Friends of Mill Hill Magazine

www.millhillmissionaries.co.uk/jubilee

Mill Hill Missionaries

A Magazine of Friends of Mill Hill Missionaries Vol .21 No. 1 Kshs. 50

Spring 2017 Ushs. 1500

Editorial “In time, our name will be forgotten, nobody will remember what we have done” (Wisdom 2:4) Eventually and gratefully, we have entered the year 2017 safely and peacefully whilst many others around the world have not been able to see the New Year due to tragic circumstances that have befallen them. Senselessly many lives have been taken. Among them have been our brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. We are united with them in our minds and hearts and prayers.

Fr. Paul Hien MHM

The African Cup of Nations (Afcon) came and brought much excitement as well as tension to millions not only on this African continent but also around the world. Now it is all long over, and happily life goes on.

As our school children and youth have gone back to school and college, their parents have also had their worries increased as they have to work harder to find school fees for the coming terms as well as other needs of their families.

However, we feel we are late sending out our magazine to promote the Novena Devotion to St Joseph this year. Hopefully we will be able to do it earlier next year. For your interest in this edition of the FOMH you will find some inspiring and moving articles on St Joseph. We sincerely invite you to give St Joseph a special place in your heart so that he may continuously intercede for you and your family. Kindly keep praying for all our supporters and all our missionaries, especially those who passed on in the past months. You can find their names in this edition.

Paul Hien mhm

As you all know, St Joseph is a great patron saint of the Society of the Mill Hill Missionaries. One of many simple reasons is that he was a humbly silent intercessor. He was seen as a simple and humble Saint who would not refuse anyone’s sincere request. Indeed, our Founder Cardinal Herbert Vaughan and his Council at the time did not choose St Joseph for nothing. We all try to model ourselves on his virtues.

Though many times we have failed to do so, we keep on trying to follow his example. Moreover, many of us have received numerous favours and support from St Joseph. As such, we feel that from now on we want to invite you - all our supporters, coordinators, readers and friends of Mill Hill - to have a special devotion to St Joseph in the month of March.

Email: fomhmkeug2016@gmail.com Contents 2 Editorial

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Pope Francis trusts St Joseph

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Mill Hill Missionaries: St Joseph’s Society

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The Joyful Response of the Maasai to the Gospel

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MHM EA Jubilarians of 2017

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Newly Ordained Mill Hill Missionaries

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Our Deceased Members and Friends of Mill Hill and Condolences

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Become a Mill Hill missionary?

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Become a friend of Mill Hill?

Pope Francis, his Love and Trust for St. Joseph

By Jakob Kirchler mhm “If there’s a problem, I write a note to St. Joseph and put it under a statue that I have in my room. It is the statue of St. Joseph sleeping.” This is what the Pope said in an exchange with 140 Superiors General of male Religious Congregations on November 25, 2016, in the framework of the 88th General Assembly of the Union of Superiors General (USG) in Rome.

Pope Francis with a child I write a note to St. Joseph and put it under a statue that I have in my room. It is a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. And now he sleeps on a mattress of notes! That’s why I sleep well: it is the grace of God.”

L’Osservatore Romano published the text of the dialogue in its Italian edition of February 10, 2017. The entire exchange, lasting three hours, will be published by La Civilta Cattolica tomorrow, February 11, in the 4000th edition of the Jesuit magazine.

The Pope also stressed that he often prays: “I love the breviary so much and never leave it. Mass every day.

The rosary … When I pray, I always take the Bible. And my peace grows.

I do not know if this is the secret …

My peace is a gift of the Lord. “

To those who asked him what was the secret of his “serenity”, the Pope replied jokingly: “I do not take tranquilizers!” He added: “The Italians give something: to live in peace we need a healthy indifference.” “What I am experiencing is a completely new experience for me. In Buenos Aires, I was anxious, I admit. I felt more tense and worried. In short, I was not like now. ” Now, in fact, he claims to have had “a very special experience of profound peace since I was elected. It does not abandon me. I live in peace. I cannot explain.”

