Two new Columban priests were ordained in Chile – Rafael Ramírez and Gonzalo Borquez
2016
Like the majority of Columban missionaries, it is usual for me to spend the Christmas season far from my family.
I am not a writer, but I’m writing this reflection for myself and for others hopefully to be enlightened more about the Trinity’s love and God’s desire for each one of us…
Columban Fr. Donald Kill writes about the celebration of the Christmas season at the “Balay San Columbano” home in the Philippines. This home was founded by Fr.
The snow outside is tapering off. There is a Christmas concert on public television. Surely it is time for me to reflect as Christmas approaches.
Today I went to take photos of the fire-walking at the Hindu temple at Nadera, a few miles from Suva. In the early 20th century, the British colonial government brought…
How was it that Columban priest, Fr. Dick Ranaghan, spurred Bing Crosby into making his first record of Silent Night?
There are times when God is near to us and helps us through the day
No matter what the obstacles, the worries, the cares on top of us
There is something about life on an island. The past number of years I’ve been blessed to spend three weeks on an island called Negros Oriental.
The war on drugs initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 1, 2016, has made headlines around the world.
On the night of December 16, 2011, a sendong or typhoon struck the northern coast of Mindanao, the main southern island of the Philippines.
The tall elderly man leaning slightly on his cane, stands out among the people of the Andes.
Aside from my parish involvement, one of the most memorable experiences that I had in Peru was my ministry in Manuel Duato, a special institution which provides basic…
The drive from Ba, where I am stationed as assistant priest, to Suva takes well over four hours. Load-carrying trucks are one of the obstacles on the way, as I found out…
Over the course of nearly 100 years, Columban missionaries have been caught up in major wars and insurrections in the countries where we live and serve.
I call this article “men of the road” because in all my years in Japan, only one woman came to me looking for a handout.
That encounter inspired me to be more with the people with my true self. You don’t have to pretend because people would notice it.
It would be a disservice to truth for me not to acknowledge that there have been and are serious challenges for religious and civil society in China from sections of the…
I have never known life without him. My great-uncle, Bishop Henry Ambrose Pinger, O.F.M., returned to the United States the year I was born, having served as a missionary…
St. Columban, a great Irish missionary monk, died in 615 A.D. in Bobbio, Italy. Columban missionaries (who have St.
Going on mission to Hong Kong in 1976 was both an exciting adventure and a shock to the system.
On a September morning in 2014, I arrived in Iquique in northern Chile on a flight from Santiago.
I just came from town for a visit with an Indian family and sat down on the very comfortable chair in the mission house.
A few years ago my priest companion in the Columban international seminary in Chicago, Fr. Leo Distor, and I were invited to join a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St.
The Paris Foreign Mission Society handed over pastoral responsibility for Jeju Island to the Columban Fathers in 1933.
Ever since I returned to Korea, people have asked me, “How old are you?” “Why don’t you dye your gray hair?” whether I’m at the market or waiting at a bus station.
Since childhood I have been fascinated with geography. At times I would build different islands and mountains on the seashore and imagined myself at the top of them.
Thinking back on my life in South Korea, there was the humdrum of daily living along with surprises and the excitement that went with being part of new things happening…
Each Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Seoul, Korea, believers come to celebrate the Eucharist in Kwang Hwa Mun Plaza in the center of Seoul.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”
It is difficult for us in Myanmar (Burma) to get visas so we have to leave and go to Bangkok, Thailand, frequently to renew our visas.
Prison ministry was my personal choice.
I have often been asked, “What is the biggest change you have seen since you started working pastorally with people affected by HIV and AIDS?” I have pondered this…
My name is Louis Ybanez, and I am a Columban seminarian from the Philippines.
He's known as the white ghost! This tall, middle aged man with a fair complexion and salt-and-pepper colored hair, can be seen walking the streets of neglected…
Observing the Sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist, is something I look forward to celebrating.
