Columban History-CDO

Diocesan priests answer the missionary call

It all began back in 1911 when Father Edward Galvin, a recently ordained Diocesan priest from Ireland accidentally meet another Diocesan priest, Father John Frazer from Canada in Brooklyn, New York. Galvin had been temporarily assigned by his bishop in Brooklyn, New York since ordination and was now due to return to his home diocese. Frazer, on the other hand, had volunteered to be a missionary inChina. What ever happened in that one conversation it was enough to convince Galvin that God’s call for him was to go to China with Frazer and not back to Ireland. After many years on mission Galvin would later become Bishop of Hanyang, China. However, before that in 1916 he returned to Ireland to seek the support of his Alma Mater, the National Seminary of Ireland (Maynooth), his classmates and fellow diocesan colleagues for a mission in China. Father John Blowick, one of the seminary professors, resigned his post and threw in his lot for Galvin’s cause.

And thus in October, 1916 The Maynooth Mission to China began.It was to be a Society of Secular Priests (not a religious congregation) with the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ in foreign lands. Saint Columban, the 6 th century Irish missionary, who set about re-evangelizing Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire, was chosen as Patron and his words: “ Perigrinari Pro Christo” (Exiles for Christ) would be the inspiration for these new missionaries to leave their homeland for the sake of Christ, not knowing if they would ever again return. And some never did. Many of these young missionaries in China succumbed to illnesses. Others were martyred.

Founders of the Society of St Columban and the Columban Sisters

1929 Columbans arrive in the Philippines

Just one month previously, in September 1916, another alumnus of the National Seminary of Ireland, Bishop Michael James O’ Doherty (who had served for five years as bishop in the newly-established Diocese of Zamboanga) was installed as the 26th Archbishop of Manila. Since the majority of Spanish priests had already left the Philippines following the

events surrounding the War of Independence with Spain and the subsequent US occupation, Archbishop O’ Doherty began desperately to look for priests to staff theimmensely vast, Archdiocese of Manila. He turned to his fellow Irish diocesan priests for help but it seemed that most of them were going to China with the Columbans!His only option therefore was to ask the Columbans directly for priests. As it happens many Columbans were familiar with Manila as a stop-over point on their long journey to Shanghai and so were willing to consider the Archbishop’s request.

Finally a decision was made and three Columban priests arrived in May 1929 to work in Our Lady of Remedies Parish, Malate, Manila. In keeping with what had very quickly become practice in China, these three men began their mission by learning Tagalog and Spanish from a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila, while at the same time running the parish. Eventually there would be over 100 priests and one bishop working throughout Luzon in parishes, schools, universities, apostolates among the urban poor, with the Aeta of Zambales and in Student Catholic Action. But that’s another story!

Archbishop Hayes’ Petition

The American Jesuits of the New York/Maryland Province had arrived in Manila eight years before the Columbans (1921) and in 1926 eight of these young Jesuits, including Fr. James Hayes SJ, were assigned to work in Mindanao. In 1930, Fr.Hayes came back to Manila in his new role as Jesuit Superior. During these three years in Manila he became a close friend of the Columbans in Malate Parish, not in small part due, I am sure, to the fact that both his parents were Irish. Also, Fr. Edward Galvin, the co-founder of the Columbans was first assigned in New York, the very city where Fr. Hayes had grown up. In any case, this friendship between Fr Hayes SJ and the Columban Fathers was the very reason why in1938, five years after he was installed as Bishop of Cagayan de Oro and desperately in need of priests for this immense Diocese, he did not hesitate to ask his Columban friend in Manila, Fr. Pat Kelly, to deliver his request to the Columban Superior General.

