Columban Fr John O'Connell who died recently in Peru

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Fr John O'Connell (1933 - 2013)

by Fr Leo Donnelly 

I thought I'd share this since we're observing All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. And I know from experience that missionaries can have an enormous impact on the lives of the people they serve. From the beginning Columbans have lived and worked among those whom Fr Donnelly refers to as 'nobodies'.
Fr Leo Donnelly writes about his close friend Fr John O'Connell who died recently in Lima, Peru. Father John is one of a small number of Columbans who have served as Regional Director in two different countries. A regional director is the equivalent of provincial superior in religious life. We are not religious but secular priests, members of a society of apostolic life. That means that we don't take a vow of poverty nor are we required to live in community.
I've added a memory of my own. So many of our happy memories are connected with music and with festive gatherings. I don't know if anyone else who was present remembers what I recall below. But memories of 'little things' are very personal. 
Fr Leo Donnelly, an Australian Columban, was ordained in 1957, the same year as the late Fr John O'Connell was. Father Leo has been in Peru all his life as a priest. The photo above was taken at a despedida (farewell party) for Father John in Túpac Amaru District, Lima, in 2011.
Fr John Joseph O´Connell died in hospital in Lima the morning of Thursday, 24 October aged 80. Father John, a Kerryman to his fingertips, often sported Kerry jerseys around his parish of San Pedro y San Pablo, Payet, Independencia, Lima.
The crest of the Kerry Gaelic Football and Hurling teams. The boat is a symbol of St Brendan the Navigator, one of Ireland's early missionaries and, like Father John, a Kerryman. 'Kerry' is the anglicized form of the original Irish, 'Ciarraí'. [Image from Wikipedia]
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