I met Bishop Jin about 25 years ago on my first visit to China and dined with him in his former residence next to the Cathedral.
My pilgrimage in – indeed conversion to – interreligious dialogue started even before I learned the phrase interreligious dialogue.
In April 2016, I joined Archbishop George Lucas of the Omaha archdiocese on a trip of a lifetime – spending 17 days in China!
The rise of women into to high public office has given a new dimension to the global political scene.
Each one of us will have our own memories of the events that touched and made an impression on us this year.
It is said that history has a habit of repeating itself. This seems to be so in one particular case at least. In June 1920 when Columban Frs.
Who stole away those golden leaves which recently had fallen from the trees
Decorating those tired and resting fields
It is truly an age of disbelief. Respect for the values of human life has plunged.
I am Mercy Gawason, and I am a Subanen woman. I am 26 years old, and I work in the Subanen Craft Center in Ozamis City, the Philippines. I met Columban Fr.
In March 2013, Columban Fr. Bobby Gilmore wrote this letter to his niece Sarah and her husband Rob when he found out that Annabel Grace was born with Cystic Fibrosis.
Since I joined the Columban lay mission program in 2000, I have learned three different languages: English, Filipino (Tagalog) and Spanish.
Growing up in New York City, summers for me were times for relaxing, recreation and fun.
Almost six months ago, I arrived in Yangon, Myanmar, to begin my mission assignment.
A long time ago in Japan there lived a travelling man who went from place to place with his monkey who could dance.
From our earliest days, almost a century ago, Columban missionaries have employed people to assist us in a variety of roles to support our mission.
On my first visit to Nagasaki’s Atomic Bomb Museum, the obscenity of the atomic bomb left me angry and disturbed.
Lumen Gentium emphasizes the “universal call to holiness” which applies to all the “people of God”– clergy, religious and lay people, stating that “all…
Founded by Columban Fr. Bernard Wade in 1939, St.
At the end of May 2016, during the General Audience of Pope Francis with representatives of the permanent diaconate, Rev.
Earlier this year, two Columban Fathers—an Irish farmer by way of decades of mission in Pakistan and an Iowa farmer by way of decades of mission in Korea—and I visited…
“I couldn’t manage without them.” That is a phrase one often hears in a discussion between the parish priests in Fiji, whether indigenous or foreign born.
Columban missionary Fr. Tanvir O’Hanlon invited me to work with the Columbans for the promotion of mission in our local church.
Irma Cantago
Recently, we received a note of thanks from the diocese of Mytikyina for the donation we gave towards the completion of St.
Once upon a time many years ago, a man and his wife lived in the countryside in Japan.
On Saturday, May 14, 2016, Columban Fr.
During the 122 year history of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH), there has been a special relationship with various Catholic institutions.
During the national convention of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) in St.
I wonder if the Blessed Virgin was limping during her old age? Nevertheless, I think she will still be there doing what God the Father asked of her.
Editor’s Note: In November 2015, Julia Corcoran spent a week with Columban lay missionaries from Chile and the Philippines who are working in Britain.
The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Sisterhood of Irish and Irish-American, Catholic Women.
The farmers have just cultivated their crops, such as corns and potatoes. They hope for a good harvest so that they will be able to share it with one another.
Fr. Kevin O’Neill, Superior General of the Columban Fathers and Fr. Patrick Colgan, member of the General Council, attended a meeting of leaders of Society of Apostolic…
Bishop Jin, the late bishop of Shanghai, who died aged 97 years in 2013, was Agnes Dong’s great-grandmother’s cousin.
Noh Hyein, better known as Anna (pronounced En-na), a teacher by profession, came to the Philippines in April 2011 with three other Korean women.
When we think of the missionary work of the Columbans in Japan, we must not forget the Trojan work done by the Japanese catechists.
I've been here in Taiwan for many years already, and I find it very interesting that a lot of my "kababayan" (countrymen) wanted to work abroad.
