Bishop Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, continued his journey to Burma this week.He thanked the Burmese people for the enthusiasm of their reception saying “Your courage and resilience is an expression of your faith which inspires you to share generously with others and work together for a better future.”
Bishop Smith preached at Mass in the newly opened Saint Patrick’s Church in the Parish of Momauk that was built with contributions from communities in the Diocese of Meath.
Paying tribute to the Irish Columban missionaries who have worked in the region and sowed the seeds of faith for several generations, Bishop Smith said "It is a very special and poignant moment for me to stand here following in the footsteps of my fellow Irish people who found the courage and trust to come here to proclaim the good news of Christ. They gave their lives in this endeavour, inviting you to walk the same path of faith, that path mapped out for us in Jesus Christ. Many of them rest here in Burmese soil, far from their homeland. I feel very humbled as I reflect on the immense courage and witness to faith given by these Irish priests and religious sisters."
Among the projects supported by the Diocese of Meath, Trócaire and the Society of Saint Columban are youth leadership, vocational training programmes and boarding houses for student education. Bishop Smith also visited the first HIV hospice centre in Northern Burma run by Irish Columban Sister Mary Dillon from Co Clare.
Last year a collection in the Meath diocese raised more than €130,000 to provide emergency relief after Cyclone Nargis. Irish children from St Colmcille’s NS (Gainstown), St Michael’s BNS (Trim), Scoil Mhuire (Navan), O’Growney NS (Athboy) and Donacarney GNS (Mornington) also helped five schools for Burmese migrant children.
A major project supported by the Diocese of Meath, in conjunction with the Columban Fathers, provides 18 boarding houses for 350 students in Northern Burma. All of the Diocese’s funds for this work came from the donations received from parishes and individuals for Bishop Smith's silver jubilee celebration earlier this year.
Archbishop Paul Grawng, President of the Bishops’ Conference in Burma wrote a letter to Bishop Michael Smith thanking him for the generous donation when Cyclone Nargis hit Burma.
“As you can imagine in the aftermath of the cyclone people were in dire need of just basic necessities such as clean water, food, tarpaulin for temporary shelter, blankets, mosquito nets and basic medicine. The Relief group got into action very quickly and truckloads of volunteers carrying supplies went to the people most in need. It was time of great struggle and pain for our people but also time of grace and solidarity when people worked side by side to help the needy people.”
The donation helped to finance all that and the rehabilitation work which continues on today with villages under reconstruction and counselling and other support to help the people to cope with the traumatic effects of the cyclone.
“For us in the Catholic Church we appreciated very much the sense of solidarity with the universal church and your care and concern as well as your financial help that touched our people and us,” the Archbishop of Burma concluded.
These new links between the Irish and Burmese continue the work already done by the Irish Church – principally the Society of Saint Columban and Trócaire – in the region.
In the 1930s, the Society of Saint Columban was asked by the Pope to open a mission in Burma.
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