Cork: Celebration of Irish Diocesan Mission in Latin America

President Higgins meeting Irish missionaries in Peru, January 2017

A unique celebration will take place in Cork on Wednesday, 29 August, when a number of Irish diocesan priests who have ministered in Latin America with the Missionary Society of St James the Apostle, will gather in the Commons Inn for a special Mass and dinner with fellow missionaries, friends and supporters as well as Bishop Pedro Bustamente from Sicuani in Peru, and Bishop Robert Hennessy from Boston.

The Missionary Society of St James was founded in 1958 by Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston. The Society offers diocesan priests from English-speaking countries the opportunity to work on mission in the poor, developing countries of Latin America. Priests join the Society for a period of five years during which they remain part of their home/sending dioceses. Initially, the Society provided priests in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, but it is now focused on Peru where its men work in dioceses in the High Andes, on the southern coast, and in various "barrio" or township areas around the capitol, Lima.

Retired Fr Joe McCarthy from Bantry explains the celebration. "This year" he said "the Society is celebrating 60 years of service to the church in Latin America. We began the celebrations in January with an event in Lima in Peru. There, we recognised the people from the parishes in which the St. James' priests ministered. The celebrations will continue in Cork on August 29, where we will be honouring the people who participated in our missionary work. Many people - lay women and men, religious communities - as well as priests have left Ireland to work in Latin America as a result of contact with the St James Society. Many of them will be present at the event, including sisters from the Bon Secours, the Mercy and Presentation congregations."

Limerick-born, Fr David Costello is the current Coordinator/Superior of the Society. Fr Costello, from Corbally, has been working in Peru since 2003. About the Cork event, he says: "We will be honouring: Fr Tim O'Sullivan, the last surviving Cork priest who worked with both the St. James Society and also with the Cork diocesan mission in Trujillo; Fr. Gerry O'Meara from Limerick representing the many Irish priests who served with the Society, and who has worked in Peru for 55 years; and Fr. Roger Clark from Shrewsbury representing the vast contribution of priests from the U.K.

More than half of the 180 people who will be attending the celebrations in Cork on 28 August have ministered in Latin America. Many of the alumni from England, Ireland and the USA will be there. Bishop Robert Hennessy from the Archdiocese of Boston, who also ministered in Bolivia with the Society. Bishop Pedro Bustamente from Sicuani, Peru, will represent the receiving bishops of Latin America.

Of the hundreds of priests who worked with the St. James Society, many were Irish. These men were already serving in the US, England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand and Australia. During his state visit to Peru in January last year, President Michael D. Higgins meet with members of the Society and other Irish missionaries working in Peru.

The pioneering priests from Irish dioceses were: Fr Pat Lohan (Galway), Canon Pat Ahern (Waterford), Fr John Murphy and Donal McCarthy (Cloyne). From Cork & Ross came Frs. Michael Crowley, Michael Murphy - later Bishop of Cork & Ross - Denis O'Donoghue and Tim O'Sullivan. They were joined by Archdeacon Tom Duggan, who was in his mid-70s but who died while still in language school.

Cardinal Cushing went to Lima for his funeral accompanied by Bishop Lucey who was shocked at what he saw there and was inspired to undertake the Cork Mission to Peru based around Trujillo.

The Society of St James legacy continues to live on after 60 years. It continues to work to improve the quality of life for the people in Latin America. Irish men, Fr Raymond O'Sullivan from Mountmellick and Fr Des Tynan from Gort - two of the nine who were ordained in Carlow College for the Society in 1967 - and are fluent Quechua speakers, remain in Lima.

The Society's understanding of the term evangelization means the proclamation of God's word and sacrament together with the implementation of social and community work projects. Both of these aspects complement one another. Without the Gospel, there can be no energy to bring about the transformation of the person and the community through social action.

The Society is there to respond in times of crisis, whether it is after a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or severe flooding, or when a child is suffering from malnutrition. Our missionaries step in to bring relief in these emergency situations.

Poverty has many faces. While one needs to respond immediately to emergency situations, most missionaries are also concerned to attack the very roots and structure of poverty in the community. This process requires the involvement of the community and can take some time to educate and organize the community to respond effectively. This is expressed in the well-known adage that 'It is better to teach a person how to fish instead of giving him a fish'.

(Matt Moran is author of 'The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On' available from www.onstream.ie )