From the Desk of the Regional Director - Misyon

2010 NO 6 THIRD QUARTER
Tuesday, 20 July was the
92 nd anniversary of the Canonical
Foundation of the Society of
St Columban. At Mass in our
Singalong Chapel, Manila, that
evening, four of our students
took their oath of temporary
membership in the Society. I
always fi nd these occasions very
moving and encouraging. It is not
easy to commit oneself to anything in the present world where
‘keeping one’s options open’ in the hope of getting something
‘better’ or more ‘exciting’ seems preferable. That four young
men, knowing their own vulnerabilities but listening to the Spirit
speaking deep within their hearts, chose to commit themselves
to God through the Society of St Columban is a cause for great
gratitude and joy. It also brings hope. The God of the Harvest
is with us and we rejoice in the signs by which he continues to
encourage us to persevere in our Mission.
The following day was also a day of great joy as we watched
President Benigno Aquino III being inaugurated. Like many
others I was also very moved by the whole ceremony. The joyful
celebration expressed a new sense of hope. That hope was palpable
among the many hundreds of thousands who, despite the rain,
went to the Quirino Grandstand to listen to the new President give
his commitment to the People of the Philippines. As he listed the
changes he wants, they cheered and encouraged the new President.
The apprenticeship
By Reynante Bantigue
Reynante is from St Joseph Parish,
Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur.
One of the best ways of living and experiencing Christ’s
life is to go on pilgrimage, where we put ourselves in situations
very similar to those of Jesus. We immerse ourselves in a
journey of uncertainty and dependence. We rely on the people
along the way for food, water and shelter. We put our trust in
them as the expression of God’s love and providence.
Experiences got from books, lectures and refl ection can
be concretized by exposing ourselves to actual situations.
COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010
From the Desk of the Regional Director
By Fr Patrick O’Donoghue www.columbanmission.net
People want a better future and desperately want ‘P-Noy’, as many
have nicknamed the new president, to succeed. For some this is
just a ‘wish’ as they go back to their old ways of living. They don’t
realize that for the country to change they have to change too. For
many more, however, there is the realization that if ‘P-Noy’ is to
succeed then everyone has to do their part. And so many have
publicly committed themselves to do what is within their power
to help bring about the kind of change that will lead to a more
honest, just and equal Society here in the beautiful country that is
the Philippines. That kind of commitment is another sign of hope.
We need to pray earnestly for our four students and for our
new President and his government that each, in their own way, will
remain faithful to what God is asking of them and so help to realize
God’s Kingdom here on earth. We pray that they will never lose
sight of the One who calls and leads nor of the values that Jesus
shows us as the way to the kind of community and society that
God desires. We also need to pray for those who selfi shly resist
the changes necessary for the common good. But, for our prayer
‘Thy Kingdom come . . .’ to have real meaning, all of us need to
re-commit ourselves to live the values of Jesus in our everyday
life by our faithful listening to God’s word and our willingness to
work and sacrifi ce together for the true good of all.
I again thank each of you for your continued support for us.
May the God of the Harvest bless you abundantly.
Thus we, the spiritual year
students of 2009-2010, went
on a pilgrimage to act out
what we’d learned from
reading, lectures, retreats
and reflection. This was
to immerse ourselves in
situations similar to those
of Jesus – being pilgrims,
experiencing the life of the least regarded
people in our society, asking for a grace from God, especially
the grace of humility, and to allow Jesus to teach us to be
pilgrims like Himself.
see APPRENTICESHIP, page 2
1

I belong to el primer grupo, the first
group of Columban lay missionaries
(CLMs) from Peru to be sent on foreign
mission. I signed a three-year contract
(December 2007 - December 2010) for
mission in the Philippines with CLMs
Maria Ramirez, Marisol Rojas and Antonio
Salas Villagomez. We underwent a
program of preparation from March to
October 2007. The group encountered
problems along the way but finally on 27
December 2007 we arrived in Manila where
2
Ana Belma Flores
Columban Lay Missionary from Peru to Philippines
Fr Enrique Escobar, a Columban associate
priest from Peru then working in Malate
parish, Manila, Arlenne Villahermosa from
Talisay City, Cebu, CLM coordinator in
the Philippines at the time, and Columba
Chang Eun-Yeal, a CLM from Korea,
welcomed us at the airport. Father Enrique
has now returned to the Vicariate Apostolic
of Yurimaguas in Peru while Arlenne and
Columba are now assigned to Myanmar.
