The Missionary Society of St. Columban has elected Fr. Andrei Paz as Society Leader during the organization's General Assembly in Peru. The Columbans also elected the new General Council and Columban Lay Missionary Central Leadership Team to six-year terms.
Fr. Paz, the first Society Leader from the Philippines, was ordained in 2009. His first mission assignment was at a Columban parish in the remote mountains of Taiwan. In 2012 he moved to mainland China serving as vocations coordinator. While in China, Fr. Paz saw a need for ministry to children with disabilities. In 2015, he moved to the United States and worked on a degree in Occupational Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
After earning his PhD. in Occupational Therapy, Fr. Paz returned to China to provide therapy at the rehabilitation center for children with disabilities. When the pandemic started in 2020, he returned to parish ministry in the Philippines.
The Columban Leadership Team includes:
- Society Leader Fr. Andrei Paz, Philippines
- Society Vicar Fr. Peter O'Neill, Australia
- Second Councillor Fr. Kim Young-In, Korea
- Third Councillor Fr. Salustino Villalobos Mondragon, Peru
Newly-elected members of the Columban Lay Missionaries Central Leadership Team include:
- Coordinator Sherryl Lou Capili, Philippines
- Member Kim Sun Hee, Korea