“John, how would you fancy coming with us on a trip to Rome and Assisi?” This was the lovely invitation I received from my good friends and long-time Columban supporters Dave and Sue back in January 2025. Of course, I jumped at the chance. “When would be best for you?” they asked. We compared diaries and decided the most convenient date for starting the journey would be on May 8.
Does Thursday, May 8, 2025, sound familiar? It was the day Robert Prevost was chosen by the Conclave as the new Pope, taking the title Leo XIV. The cardinals had made their choice, but it appeared we’d stolen a march on them. We were already on our way to Rome.
I thought about this as we joined the crowds in St. Peter’s Square to await the first Sunday Blessing by the new Pope. I began to realize how we Columban missionaries have had a habit of anticipating Papal events.
Take, for example, Leo’s predecessor, our beloved Pope Francis. In 2013, he’d inspired the world with his encyclical “Laudato Sí” showing how combined care of the natural and social environment—our “common home”—was a spiritual and human imperative. Yet, in many respects, Columban Fr. Sean McDonagh had already pointed out much of this more than twenty years before in his seminal work, “The Greening of the Church” (1990).
Pope Francis tirelessly emphasized the dignity and equality of every person in society, irrespective of gender, class or ethnic background. He fostered greater participation in the Church by all men and women, not just ordained male priests, culminating in the 2023-25 Synodal process. However, in a way, Columban missionaries had been doing the same for years. I remember that, when I arrived in what was to be my mission country of Peru in 1994, I was delighted to find how the Columban missionaries were promoting lay involvement in liturgy, pastoral work and decision-making throughout our missions.
Indeed, a common refrain I heard during my time in Peru was along the lines of, “You Columbans, you were Francis before Francis!”