MAGAZINE OF THE COLUMBAN MISSIONARIES FACES OF THE COLUMBAN FUTURE Newly ordained Fr Rafael Ramirez on his missionary call Columban 100 Celebrating Columban Mission 1918-2018 CROSS AND DRAGON Recalling the first Columbans to go to China
CONTENTS 04 Columban 100: Faces of the Columban Future 'I Have To Take The Risk' Fr Rafael Ramirez from Chile is one of the most recently ordained Columban priests. He reflects on his calling and new missionary life in Myanmar. 06 Columban 100: Columban Historical Moments (1918-2018) Cross and Dragon Fr Neil Collins recalls the first batch of Columban missionaries to go to China in 1920. 08 Columban 100: Columban Historical Moments (1918-2018) A Skilled Filmmaker Fr Richard Ranaghan was both a missionary in China and a pioneer in filmmaking. 10 Columban 100: Your Columban Story Archbishop Paul Grawng of Myanmar recalls his education by the Columbans and how he became the first Kachin ever to be ordained to the priesthood. 12 Columban 100: Sharing the Gifts We Have Received Celebrating 100 years of support for the Irish Mission League, one of the oldest support groups for missionaries in Ireland. 14 Fr Noel Daly recalls his time as a missonary in South Korea. 16 Full Steam Ahead! Sr Rebecca Conlon is a member of the incoming leadership team of the Columban Sisters and was one of the first group who went to Pakistan in 1990. 18 Jubilees 2017 Celebrating this year s jubilarians. 15 20 Reflection Columbans Who Died Violently on Mission Stories from the Bible Children's Section Nature: The Eurasian Collared Dove 21 22 23 04 06 16 08 10 12 14
EDITORIAL THE FAR EAST Published seven times yearly by the Missionary Society of St Columban (Maynooth Mission to China). THE PURPOSE OF THE FAR EAST IS To promote an awareness of the missionary dimension of the Church among readers; report on the work of Columban priests, Sisters and lay missionaries; seek spiritual and material support for missionaries. Subscription 5 a year. Cheques/postal orders to be made payable to: "The Columban Fathers". Editor Sarah Mac Donald editorfareast@gmail.com Assistant Editor Sr Redempta Twomey Layout & Editorial Assistant Breda Rogers Manager Stephen Awre Original Design Gabriel Carbone Printers Southern Print, Dorset Columban Websites News, reports, reflections etc. www.columbans.co.uk www.columbansisters.org Follow us Twitter: @fareastmagazine Facebook: www.facebook.com/ fareastmagazine Missionary Society of St Columban Widney Manor Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB. Tel: (01564) 772096 Columban Sisters 6/8 Ridgdale Street, Bow, London E3 2TW. Tel: (020) 8980 3017 Front Cover Fr Rafael Ramirez with young Buddhist monks in Myanmar. It is truly a joy for the Missionary Society of St Columban to be celebrating our Centenary. We give thanks to God and to all those who have supported us. A rapid process of change and transformation is the characteristic of the world we live in today. Within this reality Columban missionaries enter into a given cultural context sharing life and gospel joy with the people among whom we live and serve. We deliberately choose to locate ourselves among those most in need and strive to live in solidarity with them. In these communities we assist with the basic human needs of clean water, food, housing, health and education. No matter where we live on planet Earth we can all experience the drastic changes in climate the increasing number and strength of typhoons, floods, drought and fires. It is most often the poor who are affected by human-induced climate change caused by an increase in 'greenhouse gas emissions'. For many years Columban missionaries have been committed to raising awareness of the clear signs of the ongoing threat of climate change. As priests, lay missionaries and coworkers, coming from different countries around the world, our working together is a witness of what the world can be. With the people of different faith traditions in the countries where we work, we promote dialogue and strive to build bridges of peace, healing and reconciliation, in places where many boundaries divide us and the diversity of languages, cultures and religions can lead to misunderstanding and violence. In response to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, Columban missionaries became more intentional in empowering the laity within the local churches where we work, and inviting lay people to cross-cultural mission as Columban lay missionaries. We also invite lay people to join us on mission through our overseas volunteer programmes (three to twelve months), our mission exposure trips (one to three weeks) and our domestic and international internship programmes (up to one year). We continue to invite lay people to participate in Columban mission as benefactors and supporters. Your financial support and prayers enable Columban missionaries to be sent on mission. In these various ways we all participate in sharing the joy of the gospel as missionary disciples of Jesus. China, the first mission of the Columbans, has a special place in our history. In recent years we have strengthened our presence there and engaged in the various missionary tasks that have opened up for us. Furthermore, after almost forty years since Columban missionaries had to leave Myanmar we are now blessed to have a team of priests and lay missionaries back working there. God will continue to call young men and women to be Columban priests, lay missionaries and Sisters. As a reflection of the growth of the church in the global south, the majority of new Columban missionaries continue to come from Asia, South America and the Pacific. Since the 1980s, the number of Columban missionaries from these countries has increased. This has been a blessing for us. During our Centenary we will, in a spirit of gratitude, give thanks for what has been; with passion we will celebrate mission today; with hope we will look forward to our unfolding participation in God s mission into the next 100 years and beyond. Our celebrations are an invitation to join us on mission as priests, lay missionaries, volunteers, benefactors and supporters. Fr Kevin O Neill, Superior General, Missionary Society of St Columban FAR EAST - NOVEMBER 2017 3