While speaking on his initiative to reform the Roman Curia, which has its problems, including corruption, he said he keeps his peace. Then, he said that “if there is a problem,

St Joseph takes care of Mary and the infant Jesu (MHM Formation house Karunapuram, India)

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Mill Hill Missionaries St. Joseph’s Missionary Society This of course reflected Herbert Vaughan’s devotion to St. Joseph and the fact that he looked to him as the patron and protector of his new Missionary Society in 1866. He also saw him as a model for missionary work. He wrote of St. Joseph being ‘the first missionary’ when he took the Child Jesus and his mother Mary into the land of Egypt. The official seal of our Missionary Society shows St. Joseph leading Mary with her Child on that first ‘mission’ to a foreign land.

By Jim O’Connell, MHM The title of our magazine is: ‘Mill Hill Missionaries’ as most people know us as the Mill Hill Missionaries.

The Mill Hill name goes right back to 1866 when Fr. Herbert Vaughan (later Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster) founded our Missionary Society in a place called Mill Hill, located in North West London. But our official title is ‘St. Joseph’s Missionary Society’.

On the Person and Mission of St. Joseph In 1989 St. John Paul II issued a document ‘On the Person and Mission of St. Joseph in the life of Christ and the Church.’ He stressed that the example of St. Joseph encourages us to a “renewed commitment to Evangelisation in the world. He serves as a model for the entire Christian community, whatever the condition and duties of its members.”

St. Joseph featured in a big way in those early days, with the College for the students in Mill Hill being called after him and a very large statue of St. Joseph stood (still stands) on a high tower that can be seen for miles around that area of North London. As students we were told that the view from the tower was breath-taking. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to climb to the top because the stairs were no longer safe. But we were very aware that the 12 feet high statue of St. Joseph reigned over the College itself and also dominated the landscape.

Pope Benedict spoke about St. Joseph as an example and model of love of Jesus and Mary, stressing the help and protection he offers to us in our daily lives, especially with the problems we encounter: “If discouragement overwhelms 4

you, think of the faith of Joseph. If anxiety has its grip on you, think of the hope of Joseph. If exasperation or hatred seizes you, think of the love of Joseph, who was the first man to set eyes on the human face of God in the person of the infant conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Let us praise and thank Christ for having drawn so close to us, and for giving us Joseph as an example and model of love for him.”

Pope Francis has continued to speak about St. Joseph in the manner of his predecessors. His inaugural Mass was celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph, at which he stressed that “Saint Joseph exercised his role as ‘protector’ of Jesus and Mary by hearing God’s voice and being guided by God’s will in his daily life.

He did this with fidelity, goodness and tenderness, as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness …”

A statue of St. Joseph stands on the then St Joseph College’s tower, Mill Hill taken in 1988 by Bro Henk Morsink MHM (RIP)

St. Joseph as our protector and example

missionary work in today’s world.

We pray in gratitude for what has been and also pray for the new developments that are taking place as we now have over 80 Mill Hill Missionary priests and 150 students from Africa and Asia. Some of the students are in Nairobi and in Luanda, Kenya and others are in Jinja Uganda, many more in Bamenda, Cameroon. Our Missionary work continues with the guidance of the Spirit and St. Joseph remains our model and example, our patron and protector.

The recent Popes have been calling us back to what Herbert Vaughan did in his day, when he presented St. Joseph as the patron and protector of his missionaries and as an example for people in ordinary daily living.

