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Fr Gerard Dunn 15 December 1937 - 24 September 2018 With the passing of Fr Gerard (Gerry) Dunn on 24 September 2018 the Region of Britain of the Columbans lost one of its most memorable characters. Father Gerry was born on 15 December 1937 to a well-known Catholic family in Glasgow which had a mineral water business. He very much remained a Glaswegian at heart and in later years delighted in showing his fellow Columbans around his native city. St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow   [ Wikipedia ] After his early education, Father Gerry followed his father into the medical profession. Having qualified and practiced as a doctor in Glasgow for a relatively short time, he decided to embark on a different kind of healing ministry – as a Columban missionary priest. He went to St Columban's, Dalgan Park, County Meath, Ireland, in 1962 and was ordained on 21 December 1967.  Because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Britain that year, ordinati

Fr Thomas J. Vaughan 20 February 1928 - 13 September 2018 Fr Thomas J. Vaughan died peacefully on 13 September  2018 at St. Elizabeth Manor, Bristol, Rhode Island, USA. Cathedral of St Paul, Saint Paul, MN  [ Wikipedia ] Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he was the son the late Patrick and Kathleen (Fuller) Vaughan. He is survived his sister Loretta Gallagher as well as many nieces, nephews, friends and brother priests. He was also the brother of the late Patrick Vaughan, Muriel Vaughan, Donna Marie Smith, Richard Vaughan, Jerome Vaughan, Mary Alice Vaughan,and Delores Gibbons. Cretin-Derham High School, Saint Paul   [ Wikipedia ] [Cretin High School and Derham Hall  amalgamated in 1987 ] Fr Vaughan was a graduate of Cretin High School, Saint Paul, and then  served in the US Army. He went on to graduate from the  College of St Thomas before joining the Society of Saint  Columban and was ordained in 1956. He served mainly in the Philippines but also in

Fr Francis Vernon Douglas (1910–1943) Fr Francis Vernon Douglas, known as 'Vernon' to his family, was taken away by Japanese soldiers on 27 July 1943 and never  seen again. It is presumed that he died on that date. This brief article is by my Columban confrere Fr John Keenan who has spent most of his life since 1966 in the Philippines, with a stint in Britain, and has done more than any other Columban to tell the story of Fr Douglas. He first wrote about Fr Douglas in 2001 in  Here was a brave and strong man , an article that describes the suffering of the New Zealander and that has appeared in a number of publications since then. Fr Francis Vernon Douglas Remembered by Fr John Keenan L to R: Vernon Douglas (nephew), Verne Turner (niece), Brendan Douglas (son of  Vernon) and Cliff Turner (husband of Verne) Douglas Family at St Mary Magdalene Church, Pililla, Rizal, September 28, 2016 It is now 75 years since the martyrdom of Fr Vernon Douglas on 27 Jul

Keiko Uemura on her First Communion Day, December 1971 Keiko died 27 April 1972, aged 14 Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Mark 6:1-6 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him.  On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.  Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’  And he

Fr Daniel Canniffe 3 July 1928 - 28 June 2018 Fr Daniel 'Dan' Canniffe was born on 3 July 1928 in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He was an only child as were each of his parents. Educated at Bandon Naotional School, Hamilton High School, Bandon, and St Finbarr's College, Farrenferris, County Cork, he entered St Columban's, Dalgan Park, Navan, in September 1945. Immaculate Conception Church, Bandon   [ Parish FB ] Ordained priest on 21 December 1951 Father Dan was appointed to Japan. He spent seven years there. After language school he was involved in pastoral work in Yakatamachi, Wakayama City. There he was involved in using all the usual techniques to make the Church known. This included posters, street collections for the poor, film shows, lectures by invited speakers, promotion of the Legion of Mary, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the Young Christian Workers. Those were the years of plenty in post-war Japan when many people entered