Fr Edward Galvin and Fr John Blowick
The word Pentecost comes from a Greek word that means fifty and refers to the Jewish feast which took place fifty days after the feast of the Passover, which celebrated the escape of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. St. Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles that the risen Lord Jesus told the apostles the Holy Spirit would come upon them, and they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. This is indeed what happened on the first Pentecost on the harvest festival after the death of Jesus. The apostles were filled with the spirit who came to them as tongues of fire, enabling them to speak foreign languages. The apostles, led by Peter, received the courage to witness the risen Jesus, so the missionary Church was born.
The Missionary Society of St Columban was founded when two Irish diocesan priests, Frs Edward Galvin and John Blowick, let themselves be called and inspired by the same Holy Spirit that came down upon the apostles over two thousand years ago.
Born in 1882 on a farm in Ireland, Edward Galvin, as a young man, felt the call and desire to be a priest, particularly a missionary priest. His father, John Galvin, allowed him to go to Maynooth, the diocesan seminary in Dublin, to become a priest for the Diocese of Cork. He was ordained in 1909, but the diocese had no vacancies. So, he volunteered to go and serve the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. For three years, he served in the Holy Rosary parish, but the missionary longing arose in him again.
He wrote letters offering his service as a missionary, and eventually, Canadian Fr Frazer came looking for priests for China. On the spot, Fr Galvin said yes to him. He obtained his bishop's permission in Cork and was on his way to China and the Diocese of Hangchow.
Fr Galvin quickly made good progress in learning Chinese and began to write hundreds of letters to Ireland informing the Church there of the reality of China and its need for priests. Two Irish priests, Joe O'Leary and Patrick O'Reilly, joined him in China. These two soon persuaded Fr Galvin to return to Ireland to get a China Mission going.
Back in Ireland, Fr Galvin was tasked with getting the Irish bishops' permission to proceed. Key to this was Fr John Blowick, professor of Theology at the Maynooth Seminary. He, too, had heard Fr Frazer speak about China and was eager to respond in some way. After meeting Fr Galvin and some days of reflection, he resigned from the seminary and threw in his lot with Fr Galvin. On 10th October 1916, the bishops of Ireland approved the founding of the Missionary Society of St Columban, then known as the 'Maynooth Mission to China'. The authorities in Rome approved the Missionary Society of St Columban and entrusted the Columbans with the Diocese of Hanyang on the Yangtse River.
In 1920 Frs Galvin and Blowick led the first group of twenty Columban missionaries to Hanyang, where Fr Galvin was made a Bishop in 1927. Fr Blowick returned to Ireland to be the Superior General of the Missionary Society of St Columban, which in time served the mission of the Church in the Philippines, Korea, Burma (now Myanmar), Japan, Fiji, Peru, Chile, Taiwan and Pakistan.
May the Holy Spirit continue to come down on Columban priests, sisters, lay missionaries and all who support us financially and spiritually.
Columban Fr Donal McIlraith, Region of Oceania.
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin.
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