By: Fr. Jerry Kelleher

Fr. Jerry, a Columban Missionary worked in Burma till he was forced to leave by the government. Though on in years he continued as a missionary in Zambales, Philippines and was a wonderful presence. Here he tells of a beautiful return visit to Burma, now Myanmar, where he saw now the seed had grown. Fr. Jerry has died since he wrote this article. May he rest in peace and may his tireless and beautiful faith live in all of us. Read on:

Rangoon
“We are now approaching Rangoon International Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts.” My dream was finally dream coming true. As the jet ascended my hopes and expectations became almost unbearable. Finally the whirring jet stopped and I stepped on Burmese soil again after 13 long years.

Closed Door
Since the 1962 coup Burma had closed its doors to all the foreigners. As no more Columbans were allowed to enter the country our mission was forced to close in 1979. When I left after working there for 40 years I never thought I would see Burma again.

14 Day VISA
Today Burma’s military government forbids all foreigners to enter Burma except on a limited 7 – day tourist visa and that only to the country south of Mandalay. By what we might call a minor miracle last Christmas I was allowed a 14 day visit and given permission to stay in the Rangoon Procure which houses visiting Bishops and priests.

Best Christmas Gift
All of us can recall moments of intense joy in our lives. That phone call telling me that my visa had been granted was one of those moments in my life. The visa came through in Christmas weeks, the best Christmas gift I ever got.

1,000 Miles
Custom officials were kindly and helpful. They did not even open my bags. When formalities were over I soon found my self held firmly in the welcoming embrace of Bishops Paul Grawing and a welcoming party of Church leaders who had traveled almost 1,000 miles to be there to greet me.

Cloud Nine
We reached the Procure where I met all the members of the Burmese hierarchy who has just to complete their bi- annual meeting. I had really hit the right moment. The bottles of whisky I had brought were vet welcome; although available in Rangoon the cost is prohibitive. We shared a tasty supper. I was really up on cloud nine.

Churches Packed
Next meeting I went into the little chapel at 6 am. to prepare for Mass to find seven  Bishops dressed in simple white cassocks and sandals, which they later removed for concelebrated Mass. This prayerful moment set the tone for the wonderful experiences of the next two weeks. A church at prayer could explain the vitality, courage and determination not only to survive but also to grow. Around Rangoon I found churches packed, priests active and concerned for their flocks, religious communities enthusiastic and confident. This picture in Rangoon is typical of the trends taking place in every other diocese. Bishops Abraham than, whose diocese borders on the infamous Golden Triangle, told me of one ethnic in his diocese which previously had shown no interest whatever in Christianity. They had come into the church en masse, over 25,000 of them His problem now is to find catechists to give them proper instruction.

200,000 Increase
When the Columban withdrawal from Myitkyina diocese was completed in 1979 the young Bishops Grawng, with a dozen Kachin priests and 40 Sisters, faced a daunting task. Today Bishops Grawng boast 25 Kachin priests, 16 convents of religious Sister, and a wonderfully active lay apostolate, whose combined efforts have increased Church membership in the past decade by 200,000.

Photos of the Grave
After 40 years in Burma I had made many friends, but never in my wildest dreams did I expected the warmth of their welcome or the sacrifices which they made to come hundreds of miles to see me using very uncertain and uncomfortable means of transport. As a Catholic community the Kachin people have matured beyond recognition. Most of them live simply or in poverty. Yet there was no words of compliant, no groaning only joy and happiness. I was deeply moved by their affection for the Columban priests and Sisters who had work among them. They remembered them all by name and lest they should forget the dead Columbans, Fr. Francis Lum Dau, the first Kachin priest to visit Ireland, brought back to Burma photos of the graves of all the Burma Columbans buried in Ireland.

Non Stop Visitors
From the first embrace of Bishop Paul Grawng at the Rangoon Airport until the goodbyes two weeks later, they showed that love for me – not simply as Fr. Kelleher – but as a representative of all the Columban priests, and Sisters and of the Franciscan Missionary of Mary, a missionary congregation who had already been working in the Kachin Hills before the Columbans. They came alone or groups each day. No let up, from morning to night. They brought gifts, money, anything and everything.

54 Years Ago
As the plane lifted away from Rangoon and Burma, I sat back and reflected on all that had happened since I first entered Burma 54 years ago to begin my missionary work among the Kachin people. The church was then a tiny seed planted by brave men of the Paris Foreign Mission - a tiny seed indeed, fragile and vulnerable. Not it has grown to full size and great maturity.

Thank You Lord
Ton have been permitted by God to have help in some way in that growth and development made me feel very humble and very grateful to God.