In 2016, the Mill Hill Missionaries celebrated 150 years of Missionary Service; it gave us an opportunity to renew our devotion to St. Joseph and seek his powerful intercession to help us in our commitment to 5

THE JOYFUL RESPONSE OF THE MAASAI TO THE GOSPEL

By Lawrence Otieno, MHM The Mill Hill Missionaries set foot in the Maasai land to evangelize them in the 1950s. Their zealous work led to the creation of the Catholic Diocese of Ngong. Rev Colin Davies, the Bishop Emeritus of the diocese of Ngong, writes in his book The Mission to The Maasai that there were four Mill Hill companions who were sent to begin the work of evangelization “from scratch� in this diocese. As time went by, they were joined by other Mill Hill Missionaries to bear witness to the

Fr Lawrence Otieno MHM

saving presence of God among the pastoralist and nomadic Maasai.

Empowered by the spirit of love and service, these missionaries went far and wide within the remote and vast territory of the Maasai to share the gospel with them. Their simplicity and apostolic zeal, manifested in their learning of the Maasai language and culture and their reaching out to the people in their remote villages to celebrate the Eucharist, are still remembered and appreciated by this community.

A Catholic Parish in Maasai land, Kenya 6

The Christian communities which they founded, schools and health centres which they built, and above all their love of the Maasai people even up to the point of dying for them (like Fr. Kaiser) are a sign not only of the Mill Hill Missionaries’ commitment to liberate those who are pushed to the margins, but also of their commitment to the prophetic call.

to share the gospel and to support their diocese and their neighbours.

The presence of Maasai people from all corners of the diocese on the day of priestly ordination in the newly built Cathedral attested to the joyful response of the Maasai people to the gospel.

This joyful response to the gospel is also witnessed in the large number of men and women who turn up to meet Christ in the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Reconciliation and others. Since the area in which the Maasai people live is quite isolated, remote and far away from the main mission stations, and with the limited number of priests in the diocese, the Maasai people do not celebrate the Eucharist regularly, and it is their prayer that the Mill Hill Missionaries who implanted the gift of faith which they as a pastoralist and nomadic community have responded to with joy will pitch a tent in their midst once more.

These missionaries were men of their time. They faced many challenges in their effort to bring the gift of faith to the diocese of Ngong, most especially poor roads, limited personnel and resources, and above all sometimes resistance from the wary Maasai men.

However, they kept the gospel fire alive. In the face of these challenges, these missionaries might have felt that they had achieved limited success probably because of the conservative nature of the Maasai which made them respond slowly to the gospel at that time. On the other hand, in looking back to that time and context in which they served, it is clear that the extra mile which these missionaries went has born much fruit. In Olokurto zone, within the parish of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Ololkirikirai, and other parts of this diocese, the Maasai people have responded with joy to the call to discipleship which the missionaries expounded to them.

Churches in various outstations in this zone are filled with the Maasai people on Sundays. They turn up in numbers for the basic Christian community meetings every week

Mill Hill’s celebration of 150 years of evangelization is indeed a celebration of the mercy of God and we are very grateful to all the Mill Hill people who generously accepted to be channels of this mercy to the Maasai people. We are also thankful to other missionary societies / religious congregations and to the diocesan clergy for nurturing the faith which members of St. Joseph’s Society implanted in our diocese. Congratulations to you all Mill Hill Missionaries!

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My Fifty Years of Missionary Life

By Fr. Bernard C Phelan mhm My first appointment was to Toroma Mission in what was Tororo Diocese but is now Soroti Diocese. I arrived there around 10th January 1968. It was the end of the road. Coming from the City of London it was quite a change.

No one came there unless they were purposely coming.

Very soon I became engaged in mission work going out for a week at a time to various outstations and staying there, eating and drinking whatever was offered. This was like being thrown in at the deep end of a swimming pool. Fons Geerts was my first Parish Priest and he helped me a lot to get a grasp of the language and culture. After a few years I was appointed Youth Chaplain of Tororo Dioccese. I was also involved in the Scouting Movement.

Fr. Bernard C Phelan mhm us to supply the Church Health Centres, throughout Tororo Diocese.

In 1974 I went for my first leave and then followed a Diploma course in Adult Catechetics in Dundalk, Ireland.