I was surprised to see children giving
the mano po or amen to Father Enrique,
who explained the tradition as an act of
showing respect to elders and asking for
a blessing.
On 5 January 2008 we left for Davao
where we studied the Visayan language
for six months. Our class had one Pole,
one Venezuelan, one Congolese and four
Peruvians. With English as the medium,
which I could not understand, my first
day in school was a disaster. It was so
frustrating not being able to understand and
speak the language. I felt like a child with
many challenges in school. Thank God I
learned the Visayan language within the
period of the course.
I went to Cagayan de Oro for exposure,
which took place in Ozamiz, Pagadian,
Midsalip and Dumalinao parishes where
Columbans are working or have worked,
and to other ministries of the Columbans.
I am working in Cagayan de Oro with
the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP), a
lay association, since 27 September 2008. I
am engaged in the different programs of the
community for poor families in its adopted
areas. Every day I go on home visitation
inquiring about the background of families
Ana, 2nd from left, with friends in Cagayan de Oro City.
and checking how they are. I also spend
part of my day with the mothers of our
catechumens. On Saturdays I do catechism
and Bible sharing. On Sundays I am with
the youth and we pray the Rosary. Twice
a month we go to a hospital for a feeding
program for babies and TB patients.
The SSVP is helping mothers to earn
a living. Its candle-making project started
in January 2009. Candles which the
mothers themselves make are being sold
at the Cathedral. Clinic for Massage offers
massage training for them. In return they
schedule themselves to work in the clinic at
a specific time each week. It is voluntary but
they are also provided with food and fare.
The money earned by the clinic is used to
help other poor families. Right now it has
30 health workers.
I am happy to see the mothers doing
their best not only to better their lives but
also to be of help to other poor families.
They find it also a privilege to be of help to
others through their skills and the services
they render.
APPRENTICESHIP from page 1
Unlike the group last year, we
were divided into two groups: Eldie
Barrientos from Davao City, Antonio
Seok Jin-Wook from Korea and Paul
Brian Hermitano from Parañaque went
to Kamay ni Jesus in Lucban, Quezon.
It is around 130 km from Quezon City.
Emman Trocino from Pulupandan,
Negros Occidental, Andy Ryu Sun-
Jong from Korea and I, from Midsalip,
Zamboanga del Sur, belonged to the
second group. Manaoag, Pangasinan,
was our destination – 160km from
Cubao, Quezon City.
The pilgrimage was a five-day walk
and we went without bringing food
and water from the house. Yes, we had
money, but just enough for our fare
back home. We brought a few clothes,
toiletries, and a map.
A year of spiritual reading, attending
lectures and retreats and reflecting gave
me this desire to follow Christ whatever
it takes, to imitate His way of life, and
to act out His words in my daily life.
While attending the 30-day retreat last
November I was inspired by the unique
beauty of Christ’s life. I made a promise
to live it out because it appeared easier
to me. Since then I had been assuming
that I did it, that I had exactly lived as
Jesus had lived, only to find out that it
was all in my head.
The rejection I encountered during
our pilgrimage was really painful. At
times it discouraged me to continue
on the journey. It gave me a bad image
of humanity as selfish, insensitive
and pretentious. As people turned
their eyes away from us I felt totally
alone. It seemed that I was a different
species. I was really disconnected. The
humiliation I felt when people laughed
at us really broke my heart. There was
a time when I wanted to shout in their
face that I’m Reynante Bantigue! A
seminarian! A licensed teacher! Not a
beggar! I realized how difficult it is to
be a beggar, when people disregard you
as if you’re not a human being like them.
