A group of valiant women

Columban Sisters prepare to leave Hong Kong after 67 years

The original Ruttonjee Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Sixty-seven years make up a substantial portion of any lifetime, even a significant period in the brief history of Hong Kong, but less than a blink of the eye in the time-frame of the Divine. However, it is not by the number of years that we measure the contribution to life and society of those who walk this earth, but by their quality of commitment, their breadth of imagination, their ingenuity in work and, most especially, their depth of love.

The Missionary Sisters of St Columban are outstanding in all four aspects. Although never numerous, they brought creative, meticulous and high quality medical care to Hong Kong. They injected great ingenuity into their schools. They introduced a quality of palliative care that the city had never dreamed of. They welcomed and befriended sex workers. They were creative in cancer counselling, as well as in prison and hospital chaplaincy services.

Life was never only about science and technical expertise, it was always about love inspired by faith in the God who saves. Their ministries aimed for holistic development, physical and spiritual, and they were at the forefront of the foundation of the Catholic Nurses Guild, the Catholic Doctors Guild and the Legion of Mary. While life was hectic, there was time for everyone. Staff and patients were welcomed as part of their Columban family. The Sisters’ particular interest in each individual patient, and in their medical, educational and social service endeavours is remembered fondly and cherished.

An English nurse, who worked at Ruttonjee Sanitorium for tuberculosis patients for 30 years, reminisced, “I enjoyed the work tremendously. It was so worthwhile and satisfying and I so enjoyed the nuns, all of whom had a great sense of humour. Their work was meticulous. Most of the patients were very ill, so ill in fact that I wondered how they had managed to walk around and do their daily chores before being admitted. In the early days there was little money ... medical equipment was scarce ... loaned from ward to ward ... Ruttonjee was a place of terrific cooperation ... memories are of a very happy place.”

In his 2009 Gerald Choa Memorial Lecture, Dr. S.H. Lee reminisced on the era when his generation of doctors trained at Ruttonjee, saying, “The Hong Kong Tuberculosis Association had benefited considerably from the dedication and devotion of the Catholic Sisters from the St Columban Mission of Ireland who provided quality care and love to the patients.”

Sr Gabriel O’Mahoney with a patient at the Ruttonjee Sanatorium.A talented surgeon, Choa had been a great supporter of the Sisters in his lifetime, providing his services and highly sought-after medical advice free of charge.

But as the Sisters prepare to leave, they reflect, as they did when they left their first location at Ruttonjee Sanatorium in 1988, “We journey with Christ, sharing his mission even to the giving of life itself. Together with Him we face insecurities, including the call to let go and move on, not always sure of the way ...”.

The missionary life can be judged on what is bequeathed. The work the Columban Sisters began, continues, and their successors have imbibed their spirit. The challenge of the moment is to say farewell. They have made their decision. Letting go of something as precious as the Hong Kong mission comes only with pain. But, taking risks and living with uncertainty is their way, and it is graciously blessed by God and the people of Hong Kong. Those who know them must also say farewell to those who, in biblical terms, can only be described as a group of valiant women.

Columban Fr James (Jim) Mulroney is Editor of the Sunday Examiner and this article contains quotes from a special supplement on the Missionary Sisters of St Columban published on 22 November 2015.

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