Passing on the flame of faith

Jun 16, 2017

Preparing for the Columban Centenary 2018

Columban Sr Kathleen Mary Riordan recently spoke with The Far East about some of the highlights and difficulties of her 43 years of missionary life in Chile. The time is fast approaching for Sr Kathleen Mary and for Sr Angela McKeever, the other remaining Columban sister in Chile, to pass on the flame of faith so that others may carry it on into the future.

Early days

The Columban sisters came to Chile at a particularly difficult historical moment. It was the year 1974, one year after the military coup that began the 17 years of the oppressive dictatorship of General Pinochet. The sisters had been invited by the Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago, Bishop Fernando Ariztia. They were not to live in convents or to run institutions such as schools, but rather to live inserted in poor neighbourhoods where there was no other church presence. They were to share in the daily life of the poor and to promote their formation in faith.

The first three Columban sisters to arrive were Sisters Gemma Shelly, Ita McElwain and Kathleen Mary Riordan herself. They went to live in a small house in the poor neighbourhood which was called 'Venceremos' - 'We shall overcome'. This area had begun as an illegal occupation of private land, where hundreds of poor families had organized themselves to suddenly arrive in large numbers one day, squat on small pieces of land and build their homes. Until the military coup occurred in 1973, the area had been controlled by the Chilean Communist Party. Now the new military regime took over and renamed the area, 'Villa O’Higgins'.

Before the sisters could move into their home, Bishop Ariztia and Columban Fr Kevin O’Boyle, who worked in a nearby parish with a similar illegal occupation of land, visited every home in the neighbourhood to ask the people whether or not they wanted the sisters to live amongst them. The answer was a resounding “Yes”.

Soon after arriving, the sisters were given a small piece of land on which a simple pine-board wooden shack could be erected. Here they began catechetical programmes and a feeding programme for the many undernourished children and aged persons in the area. This could also be used as a chapel for the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments.

The sisters also noticed that there were many young women in their mid twenties who were widows. These were the widows of men that the military regime had detained and had now become “the disappeared”. In order to help these widows and other women earn some badly needed income, the sisters developed crochet and embroidery workshops where the produce could be sold for income. Women with disabilities also participated in these workshops.

After living in convents, removed from the life of ordinary families, this was an entirely new way of life for the sisters.

Difficult times

Spies for the military regime made life difficult for the sisters during those early years. Sometimes strangers would appear at the daily feeding programme and begin asking questions about who was involved and taking down the names of the families participating. It was difficult to know whom one could trust. Other unknown persons could be seen standing around observing what was going on.

Things took a serious turn for the worse on November 1, 1975, when English doctor Sheila Cassidy was arrested in the Columban Fathers House which she was visiting by the Chilean secret police. Sheila had given medical treatment to a political opponent of the new military regime. Sheila was eventually released after being severely tortured. For the new military regime, the Columban sisters as well as priests were now political suspects and had to be carefully watched by the secret police.

Support for mission

Sr Kathleen Mary says the highly organized nature of the Chilean Church helped the sisters settle into their mission. A strong emphasis on effective pastoral planning along with excellent catechetical materials provided the sisters with a structure in which to work. Likewise, the Chilean Conference of Religious encouraged Religious from all congregations to make a serious option for the poor, to go out and live amongst the poor in poor areas. This prophetic call has been a great inspiration to the sisters over the years.

Missionary outreaches over the years

Looking back over her many years of mission in Chile, Sr Kathleen Mary says one of her principle missionary outreaches, even up until the present time, has been sweeping the street every morning outside her home. Here she greets both neighbours and strangers. Recently she greeted an unknown young woman who immediately turned around and asked if she could speak with her. With a flood of tears, this young woman poured out her heart as she told of the recently diagnosed terminal illness of her mother.

Another important missionary outreach for Sr Kathleen Mary is the selling of small cactus plants from her garden in yoghurt containers at the unauthorized end of the local street market. This is an area where poor families sell second hand clothes, small household items and goods that fell “from the back of a truck”. Here she meets all kinds of persons, who, knowing that she is a religious sister, ask her questions about faith, about baptising children or preparing them for First Communion and so on. The money from the sale of the cacti goes towards the cost of the yearly mission that she leads in remote areas of Chile’s south.

For the last five years during January, Sr Kathleen Mary has led a mission, promoting Biblical awareness and reflection, to the southern Chilean island of Chiloe. On Christmas day 2016 a large earthquake occurred here with a strong possibility of a tsunami which luckily did not occur. As a result, the most recent mission in January 2017 concentrated on listening to a traumatized people and helping them express their fears.