Dreams Do Come True
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
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, 2017In 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
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
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
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
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
Friendship Throughout the Decades
I met the Columban Fathers for the first time in my hometown, Seoul, during the summer of 1953. Korea was at war then. Amid destruction and the chaos of war, I was trying to leave home for a college in America.
By Theresa Lee
June 1, 2017
My Indian Fathers
"Abba, call me that," my host father responded when I asked him how I should call him. Abba is the Hindi (Indian) word for father. Sam Daniel would be my third host-father in Fiji. He is Anglican and lives with his wife near their church.
By Fr. Kurt Zion Pala
June 1, 2017
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
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
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.