I returned to Uganda in 1975 and was appointed to Kidetok to take over the Catechists’ Formation Centre there. It was the beginning of my involvement in training Catechists and Pastoral Council members, which was to last for 17 years. In 1979, Idi Amin was overthrown by the Tanzanian Troops.

His fleeing army looted many homes on the way. Unfortunately we were one of the victims. The troops arrived in our compound at 2.00 P.M one day and entered the compound shooting. We managed to flee into the bush. They took literally everything in the mission except the Renault 4 car, where we had removed the rotor arm so they could not start it. It was quite a

When Idi Amin who had taken power in a coup in January 1971, expelled 30,000 Indians and Pakistanis from the country, life became very difficult for the people with regard to buying food and other necessary things. Under Amin a lot of people were killed, often quite brutally.

Hospitals no longer functioned. I was very lucky that my brother Paddy set up the Charity SPICMA the year I was ordained. They helped us a lot during the Amin years, sending out container loads of drugs and medical equipment, including ambulances. This enabled 8

traumatic experience. It took a long time to refurnish the house.

and was inspired by the work they were doing.

In 1981 Soroti was split from Tororo with Erasmus Wandera appointed as its first Bishop. I was appointed Vicar General and also Co-ordinator of Health Services and Social Services and Development. So that I would have time for this I was moved to Bukedea where there is a Pastoral Training Centre that I took over too. Life was very busy indeed.

However in 1985 I was given the chance to go for a sabbatical which was a real life saver. I went to the Institute of Spirituality and Worship in Berkeley, California. It was one of the best years of my life.

In 2000 I attended the General Chapter and was elected Vicar General of the Society. This was a very inspiring and fruitful time, travelling all over the world and being inspired by the work that the Mill Hill Missionaries are doing in different countries. I spent five years in this office and then went for a sabbatical.

In August 2006 I returned to Uganda and went to work in Kotido Diocese, becoming after a year and a half the Diocesan administrator. I spent two years doing this travelling around the Diocese with an armed escort, because of ambushes by the Karimojong warriors.

Eventually I became the Vicar General when the new Bishop, Guiseppe Filippi, was appointed.

After a year at the end of 2010 I returned to the UK and took over the job of Regional Representative. This was a very busy time travelling all over England, Scotland, and Wales, visiting the Mill Hill Missionaries. I enjoyed it but was very tired at the end of three years. I then handed over to Liam Durrant.

I returned to Bukedea mid 1986.

The insurgency was just beginning with Teso rebels fighting the National Resistance Army, as it was then called. This was to last six years and I can only say they were the worst years of my time in Uganda. Many people were killed, and it was very dangerous to move on the roads because of ambushes.

Again SPICMA was a great help in what was a very difficult situation.

In 1992, as the insurgency was ending, I celebrated my silver jubilee in the Priesthood. After that I left for Chicago to study. Among other qualifications I acquired a Masters in Pastoral Studies. Then, I was appointed to the Formation Staff in Mill Hill, London where I also taught Theology of Mission in the Missionary Institute London (MIL). After three years, I was called back to Uganda to be Society Representative of Uganda and eventually Regional Representative of Kenya and Uganda. I enjoyed visiting the members and associates

After a short sabbatical in San Antonio, Texas, I returned to Uganda to take charge of our house in Nsambya, where I still am. Occasionally I go to Teso to do appeals for the FOMH and I am also involved in some retreat work.

The last 50 years have flown very quickly. I thank God for the many opportunities I have had to be of service to others and to the Kingdom.

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Celebrating Golden Jubilee of Perpetual Oath of Edmund Ladstätter mhm who reflects together with Jakob Kirchler mhm I vividly remember the day I took the Perpetual Oath. It was on the Feast of St. Joseph, exceptionally on 18th March 1967, because the 19th March that year was Palm Sunday. The celebration took place in our Missionshaus in Absam. My relatives from my home village St. Veit in Osttirol (Austria) arrived for the celebration.