At this time I wanted to cry and look for
COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010

Columban Partners in Mission Gathering
26 May 2010 – Twenty one
Columban Partners in Mission
from different parts of the
Philippines gathered at San
Columbano Retreat House
in Himamaylan City, Negros
Occidental.
beggars so that I could tell them that I
appreciated them, that they are great, and
not different from rich people.
The discomfort and embarrassment
touched my pride. It affected my focus
on the journey, shifting my attention
to myself. I thought, ‘Why should I
beg from these people?’ I can survive
without asking from them. I dwelt
on this thought for a long time until
I realized that only my companions
were begging for food and water. This
gave me a sense of worthlessness, that
I was useless to the group, that I was
not worthy to become a priest. When I
came to my senses I realized how proud
I was.
The pilgrimage taught me many
things about myself, others, Jesus, and
my relationship with Him. I learned
that my hesitation to ask for food was
caused by my prejudgment that other
people are selfish. But the truth is that I
was projecting my selfishness on them.
I realized that I can’t survive alone, that
COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010
After the introduction of each
participant, an overview of the
Columban Vocation Ministry and
the Justice, Peace and Integrity
of Creation (JPIC) program was
presented.
I need others and God. I even learned
something that I could never learn
through reading or attending lectures. It
is really different if your body, not only
the mind, is involved in the learning
experience. Before I said, ‘Ah, following
Christ! That’s easy’. But now, I realized
that it was very, very difficult.
By Brian Michael Arcedas
Among the participants were
Fr Brian Gore, the Columban
JPIC coordinator, Kyung-Ja Lee,
a Korean lay missionary, Jack
Pamine, Columban Partners
Coordinator, Zosima Mecasio,
Johannes Magno, and Bernie
Durangparang, the Columban
Vocation Animators, Atty Frank
Cruz, Boy Mangao and Conrado
Esemple of the Negros Nine
Human Development Foundation.
A fellowship lunch followed and
the group reminisced about the
history of Columbans in the
Philippines. The group bade
farewell to each other and with the
undying missionary zeal instilled
by the Columban Missionaries,
they returned to their respective
parishes to continue their mission.
Our journey helped me to straighten
my distorted perceptions about myself,
people and God. I knew that He had been
guiding and lecturing us while we were
travelling. Thanks to the journey, thanks
to the Master.
3

From Denmark
with Love
Just as there is the annual gathering of
Columban friends in different parts of the
country still served by the Columbans, the
Mission Office in Manila looks forward to
this once-a-year visit from Denmark.
Nelia Hansen has been a faithful
Promoter of Misyon since the 1990s. It
used to be a yearly excursion for her and
her late husband Jørgen and their son Vic to
come home to the Philippines at the same
time every year to visit Nelia’s mother in
Angono, Rizal, and to sort of ‘chase the
sun’ when the winter in Denmark was at
its coldest. Highlighted on their ‘to do’ list
while in the Philippines was their visit to
the Mission Office. And always when they
visited, they brought not only their own
donation but also those collected from a
list of Nelia’s friends in Denmark who have
been as faithful as she has been up to now
in giving their contributions to the Mission
Office. We make a special mention of Nelia’s
great friend Christina Abundo who never
fails to send.
Nelia has lived in Denmark since
1975 when she chose to accept Jørgen’s
marriage proposal over the possibilities of
a career in the USA where she had a sister
2009 Misyon
Essay Contest Winners
Mary Michie Gambe, a second year student at Rosevale
High School, Cagayan de Oro City, came first in the 2009
Misyon Essay Contest. She is pictured here with Fr Dick
Pankratz and Ma. Leah Paola Estacio, Principal.
waiting for her.
In Copenhagen
she joined a
prayer group
of Filipinos
that met every
T h u r s d a y ,
sometimes at
C h r i s t i n a ’s
house. That
w a s w h e r e
she came to
know Misyon.
