San Columbano2.pmd
Transcription
San Columbano2.pmd
No 2 Advent-Christmas 2008 From the Desk of the Regional Director By Fr Patrick O’Donoghue www.columbanmission.net Warm greetings to all our friends who will be reading this second edition of Columban Mission. As you know from the last edition, 2008 is a special year for the Columbans as we celebrate 90 years as a missionary society. We had a Mass of thanksgiving at St Columban’s, Singalong, Manila, on 29 June attended by Columban Priests, Sisters, Lay Missionaries and Students as well as our staff and family members of some of the students. We had a double reason to be grateful to God – our 90 years of service to Mission and the acceptance into the Society of two new members, Ruben Lobo and John Arga, who had completed their probation of two years. As we gave thanks to God for what has been and for the ‘new life’ visible in the vocation of John and Ruben, we also remembered with gratitude all our benefactors who have faithfully supported us in so many ways over the years. They, too, have been a visible sign of God’s blessing on our efforts to try to put into practice what Jesus commanded his disciples to do: ‘Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation’ (Mark 16:15). By God’s grace we, as Columbans, have a history we can be proud of and grateful for. But this does not mean that we can now sit back. On the contrary, especially at this time when the world is all the more in need of Jesus and his Word of truth and love, our priority must be to strive even more to be faithful missionaries and to encourage others to join with us and support us in that effort. In this edition of Columban Mission you will read more about all this and hopefully come to know more about us, young and old alike! And, as you read, know that you, our benefactors and supporters, are very much part of it all. Without your interest and support we would not be able to do what we do. As we begin Advent and prepare our hearts to welcome the Christ Child more deeply into our lives this Christmas, we will thank Jesus in a special way for each of you and your families and ask him to continue to bless you abundantly. We ask you, in turn, to pray for us, especially all the Filipino Columban Missionaries who are so much part of the new life of our Society. We also ask you to continue to support us in other ways: through encouraging others to read our magazine which is available online at www.misyononline.com as well in two CD formats and, of course, with your financial contributions, no matter how small. Many thanks and every blessing. Death of Great Columban Friend in Bacolod City Mrs Salvacion Valderrama Tinsay, a great friend of the Columbans for many years, died peacefully at her home in Bacolod City early in the morning of 8 August. Most of her family were with her, including her daughter Marisa, who lives in Belgium, with her husband Kris and their three children. ‘Salving’, or ‘Tita Salving’ as she was known to many, had turned 76 in April. She had been battling with cancer for some time. I anointed her about a week before her death. Salving became involved with the Deaf when a young Deaf Peace Corps volunteer stayed in her home back in the 1980s. Not long after that she met the late Columban Father Joseph Coyle who had become aware of how marginalized Deaf people see COLUMBAN FRIEND, page 4 COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 Every October since 2004 Mr Jay Nanagas of United Hills, Parañaque, visits the Misyon office in Singalong to deliver the contribution to Columban Mission which he and his wife, Nona, have saved inside a yellow teddy bear. In the photo above Cathy de Leon, then one of the Misyon office staff, assists Mr Nanagas to extract the coins, totaling P13, 659.00 for the year 2007, from the teddy bear. 1 Mary Doohan RIP and The Little Way A great supporter of Columban and other missionaries throughout the world, Mary Doohan, died in England on 29 August at the age of 91. She has two brothers who are Columbans in the Philippines, Father John and Father Michael. At the time of this writing Father John is very ill. He has been in the Philippines since 1948, initially in Mindanao and from 1950 in Negros until his retirement more than 50 years later to the Columban house in Singalong. Their sister, the late Columban Sister Philomena, worked in Burma, the Philippines and Chile. The Doohan Family are from Mullagh, County Clare, Ireland. While working in the Civil Service in London Mary responded to a plea from Father John to help rebuild his church which had been destroyed by a typhoon. This eventually led her to founding The Little Way, an organization inspired by the spirituality of St Thérèse of Lisieux that continues to raise money for the Church’s missionary work throughout the world. One of many such projects is the Little Way College Seminary of the Diocese of Kabankalan. The Word, the magazine of the SVD missionaries in Ireland, had an article on Mary by Fr Liam Dunne SVD in October. We’ll have an expanded version of that in the May-June issue of Misyon, www.misyononline.com . Father Dunne ranks her with such outstanding Irish missionaries as Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, Fr Patrick Peyton CSC, ‘The Rosary Priest’, and Bishop Edward Galvin and Fr John Blowick, founders Lord, we thank you for 90 years of the Columbans. Of crossing boundaries of country, In recognition of her work and of Culture and class to preach the work of the Association, Mary was the Gospel twice honored by the Church. In 1979 And for all the blessings our work she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Has brought us. Pontifice medal. In 1996 Pope John Paul II awarded her the ‘Damehood Thank you for all the different of St Gregory the Great for her work peoples in our lives. for the missions’. The only privilege knights and dames of the Pontifical The people at home, Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Who have loved, encouraged Great have is that they may ride a horse And supported us. in St Peter’s Basilica. None, least of all Mary, have exercised that right for The people overseas, a long time and Father Michael, her who have shared brother who has used horses all his Their rich cultures, their Gospel missionary life, was unaware of the And sometimes their poverty. unusual if unused right that his sister had. May we in the spirit of Christ, Paul and St Columban Ccontinue Mary was buried in her native To become more human and County Clare, a particularly beautiful Christian together. part of Ireland. As we say in Irish, ‘Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam uasal’, Fr Noel Connolly ‘May her noble soul be at the right hand Regional Director of God’. Australia & New Zealand 2 COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 Columban Students Take Oath of Membership On 29 June, the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul and the 90th anniversary of the official approval by the Vatican of the Missionary Society of St Columban as a society of apostolic life of pontifical right, John Arga of Iba, Zambales, and Ruben Lobo, of Subic, Zambales, took their oath of membership of the Society during Mass in St Columban’s, Singalong St, Manila. John (near camera) and Ruben receiving their mission crosses from Fr Patrick O’Donoghue, Regional Director. John, left, and Ruben taking their oath of membership. Five of our students - Erl Tabaco (Cagayan de Oro City), Kurt Pala (Iligan City), Louie Ybañez (Tagaloan, Misamis Oriental), Mike Buctot (Tangub City, Misamis Occidental) and Etuate Tubuka (Suva, Fiji) began their Thirty Day Ignatian Retreat on 27 October in Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat and Sprituality Center, Novaliches, Quezon City. Their director was Fr Michael Mohally Mission Art Contest Winners The winners in this year’s art contest organized by the Mission Awareness Team in Cagayan de Oro led by Fr Richard Pankratz are: Gold: Sosante M. Pajarillo III, Fourth Year Section Jumo, Gingoog City National High School, Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental. Silver: Gilbert Asinero, Third Year Section Mark, Agusan National High School, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro City. Bronze: Riza A. Perez, Fourth Year Section Loyalty, Christ the King High School, Maranding, Lala, Lanao del Norte. The winning entries will be featured in the March-April issue of Misyon, www.misyononline.com COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 3 COLUMBAN FRIEND from page 1 Columban Lay Missionaries in Ireland are in the Philippines. With Salving’s support he eventually opened Welcome Home, a residence for out-oftown Deaf students in Bacolod. She gave the last twenty years or so of her life to the Deaf, apart from running a nursery in her own home for babies left on her doorstep. She and her late husband Bert raised these as their own and formally adopted some of them. When Father Joe died on 18 December 1991 everyone was devastated but Salving not only continued the work he had begun but expanded it to places such as Kabankalan, Pontevedra, Escalante, all in Negros Occidental, and to Malaybalay, Bukidnon, where the family has business interests. I celebrated Mass in Villa Valderrama chapel the evening of Salving’s death and Frs Terence Bennett and Brian Gore concelebrated at the funeral Mass on 11 August. May this dear person, a lady in the fullest sense of that word, rest in peace. The members of ‘RP-17’, the five Columban lay missionaries who went to Ireland earlier this year, have now been given pastoral assignments there. From left to right they are: Lenette ‘Nette’ Toledo of Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, and Marivic ‘Ivic’ Quilab of Ozamiz City, to Ashbourne-Donoughmore parish, Diocese of Meath, Virgie ‘Gie’ Tanate from General Trias,Cavite, to Navan parish, Diocese of Meath, Lorelei ‘Lalay’ Ocaya from Cagayan de Oro to Ballymun parish and Marife ‘Epie’ Padao from Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte, to the neighboring Columban-administered parish of Balcurris, both in the Archdiocese of Dublin. COSE Award to Columban Friend By Richelle