AT 87, Gilbert Alison likes nothing better than the comfort of his favourite leather chair, a morning coffee and the latest edition of The Far East. The former Queensland Member of Parliament is an avid reader of The Far East, the magazine of the St Columbans Mission Society that celebrates 100 years of publication this year. Mr Alison has been ... Read More »
COLUMBAN Father Warren Kinne remembers fondly his early years as a missionary, zipping between villages on a Honda motorbike. “In the early 70s we would have been some of the first missionaries to seriously get into bikes,” Fr Kinne, celebrating 50 years of priesthood, said. The 74-year-old Columban who grew up in Bundaberg, chuckled as he reflected on his far-flung ... Read More »
THE streets are empty, people stay indoors and a “horrifying silence” has gripped Wuhan, at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. The central Chinese city of 11 million people has been under quarantine lockdown since January 23, with no transport links in or out, and residents facing food queues and shortages of essential supplies including face masks. Across China, nearly ... Read More »
THE Columban Fathers’ mission of spreading the Gospel message across the world has been honoured at a Mass to celebrate the order’s centenary. The Mass of Thanksgiving at Brisbane’s St Stephen’s Cathedral last Sunday celebrated the Missionary Society of St Columban evangelising the world. Among the concelebrating priests were five Columbans – Fr Noel Connolly, Fr Gary Walker, Fr Warren ... Read More »
ONE parish is more than a handful for any priest, but Fr Kevin O’Neill’s territory extends from Myanmar to Mexico, and many points in between. As Superior General of St Columban’s Mission Society, Fr O’Neill is leader of missionaries working in 16 countries around the world. Hailing from Geelong, Victoria, the 52-year-old joined the Columbans in 1984, was ordained in ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
