Children at Risk
"The children, the young children, we have to do something about the children, they are at risk." Warmi Huasi is a small civil association (NGO) I set up with others twelve years ago to accompany families, and especially children at risk, who live in situations of poverty.
By Fr. Ed O'Connell
August 8, 2018
In So Many Words
The story is told of a good and prayerful woman who claimed to have had a vision of Christ. She went to see the bishop. "Did you talk to him?" he asked.
By Sr. Redempta Twomey
August 1, 2018
The Masterpiece of Nature
When Fr. Sean McDonagh, who taught at the University of Mindanao in the Philippines, joined one of his students on a research project among the T'boli tribe during the summer of 1978, he could not have imagined what a life-changing experience lay ahead of him. His initial plan had simply been to swap for a few months the hustle and bustle of Davao City for the slow paced rhythm of the rainforest where these indigenous people have lived for centuries.
A few years later, however, the local bishop invited Fr. Sean, a Columban missionary, to set up a mission station among the T'boli people. By then, they had captured his
Light Shines in the Dark
The last time I crossed a body of water on a boat at night was on my first mission assignment in the Fiji Islands. On one night I had to return to the mainland of Vanua Levu from Rabi Island. I told the priest maybe I could return to the mainland the next morning.
By Fr. Kurt Zion Pala
August 1, 2018
Unanticipated Education
It started out like any other normal evening meal in the formation house in Fiji when we were informed we will be going to Peru for our FMA (First Mission Assignment). Two days after our arrival in Lima, Tex and I were called to a meeting with our FMA Director where he outlined the program.
Aminiasi Ruvawi
July 30, 2018
Patrick's Story
If you are from a very poor family living in a remote village with no electricity, no running water and poor transportation, you might feel depressed and feel the world is unfair. You would be right to think this way.
Fr. Neil Magill
July 23, 2018
Losana
Losana Ve'ehala of Tonga passed away unexpectedly at the Columban lay missionary house in Suva, Fiji, on Sunday, December 10, 2017. Tongan Fr. Taukei, in his homily at the house, asked us "Why did she die in Suva, why did she die with the Columbans?"
Fr. Donal McIlraith
July 16, 2018
Ordination in Fiji
It was a personal joy for me to attend the ordination of Pat Roland Visanti in Suva on St. Columban's Day 2017. It coincided with the opening of the Society's Centennial Year.
Fr. Donal McIlraith
July 10, 2018
Columban Martyrs in Korea
Sanjeong Dong in Mokpo was both a parish and also the headquarters of the Columban mission in the southwest province of Chollanamdo in Korea in the 1940s. The pastor was Columban Fr. Tom Cusack and his assistant Columban Fr. John O'Brien.
Fr. Donal O'Keefe
July 5, 2018
A Call to Serve
God calls us in unique and different ways. Before I became a Columban lay missionary, I was happy working in my diocese for nine years. But somehow, I had this feeling that God was calling me for something more.
Joan Yaps
July 3, 2018
A Columban Love Story
"When I left Peru to go to the Philippines, I wondered what I'd find there," observed Marisol Rojas, a former Columban Lay Missionary. Perhaps the last thing she expected to fi nd was a husband.
Fr. John Boles
June 26, 2018
Following the Footsteps
As we celebrate the Columban Mission Society's centennial, Columban lay missionary Haiti Muller refl ects on her journey in the prison ministry where she gets inspiration from the work of Columban Fr. Francis Chapman.
Columban Lay Missionary Haiti Muller
June 22, 2018
Beauty and Meaning
In mid-January 2018, I spent a few days with our Columban missionaries in the parish of Badin, Pakistan, before attending a meeting of our Columban missionaries living and working in Pakistan. Badin is in the interior Sindh Province and is served by Columban Frs. Tony Cavanagh and Dan O'Connor.
Fr Patrick Colgan
June 11, 2018
A New Rotuman Priest
Pat Visanti was born and raised a Methodist on the island of Rotuma. Rotuma is both an island and a nation. It is about 400 miles north of Fiji and, even though ethnically and linguistically different from Fiji, was made part of Fiji during the colonial period.
Fr. Donal McIlraith
June 4, 2018
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.