On one of her
t r i p s h o m e
she decided
to visit the
Mission Office
in Singalong.
That first visit
was to be followed by many, many more.
Actually, in the beginning, it was twice
a year: the first soon after their arrival to
deliver their collection, and the second
shortly before their departure to pick up
magazines for distribution in Denmark.
From those earlier visits to the mission
office, Nelia remembers Fr Ray Husband,
Fr Donal O’Hanlon and Fr John Doohan
whom she recalls as ‘sitting in a wheelchair’.
The years 2007 and 2008 were very sad
for Nelia when two of the dearest people
in her life passed away: first, her mother,
in 2007, and then her husband Jørgen, in
Nelia, right, in photo with Lourdes De
Guzman of the Mission Office.
2008. ‘You cannot imagine how sad it was
for me losing them one after the other’, she
says. ‘But thank God, now I have learned to
cope.’ Still she comes with her son Vic for
her yearly vacation to the homeland from
November to March. And she still visits the
Mission Office every time.
Friends like Nelia are truly an inspiration
for us in Mission Awareness, and we thank
God for them. See you again, Nelia, ‘this
time next year’. (LdG)
Eira Cezanne Buhisan, a fourth year HS student at
Christ the King College, Gingoog City, Misamis
Oriental, came second. She is pictured here with Sister
Prose MSOLTC, Miss Rhea Mae T. Ganas, Values
Education teacher, Fr Dick Pankratz and Wilbert Torres.
4 COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010

COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010
New Columban Seminarians
Three new Filipino seminarians started their formation as Columbans on 23 May. They were joined by a third
year seminarian from Fiji. All four are now on their spiritual formation year. Their profiles were written by
Jeros G. Amparo.
Arnel Omandam, Labo,
Ozamiz City, Mindanao, aged 22. He
has a Bachelors Degree in Secondary
Education with major in General
Science from La Salle University,
Ozamiz City. He came to know
the Columbans through his Alma
Mater which was run before by the
Columban Sisters when it was known
as Immaculate Conception College.
His innate interest in serving others
made him decide to pursue his vocation
at another level. He believes that ‘it is
only with the heart that one can see
rightly’ and for him what is essential
is invisible to the naked eye.
�
�
Jeros G. Amparo, or ‘Jay,’ is
26 and a graduate of Philippine Normal
University, Manila. He worked as a
college professor and clinical instructor
in an RVM school in Quezon City, St
Mary’s College. A certified huge funny
guy, natural comedian and a good
cook, he came to know the Columbans
during his college years and joined the
accompaniment program last year. Life
sciences and nature-tripping are some
of his interests. For him ‘A life lived in
fear is a life half lived and a life without
Christ is a life not worth living’.
�
Junnile P. Ortega of
Sagay City, Negros Occidental,
holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree
in Philosophy from Colegio de
Sta Rita, San Carlos City, Negros
Occidental. This 25-year-old has a
natural talent in playing the guitar
and organ. He is fond of playing
table tennis, chess and basketball.
‘Jun’ became an altar boy at 11. He
joined the accompaniment program
last year and has freely decided
to join the formation program. He
believes that the decision he makes
today will greatly affect the people
whom he shall serve in the future.
He hopes to share in the simplicity of
life of the Columbans and, like many
missionaries around the world, share
the gospel and the steadfast love of
the Risen Lord.
Lasarusa M. Koroiciri, ‘Martin,’ is 25 and a third year
seminarian from Fiji. He worked as store-man for three years before
joining the Columbans. He grew up in a parish run by diocesan priests
but attended secondary school in a Columban parish. His interest in the
Columbans began there when Fr Donal McIlraith invited him to their
‘come and see’ program. He entered the seminary in 2008. He plays rugby
and volleyball. St Anselm’s words ‘faith seeking understanding’ inspire
and motivate him. The unconditional commitment to the Church and its
people of and their lives dedicated to the service of others are some of
the essentials he admires most about the Columbans.
