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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of
Fr. John Madigan, O.M.I.
Missionary Oblates in Ireland
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Lourdes
Missionary Oblates:
Following in the
footsteps of
St. Patrick for
more than 150 years
Oblate Founder, St. Eugene
De Mazenod, met many Irish Bishops
while he was in Rome for the
proclamation of the Immaculate
Conception in 1854. It was here that
St. Eugene noticed that the Irish
Bishops welcomed the idea of the
Oblates setting up a foundation in
Ireland. Saint Eugene sent Fr. Casmir
Aubert, O.M.I., to Dublin in 1855,
but it was only when he was joined
by Waterford-born, Fr. Robert Cooke,
O.M.I., that things began to move.
On June 21, 1856, the Missionary Oblates officially founded their mission in Ireland. On that day, Fr. Cooke arrived at a recently purchased 25-acre farm in Inchicore, Ireland. This land, which was adjacent to the workshops of the Great Southern and Western Railroad, included an old farmhouse where Fr. Cooke celebrated his first Mass.
Father Cooke wasn’t sure how he would accommodate the crowds of faithful people for the following Sunday’s Mass, but knew that somehow God would provide. Provide God did; a young carpenter promised to have a large wooden chapel built by the following Sunday with the help of the men of the Railway Works. Father Cooke was astonished. On Tuesday, the materials were on the ground. That evening, 700 skilled workmen started work. From 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. each evening, these wonderful men who had just finished a full days work, labored to finish the new chapel for the Oblates. It was like a miracle; in 16 hours the chapel was complete.
One hundred and fifty years
later, Oblates and their friends are
still wondering how on earth they
built a chapel in 16 hours, especially
in a time when Ireland was just
recovering from the great famine.
Suffice to say, thanks to the
generosity of the faithful people of Inchicore, the Lord found a way
to provide. That wonderful little
miracle forged an extraordinary
bond between the Oblates and
the Inchicore community.
Today, a new church has been resurrected on that lot and the parish continues to thrive. The Oblates have continued to flourish in Ireland and beyond. Many Irishborn Priests have left their homes and their families to serve the poor in missions throughout the world. The Oblates have four more parishes in Ireland, as well as a retreat house, a Scholasticate, and a youth recreation center.
As the Irish Oblates look toward the future, they hope to continue following in the footsteps of St. Patrick as they spread the Word of the Lord throughout Ireland and the world.