Welcoming Irish Spiritans Remembered Volume II
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GLOWING EMBERS Issue No. 5 Spiritan Mission Resource & Heritage Centre August 2018 Welcoming Irish Spiritans Remembered Volume II hese past three years spent compiling the 311 awards; training and skills new entries for Irish Spiritans Remembered development, diplomas TVolume II has been a privileged time. It has and degrees. In most been an experience of being in the presence of cases these awards wise elders who were co-creators of God’s mission; were never displayed; in their ambition to pass on the Christian faith fact you have to hunt through home, school, community and church. them out. To my mind this shows how most The reading of letters, homilies and papers from Spiritans were keen on the files of these wise elders makes you aware of Fr Brian O’Toole intellectual development their expansive vision; many were on a journey of rather than on academic seeking which led to wholeness and universality. achievement. They had the wisdom to understand Very often what is portrayed is a quality of faith that letters after names were no guarantee for which struggles towards growth and change. We healthy personal wholeness. In their later years we witness many who may have once been rigid and see many men clearing away the clutter of staid enjoy an insight and wisdom which cherished accumulated knowledge and information and flexibility and a more nuanced understanding. In returning to essentials. the mellowness of elder years they detect and seek to celebrate the abundant presence of the While these are men whose missionary work Holy Spirit in our midst; men who found God in the brought them on many travels to different peoples ordinary. and countries, they were also always still rooted in the local place of their early years. The local town These 311 profiles show men who cherished and townland; the local GAA club; the local parish. spirituality. There is a movement towards These were men who were entirely devoted to interiority and a valuing of stillness and silence. family; their own family and also the Spiritan Very often the business of active missionary life family. We see this in their lifelong interest in gave way to inner exploration. Discernment and family and local happenings. We see their love for inspiration often replaced a former reliance on the congregation in their availability to undertake dogma, moral directive and clerical management. difficult tasks and in their practice of cor unum. Irish Spiritans Remembered shows us a group of Overall, Irish Spiritans Remembered leaves the Spiritans who connected and communicated enduring impression of a band of happy and broadly; who attended workshops and contented men who realised their potential; in the conferences and who were involved in social language of the gospel, ‘by their fruits you shall activism. It shows us men who were close to know them’. It is my hope that the depictions of people; who were approachable and who followed Irish Spiritans Remembered may provide animation love itself as the seed force of new birth both in and encouragement to the present generation of their lives and in the world. Irish Spiritans. Scanning the CVs of these confrères and associates oneloses count of all the educational Brian O’Toole CSSp Spiritan Mission Resource & Heritage Centre – Glowing Embers 2 – July 2018 Irish Spiritans Remembered Introduction he Gospel of Luke, his Good News, begins remaining close to their with a litany of the ancestors of Jesus. people in times of war, TLooking at the figures whose names are famine and adversity. given, we can see the breadth and scope of the In the lives of each genealogy that made Jesus the person he was. person remembered in Moving from generation to generation, each this book we also see period with its own dreams and challenges, its seeds sown for the hopes and disappointments transmitted present and the future. something of the human spirit to the divine Spirit We are grateful to God of Jesus. for these lives given to Fr Marc Whelan In putting together this second volume of Irish Spiritan Mission. We are Spiritans Remembered, which covers the years grateful to the families of each from June 1998 to June 2018 the Spiritan Mission of these Spiritans for their sons and brothers. Resource and Heritage Centre is continuing its Our thanks go to the editorial team who work of mapping the genealogy of the Irish researched these biographies and who, from the Province by honouring the members of the letters and holdings in the archives, bring life to Spiritan Family who have gone before us marked the stories held therein. with the sign of faith. In particular we remember with gratitude the life The few lines given to each Spiritan in this volume and work of Seán Farragher who was the can only offer a glimpse of the rich diversity of instigator of this monumental work and whose life each person’s life. But reading between the lines, was dedicated to preserving and transmitting our we hear a story of mission and faith, of people rich Spiritan heritage. who, living by the Spirit of Jesus, were attentive to the signs of their times. A story of young Marc Whelan CSSp churches growing throughout the world where Provincial the Word of God was proclaimed and the service of the poor was fostered. A story of Spiritans We Remember Them Merciful Father, our Creator and Redeemer, as you knit each of us together at the beginning of our life, so you also draw us together as members of the Holy Spirit Congregation. Grant us humility and gratitude as we remember those Spiritans who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. Grant us courage and grace to follow their path of faith and devotion. And above all, stir up our faith that we may know that our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered death and has given eternal life to all who believe. We make out prayer through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Spiritan Mission Resource & Heritage Centre – Glowing Embers July 2018 – 3 Irish Spiritans Remembered Foreward his volume covers the overseas missions in Nigeria, We are indebted to the staff at period from 1998 to 2018. West & East Africa and Brazil. the Provincial Secretariat for TThe compilation of these The Missionary Annals their help and assistance as we 311 portraits has been a team (Outlook) from 1919 to 2010. Go are to Mark Daniel of CRM work of three years duration. It Teach All Nations – A History of Design & Print. Thanks must has been a work that engaged the Irish Province of the also be made to Dolorés many different hands coming Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Stewart who made the photos together. The Necrology of the Irish for this volume possible and to Province and the Generalate. our custodian of ‘grammar and Primary sources which we used punctuation’ Séamus Maguire. were the confrère’s individual In these 311 portraits we try to personnel file and personal present a description of the life A very special thanks to archival boxes. Also used were of each person; they include the Margaret Bluett who led the the obituary notices as written basic facts like education, team in the production of this by Brian O’Toole CSSp (2000- mission work, relationships and volume. It is Margaret’s untiring 06); Eddie O’Farrell CSSp death. We refrained from commitment that has brought (2006-12) and Peter O’Mahony including anecdotes and tales this volume to such a fine (2012-18). These were used in as we tried to describe without conclusion. conjunction with the funeral any judgement, reproach or To all who are featured in these homilies recorded in the Irish compliment. pages we wish Ar dheis Dé go Provincial Newsletter and where We offer a sincere thanks to all raibh said go léir. available in its original format. the confrères who shared their The four main secondary memories of the deceased with Brian O’Toole CSSp sources consulted were: us. This sharing helped us to Fr Henry Koran’s books on gain a fuller insight into the Spiritans who served on person in question. We Remember Them At the rising of the sun and at its going down. At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter. At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn At the beginning of the year and when it ends. As long as we live, they too will live; for they are now a part of us as we remember them. When we are weary and in need of strength By Sylvan Kamens & When we are lost and sick at heart Rabbi Jack Riemer, When we have joy we crave to share from When we have decisions that are difficult to make Gates of Prayer , When we have achievements that are based on theirs. published by Central Conference of As long as we live, they too will live; American Rabbis. for they are now a part of us as we remember them. Glowing Embers – Spiritan Mission Resource & Heritage Centre 4 – July 2018 The Irish Spiritan Bishops in the Gambia 1863-2018 Brian O’Toole Population: Religions: 1,924,158 (2017) Islam 92% Christian 6% Life expectancy: Indigenous 2% 59 Independence: 18 February 1965 (From Britain) he roll call of Irish Spiritans working in the TGambia between 1863 and 2018 lists the names of sixty- two priests, sixteen brothers and fourteen students. Fourteen Irish Spiritans are buried in the Holy Ghost plot in the cemetery in Banjul; seven priests, six brothers and one scholastic.