H. Verdeprado Sister Felicitas B. de Lima DSA, a great friend of the Columbans, was among the ten awardees of the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE) at St Paul College, Quezon City, on 5 October. Sister Etat, as the 74-year-old founder of the Daughters of St Augustine is known, got to know the Columbans sometime in 1990 when Fr Brian Gore was doing vocation work in the Bicol Region. Columbans have been visiting ever since. The COSE award cited The Foundation of Our Lady of Fatima for Human and Development Inc, or Fatima Center, a charitable institution which Sister Etat cofounded and is situated in San Agustin Village, Iriga City, Camarines Sur. Since 1974, Fatima Center has been able to implement various programs and services for the improvement of the living conditions of orphans, street children, victims of violence, abandoned children, persons with disabilities, single parents, cultural 4 COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 ESSAY CONTEST 2008 WINNERS Misyon recently held its third annual essay competition with the theme: ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses’ (Acts 1:8). Out of 411 entries from 23 different schools, ten winners were picked by our judges. Three main prizes and seven consolation winners. Fr Pankratz awarding Blaise 2nd Prize Winner: Norhanisa Dimarangun Rangaig 4th Year - Einstein, Iligan City National High School Principal: Mr Abundio P Saadvedra Jr Values Education Teacher: Laurence D. Librado Michelle with Fr Dick Pankratz and Mrs May Flores minorities and the disadvantaged. It has an orphanage for 150 poor children, and a public elementary and high school for the local community, as well as a shelter and services for battered women and indigenous Aeta people. 1st Prize Winner: Blaise Sy Piecco del Bando - 2nd Year St. Bartholomew, Lourdes College High School, CDO Principal: Sr Ma. Marilou E Pabatao RVM Christian Living Teacher: Jhonas P. Dela Torre CONSOLATION PRIZES: Norhanisa with Wilbert A. Torres of Columban Mission Awareness, CDO, and Mrs Estrella C. Leong, Dept Head-Values 3rd Prize Winner: Michille Rose Tabamo Jovita - 4th Year San Juan del Castillo, Xavier University High School - Ateneo de Cagayan, CDO Principal: Fr Stephen T.Abuan SJ Christian Living Teacher: Fr Stephen T. Abuan SJ 4th Praxides Patangan Gamotin 4th Year Rizal Iligan City National High School Principal: Mr Abundio P Saadvedra Jr Values Education Teacher: Ms Maria Tita Y. Bontia 5th Arlo L. Poletico 4th Year no specified section 9000 Cagayan de Oro City Principal: Anele P. Gonzalez Christian Living Teacher: Liv Marie U Gakyramon 6th Kenneth John Aguinaldo Punla 4th Year St Bernard of Clairvaux Columban College Principal: Mrs Corazon M. Amarille Christian Living Teacher: Mrs Judith S. Edquilane 7th Debbie Mae F. Dizon 3rd Year Our Lady of Mercy Fatima College of Camiguin Principal: Ms Dina B Guinitaran 8th Acut, Janeth May Illana 4th Year St Peter Xavier High School Principal: Mrs Teresita R. Suarez Christian Living Teacher: S. Emie V. Ceballos Sr Etat, center, Fr Brian Gore at back You can read more about Sister Etat in the March-April 2009 issue of Misyon, www.misyononline.com COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 9th Sweeny Malate Bumagat 3rd Year Shakespeare Angelicum Learning Centre Principal: Lemuel Parantar 10th Donica Gadian Igot 4th Year St John Vianney Sacred Heart Academy Principal: Sr Mary Conception Perejan RSM Home Room Teacher: Realisa G Sanayo 5 Columban Jubilarians This year four Columban priests and one Columban Sister who have served in the Philippines celebrate their Diamond Jubilees, while five priests and four sisters celebrate their Golden Jubilees, the priests of their ordination and the sisters of their final profession. Golden Diamond Fr Michael Harrison: Manila Sr Ann Breen: Mindanao Sr Patricia McGuinness: Mindanao Fr Aodh O’Halpin: Mindanao Fr Bernard O’Connor: Luzon Fr Patrick O’Herlihy: Luzon Fr Kieran Heneghan: Luzon Sr Joy Carmody: Luzon Platinum Fr Patrick Hurley: Negros Sr Rose O’Mahony: Mindanao Fr Thomas Revatto: Negros 6 Sr Ita Hannaway: Mindanao Fr Peter Kenny: Luzon Fr John Dennehy: Luzon Though they never served in the Philippines, we offer our very special thanks and congratulations to two Columban priests who celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of their ordination in December 1938. Fr Francis Gallagher: Korea, USA and Ireland Fr Thomas Hanahoe: Ireland, USA, Rome and Australia As we thank God for all of these faithful Columbans we toast them with the old Latin phrase, ‘Ad multos annos’, ‘May you have many more years’. COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 Since our first issue of Columban Mission six Columban priests who served in the Philippines have died. Fr Liam Heffernan, born in Ireland on 15 March 1923, ordained on 21 December 1947, served in Mindanao from 1948 till 1950 when he was assigned to the new mission in Negros. A quiet, conscientious and dedicated pastor, he served there in, among other places, the parishes of Ilog, La Castellana and Aguisan, his last assignment before