Bro. Edmund Ladstätter mhm for girls with disabilities in Mumias; I looked after the general maintenance of the many buildings there. For six years I was posted in Mukumu.

From there I travelled extensively to help many Congregations of Sisters in the maintenance of convents, schools, health centres, etc. Then I spent four years at St. Joseph’s Formation Centre, Nairobi performing a multiplicity of tasks. Here I established a good relationship with the people living on the same estate.

The presiding priest at the Perpetual Oath celebration was the late Fr. Hans Brugger MHM, actually related to me and hailing from my home village.

God has blessed me with many skills.

For this reason, I was sent to many different places for different tasks.

I worked in the following places: Rome, Freshfield (Liverpool), Long San (Sarawak), Dublin, San Pedro/ Antique and Manila, Roosendaal, Mill Hill, Kenya, Vrijland, and now since March 2015 in Absam.

I had a special interest in improving the water supply. Nearly everywhere I worked I installed storage tanks – which also collected rain water along with gutters and a distribution system.

In Kenya I spent 18 years altogether My tasks in our guest houses in Nairobi as well as in Kisumu included looking after visitors and the personnel, answering the telephone, shopping, etc. During my stay of sixteen months in the Nairobi guest house I made no less than 120 trips to the airport.

I was able to put up storage tanks for a total capacity of almost eight hundred thousand litres of water in Busia, Chebukaka, Webuye, Mumias Oriang, Tindinyo and other places through financial help from various benefactors and funding agencies. I count nine different Congregations of Sisters I was able to help over the years. I also supervised the drilling of a deep well.

I spent two and a half years at the St. Angela Vocational Secondary School 10

Fr Martin Rijk mhm reflects on his 50 years as a missionary “I may with thankfulness reflect on the past 50 years of my missionary life. It contains for me also a continuous good expectation for the future. Past is past. But the future calls me yet, as it is still to happen, thanks be to God. Every day presents a new challenge. I have only just started on a new and long safari, that I hope, will lead me to the end of mankind’s journey here on earth. I hope the good Lord will show me the way. I put my hope in His company, because surely He will not give up the work he started. In this company also I can still expect very many fine things to happen.

The Lord is celebrating already 2017 years Fr Martin Rijk MHM and I am sure I may walk with him yet.

Amen”. N.B. Fr Martin worked for a number of years in Bugisu, Uganda, and later in Dahiro, Bungoma Diocese till he went for his retirement in 2015 to his home country, the Netherlands.

I thanked all those who worked with me. We really formed a good team in various places One of my best co-worker was Mr. Christopher Makua. I am still very saddened by his unexpected passing on. May God rest his soul in Peace!

members, benefactors and friends for their supportive prayers and friendships over the years.

Pope Francis constantly reminds us that every Christian has a call and a mandate to be a missionary.

I greet you Friends of Mill Hill and encourage you to rejoice in your contribution to the mission of the Church by being attached to the worldwide, international missionary family of the Mill Hill Missionaries.

What has given me energy and strength throughout the 50 years as a missionary is in the first place the Daily Eucharist. I have made it my habit to pray the complete Divine Office and the daily rosary. My great devotion is to St. Joseph, to whom I commit myself daily, and I thank him for his help. I also make time for some spiritual reading and for quiet reflection.

P.S. Bro Edmund comes back regularly to Kenya and supervises repair works like repairing the leaking roofs at various convents cross the country. He is happy to help them.

Thanks Edmund for your great work.

I sincerely thank the Carmelite Sisters of Tindinyo and Nairobi, and many others of different congregations and all my family

Ad Multus Annos to All MHM EA Jubilarians 2017 11

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY ORDAINED Mill Hill MISSIONARIES

Fr David Masiga Odonya was ordained

on 18th February 2017 at St. John’s Parish, Kajiado, Kenya by Rt. Rev. John Oballa Owaa, Bishop of Ngong. He is appointed to the Diocese of Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan as from April 2017.

Above (right): David is overwhelmed by the prayer being said for him.

