Sr Alice from Auckland wrote:
In the early 1940s I attended a small Catholic boarding school north of Wellington, New Zealand. We did our homework under the eagle eye of one of the Sisters. If she thought we had worked well she would produce “The Far East” from which she would read us extracts of the work of the Columban Missions.
It was through this that we learnt of the New Zealand missionary Fr Frances Vernon Douglas who had lost his life at the hands of Japanese soldiers. Also each month was the adventures of a lad. I think his name was Mickey? His spelling and grammar were out of this world.
By the 1970s I had two young sons. There were times when they jibbed on the food I served to them. I tried them with telling them there were starving children in other lands who would appreciate the food they spurned. Then one night a program on TV featured a Columban Missionary in Chile and the difficult life the children in Chile were experiencing. It hit home. How could they help them? Pocket money for a time went into a jam jar. It was called 'The Chile Jar'. It soon filled up so I asked a priest friend what to do with it. He had a friend from Chile who would take care of it. This turned out to be Fr Sean O’Connor on leave from Chile. For many years after a 'Chile Jar' found its way to the Columbans to be sent to Chile.
When the time came for my lads to go to secondary school once more there was a Columban influence. It was Frances Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth, named after the Columban who lost his life at the hands of Japanese soldiers during World War II.
If you would like to share your Columban story with us, in 100 words or less, send your Columban story and photo (optional) to:
Columban Mission Centre
P.O. Box 752
Niddrie VIC 3042 OR
E: tfe@columban.org.au
Related links
- Read more from The Far East, April 2018
- Read more from Your Columban Stories