retiring to the Columban house in Batang, Himamaylan, four years ago. Last year he returned to Ireland because of his health and died on 6 July. Fr Malachy Toner died in Ireland on 9 August 2008, one week short of his 92nd birthday. Ordained on 21 December 1939, he spent the War years promoting the Columbans in Ireland. In 1946 he went to China but because of the advance of the Communists there was transferred to the Philippines in 1949. He worked in Student Catholic Action, becoming both National Director and Director in the Archdiocese of Manila. In 1954 he moved to Mindanao where he worked in parishes in Ozamiz, Magsaysay, Marawi and Lopez Jaena. From 1984 till 2004 he was chaplain to two communities of religious before retiring. Father Malachy was a talented and dedicated missionary, an accomplished preacher, a man of strong independent views, and also a man of considerable charm. Fr Paul J. O’Rourke, born in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, on 6 October 1934 died in Bristol, RI, on 28 October. He was the brother of the late Fr Hugh O’Rourke, also a Columban, and of Columban Sister Claire O’Rourke. Father Paul and Sister Claire, now based in Boston, both served in Mindanao. COLUMBAN MISSION December 2008 Ordained in December 1961, Father Paul came to the Philippines in 1962. After five years he joined the US Navy as a chaplain and was assigned to Vietnam in 1968 where he was injured a year later in a mine explosion. He returned to Mindanao in 1971 where he was very enthusiastically involved with the Christian Communities Program (CCP). After five years he was appointed to the formation staff of the Columban college seminarians in St Paul, Minnesota, but returned to Iligan in 1980 and was there for four years. Father Paul was then assigned to a Spanish-speaking community in Las Cruces Diocese, New Mexico and, ever the missionary, went to Jamaica in 1991 where the Columbans had a mission at the time. Four years later he was appointed superior of the Columban house in New York City. After two years he moved to Bristol, RI, but his health gradually deteriorated. Fr Joseph Bradley was born in Ireland on 15 October 1923 and died peacefully at St Columban’s, Singalong, Manila, on 28 October after a long illness. Ordained on 21 December 1947, Father Joe arrived in Manila in May 1949 and, after studying Pangasinense, went to Sual, where he stayed till 1961. From then till 1978 he was based in Singalong in Society administrative work before returning to Pangasinan. He was parish priest of Labrador for four years before returning to Sual where he stayed till 1996 when a stroke incapacitated him. For the last few years he was bed-ridden and cared for with great love by a team of nurses. The manner in which he bore his suffering during the last years of his life is a testament to the man and an example to all of us. 7 Fr Robert Stack was born 13 April 1921 in Ireland. He was a member of the class ordained on 21 December 1946, many of whose members made an enormous contribution to the Church in Mindanao. After one year in Ireland, Father Bob spent 54 years there. In his early years he worked in Aloran and Iligan before serving as Columban superior in Mindanao from 1962 till 1968. After that he served in Lugait, Oroquieta, Balabagan, Medina and in Agusan and Bugo, two parishes in Cagayan de Oro. He retired to Ireland six years ago. A strong man of unfailing good humor, he had a great love for the poor and was very supportive of his fellow priests. This ‘good and faithful servant’ died on 10 October. May he rest in peace. Fr Michael Donohue died suddenly on 18 October after a heart attack while attending a funeral. He had turned 88 only a month before. Ordained in December 1945, he was assigned first to China but around the time of the Communist takeover he was transferred to the Philippines where he was to work for 50 years. Apart from a term as Regional Director, beginning in 1959, when he was based in Manila, he worked in Mindanao in places as diverse as Tangub, Molave, Marawi, Mahinog, Linamon and Corpus Christi, Iligan. A very kind man with a great human touch who hated not being up to date on Columban news, he was what is known as a ‘character’ and stories about him have brought a laugh and a smile at many a Columban gathering. Mass for Fr Robert Stack RIP Mass was celebrated in Holy Rosary Church, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro City, the only remaining Columban parish in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, for the soul of Fr Robert Stack who died in Ireland on 10 October. He had served in the parish. In the photo is Jessica Revaca, a very active parishioner for whom Father Stack had bought a wheelchair. May all of these ‘mighty men’, as older Irish Columbans might describe them, rest in peace. PUBLISHER: Fr Patrick O’Donoghue Regional Director Editor: Fr Seán Coyle Assistant Editor: Anabelle Gubuan Editorial Assistant: Mary Joy Rile Contributing Editor: Lourdes de Guzman Mission Awareness Coordinator: Father Richard Pankratz Office Manager: Father Dominic Nolan PLEASE DELIVER TO: