It is important to record the stories, experiences and wisdom of Irish missionaries while they are still in our midst, Dr Carmel Gallagher has said.
She is the author of ‘Retired Missionaries and Faith in a Changing Society’ which offers a sociological study of the Irish missionary diaspora. The book was launched at an AMRI event last October.
It draws on a series of interviews with female and male Catholic missionaries, mainly nuns and priests, who have worked in Asia, Africa and Central and South America, and who have returned to live in Ireland.
Dr Gallagher, who is Emeritus Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Law and Education at TU Dublin, felt their stories and experiences needed to be told as they have a lot to say to Ireland of today.
She has written this article for the Far East magazine which will be published in a forthcoming issue.
Retired Missionaries and Faith in a Changing Society by Dr Carmel Gallagher
Thirty-seven women and men from 20 different religious orders along with a small number of lay people were interviewed for this sociological research study.
The missionaries had served in a total of 34 countries mainly in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, for varying periods of time and they had returned to Ireland to retire or take up other duties.
Through in-depth narrative interviews the missionaries were facilitated to tell their stories and to reflect on the meaning of missionary work in their lives.
This article highlights a few examples of the work done by the missionaries and the ways in which their experiences enriched their lives. The names are anonymised as in the study.
There were mixed motivations evident in the path to becoming a missionary ranging from influences at home and school, a strong sense of social justice, inner conviction, religious magazines, personal contacts etc.
However, it was through the work itself and the unfolding of the teachings of Vatican II that their commitment to missionary work grew. Many stated that the original decision to become a missionary had to be reaffirmed time and time again with new opportunities, challenges, learning and discernment.
The following are common themes addressed by the missionaries. The idea of not having all the answers and learning from the people and culture while giving the ‘Good News’ of the gospels was emphasised.
The missionaries recognised their total dependence on the people among whom they worked. They came to greatly admire their culture, their resilience and their rootedness. Genuine cross-cultural friendships were formed.
Maurice who worked with sugar cane workers in the Philippines summed up a common view of the missionary project among the missionaries interviewed: “So, we all went out thinking that we were bringing the joy of the gospel. The truth is, God was there long before we were there. God was with the people.”
Working collaboratively with people and with civil society groups became the modus operandi of missionaries. In South America and the Philippines missionaries experienced a church that was strongly influenced by Liberation theology.
For example, in the Philippines and Brazil missionaries helped farmers and workers secure better land and worker rights.
Mission work became firmly focused on helping the most marginalised including prisoners, women in prostitution and people who had AIDS. Explaining the missionary aims behind a health and development programme for women and children, Martha referenced the words of Jesus in the bible, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” (John, 10:10).
This programme, developed in the 1980s by a female paediatrician and several bishops, trained community leaders, mainly women, who would visit families, identify needs and help to transform lives through interventions on health, nutrition, education and citizenship.
Helen who worked as a doctor in a number of African countries described how she and the other sisters in her community were there as ‘’ambassadors of Christ, being his hands and continuing his healing ministry.’’
Anne developed an outreach service to people who had AIDS in a country in south-east Asia in the early decades of the disease providing palliative care at first and then treatment as drugs became available.
The missionaries had a strong commitment to accompanying people who were marginalised or in great need. This approach sometimes involved considerable risk to the missionaries themselves when they supported people caught up in violence or civil strife.
Cathal spoke about his interfaith work in the Philippines where Islam was the majority religion and where there has been a long history of tension between Christians and Muslims: “There was this great effort now to understand them and for them to understand us… . And part of my best years were in dialogue with people of Islamic faith.”
Darragh spoke about being asked to negotiate with the Coastguard in the Philippines to give fisher people a chance to catch fish as they were strangled with having to give bribes, compete with better equipped sea-going trawlers and deal with pirates.
He did manage to get a short reprieve for them and recalled what the leader of the group said to him: “Thank you for spending the time with us.”
Bernadette worked with families caught up in drugs related violence in a south American country whose children had been murdered by criminal gangs or by the police. She also spoke about her work with women in prostitution and described the degradation they experienced and their despair if their children are taken from them:
‘’A lot of it was befriending and opening opportunities for the women, if they wanted… basically to tell these people that they were important, that somebody… would stand by them…. The self-esteem of these women is down in the gutter.’’
It has been argued that the Irish missionary movement is the most significant contribution that Ireland has made to the world in its first 50 years of independence.
Between 1920 and 1970 over 30,000 men and women joined missionary orders, both Irish and continental religious institutes (Moran, 2016, p5).
Today Irish missionaries are a rapidly dwindling group. The most recent statistics show that there are just 626 Irish Catholic missionaries active outside Ireland (personal communication from AMRI, 2022).
Yet, the influence of Irish missionaries can be seen in numerous ways, including Ireland’s overseas aid programme, social and environmental justice work and in reverse evangelisation.
Linehan concludes that declining numbers does not mean that missionaries are a spent force: “Back in Ireland, even in their 80s, many retired missionaries are vital and steely-eyed, ready to share their experiences with famine, child soldiers, and HIV/AIDS.
Theirs is a collective voice tempered by the paradox of being globally engaged but displaced from the current focus of Irish society.” (Linehan 2021, p3).
It is important to record the stories, experiences and wisdom of Irish missionaries while they are still in our midst.
References:
Gallagher, C (2024). Retired Missionaries and Faith in a Changing Society. Routledge. Available as an ebook. Retired Missionaries and Faith in a Changing Society – 1st Edition – C
Linehan, D. (2021). Common ground: How missionaries shape Ireland’s global connections. The Australian Outlook, August 2021.
Moran, M. (2016). The legacy of Irish missionaries lives on. Onstream Publications.