Error message

Deprecated function: implode(): Passing glue string after array is deprecated. Swap the parameters in Drupal\gmap\GmapDefaults->__construct() (line 107 of /home/cfmain/prev/public_html/sites/all/modules/gmap/lib/Drupal/gmap/GmapDefaults.php).

magazine

Sr. Damien with a mother and child at the Caritas Center in Fanling.

God's Work

I went to China because we used to get The Far East magazine (the magazine of Columban missionaries published in Ireland). I was the eldest of six children: four girls and then two boys. We grew up between Roscommon and Castlerea in Ireland.

By Sr. Damien Rooney

August 1, 2017
Fr. Larry at Mass

Adai

Adai is a grandmother and faithful member of the Catholic community in TianGou village in the mountains of Taiwan. Like all the residents of the mountain villages along the DaAn River, Adai is a member of the Tayal tribal group.

By Fr. Larry Barnett

August 1, 2017
Fr. Kurt and his father

Climbing Our Mountains

I grew up with nothing but fear and distance from my father. It seems there was a mountain between us. I envied my friends who had great relationships with their fathers. But this changed. I grew up. One of the last few things we did was climb the highest peak in Iligan City.

By Fr. Kurt Zion Pala

August 1, 2017
mission appeals or church appeals

Propagation of the Faith

One of my many blessings and opportunities as a missionary is to share the Joy of the Gospel. As a missionary Sister in Chile and Pakistan, I found the countries to be quite different in terms of culture, religious beliefs, language, weather and even food.

By Sr. Virginia Mozo

June 1, 2017
Ten months after the cyclone families are still living in tents and scraps put together to build dwellings.

Columban Companion in Mission

​Veidrala is located on the Northeast of Vitilevu under the province of Nakorotubu in Ra. It is a 2 ½ hours bus ride from Suva, the capital of Fiji, followed by another 45-minute boat ride to reach Veidrala.

The Village

By Paulo Rabakewa

June 1, 2017

Cultural Curiosity and Trends in Japan

Since first coming to Japan as a missionary 60 years ago I have had a cultural curiosity! It is still with me. It makes missionary life interesting. Such events as festivals, customs, ways of thinking and acting fascinate me.

By Fr. Barry Cairns

June 1, 2017

Dreams Do Come True

Fr. Tim Mulroy

I first encountered Tien in Tokyo. He had traveled there from Australia, while I had come from Ireland. Both of us were Columban seminarians who had come to Japan in order to study the language and learn about missionary life. Both of us were twenty-seven years old. During the next few years as I came to know Tien, I realized that while both of us had similar dreams for the future, his past had uniquely prepared him to become a Columban missionary.

One of thirteen children, Tien grew up in Vietnam as communism was advancing from the north to the south. At the age of fifteen, he tried to escape from his homeland by boat, but was …

By Fr. Tim Mulroy

June 1, 2017
illegally jailed children in the Philippines

Houses of Horror

"Houses of Horror" is how one visitor described the centers where children are held illegally behind bars or in cages.

By Fr. Shay Cullen

June 1, 2017

In So Many Words

Sociologists claim that one of the major problems in much of the world is that nowadays people only listen to, read of and converse with people who think the same as them.

Fr. Noel Connolly

June 1, 2017
Vangie with Christmas cards

Honoring Our Culture and Our Habitat

My name is Evangelyn Gawason. My friends call me Vangie. I'm a Subanen. The Subanens are an indigenous people whose ancestral homeland covers most of the mountainous Zamboanga Peninsula in the Philippines.

By Evanglelyn Gawason

June 1, 2017
Penticost

Penticost

Audy was a bright-eyed, smiling three-month-old baby who arrived at church for her baptism in the arms of her proud father, Jason. I chatted with him for some moments at the entrance to the church while a large number of relatives and friends of the family arrived.

Fr. Timothy Mulroy

June 1, 2017
Salustino Villalobos Mondragon (left) is a Columban seminarian living in Taiwan

Crossing Borders

The Ai Jia Development Center was founded by the Hsinchu Catholic diocese in Taiwan to help and support mentally challenged adult students. Like in many other countries, mentally challenged people in Taiwan are not considered as important.

By Salustine Villalobos Mondragon

June 1, 2017
Fr. Felisiano Fatu

Challenging and Enriching

My only contact with the Columbans before going to the seminary in Suva, Fiji, was when Columban Fr. Frank Hoare visited my home in Tonga to interview me about becoming a Columban missionary priest.

By Fr. Felicano Fatu

June 1, 2017

To Visit the Imprisoned

Pope Francis continually reminds us that the Church is missionary and is called to reach out to the poor, to sinners, to unbelievers and to those who live on the margins of modern society.

Fr. Michael J. Hoban

June 1, 2017

Pages

About us

Columban logoThe 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.

We go in the name of the Church to announce, by deed and word, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Quick Contact

Missionary Society of St. Columban
1902 N. Calhoun
St. Columbans, NE 68056
Phone: 877-299-1920
Fax: 402-291-4984
email: mission@columban.org