Above: David is being prayed over by the college of priests and bishop.

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Fr George Odero Omuto was ordained on

25th February 2017 at St. Theresa’s Parish, Asumbi, Kenya by Rt. Rev. Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo, Bishop of Homa Bay. Fr George is appointed to the Diocese of Sibu, in (East) Malaysia as from April 2017.

Above: George is being presented by his parents to the Ordination

Left: George is receiving the laying on of hands

by Bishop Philip A. Anyolo, of the Diocese of Homa Bay during the Ordination.

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In Gratitude and Loving Memory of Our Deceased Members, Benefactors and Friends of Mill Hill The following are our Members and Friends who passed away in the past months. Among them also our beloved Bishop Emeritus Colin Davies and Fr Jim Fanning the pioneer promoter of Friends of Mill Hill.

Please keep them in your prayer

Fr Piet Kunst MHM: A gifted and prayerful Missionary Piet was born on 6th June 1932, one of seven boys and four girls to Peter Kunst and Elisabeth (neé Ligtheft) in Lutjesbroek, North Holland.

Piet’s early education was in Hoorn and Tilburg. From 1949 to 1951 he went to Burn Hall then studied Philosophy in Roosendaal from 1951 to 1953. He entered St Joseph’s College, Mill Hill and took his Perpetual Oath on 7th May 1956 and was ordained to the missionary priesthood in Westminster by Archbishop Godfrey on 7th July 1957.

Fr Piet Kunst MHM (RIP)

Piet was sent to Uganda and worked in various missions including Muyembe, Ngora TTC, Budaka, Magale, Nagongera Seminary, Gangama and Dabani in Tororo Diocese, where he served over 15 years. Then, he became so sick that he had to go home for medical treatment and the doctors would not allow him to return to Africa.

Piet held a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies and kept himself busy with various tasks as teacher, pastor, formator, spiritual director, renewal co-ordinator, recruiter and, hospital chaplain in England as well as in the Netherlands. He celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood in 2007. Piet died on 16th December 2016 in Tiel, the Netherlands, aged 84.

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Colin C. Davies MHM Bishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Ngong, Kenya Colin Cameron Davies was born on 10th June 1924 in the Canary Islands, Spain, to Arthur Davies and Ellen Mary (neé Joyce), the third in the family of six children.

His father was an engineer and the family moved about with his job.

As a toddler Colin moved with the family to Madrid and when he was seven they settled in Argentina, a country which he always considered his home.

Bp Colin C. Davies MHM (RIP) He decided to take a different path and was accepted for Seminary Training for the Diocese of Westminster, taking up a place in St Edmund’s, Ware for September 1946. He took the opportunity to visit his family first and had an eventful return journey, working as an “assistant steward” on a cargo ship.

After his Secondary Education he became an apprentice engineer with a company in Argentina with a view to obtaining a degree in Civil Engineering, but after two years, when he was eighteen he came to England to volunteer in the Services and was accepted for Pilot Training in the Royal Air Force. He was sent to Canada to train as a Pilot and also as a Pilot Instructor. He was Commissioned as a Pilot Officer but never saw active war service as his graduation coincided with the end of the Second World War.

Perhaps because of his slightly nomadic background between Spain, Argentina, Canada and the RAF Colin began to realise that God was calling him to a wider world than Westminster Diocese. His Spiritual Director guided him towards Mill Hill and after completing his Philosophy at St Edmund’s he entered St. Joseph’s College Mill Hill in September 1948 to begin his Theology. He took his Perpetual Oath in 1951 and was ordained to the missionary priesthood on 13th July 1952 in St Joseph’s College by Edward Myers, Coadjutor Archbishop of Westminster. For seven years after ordination Colin taught at St Peter’s College, Freshfield, then in 1959

At the funeral Mass of Bp Colin Davies, Ngong Cathedral.

