Life in Autumn: Our Columban Story

Photo: Canva.com

Here in the Hutt Valley, there are increasing signs of the presence of Autumn. Trees are moving from summer shades of green to the beautiful autumn shades of red, gold and yellow - transforming their appearance. The days are getting shorter and some mornings carry a hint of colder weather to come. 

One of the features of living on planet Earth is that, while some places experience just 2 seasons - wet and dry - other places have 4 quite distinct seasons. These seasons also reflect patterns in human life including that of the Society of St Columban.

Spring is a time of new beginnings. In 1918 a new Missionary Society sprang into life to bring the gospel to the people of China. For various reasons this new venture caught the imagination of people initially in Ireland and then in the USA, Australia. New Zealand and Great Brittan.

Summer is a time of growing into abundance and maturity. Membership grew to the point where the society could take on new missions in places like Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Fiji, Chile and Peru. We had a strong base of Columban supporters.  Mid summers day for the Society can be placed around 1969 when membership of the society peaked at 952 ordained members.

I joined the Columbans in 1967 with 32 classmates. From 1967 to 1974, when 12 of us were ordained, the number of students in Dalgan dropped from over 180 to below 100, as the bigger classes ahead of us were ordained, the intake groups got smaller and more students left. Australia student numbers are remembered as peaking at 69 in 1969. I imagine something similar was happening in the USA. It was also a time we began to hear of Columbans leaving the priesthood in growing numbers.

It was a challenging time not just for the Columbans but for the Church as it took on board the impact of Vatican II. The world around us was rocked by student revolts and revolutionary movements. It was a like a particular rough summer storm, but the Society was still robust enough to take on new missions in Pakistan and Taiwan and had shorter term commitments in Jamaica, Belize and Brazil. In the 80’s and 90’s we started our Lay Mission Program and accepted vocations from the countries where we worked which gave a significant boost to our numbers and capabilities.

Now we find ourselves in Autumn, a time of letting go and embracing the changes that are needed. The number of ordained members is down to 269. Over 100 of these men are in their 80 and 90’s.  There have been no ordinations in the English-speaking world for many years. We have been blessed with vocations from new parts of the world like Tonga, Myanmar and China as well as a small but regular flow from Fiji. Korea, the Philippines, Chile and Peru.  We have also been blessed by our Lay Missionaries and the addition in recent times of what we term coworkers – lay people who carry significant missionary roles in the areas of JPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation), IRD (Interreligious Dialogue (JPIC), Fundraising and Communications.  

Here in the Region of Oceania, we are well advanced in the autumnal task of working out what no longer serves us well and so can be let go as well as what new opportunities for growth and transformation are possible. Among the desired outcomes of the process are

• to be grounded in a Columban Spirituality that sustains hope, discernment and transformation.
• To find a clearer, more focused expression of Columban Mission
• To pursue local mission initiatives that are in line with Columban priorities (migrants and biodiversity)
• To expand collaborative networks with Church, environmental and justice groups

There may well be a winter period to come when the energy needs to move inward for a while. We know there is a possibility that we will not survive the winter. Several religious communities have opted for closure. A graceful completion is an option we are considering. The other options are to for us are to grow, which would require some radical changes in structure and membership or transform to a more focused but modest missionary presence.

In the short story The Tree that Survived the Winter, Mary Fahy, describes how a tree woke up in spring to find that not only had it survived the winter, but, despite no outwards signs of activity, it had grown inwardly.  We are hoping, praying and working towards a new spring for the society of St. Columban.

Fr Pat O'Shea, lives and works in Aotearoa/New Zealand