A Meaningful Visit . . . An Inspiring Recollection
By Fr. Michael Martin
Fr. Mickey, as known to many, is a Columban priest assigned in Malate and is the author of the books Walking in Their Light and Remembering Fr. Niall O’Brien.
February has always been a special month for me in the Philippines: it is usually the coolest, and always the shortest month in the year; we priests would often take our local vacations during this month.
But February became even more special when I was assigned to Malate. So much Columban History was lived out there: in February 1945, all five Columban priests assigned to Malate Parish were killed in the Battle for Manila. Four of the Columban priests along with some twenty male parishioners who had taken refuge in the Church, were arrested and killed by the Japanese military on February 10. A fifth priest was killed three days later while working with the sick and the injured in Malate School, which had been transformed into a Hospital. He died from American shells which killed hundreds who had taken refuge in the school on that fateful day – February 13, 1945.