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he was appointed to a completely new mission, Ngong, a Prefecture in Kenya, where he worked with the Maasai people. This was an area he was to serve for the next 45 years, first as a missionary; then from 1964 as Prefect Apostolic; and from 1977 until 2003 as the first Bishop of the Diocese.

Catholic Bishops. He held many responsibilities there, like Chairman of the Finance Committee and Education Commissions. He is one of those who represented Kenya at the Second Vatican Council between 1964 and 1965. He had a very good relationship both with the Religious Conference of Kenya (RSCK) and the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK).

As Prefect Apostolic and as Bishop he fashioned a diocese that was both pastorally effective and financially viable. In 2003 his generous service in the diocese was officially recognised when he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. This was an award that the Bishop insisted was given to him as the figure head but it recognised the tremendous work done over the years by a great many other people.

Bishop Davies was really a pastoral warrior; he knew at least a number of families nearly in every parish. He also visited the homes of all those in priestly formation and visited them in the national seminaries every year. He loved the catechists and teachers.

Even as a Bishop the Mill Hill Society was always important to him and he cared deeply about it His health began to deteriorate and in 2013 he officially retired to Herbert House, Freshfield.

In 2002 Colin Davies celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a priest and Silver Jubilee as a Bishop and during the year his resignation as Bishop was finally accepted. After his resignation, he wanted to work as a chaplain to the Missionary Sisters of the Catechism, but then he decided to move out of Ngong Diocese and became the chaplain to the Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph, in Asumbi, Homa Bay, a community of over 70 sisters made up of retired and sick sisters and novices. He also began to write a history of Ngong Diocese. He had seen it all developing over the years and found great interest in writing about the work that so many people had done.

Throughout his life he was a prolific letter-writer, both socially and in order to make his sometimes strong views known. He wrote two books, namely ‘Mission to the Maasai’ and ‘From Pilot to Pastoral Pilot’.

Bishop Davies was a man of prayer.

He spent a lot of hours at night in the chapel in the Bishop’s House. He said that he got his strength from constant communion with God and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the rosary.

He died at the age of 92 on 8th January 2017 in Freshfield/ England.

May God rest his soul in Eternal Peace.

Bishop Davies was also very active in the Kenya Conference of the 16

Fr Jim Fanning mhm: The light of the Pioneer Promoter of Friends of Mill Hill has just been Switched Off – An Appreciation James (Jim) Dominic Fanning was born on 6th May 1950 to James and Josephine (neé O’Neill) Fanning in London. He was the the second of ten children and the second eldest boy . He obtained his secondary education at St Ignatius’ College, Stamford Hill, from 1961 – 66, and Freshfield from 1966 - 68. He studied Philosophy at Roosendaal from 1968 – 71 and then entered St Joseph’s College Mill Hill in 1971, where he studied Theology. Having taken his Perpetual Oath in May 1973, Jim was ordained to the Priesthood on 22nd June 1974, in Sacred Heart Church, Mill Hill, by Gerald Mahon MHM, then Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. Jim was unique among members of the Society in that he came from Mill Hill, and this was his parish church.

Fr. Jim Fanning MHM (RIP) of Mill Hill, living in Tororo Uganda, and criss-crossing between Uganda and Kenya to reach as many people as possible. This work that he initiated is still being enthusiastically carried out by many women and men in Uganda and Kenya.

In 2011, Jim requested to go back to the now Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He arrived in 2012, and was posted to a remote parish called Waka in the Diocese of Basankusu. Sadly his health let him down again and in 2013 he was withdrawn from the DRC to return to the British Region. Jim launched into a new mission as an APF-Mill Hill Organiser in England. In 2014 Jim celebrated his Ruby Jubilee as a missionary priest. He continued with his APF-Mill Hill work till he was diagnosed with a serious blood disorder. Jim’s death, as a result of a heart attack, unexpectedly occurred on Tuesday 28th February 2017 in Broad Green Hospital, Liverpool. He was 66.