In a letter to Father Kelly, dated March 31, 1938, Bishop Hayes SJstates:

“As I explained to you in Manila, the Jesuit Fathers are not able to supply enough men for the work for souls in the four provinces of this diocese which they are at present trying to care for. Thus by means of this letter I wish to make a formal petition to the Columban Fathers to come to the Diocese of Cagayan. I would request you to take up this matter with your superiors when you visit Ireland.” i

He finished the letter by saying:

“I feel sure that God will bring the Columban Fathers to this Diocese if it is His holy will and I shall continue to pray for this intention.” ii

1938 Columbans come to the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro

Bishop Hayes’ petition for priests was promptly approved by the Columbans in Ireland and by December 1938 elevenColumbans had arrived to serve under Bishop Hayes. It

was decided that five of the priests, Fathers Chapman, Brangan, Murphy and Mc Cullagh, would go directly to Misamis Occidental with their new Superior, Father Peter Fallon, while the other five, Cronin, Callanan, Mc Fadden, Corrigan and Noonewould first stay in Cebu to learn Binisaya. And so, for example, the young Fr. Patrick Cronin was assigned to live in the Parish of Barili, Cebu and to learn Binisaya from an old man who was more interested in learning English than in teaching Fr. Cronin Binisaya! iii Fr Frank Chapman was the first to arrive in Mindanao on November 10, 1938.

Misamis Occidental

Bishop Hayes assigned the Columbans to take charge of Misamis Occidental and by Easter 1939 all eleven men were gradually beginning to take over the running of the parishes there from the Jesuits, who had kindly stayed on to help facilitate the transfer of their parishes to the Columbans. In a letter Fr. Fallon remarked:

“No one could be kinder of more generous than those American Jesuit priests, mostly of Irish descent: they are glad our men are coming, though I know it will be hard on some of them to leave”.

When Father Heneghan visited his Columban confreres in Misamis Occidental he had the following to say: “Most of the people in Misamis are baptised-but that is all!There are many who fell away into Aglipayanism through lack of Catholic priests. Until a few years ago there was only one Spanish priest doing the whole district, going about on horseback. There are about one hundred miles of coastline with a new road along the sea.

It is being populated by immigrants from Cebu and other southern islands. Just to show you that these country people are good and fell away just because there were no priests: when Fr. Denis Murphy began to say Mass in an out-chapel, though he could not speak their language, over forty of them came and said they wanted to become Catholic again”. iv

Bishop Hayes’ numerous requests to the Columbans for more priests were usually granted and very soon, not only were all existing parishes in Misamis Occidental well-staffed with priests, but many new parishes were also developed. Following a request from Bishop Hayes to the Columban Sisters, three sisters were assigned to Misamis in 1941 to set up a Catholic College there (which has recently become La Salle University). And with this influx of missionaries and the newly established catechetical programsin public schools the Catholic Church was now rapidly re-establishing itself in the lives of the people of Misamis Occidental.

Some members of the First Columbans in Misamis Occidental around 1939. Included are Fathers F. Chapman (1 st left- front), P. Cronin (4 th from left –back) and W. Hennessy (2 nd from right –back)

World War II

By May 1942 the Japanese forces had reached Mindanao via Davao. When they reached Cagayan de Oro they had Bishop Hayes promptly arrested and incarcerated. When word of the Bishop’s plight reached Misamis Occidental the Japanese had already arrived there too. Fr.Vincent McFadden SSC, an American, was arrested in his house in Oroquieta, brought to the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, which the Japanese had had turned into a concentration camp for foreign nationals. Fr.Patrick Cronin and his two classmates, Fr.Frank Chapman and Fr.Bill Hennessy decided immediately to follow their parishioners who were on their way to hide in the forests of Mount Malindang. Here they remained throughout the war to avoid being arrested by the Japanese, eating mostly kamote to avoid dysentery and drinking tea made from the bark of trees to avoid malaria. Archbishop Cronin would later recall the wonderful bond of solidarity and deep friendship that was built up between them and their parishioners when the lived together in the mountains. They also built up a supply network with officers of the American resistance, who regularly included alter wine and medicines for the priests among the supplies they managed to smuggle by submarine through enemy lines from Australia. On their return trips to Australia the submarines carried civilians from Mindanao. Time and again the Columban Fathers and Sisters had a chance to leave war- turn Mindanao. They chose however to stay in their posts as “exiles for Christ”.