My name is Olajoke Ajikolu, and I am from Nigeria. I have five brothers and a sister, and life seemed to be pretty hard for us.
If I were to describe my twelve years ministering to prostitutes, I would have to say I felt truly powerless on the one hand and deeply aware of God’s presence on the…
Graduations have started for some of the kids. There was a Recognition Day on March 31 for Ariel Bulangis who has completed Grade 10. After that he still has two years of…
We rejoice in the great gift of life. But as we grow older this gift is overshadowed by experiences of illness, pain, and loss.
It has been nine years since I started working as a personal counsellor in a Boy’s Secondary School in Dublin, Ireland, and also nine years since I started working in The…
Shusaku Endo, a Japanese novelist, died in 1996–almost 20 years ago. In Japan he is still featured regularly in television programs, magazine articles and exhibitions.
Editor’s Note: On Monday, November, 23, 2015, Columban Fr. YoungIn Kim celebrated the Feast Day of St. Columban in Cuzco, Peru.
My first experience of engaging in pastoral ministry in Japan was at a residential center, run by the Daughters of Charity of St.
You might call me a slow learner.
My name is Nilton Iman, and I am a priest of the Diocese of Chimbote, a land blessed with the blood of the first martyrs of my country, Peru.
Fiji for me will always be one of the most wonderful places in the world.
Welcome to Peru, Land of the Incas (Land of the Kings). Many would say that you’ve never really been to this resplendent country until you’ve set foot in the majestic and…
My name is Teakare Betero, age 28, and I have been with the Columbans for five years now. At the moment I am studying at the Pacific Regional Seminary.
In 2007 my father talked to me about the possibility of going overseas as a lay missionary.
I came to live in Fujisawa after getting married 58 years ago. I have been fortunate with my health.
Jessica Mary, along with thirty other recovering child survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking, marched down the streets of Olongapo City on International Women’s…
A few weeks ago Maria Johnson, Director of Hispanic Ministry, sent a note to Columban Father Maurice Foley asking him to write some articles about his missionary…
For many years, the Columbans have been sponsoring the Education Commission of Myitkyina and Banmaw Dioceses, in Kachin State, Myammar, in their provision of boarding…
It's hard to remind yourself to have faith every day. Especially when it comes to having patience or to being confident in God's plan when it is unknown to you.
I got off the minibus at the last stop on the hillside in Huaycan, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru.
Tears flowed down the cheeks of Yudi’s face as he listened to the voice of his mother speaking through my cellular phone while he laid on his ICU (Intensive Care Unit) bed…
I left Taiwan three years ago and returned for a two-month refresher course in Chinese Mandarin in March 2015.
"What is it that keeps you going?" is a question that I frequently ask other Columban missionaries who live and minister in very difficult circumstances.
The Thar Parkar Desert is situated in the southeast of Pakistan in Sindh province.
When I was a very young priest just out of language school in Tokyo, my Japanese vocabulary was somewhat limited!
The Rainbow Community, a foundation offering services to peoples with intellectual disabilities in South Korea, founded by Irish-born Columban Fr.
Parola is one of the largest shanty-towns in the Philippines. It is in the capital, Manila, on a long stretch of low-lying land between the Pasig River and the busy North…
Fr. Thomas Nan was ordained in 2002 and spent eight years in Peru as a Columban missionary. “When I was young I never knew the Columbans.
On September 6, 2015, I celebrated Mass for the last time in prison. For the past 22 years I have been working as a prison chaplain in Western Australian jails.
Peru opened its arms to me in the first days of September 1978. That meant learning the language, and the language school was in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
There was a lonely Mission
Where Jesus was adored
They knew His ten commandments
And read His holy word.
Socializing rarely energizes me. In fact, it usually drains me.
The road from Lima to Samanco passes through a number of fast growing coastal towns but for the most part the traveler has no choice but to contemplate the bare rocky or…