Missionary Society of St. Columban US
Written by Columban Fr. Malachy Hanratty, "Resurrection Gifts" is a series of guided meditations that teaches "praying the scripture". It builds…
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“Do this in memory of me.” Following Christ’s command, on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1972, Bishop John McCormack of Meath ordained John McEvoy and…
In this episode, Columban Fr. Jim Mulroney speaks with Columban Lay Missionary, Michael Javier who is assigned to Myanmar but is currently in the…
With Your Help
Columban Missions Adapt
During Difficult Times
Fr. Michael Hoban recently wrote to me about one of the catechetical programs he’s involved with in a remote parish in northern Chile. The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed the lives of everyone all around the world, and it changed Fr. Mike’s mission also. Thanks to Columban supporters like you here at home, celebrating the Sacraments is possible even in the most difficult …
Stories from Columban Missions
My mind was significantly shaped by mathematics, logic and informal debate. Thinking things through, stating a position and articulating the case…
Coming back to Taiwan as a second term lay missionary, I was very excited to go back to serve in the migrant ministry. I have a new assignment…
A few months previous, his health started getting worse, and he needed to have an operation because there was a tumor on his neck. The doctor, his…
In 2007, during one of my weekly visits to the Hsinchu City Immigration Detention Center in Taiwan, I met Ani and Siti (not their real names), two…
French Catholic missionaries first arrived in Fiji in 1844 at Lakeba, Lau. Missions were established in 1851 at Ba and Rewa on the island of Viti…
Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to Iraq in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as a Pilgrim Penitent and as a Pilgrim of Peace put me thinking. Age…
I met Loweza in the village named Mundiala Virka many years ago when I was on mission in Sheikhupura Parish in Punjab Province, Pakistan. She…
The young people of the Pacific are the ones who have contributed least to planetary destruction, but they will suffer its consequences sooner and…
Jesus had a good following in Galilee but going into Judea towards Jerusalem He was meeting much resentment, opposition and obstruction from the…
From the Director
Women and Children
One summer, as a seminarian, I was a chaplain in a Level-1 trauma center at Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Generally, I attended to the emergency room section. However, at one point I asked to begin to visit the maternity ward because I spoke Spanish and many of the women were Spanish speaking only. I was hesitant about going thinking that, as a man, what could I converse with them? I went on my first visit but felt the conversations were awkward. Often, I was at a loss for words. Later, I shared my experience with a group of fellow chaplains. The female chaplains inquired about what I asked the women. Did I ask how long the labor was? How difficult the labor was? How much did the baby weigh? Of course, those questions did not occur to me. When I went back to the maternity…