In the midst of the destruction and human misery throughout Mindanao in the aftermath of the Japanese retreat, Bishop Hayes once again made a plea to the Columbans to assign priests in Lanao. Two Columbans were assigned to Kolambugan in 1947. When the new Government of Mao Zedong expelled all foreign missionaries from China in 1949 there was now a surplus of Columban priests and sisters looking for new assignments and Bishop

Hayes was happy to take as many as he could. It meant that many more Columbans were able to go to Lanao (what are now the dioceses of Iligan and Marawi) as well as toMisamis Occidental.

A young Fr. Patrick Cronin SSC on horseback with his sacristan.

1951 Prelature of Ozamis

Bishop Hayes S.J with Columbans inOzamis in 1951.On his right is Fr. W. Hennessey while Msgr.Patrick Cronin is on his left.

This new influx of Columban priests into Misamis Occidental and Lanao meant that Pope Pius XII was now easily able to form the Prelature of Ozamis on January 27, 1951, with 38 year-old Monsignor Patrick Cronin SSC as Apostolic Administrator.

At the installation of Msgr. Cronin in Ozamis on the following May 20, 1952, Archbishop Hayes SJ included these statistics in his sermon:

“The Columbans have increased their number of priests in Mindanao from the original 10 in 1938 to 40 in 1952 and their parishes from nine to twenty. Where there had been but one Catholic school there are now fifteen, plus three colleges, the largest of which has 1,200 students and is conducted by the Columban Sisters here in Ozamis. The growth is remarkable since it happened in only thirteen years, four of which were filled with war”. v

From 40 Columban priests in 1952 the total number of Columbans assigned in Mindanao eventually reached a total of 254. While 104 Columbans in total have been assigned at some stage in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro alone, the largest Columban presence continuedto be in Ozamis Archdiocese and also in Iligan, Pagadian and Marawi. As with most missionary groups, Columban priests have usually been open to going where the greatest missionary needs may be at a particular time. And so Columbans assigned in other

dioceses came to be assigned in Cagayan de Oro and many assigned here have gone elsewhere; such being the nature of mission.

1952 Columbans arrive in Camiguin

On Oct 19, 1950 yet another request from Archbishop Hayes arrived in Ozamisat the desk of the newly appointed Columban Superior for Mindanao, Fr. Bill Hennessey SSC. This time, as the Jesuits had decided to concentrate their mission in Bukidnon, the Archbishop was looking for priests to replace the Jesuits who were to leave Camiguin. It was agreed that four Columbans would be assigned to Camiguin by early 1952. However, just two months before they arrived, Mount Hibok-hibok erupted on the morning of December 4, 1951, causing two thirds of the population of Mambajao to evacuate their homes, many fleeing to Misamis Oriental or to other parts of the island. Barrio Tupsan became the center of what remained of Mambajao.

When the four Columbans, Fathers Martin Noone, Patrick Cashman, Philip Graham and Michael Doyle, had all arrived in Camiguin by February 1952 they were all shocked by the devastation that awaited them. As Fr.Noonewould later recall:

“We found the place in utter confusion. Practically all the people from Mambajao had fled from their homes and taken refuge either on the mainland of Mindanao or in the other parishes on the end of the island opposite from the volcano, where they stayed with relatives or friends or built flimsy shacks of bamboo and nipa palm anywhere they could find. The town of Mambajao remained deserted of people for the next year or two”. vi

For the first year Fr. Noone lived in barrio Tupsan while tending to the displaced parishioners of Mambajao. Time and again he listened to the people recall their gratitude towards Fr. Art SheaSJ who had stayed with his parishioners all throughout the horrific events surrounding the volcanic eruption, a story of commitment to mission like Fr. Noone had also witnessed in his fellow Columbans during the war. Fathers Cashman, Graham and Doyle staffed the other parishes of Catarman, Sagay, and Mahinog. The following year Frs. Gus O’ Leary and Denis Bartley were also assigned to Camiguin.Once the evacuees had rebuilt their lives and Mambajao was up and running again, the generally relaxed pace of life and lack of mountainous barrios tended to suit these men and when it was time for them to report to their Superior in Ozamis they had the convenience of the ferry boat, the MV Polar, which offered a weekly service between Binoni, Jagna, Cagayan de Oro and Ozamis.