�
5

6
Four New Columbans
By Fr Seán Coyle
L to R: Kurt, Michael, Louie and Erl
Fr Andrei Paz and Fr Dick Pankratz, at the
recollection in Cagayan De Oro
Fr Andrei Paz and Fr Dick Pankratz at the
recollection in Iligan City
Regional Director Fr Pat O’Donoghue, in his
front-page article, writes about the aggregation of
four Columban seminarians on 29 June, the
Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul and 92 nd
anniversary of the formal foundation of the
Society of St Columban. ‘Aggregation’ is
the equivalent of first vows in religious life.
Columban priests are seculars, not religious,
and in Church law we are a ‘Society of
Apostolic Life’.
Erl Tabaco and Louie Ybañez are from
Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan, Cagayan de
Oro City, the only parish now in Mindanao
with a Columban parish priest. Louie had the
extra joy of passing the board examination
for architects in June. Michael Boctot is from
St Michael’s Parish, Tangub City, Misamis
Occidental, and Kurt Pala is from San Roque
Chaplaincy of Napocor, Ditucalan, Iligan City.
Recollection photos
Partners in Mission, Iligan 1 May, CDO 2 May
Recollection at the Redemptorist Church, Iligan City
Sr Elisa with Zosima Mecasio
COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010

Lay Mission Updates
The three members of RP19 were formally welcomed,
together with the new Columban students and Fr Ray
Husband, at a ceremony in the Columban House of
Studies in Cubao, QC, on Tuesday, 15 June. Father Ray
is the new Vice-Rector of our formation program. He is
back in the Philippines after five years in Ireland.
Reina ‘Reins’ Mosqueda is 33, seventh in a family of
nine from Los Baños, Laguna. She
first learned about Columban Lay
Missionaries through reading Misyon
while at college. Reins has come to the
Columbans from working with Catholic
Ministry to Deaf People, Inc.
Joan ‘Jo’ Yap is from Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay and is
32. She is the fifth of eight siblings.
Two of her sisters, Jennifer (RP9) and
Jasmine (RP14), are former Columban
Lay Missionaries. Jo has been working
as a social action volunteer in Ipil.
Sheryl Lou ‘She’ Capili, 28, is the eldest of three and
originally from Cavite. She has come to
the Columban Lay Missionaries from
working at the ABS-CBN Foundation
and an involvement, since December
2008, with the St James Renewal
Movement.
Vocation Team
Annual Meeting
May 24-26, 2010
COLUMBAN MISSION Third Quarter 2010
The three members of RP18, Gertrudes ‘Ger’ Samson,
Jonah Jane ‘Jayjay’ Enterina and Rosalia ‘Rose’ Basada (L to
R in photo) recently had their mission-sending ceremonies.
They have been assigned to Britain. At the time of writing
they have not yet received their visas but we hope that by
the time you read this they will have winged their way, with
happy, smiling faces as in the photo, to that island in Western
Europe that has three nations, England, Scotland and Wales,
that form the major component of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Ger, 42, an architect, is the eldest of three from
Balintawak, QC. She obtained her bachelor’s degree
at UP and her master’s at the Katholieke Universiteit of
Leuven in Belgium. She worked with Columban Fr Sean
Connaughton in Tondo, Manila, and in Zambales. She had
her mission-sending in San Pablo Apostol Parish, Tondo.
Jayjay, 30, has a degree in psychology from Xavier
University, Cagayan de Oro City, her home town and is
the eldest of four. Her parents are involved in Worldwide
Marriage Encounter. Her mission-sending took place in
her home parish of the Immaculate Conception, Aluba,
Mandumol, CDO.
Rose’s mission-sending took place at the parish of
Sts Peter and John in Malabon City. She is also 29 and
is the sixth of seven children whose father died when she
was only two. Rose graduated in secondary education at
Christ the King College, Calbayog City, and has studied at
Mother of Life Center, Novaliches, QC. She was Diocesan
Coordinator of Catechetical Ministry in the Diocese of
Calbayong and later worked in the cathedral parish of St
Agustine, Iba, Zambales, where she came to know the
Columbans.
