advocate-summer-2013.. - The Mill Hill Missionaries

Mill Hill Jubilees - 2013FR. LARRY ENGLISH60 years - Diamond JubileeFr. Larry English is from Tullamore – in the heart of Ireland. He stillremembers fondly the bog of Allen, the Slieve Bloom Mountainsand nearby Clonmacnoise. His early education was by the Nuns andlater the Christian Brothers, before he left for Freshford to join MillHill. After ordination he was appointed to the Philippines. Heworked in a parish in Iloilo city for a few years and later spent sevenyears in a parish in rural Antique.His next move was to the UnitedStates – to St. Louis, MO, where he was superior of the Mill Hill House and involved infundraising with ‘a wonderful group of people’.After seven years, he returned to the Philippines to the parish of Barbaza in Antique,where he built a beautiful church, with financial help from the people of Tullamore. Thiswas scarcely finished when he was appointed back to the United States. He was assignedto Los Angeles for a short while and then to hospital chaplaincy work in Jacobi hospitalin the Bronx, New York. This was very challenging and interesting work. In 1990, hereturned to Ireland and spent a number of years in Kilkenny, as Editor of St. Joseph’s Advocate.He is now living in the Mill Hill Retirement Home in Rathgar, Dublin.FR. JOSEPH P. WHELAN60 years - Diamond JubileeFr Joe Whelan is from Dublin. Joe’s first appointment after ordinationwas to UCC University, to get a degree that would prepare himfor his work in education in Uganda. That was his destination aftergraduation and he spent sixteen years in Colleges there.He was expelled by Idi Amin in 1972 and took up different posts inEurope and the USA for the next 10 years, which included three yearsin Freshford, Co Kilkenny (1977-1980), as Director of the Organising and Fundraising.After the fall of Amin he returned to Uganda for another four years, until health problemsbrought him back to Europe. He spent the following six years in Liverpool and Ireland.In 1993, he was asked to go to the Falkland Islands and from there he moved to the Islandof St Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean (See his article about St. Helenaon page 20). There are less than 5000 people there and not many Catholics. Commentingon his time there Joe says: ‘a missionary goes where he or she is sent’. This ended in2004 when it was decided that, with his health problems, he should remain in Ireland.He worked for a few years helping overseas aid through Irish Aid. He is now retired inour Dublin house, ‘waiting in the Departure Lounge’- as he himself says.FR. ANSELM AHERNE50 years - Golden JubileeFr Anselm Aherne is from Belgooly, Kinsale, Co Cork. His firstappointment was to Jesselton, now called Kota Kinabalu, inSabah, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. There he taught in theTambunan School, which also had a convent school attached toit and a mobile clinic catering for the surrounding kampongs (villages).He moved to three other parishes with schools attached, until in December 1970, thecountry decided not to renew the work permits of foreign missionaries. He was thenappointed to the Maori Mission in New Zealand and was assigned to Rotorua, a cityParish in the care of the Maori Mission.He soon moved to Panguru parish, where the first Mass was celebrated by NewZealand’s first Bishop, Frenchman, Bishop Pompallier, on 13th January 1838. BishopPompallier died in France and his body was returned to New Zealand at the requestof the Maori people and re-interred in Motuti. It is now a place of pilgrimage.Six years on, Anselm was back in St Michael’s in Rotorua, which was one of thefirst Parishes started by the Mill Hill Maori Mission priests when they arrived inNew Zealand in 1888. He continued to work in Rotorua until February 2008 whenhe was appointed to St Columba’s, Frankton, in Hamilton - close to where the lateFr Gerry Haring built a Maori Marae (traditional Maori gathering place) with a littlechapel attached. Anselm is still working in Hamilton.FR. TOM CONNORS50 Years - Golden JubileeFr. Tom Connors is from the Athenry area of Co. Galway. After ordinationat Mill Hill, London, in 1963, he was appointed to the Borneohalf of Malaysia in Southeast Asia. During his first two yearshe taught in Dalat School, after which he spent a short period inSarikei at the end of 1965. Early in 1966 he was appointed to theparish of Song - deep in the ‘interior’ of Borneo. Song then includedKapit and Belaga, the most extensive parish in the Diocese of Kuching and more thanhalf the size of Ireland. He was engaged in primary evangelisation and pastoral work inthat vast area for the next 33 years.At the beginning of 1990, Song, Kapit and Belaga became separate parishes. Tom wasstationed at Kapit until 1999 when he was transferred to Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sibu.From there he did pastoral work in the Sekuau, Tamin and Selanggau area, which is nowa separate parish. He continues to work among the mixed communities of Sibu at SacredHeart Cathedral and in Longhouse Communities in that area as well. (Fr. Tom still worksin Borneo - for more about his 50 years there, see his Article on page 4)16 17