Mainit Church, Catarman,Camiguin, built during the time of Fr. Pat Cashman

Another request from Archbishop Hayes to Fr. Bill Hennessey in Ozamis saw six more Columbans arrive in the Archdiocese enabling the following parishes to be staffed:Gingoog – Frs. William Adams, Martin Ryan and Peter Steen;Linugos (now Magsaysay) – Fr. William Cunnane;Talisayan – Fr. Michael Doyle and Balingoan – Fr. Thomas Callanan.In 1958, Fr. Denis Mescall was assigned to Medina and in 1959 Fr. Bill Hennessey, now finished as superior in Ozamis, went to Kinoguitan.

Becoming part of the community

Mindanao in the 1940’s had very little of the infrastructure we take for granted today. The first Columbans who came to the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro were to take being ‘Exiles for Christ’ quite seriously. They came here not knowing if they would ever return to their homelands; such had been the experience of so many of their confreres who had gone to China and had never returned. A mere four years after their arrival here they chose to join their parishioners who fled to the mountains to avoid the Japanese atrocities. Helping to rebuild the communities of Camiguin after the volcano became their immediate task upon arrival there. Being so far removed from their homeland and culture they learned to draw their support and friendship from the Visayan communities in which they lived. For many, their bonds of friendship with their parishioners would become so strongly treasured that they would choose to end their days here rather than return to their homelands.

Apart from Archbishop Patrick Cronin SSC, whose remains lie in the Cathedral, Fr. William Adams SSC chose to be buried in Medina, Fr. W. Hennessey SSC in Kinoguitan and

Frs. James Moynihan, Jim Flynn, Frank McEnnis, Gabe Keohane, Frank Chapman and John Meaney are buried in the Divine Shepherd M emorial Garden, Bulua.

The Columban missionary presence here has been largely characterized by a close bond of friendship and compassion for the communities with whom they have lived and worked. This bond of friendship was accommodated by the fact that by 1956 the first Columban Visayan language school was set up to enable these new missionaries to communicate in the vernacular; with varying degrees of success, it must be said. Some communities would continue to hear their parish priest dev outly imploring God with the words: “Ginoopamatya kami!” for example.

Father Sean Mc Grath visiting his parishioners in the ‘barrios’

Father John Leahy and parishioner, Sagay, 1969

Building Christian Communities

Building up the parish communities was a priority, particularly following the destruction of World War II and the eruption of Mt Hibok-hibok. Organizations such as the Holy Name Society, the Apostleship of Prayer and the Legion of Mary were set up and house to house visitation was practiced to encourage regular Mass attendance and confession.Catechists were trained to teach in the public schools. First communion preparation now became possible for the first time in public elementary schools. The parochial high schools that had been built by the Jesuits were sustained and expanded and new parochial schools were built where there had been none. Msgr. Patrick Cronin and Fr. Bill Hennessey saw to it that some Columban priests were sent to obtain degrees in education for the purposes of supervising of these schools. Others went overseas to study new approaches to catechesis and set up catechetical training courses on their return.

Most Columbans spent their mid-week either on horseback or in war-surplus jeeps visiting the barrios, organizing catechesis and celebrating the Eucharist. In Sagay, in the nineteen sixties, Fr. John Leahy developed a system known as Cabeza , whereby small Christian communities were organized in terms of units of ten households.This was followed in the 1970s in many Columban parishes by the Christian Community Seminars (Cursillo), which, in turn, would pave the way for the Basic Ecclesial Communities in the 1980s. All

these activities dramatically increased the numbers of regular church-goers making it necessary to build new chapels, extend existing chapels and eventually to open new parishes.

