On Tuesday, the 6th of May, Tom Rouse and I attended the funeral mass of Bishop Owen Dolan, which was held in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Palmerston North. When Owen was young, he wanted to join the Columbans, but doctors advised him not to work overseas because of rheumatic fever. He was ordained for the Wellington Diocese in 1954 and worked in a number of parishes until 1973, when he realised his dream and went to Peru as a Columban associate. He was assigned to Lima, but the climate there at sea level affected his health. He was transferred to Arequipa, which at 2,300 metres was suitable for him. He worked there with the Maryknoll Fathers.
When I was assigned to Chile in 1974, I arrived first in Lima. Owen came up from Arequipa to meet me and invited me to return to Arequipa with him. It was a good introduction to South American life for me.
Owen returned to Aotearoa in 1978 serving as Vicar General in Wellington and then in 1995, he was ordained Bishop and appointed Coadjutor to Bishop Peter Cullinane who had had a heart attack. Peter recovered however, and Owen remained as assistant bishop until he retired in 2025.
Owen was always a great friend of the Columbans and when he came to Wellington to visit friends and relations, he always stayed with us here in Lower Hutt, where he shared many stories and histories with us.
His funeral was a great tribute to his gentle leadership, missionary spirit and friendship with so many people. The six diocesan bishops were present as well as a number of priests and friends who came from many places to pack the cathedral. Bishop Peter Cullinane, now retired also, gave an inspired homily and prayers and a hymn in Spanish were part of a wonderful farewell to Owen.
He will be remembered, and many anecdotes will be told about him when his friends come together Adios, Amigo.
Columban Fr Don Hornsey lives and works in New Zealand.
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