PS: Ger and Jayjay flew to Britain on 6 July.
Rose will follow later.
On May 24-26 the Vocation team held its Annual
meeting at San Columbano Mission Center in
Himamaylan, Negros Occidental. Part of the meeting
was the evaluation and assessment of the year’s
activities. It was also the time to prepare another one-
year calendar of activities for the new school year. With
God’s guidance, we hope to have a more fruitful and
meaningful year in promoting vocations among young
people.
7

My Reflections about Tommy
Tommy and I were teamed together
for a year in the early 1980s in the parish
of Plaridel, Misamis Occidental. We did
Creation studies together in Oakland,
California. And I visited him in his
Kerry home.
In the parish, he ran a very full
schedule of seminars in the barrio BCCs.
I took care of the day-to-day needs in
the Centro. Tommy’s gentle strength
revealed itself most clearly when he
saw people being bullied – especially
systemic bullying (cultural, economic,
political, religious, etc.) which, over
time, cows the poor into thinking they
are inferior. His reaction to that kind of
bullying was a life’s commitment to the
adage (so appropriate to Tommy’s gentle
strength): ‘Don’t just do something,
stand there.’ His tireless seminar work
with the barrio people was his way of
standing with the poor as they and he, so
PUBLISHER:
Fr Patrick O’Donoghue
Regional Director
Editor:
Fr Seán Coyle
Assistant Editor:
Anabelle Gubuan
Editorial Assistant:
Mary Joy Rile
Contributing Editor:
Lourdes de Guzman
Mission Awareness Coordinator:
Father Richard Pankratz
Office Manager:
Father Dominic Nolan
By Fr Vinnie Busch
Fr Thomas O’Hanlon (1945-2010) died after a short illness in Lahore,
Pakistan, on 6 June. He was known in Pakistan as ‘Tanvir’, a name given
him by an old man shortly after he arrived there in 1982 and which means
‘Enlightened One’. Father Tommy was the son of the late Patrick and Mary
O’Hanlon of Tarbert, County Kerry, Ireland, where a memorial Mass was
celebrated on 26 June. He was buried in Karachi on 10 June.
Father Tommy, ordained 21 December 1969, came to the Philippines
in 1970 and served in the parishes of Jimenez, Calamba and Plaridel, all
in the Archdiocese of Ozamiz, before he went to Pakistan. Here Ozamizbased
Father Vincent Busch reflects on their time together in Plaridel.
very, very slowly, came to recognize and
confront the bullies inside and outside
themselves.
The Gospel passage that reminds
me of Tommy’s gentle strength as it
confronted bullies is that which recounts
the encounter between Jesus and the high
priest (John 18). When the high priest
asked Jesus about his teachings, Jesus
said, ‘I have spoken openly to the world.
I have said nothing in secret. Why do
you ask me? Ask those who heard what
I have said to them; they know what I
said.’ At his words, one of the guards
slapped Jesus and said, ‘Is that how you
answer the high priest?’ Jesus responded,
‘If I have spoken wrongly testify to the
wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why
do you strike me.?’
Tommy spoke quietly, openly,
strongly, and rightly. He was a blessing
to us all.
Fr Busch is based in Ozamiz City.
If undelivered return to:
Mission Office
PO Box EA 443
Ermita
1000 MANILA
Tel: (02) 523 7232
PLEASE DELIVER TO:
RECENT DEATHS
Please remember in your prayers
the following Columbans who died
recently.
Father O’Hanlon’s death came only
weeks after the sudden death of Fr
Patrick McCaffrey (1944-2010) in
Pakistan on 18 May.
At the time of his death in Ireland
on 18 April Father Francis Gallagher,
ordained in December 1938,
was the oldest Columban priest,
just a few months shy of 97.
Fr Cyril Hally, ordained in 1945,
a New Zealander who taught both
Father Tommy and Father Pat, died
peacefully in Melbourne, Australia,
on the same day as Father Pat at the
goodly age of 90.