When Fr. MartinNoone first arrived here as a young priest he had noticed that:

“Mass attendance had been attractive to women and children, but not, unfortunately, to most men”. However, he saw a big change by the 1950s: “In the course of the years beginning in the 1950s men began to attend in greatly increasing numbers as a result of persevering efforts of priests in most parishes, notably through the work of the Legion of Mary. But it was the parochial high schools which were the greatest agency for the restoration of a genuine Christian life in all parishes.” vii

Guinsiliban School,Sagay in the 1950s

Social Concerns

Living, as they were, in the midst of the community, Columbans were acutely aware of the poverty, health problems and lack of opportunity experienced by so many of their parishioners. These priests had come from Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain and had grown up in communities where the Catholic Church had played a strong role in social apostolates to alleviate poverty, ill-health and illiteracy. They invariably saw their role of parish priest as responding, not only to the spiritual needs of their parishioners, but to their immediate material needs as well. Ever since the young Fr. Patrick Cronin had distributed medicines in the jungles of Mt Malindang during World War II Columbans would

endeavour to do their part to ensure a better life for their flock. During the aftermath of the Mt Hibok-hibok eruption every effort was made by these early Columbans to do their part in rebuilding the affected communities. In every parish where they worked malnutrition, illiteracy and poverty were never far away.

Scholarships in parochial high schools an d colleges were offered to those who would otherwise have no opportunity to study. Young people were trained as teachers and nurses for their local communities. Feeding programs, medical missions and other health and nutrition programs became a feature of parish life. Livelihood programs, cooperatives and grassroots micro-financing organizations (such as the Grameen Bank) were developed. Columbans often relied on the generosity of friends and neighbors in parishes back home to finance such social outreach programs.

Father Martin Dempsey with the Gingoog Parish Medical Mission , 1967

So, for example, i n Naawan, a fully equipped medical w ard for malnourished children became a feature of the parish in the 1980s, during Fr. Bill Hannafin’s time . As chaplain to the hospitals of Cagayan de Oro Fr. Billy Adams set up a T.B facility close to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in order to address the high incidence of tuberculosis throughout the Archdiocese. Fr. Dick Pankratz tapped the expertize o f Columbans working with the

hearing impaired in Negros in order to establish a school for marginalized hearing-impaired children in Agusan Parish, with an outreach program throughout the Archdiocese.

Fr. Bill Hannafin SSC with mothers and children at the Naawan Parish Nutrition Center

1971 Archbishop Patrick Cronin

On October, 13, 1970, after a half a century of tireless service to the Church in Mindanao, the time had come for Archbishop James Hayes SJto retire. Time and again he had requested the expansion of the missionary presence of the Columbans in his Archdiocese and now, one of the pioneering team of Columbans to respond to the Archbishop’s first request back in 1938 was to be given the task of succeeding Archbishop Hayes as shepherd of the Archdiocese and took up his new role in early 1971.

After more than twenty years in Camiguin and Eastern Misamis Oriental Archbishop Cronin requested that the Columbans turn their attention to the Western side of the Archdiocese The first Columban to answer the call was his classmate, Fr. Frank Chapman, who had just returned after many years in Ireland and Australia. He went to Lugait in 1971. Other Columbans followed. Fr. Oliver Whyte went to Agusan in 1971. In 1976 Fr. Frank McEnniswent to Naawan and Fr. William Adams to Gusa. Columbans also founded the parishes of Bugo and Laguindingan.

Priestly Formation

Archbishop Cronin and the other Columban priests actively encouraged young men to enter the seminary, so that the numbers of newly ordained priests for the Archdiocese steadily began to increase. To this end Archbishop Cronin was to help in the establishment of the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. Father Brendan Kennedy spent many years in formation in San Jose Minor Seminary. The mission of the Columbans in the Archdiocese had always been the establishment of a strong local Church with an adequate team of diocesan priests and a vibrant laity. Whenever a young man shared his desire to join the priesthood with a Columban priest, that Columban would invariably direct him to join the diocesan seminary. The Society of St.Columban began its own formation program in 1984. Prior to that, Columbans believed that their mission priority was to build up the local Church and to promote the formation of a sufficient number diocesan clergy for the vibrancy of the Archdiocese. In fact the Columban mission in the Archdiocese has been so focussed on building up the local Church over the years that the Society of St Columban has always erred on the side of downplaying its own identity. While names such as Fr. Chapman, Fr. Adams, Bishop Cronin and Fr. Hennessey are household names throughout the Archdiocese few people have heard of the Columban Fathers or know that these men were in fact members of the Missionary Society of St Columban.

