the Jubilee Year of Hope in Rome. He sends his fraternal greetings and his support for your endeavours. Bishop Tom has lectured in St Patrick’s College and is excited at the prospect of a link between our communities of faith.
I am also mindful of our long-standing relationship with China. We were formed to go to China, and to this day, our legal title is reflective of that relationship. “Maynooth Mission To China.” While not all of us have been working in China, we share a common bond and vision.
The Columbans were founded by two priests, Bishop Edward Galvin and Father John Blowick, who had been trained in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth and Fr. John went on to be a professor there. It is because of the openness and conviction of the training they received in St Patrick’s that they went on to found the Maynooth Mission to China.
We have a bond that no one can break with the Church in China. Many of our members have died in China and are buried there. For as we read in sacred scripture, A man can have no greater Love than to lay down his life for his friends. In this room, also as a permanent reminder of those bonds, is Bishop Galvin of Hanyang’s cross and crosier.
The same Bishop Galvin sought to dedicate us to the vision of the great European St Columban, who is seen as the architect of bringing people closer together and the vision that led to the European Union. It is in the same spirit that I welcome you here today.
Your visit today brings us great joy. There is something of the Gospel imperative to reach out to the whole world, and now that is becoming a two-way, energetic dialogue. I welcome you all with an open heart and say Céad míle fáilte. 100,000 welcomes.