Many years planning and preparation went into the organisation of OLAC 2022 – bringing together all those people connected to the Oblate family around the world to share how we live as “Oblate People”. At a global level, three live-streamed online session were broadcast from the Oblate General House in Rome which hosted fantastic presentations...

The late South African Archbishop, and social justice and anti-apartheid campaigner, Denis Hurley of the Order of Mary Immaculate or OMI (1915-2004) was archbishop of Durban from 1951 until 1992. Born in Cape Town to Irish emigrant parents, he spent his early years on Robben Island – site of the jail in which Nelson Mandela...

25 years on from the first meeting, the second Oblate Lay Associations Congress (OLAC) recently took place, from 27-29 May 2022. In a remarkable feat, regions from around the world came together, united by their Oblate charism, for an event that was years in the making. After two and a half years of preparation, we...

Bernie Colgan OMI celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday in Rio De Janeiro Brazil 🇧🇷 where he has been a Missionary all his life.   There was a Mass to celebrate the date and his more than 40 years of service to the diocese of Duque de Caxias in the state of Rio de Janeiro....

Dear friends, please pray for Fr Ned Carolan OMI who has died.   Carolan. Fr. Edward (Ned) O.M.I. (House of Retreat, Inchicore and formerly Killinkere, Co. Cavan) – May 29th 2022. Very peacefully in the wonderful care of staff at Kiltipper Woods Nursing Home. Predeceased by his sisters Mary, Annie and Rose, brothers Pat and...

And with that, it was all over! For the best part of eighteen months and since our planning began for the participation of the Anglo-Irish Province – England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland – in the worldwide second Oblate Lay Associations Congress (OLAC), talking about an event taking place at the end of May 2022 always...

If food be the music of life, play on! So Shakespeare wrote all those years ago. And there is no doubt but that what we eat can play a big part in how we can enjoy our time – or otherwise.  I have spent over 40 years going to Lourdes with the pilgrimage and when...

So already, day one is over. After all the hassle of travelling yesterday, I went to bed, happy that at last I am here, that I have settled into my room, and awoke early, having had a reasonably good night’s sleep. There was a ‘social event’ last evening, but I decided that the wiser choice...

The OLAC2022 meeting in Koktec, Poland, is off to lively start! The delegates from the various European regions have arrived and are looking forward to the next few days together and delving into what it means to be “Living as Oblate People”. This video was recording  of a lively Polish dance as part of ‘getting...

An early morning start! The alarm went off at 4:55am and even in the few moments of grogginess that is part of the waking up process, I was aware that, ‘today is the day.’ Almost eighteen months ago, Fr Oliver invited me to be one of the representatives of the Oblate lay people from Ireland...