Fr. Brendan Kennedy is remembered by any of the priests of the Archdiocese for the years he worked in San Jose Minor Seminary.

Formation of the Laity

As Bishop of Ozamis Msgr. Cronin had had the privilege of attending the Second Vatican Council and he would now oversee its implementation in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro by affirming the common mission of all the baptised and by encouraging whatever efforts were being made for: “the laity to consecrate the world itself to God” viii . He

gave his full support to the various programs for lay formation in which many Columbans were so enthusiastically involved. Through the Community Formation Center in Ozamis City countless lay leaders undertook formation that empowered them to facilitate the development of Basic Ecclesial Communities and to preside over Sunday Worship Services In the Absence of a Priest ( KatilingbanongPagampo ) in even the remotest barrios in Columban parishes throughout the Archdiocese.The Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) which was first held in 1971 gave a welcome impetus to the development of BECs throughout the Archdiocese. The thrust of the lay formation program to which many Columbans were so enthusiastically committed at the time has been summed up as follows:

a) Personal enrichment through growth in their faith that would lead to an increased sense of self-worth and responsibility b) The development of their ability to help others to reflect critically on their own community and their life situations and c) An awareness of the resources available and a development of skills for self-help in their Christian Community ix

These lay leaders as well as competently trained catechists, health workers, Natural Family Planning teams, spiritual directors and community organizers were are powerful impetus in promoting the full and vibrant participation of all the faithful in the life of the Church.

Frs. Bobby Gilmore and John Meany participating in a lay formation seminar in Mambajao

Martial Law Years

When President Marcos declared Martial Law in September 1972 he promptly commanded his military collaborators to start arresting his political opponents and to close down media, retail, religious and sports establishments.The declaration of martial law was initially well received by some segments of the people but became unpopular as excesses and human rights abuses by the military emerged. Opposition to Government abuses became widespread and support for the National Democratic Front (NDF) increased. By 1982 an estimated 10,000 citizens in 43 provinces had joined the New People’s Army (NPA)to resist the Marcos regime.x Since the Archdioceseof Cagayan de Oro had by this time a large numbers of well-trained lay leaders, the opposition revolutionary movement set about trying

to recruit these lay Church leaders and, indeed, clergy and religious, to their cause; regarding the Catholic Church as: “the most significant non-governmental linkage between the elite and the masses….with only a small portion of its potential as yet being utilized.”xi

In 1975 Pope Paul VI published the encyclical EvangeliiNuntiandi, in which he courageously stated that:

“The Church has a duty to proclaim the liberation of millions of human beings – the duty of assisting the birth of this liberation, of giving witness to it, of ensuring that it is complete ”.xii

During this time of unprecedented violence, torture, indoctrination and forced disappearances of so many lay leaders and parishioners the Columban missionary calling to remain at your post in solidarity with your parishioners became particularly challenging. With the increasing human rights violations against civilians by the military regime as well as the immense pressure from the opposition revolutionary movement who were actively recruiting members of the Church to their cause, many priests, religious and lay leaders, including many Columbans, struggled with whether the Church’s duty to assist the birth of liberation might include supporting the armed struggle. This dilemma became the topic of many heated debates and a source of tension among Columbans and, indeed, throughout the whole Philippine Church at the time. Certain Church personnel did opt to join the armed struggle and because of this the Marcos regime became increasingly suspicious of the Catholic Church as a whole and particularly of the well-organized, lay-led, basic ecclesial communities.

In September 1972 two Columbans, Frs. Pat Healy and Jim Donohue, were arrested by the police in Gingoog and detained in a stockade in Cagayan de Oro, awaiting their deportation, accused of being members of the opposition revolutionary movement. However, their names were later cleared by the Bureau of Immigration in Manila and they were allowed to return to their parish duties. During this time of immense violence and confusion a number of Columbans chose to leave missionary priesthood and pursue other paths.

