Faith, Friendship and Mission: 70 Years with Fr Barry Cairns

This year, we give thanks for the remarkable milestone reached by Columban missionary, Fr Barry Cairns: 70 years of priestly ordination. A New Zealander, Fr Barry has poured his life out in service, faith and mission.

Born in 1931, Barry Cairns grew up in Lower Hutt, Aotearoa-New Zealand. In 1949, sensing God’s call, he entered the Columban seminary. Ordained in 1955 at his home parish of Saints Peter and Paul, he was assigned to Japan - a country still scarred by war but rich in tradition and largely unfamiliar to him.

Fr Barry arrived in Japan in 1956 and began parish ministry in rural fishing villages. Life was tough: poverty and illness were widespread and he himself endured serious sickness. Yet these trials deepened his conviction that Christ walks with us even in suffering. His curiosity about the culture and his respect for the people helped him to belong, not as an outsider but as a brother.

After 11 years in Japan, poor health led him to nine months in hospital. Once recovered, he was assigned to the Columban seminary in Sydney as a spiritual director, guiding young men preparing for mission. In 1983, he returned to Japan, where he has ministered ever since in busy urban parishes and, more recently, in a small parish in Kanagawa ward, Yokohama city.

Today, even in his nineties, Fr Barry continues pastoral work. He visits sick parishioners, tends a vegetable garden and joins parishioners in social activities. His ministry is marked by simple presence - praying, listening and encouraging. He believes that the very presence of a foreign missionary reminds the Church in Japan of its universality.

Reflecting on his journey, Fr Barry often speaks of ikigai, a Japanese word meaning “a reason for being”. For him, that reason has always been to share Christ’s love with others. Illness, cultural adaptation and long years abroad have not dimmed his zeal. Instead, he sees suffering and challenge as shaping the soul, helping it to shine more brightly.

As we mark his 70th anniversary, we give thanks for Fr Barry’s faith, humility and perseverance. His life reminds us that mission is not only about grand projects but about steadfast love lived daily, through small acts of kindness over many years. Congratulations, Fr Barry and thank you for 70 years of faithful service!

Maha Shawky, Oceania Regional Business Manager.