The Way We Were
04.02.2009
Throughout 2009 The Far East will feature stories from the archives of The Far East on page 22.
A page from the past helps us to remember people and events that were an important part of our lives.
Eminent American physician joins up
Medical missionaries spread the Good news through their healing skills.
The value of the medical unit in Catholic missionary work is becoming more apparent every day. The Irish Mission to China has already made a beginning in that direction. Doctor Robert Francis of New Orleans sailed for China on 29th December 1920 and proceeded immediately to Han Yang as a Medical Missionary.
Doctor Francis was born at South Bend Indiana 35 years ago and educated at Notre Dame University. He holds his degree in Medicine from the American University, Chicago and is also a graduate of the Boston College of Physicians. A journey through Africa and China some time ago, impressed on Doctor Francis the importance of a medical branch in connection with missionary work.
In China as in other countries, the Medical Missions are at once a magnet which draws young and old within the Missionary's sphere of influence. And in even in Republican China it frequently happens that the Missionary has to approach prospective converts along the line of least resistance. As a foreigner and a professed enemy of ancient and cherished beliefs, he frequently encounters a considerable amount of opposition. To break down the barriers of prejudice and replace suspicion by trust, he needs a vantage ground. Herein lies the great worth of the Medical Missions. Care bestowed on the body of the sufferer rarely fails to bring him nearer to his benefactor and through him to our Divine Lord.
The Far East
March 15, 1921, page 13.
In The Far East January issue, 1921, a photograph of Dr Mary Glowrey appears on the editorial page. The editorial is on the importance of medical missionaries. No details are given about her in that issue.
Mary Glowrey was a medical doctor who gave up a successful practice in Melbourne in 1920 to work among the poor people in India. She joined a religious congregation, the Companions of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and remained there for the rest of her life. Mary Glowrey was the first President of The Catholic Women’s Social Guild (now known as the Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga Inc.). Her cause for canonisation is in progress.
A later Far East issue will provide a fuller article on the life of this outstanding Australian woman.