myanmar 4Faces of the Columban Future In the first of our special centenary series on younger faces of the Columban family, Fr Rafael Ramirez from Chile, who was ordained just over a year ago, reflects on his calling and new missionary life in Myanmar. "I have to be in Myanmar. I have to go. I have to take the risk. I know there will be a lot of frustration, difficulties and struggles, yet inside my heart I hear the voice of God gently saying, 'Go! You must go, you have to go." These are the words of recently-ordained Chilean Columban priest, Fr Rafael Ramirez. His first mission assignment after ordination was Myanmar, where he has spent most of 2017 in the capital, Yangon, learning the Burmese language. When his language is sufficiently proficient, he will move to the north of the country to learn the Kachin language. He will then work among the Kachin people who live in an area of civil conflict. "I am the eldest of five and I grew up in a small town in the countryside. At the age of nine we moved to the city of Temuco. Growing up, I was always part of different voluntary groups and I was very active in my parish's different pastoral ministries." "After school I studied engineering and computer 4 FAR EAST - NOVEMBER 2017 I Have To take the risk science, and then I worked for a few years before I met Columban missionaries for the very first time. Prior to this, I had never thought of being a priest. A priest? No way, I would have said. Then after meeting Columban missionaries who had come from Fiji to a remote area of Chile and lived among the marginalised indigenous peoples, I thought to myself, why not be a priest! Something happened inside. I began to think differently. I was being called by God." "All my university classmates have good jobs, good careers and bright futures. It is hard for them to understand why I am not with them. Why I have gone to a difficult and dangerous place like northern Myanmar, which is engaged in a civil war. It seems crazy to them." "The calm waters of my soul have been stirred up. God placed his finger into my soul, stirring up my life and nothing will ever be the same again. God has called me to go to Myanmar. I have free will. I could have refused the call if I wanted to. Yet despite what 01
others felt, I accepted the call." "I spent around twelve years in formation, with many ups and downs, but with the strong conviction that God has a plan for me. I started my studies in Chile; then I did my spiritual year in Peru and my English language studies in the USA. I finished theology at the Catholic University of Chile." "When the time came for my First Mission Assignment, I was invited to spend two years in South Korea. My first year in Korea was learning the language. My second year was devoted to doing pastoral work in a parish, hospitals and among immigrant workers. My time in Korea was difficult; over time, I began to feel at home. I made many good Korean friends and I could see the importance of being a Columban missionary there." "When I was ordained about a year ago I was asked to be part of the Myanmar Mission Unit. The first thing I did was to Google it and everything I saw was beautiful - pictures of ancient Buddhist temples and people wearing traditional clothes. I also read that it was one of the poorest countries in Asia, though it is rich in minerals. I discovered that the Columbans arrived in this country in 1936 and started working among the Kachin tribal people. Later on, this area became the Diocese of Myitkyina in 1961, with Columban Bishop John Howe as the first bishop of the diocese." "When the military-socialist government took over the country in 1964, they ordered almost all missionaries to leave. After that, it took more than thirty years for the Columbans to make the decision, at the invitation of the bishop, to return to work with the Kachin people again." "Now I am living in Myanmar. Facing many different challenges, frustrations, difficulties and struggles; yet inside my heart I hear the voice of God gently saying, 'Keep going!' I feel like I am hiking up a mountain, with pain in my legs and a heavy backpack. I also feel like I'm walking alone but I have a strong desire to get to the top of the mountain and contemplate the path travelled - to feel that at all times God was with me through the many people that accompanied me on this journey." "I identify very much with the Columban co-founder, Bishop Edward Galvin. Something was calling him to China. Something had touched him deeply. He did not know what China would be like, yet he decided to go, to trust. He did not have an idea what the future would be like. Yet it was God's call to Edward Galvin to leave all and go to China. Now God is calling me, calling us as a Mission Unit. We have to trust, we have to keep moving forward, we have to be apostles, we have to be followers of Jesus here in Myanmar with God's people and together keep building up God's Kingdom. "When the apostles were called, they did not know what would happen to them. I do not know what it will be like in Myanmar. I am afraid but not paralysed. Maybe it will be very different from the way I think it will work out, but I have to see what God has in store for me in Myanmar. I will keep trusting in the Lord, keep moving forward." 01. Fr Rafael Rameriz with school children in Myanamar. 02. Fr Rafael Rameriz with Columban Fr Kurt Zion Pala and a Buddhist monk in Yangon in Mayanmar. 03. L to R: Fr Rafael Ramirez, Columban Sr Susanna (Korea), Fr Johnny Sharoi Hkun Naw (Diocese of Myitkyina), Fr Gregory Lazum Naw Din (Diocese of Myitkyina), Columban Fr Kurt Zion at the St Columban Kachin Community centre in Yangon. To make a comment on this article go to facebook.com/fareastmagazine @fareastmagazine 02 5 03