Columbans who remained in the missionary posts continued their solidarity with the innocent victims of exploitation, torture, violence and disappearances. Most chose to stand in non-violent opposition to injustice. The words of Columban Father Niall O’Brien, who was imprisoned in Negros for highlighting the unjust treatment of agricultural laborers there, encapsulates very well the discerned stance of Columbans during those years: “because of our solidarity with the poor, the military hate us; because of our commitment to non-violence the NPA also hate us. Therefore we must be doing something good”. As in ages past, those who chose to follow the narrow way of Jesus Christ during the Martial Law era were misunderstood, despised and persecuted by the Governmentregime and by opposition revolutionaries; both sides often content to pursue their own political agendas by means of deception and by force of arms.

The result of an encounter between military and rebel forces during Martial Law

Looking back on the Martial Law era, before his retirement in 1988, the late Archbishop Cronin observed that:“to have ignored the problems of justice, liberation, development and peace would have been to forget the lesson that comes to us from the Gospel concerning love of our neighbour who is suffering and in want.”xiii

ColumbanSisters in Cagayan de Oro At the request of Bishop Hayes SJ the first group of Columban Sisters came to the diocese in 1941 where they immediately set about administering Catholic high schools in Misamis Occidental as well as the Immaculate Conception College in Ozamis City. Their missionary presence continues to be based in Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Sur up to the present. However, for two and a half years, from 1978 to 1981, Columban Sister Breda Noonan SSC lived in an urban poor community in Macabalan, focussing on the organization of a catechetical programfor the youth, as well as on the formation of Basic Ecclesial Communities.She herself recalls: “In our home in Macabalan my two catechist companions and I had a kitchen, an all- purpose room for meetings, working and sleeping and a small balcony. We bought water at a faucet nearby and our shower was across the road at 30 centavos a pail! The shock came when I realized that whatever the people expected of us religious they did not expect us to live poorly. We can easily share the table with our better-off neighbours but not so easily share the table of the poor.

Slowly the ministry took shape. Finding some men and women who might be willing to be catechists was a beginning. Then small community reflection groups began. Building a community of people aware of their situation, able to reflect, pray and act together to build a life more reflective of their human dignity became the focus. But this was a politically difficult time in Mindanao with different political groups stirring up communities like Macabalan. However, we struggled on.

One beautiful memory is an Easter dawn “Sugat” celebration. We had no statues for the procession so a female catechist was the sorrowful mother and a young man the Risen Lord. The men from the barrio processed one way with ‘Jesus’ and the women the other way with ‘Mary’. They met on the basketball court which faced the east as the sun rose over the sea. Mass was then celebrated. It was unforgettable”. [Sr. Breda Noonan SSC]

Columban Sister Breda Noonan helped form Basic Ecclesial Communities in Macabalan

Sister Anne Carbon SSC was a volunteer catechist and lector in Immaculate Conception Parish in Bulua before she answered God’s call to be a Columban Sister in 1994. She has worked for many years as a missionary in Peru where she has specialised in her profession as a psychiatric nurse in the poor and remote communities in the Andes Mountains. She is currently on the Columban Sisters’ leadership team in Ireland.

Columban Sister Anne Carbon (center) with work colleagues in Peru

“Go to the Whole World and Proclaim the Good News to All Creation ” [Mk: 16: 15] For almost 100 years Columbans have answered Christ’s call to leave family and country and to be Christ’s witnesses throughout the world. They successfully responded to Archbishop Hayes’ plea to bu ild up the local Church. The fruit of this success is that all but one of the parishes that the Columbans built up over the years are now staffed by locally trained Archdiocesan clergy.

In recent years the Society of St. Columbanhas discerned that since the mission of building up parish communities is now almost complete here in Mindanao , the Columban charism today is to respond to the missionary outreach of the Philippine Church by responding to whatever sp ecific missionary challenges face the local Churc h. Stemming from their long experience of working in Lanao de Sur and the Zamboanga Peninsula, Columban today are involved in promoting relations of respect and cooperation with our Muslim and Lumadneighbors, reaching out to those who are marginalized due to pover ty or disability and witnessing to the need for proper respect and protection of God’s creation.

Fr. Paul Glynn with participants at an Inter -faith peace-building workshop in CDO

In response to Pope John Paul II’s challenge: “that the Filipinos will become the foremost missionaries of the Church in Asia" xiv Columbans see their mission today as helpingto facilitate the Philippine Church’s call to overseas mission and since 1982 have been accepting Filipino men for formation as Columban missionaries overseas. At the moment three Columban priests from the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro are on overseas mission. Fr. Jude Genovia, from Manticaois assigned in Korea. Fr. Rolando Aniscalfrom Gingoog is currently on mission in Peru and Fr. Darwin Bayaca, also from Gingoog, has recently been elected to the Superior General’s Council and currently resides in Hong Kong.

From Manticao. J. Genovia (Korea); & from Gingoog: Fr. R. Aniscal (Peru) &Fr. D. Bayaca (Hong Kong)

Priest Associates Likewise, the Priest Associate Program invites diocesan priests to volunteer for overseas mission with the Columbans for a period of three or more years. Many diocesan clergy from Mindanao have worked side by side with Columban overseas for 3 or 6 years and have returned to enrich the local Church with their cross-cultural missionary experiences. And clergy from dioceses in Chile and Korea have also worked with Columbans here in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.

Columban Lay Mission Since 1989 the Columban Lay Mission Program has been facilitating lay people to respond to Christ’s invitation to mission overseas. Lay missionaries from Ireland, Fiji, Tonga and Peru have worked here in Cagayan de Oro and four women from the Archdiocese have responded to the missionary challenge of working in Ireland and the United Kingdom. At the moment Ana Flores from Peru works with the urban poor here in Cagayan de Oro, while Aurora Luceno is engaged in retreat work and lay mission promotion in the Archdiocese. JayjayEterina from Aluba is engaged in the promotion of Muslim-Christian relations in Birmingham, England andLorelei Ocaya from Calaanan coordinates a literacy program for a marginalized ethnic community, known as Travellers, in Ireland.

ZosimaMecasio from Anakan served as a lay missionary in London, England for 8 years and Venus Guibone (from Macanhan and St John Vianney Seminary) served her missionary assignment in the Parish of Tullamore, Ireland, near to where the late Archbishop Cronin grew up.

L. Ocaya (Calaanan) Ireland; L. Tamatawale (Fiji) Agusan& J. Enterina (Aluba) UK /Ana Flores (Peru) CDO

Sean Farrell (Ireland) Macabalan ; Pele Petelo (Tonga) Balubal ; Venus Guibone (Macanhan) Ireland

Over the years Geraldine Smith (Ireland) lived and worked as a health-worker in Puerto. Pele Petelo (Tonga) worked with the Basic Eccle sial Communities in Balubal, LanietaTamatawale (Fiji) and Marisol Rojas (Peru) taught in the school for the hearing impaired in Agusan , Antonio Salas (Peru) worked with youth in Aluba and Se an Farrell (Ireland) ministered in Macabalan.

Whether priests, sisters or lay people, today, as in times past, Columbans, both from the Philippines and from many other parts of the world c ontinue to be inspired by the life of St. Columban as they leave their homeland to venture out to the farthest corners of the earth to witness to the Good Ne ws of Jesus Christ.

‘Exiles for Christ’

[Saint Columban]

Fr. Paul Finlayson SSC with a very young ‘Sendong’ evacuee

Fr. Yang Chang Woo SSC with some of his younger parishioners in Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan

iNoone, M. The Columbans in the Philippines , page 95 ii Ibid. , page 97 iii Fischer, E. Mindanao Mission , page 17 iv Noone, M. The Columbans in the Philippines, page 102 v Fischer, E. Journeys Not Regretted , page 72 vi Noone, M. The Columbans in the Philippines, pages 264-5 vii Ibid, page 296-7 viii Lumen Gentium No. 34 ix Inter-diocesan Learning Process, Communications, 17, Sept 1975, page 3 xNemenzo, F. “Rectification Process in the Philippine Communist Movement ” page 25 xi Wurfel, D. Pacific Affairs 50 (1), 1977, page 17 xii EvangeliiNuntiandi, No 30 xiii Fischer, E. Mindanao Mission, page 156 xiv Pope John Paul II, during Papal visit to the Philippines (1981)

Fr. Paul Glynn SSC