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Past Magazine Stories

Below are stories from past issues of Columban Mission magazine. The Columban Fathers publish Columban Mission magazine eight times a year. Subscriptions are available for just $15 per year. Sign up to receive our next issue. Read more about Columban Mission magazine.

 

February 2026

Recovering from hip surgery is a long process. I suspect that many of you reading this article know that firsthand or know someone who experienced it! The physical…

February 2026

“There are no foreigners in the Church,” Cardinal Silva of Santiago, Chile, once proclaimed. He said this at a press conference that he convoked, in order to read his own…

February 2026

Anyone who owns their own home is familiar with the ongoing demands of maintaining it, as well as the necessity of renovating it every decade or so in response to changing…

February 2026

The Apostle Saint James, who, according to popular tradition, is buried in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was a man chosen by Jesus and a favored witness to…

February 2026

Ask anyone what they know about Bridgend in South Wales, and they’ll almost certainly mention the rugby team. Bridgend Ravens (formerly Bridgend RFC) have been stalwarts…

February 2026

I am Fr. Barry Cairns, and I am 94. I am 70 years ordained as a Columban missionary priest and 69 years ago I came, compared to today, to a very different Japan. War…

February 2026

Mt. Fuji, at 12,388 feet, is the highest mountain in Japan. Its location in central Honshu is only about 60 miles west of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. It is a…

February 2026

Sometimes the older Columbans sit around the dinner table sharing stories of the eccentricities of one or another brother Columban — strange habits, eccentricities, etc.…

February 2026

The old year folds its weary wings
And drift s into the dusk of time,
Its laughter, tears, forgotten things

February 2026

Weekly, I make it a habit to visit randomly the nine chapels of the Columban parish of San Mathias in Bajos de Mena, Santiago, Chile, where I have been sent.
Riding a…

December 2025

Even though the celebration of morning Mass for the Columban community in our house chapel seemed like a burden for Fr. Jack, he continued to add his name to the rostrum.…

December 2025

In an Islamic country like Pakistan, Christmas doesn’t cause much of a stir for the majority of people. However, it does matter to many Christians, as it represents a…