Lifers – A Celebration of Missionary Life

Fr. John Glynn

What would possess you to risk your life in the service of others, for decades, in one of the world’s toughest and most dangerous environments? In prison terms, 30 years is a life sentence. It is also the average period spent by Irish missionaries in the field, working in the service of the poor and oppressed, often in the most challenging, dangerous and brutal environments on earth. RTE’s documentary Lifers tells the story of two missionary priests and a sister who have done just that.

Sr. Pat Murray

Fr. John Glynn is a priest who runs the We Care Foundation in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s most dangerous cities. John, originally from County Clare, has spent five decades working in Papua New Guinea. Sr. Pat Murray is a Loreto sister who worked in education in Ireland and is now the executive in charge of Solidarity with South Sudan, an organization that is pooling the resources of 200 missionary orders towards the basic development needs of South Sudan, which is the newest country in the world. Fr. Pat Brennan is a Divine Word Missionary who has lived in Brazil for more than three decades and who fights for the human rights of indigenous Indians living in the Amazonian rain forest.

Fr. Pat Brennan

In the documentary Ruán found that the lives these men and women lead is often defined by danger, loneliness, frustration and hardship. And yet they seldom complain. They exist in a state of near poverty, hustling for whatever resources and funds they need, fighting constantly for the needs of people who cannot fight for themselves. Circumstances improve for the poor they work with very slowly, if at all. Vested business and political interests conspire to enrich themselves while keeping the majority poor. The work of the missionaries often brings them into conflict with the powerful and their lives are frequently at risk. By any standards the work these people do could be said to be heroic, but none of them would feel comfortable to be so described.

Fr. Seamus Kelly MSC working with youth in Maracaibo, Venezuela

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from Ireland were part of the pioneering team of priests and brothers that set up the Diocese of Rabaul, in New Britian, Papua New Guinea. Today there is a vibrant community of native MSCs working in schools and parishes. We continue our missionary work in the townships of South Africa, the villages of Namibia, and the barrios of Venezuela. The call to be a missionary is a special vocation. It’s about responding courageously Christ’s invitation to ‘Go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news.’

Congratulations to RTE and to Ruán Magan for a thoughtful, honest and beautifully filmed documentary about missionary work carried out by Irish religious all around the world. What Ruán touched on is just a snapshot of missionary life. In almost every country in the world missionaries have given of themselves selflessly in parishes, schools, prisons and hospitals. It’s important to celebrate their sacrifice, witness and love.

If you are interested in missionary work or would like to know more you can contact Fr. Alan by clicking here.

If you live in Ireland you can watch the programme by clicking here.

Additional material from RTE