Photo taken at the Columban Centenary Celebration, Fr Sean O'Connor (left) and Fr Don Hornsey (right) with the late Fr David Arms in the background
This month two of our New Zealand Columbans celebrate 60 years of Missionary Priesthood. Fr Sean O’ Connor was ordained in Wellington on July 2, 1964, and Fr. Don Hornsey on July 4 in Auckland.
Often in life a major change in direction can be initiated by a chance encounter or unexpected event. Fr. Don tells how it was almost by accident that he went to Holy Name Seminary in Christchurch. His parish priest, Fr O'Connor, told him that Bishop Liston was coming down from Auckland to talk to his classmate, Mervyn Farrell about going to Holy Name seminary. He invited Don to come to the meeting. He agreed and next thing he was heading to Christchurch
One day while in Holy Name he met two Columbans, Kevin Lynch and Jim Norris, home from Japan and realized he could be an overseas missionary. So, in 1960, he went to the Columban Seminary in Australia. Many more events and encounters were to follow that took Fr Don to Rome for Studies and then to the Columban seminary staff in Turramurra to teach Liturgy, Fundamental Theology Greek and Spanish. It seems Don’s great ability to learn languages started early.
Eventually in 1975 he was given an overseas mission appointed to Chile where he worked until 1985. Then he was named as one of a small group asked to take on a new mission the Columbans accepted in Brazil. He was to spend 14 years there working mostly with rural communities.
The Columban decision to close the mission in Brazil was an unexpected event that was to mark another big change in his life. He was asked by Fr. Paul Prendergast if he would come to Peru and work with him in the Andes mountains. He was to spend 12 happy years there before being appointed back to his home country of New Zealand where he continues to work with the Spanish speaking community in the Wellington area - mostly migrants from Columbia - and with communities from Myanmar and Zimbabwe.
The encounters and events that were to shape the life of Fr Sean O’Connor were somewhat different. He was appointed initially to Peru but very early on was asked to move to Chile. The unexpected events that were to influence his life were a motorcycle accident which left him unconscious for 10 day and later a long spell in hospital with hepatitis. The unexpected death of his colleague, Lynn Whitely, with whom he had travelled to South America, meant that Sean was asked to take over his parish.
In the years that followed Sean moved back and forth between New Zealand and Chile. During his spells in Chile, he worked in various parishes as well as being Vocations Coordinator and acting as socius to those in initial formation. In New Zealand from 1973-1978 he was on promotions and mission education before becoming the Office Manager in Lower Hutt. In 1978 he went back to Chile until 2000 when he was assigned to the ANZ Region. He returned to Chile in 2003.
In 2007 he came back to New Zealand and was appointed to parish work in Auckland Diocese, initially in Warkworth and then in Kaitaia. Another injury brought him firstly to John Vianny home and later to Elizabeth Knox home where he now resides.
We congratulate them on their many contributions to Columban Mission and for their long and faithful service as priests in the Society of St Columban. May God bless them abundantly
Fr Pat O'Shea lives and works in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Shop
Comments (0)