After ordination Jim’s first appointment was to the Diocese of Basankusu, Zaire. Due to his physical health, he was transferred to East Africa in 1978. Between 1978 and 1999 Jim served faithfully in Kisumu and Kakamega Dioceses in Kenya. When the Mill Hill Missionaries’ community in East Africa felt the need to promote the African Mill Hill missionaries among home-based friends and supporters, Jim volunteered to be the pioneer and spent more than twelve years working as promoter of the Friends 17

Jim is fondly remembered by many people in Kenya and Uganda. Many see him as “the Face of the Mill Hill Society in East Africa” for his ‘celebrity’ among the youth and his popularity among the clergy. He was known as a hiking missionary because he was often seen out walking. He always travelled with a small bag containing a bible and a note book. He loved praying wherever he was. If he was in one of our Mill Hill houses, he would usually disappear at some point into the chapel and spend a long hour or more in prayer.

When the news of his death reached this region, many people stood still in shock. Jim’s death was also announced on Radio Maria in Kampala, along with condolences to the Mill Hill Missionaries community and, in particular, to Jim’s family in England.

We friends of Mill Hill are grateful to Jim for his pioneering work as FOMH promoter. Jim created a strong bond of friendship between the local people and the local Mill Hill missionaries: the local people pray for and support their Mill Hill Missionaries working in different parts of the world. With this bond of friendship the work of evangelisation carried out together will prevail even when life seems hard and things seem impossible. May God rest Jim’s soul in peace.

FOMH Editor

Condolences We deeply send our heartfelt condolences to Fr Joe King, mhm whose dad Mr FRANCIS MUNTEH KING passed away on 23 November 2016 in Cameroon and also to Jacinta van Luijk, Mill Hill Associate whose dad, Mr LEO van LUIJK, passed away on 30 December 2016 in the Netherlands.

Fr Joe wrote: “We thanked our father for his loving care. He was a wonderful and loving father ...We will miss him dearly…”

Jacinta wrote: “we were privileged to have him with us up to his 93rd birthday. He was able to live in his own rental house till the end of February 2016, when he became too weak, he was taken to a care home where he did his utmost best of it. He always thought of his little garden, and kept on thinking about how he could still be helpful to all of us. Thank so much for your prayers. May these help him in finding his way to his well-deserved place in heaven.”

May God rest these souls and all the souls of our departed friends and members of Mill Hill in eternal peace.

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Would you like to become a Mill Hill Missionary Priest?

Lay Missionary as an Associate?

“Come follow me.” Say yes to the voice of God in your heart and take part in the adventure of making his Gospel known to the world. “The harvest is rich, but labourers are few” (Mt.9:37-38).

The Mill Hill Missionaries are called to dedicate their lives to Evangelisation with preference for the poor, the oppressed and those in greatest need.

“Yes, I am ready to follow you, Lord.”

For more information write to: Vocation Director In Kenya: P.O. Box 2011, 40100 Kisumu, Kenya Mobile 0705 819 773 & 0732 458 117.

Email: mhmvocationken@yahoo.com In Uganda: P.O. Box 520 Jinja, Uganda.

Mobile: 0757 106 323 Email: mhmvauganda51@yahoo.com Vocation Director of Kenya and Uganda: Fr. Ronald Kajja MHM

Becoming a Friend of Mill Hill?

You can support Mill Hill Missionaries with prayers and donations. For 500/- Ksh or 10,000/- Ush per year you can be enrolled as a Friend of Mill Hill, and receive the FOMH magazine two times a year.

If using Pay Bill or MTN Mobile Phone please write or send an SMS with your name, address and the amount you sent.

In Kenya: Payment for membership of the Friends of Mill Hill should be sent to P.O. Box 2011, 40100, Kisumu, Kenya.

Or: Pay Bill Number: Business No. 811 908 Account No. 0717 20 84 81 In Uganda: Payment for membership of the Friends of Mill Hill should be sent to P.O. Box 520, Jinja, Uganda.

Or via MTN Mobile Money 0784 786 184 19