The Columban Sisters in the USA 

The Missionary Sisters of Saint Columban, founded in Ireland in1924, is an international congregation of women religious dedicated to the Church’s missionary task of proclaiming the Gospel to the nations.

Today, the Sisters’ intercultural missionary presence is found in 12 countries on four continents where their various ministries bring the mission and message of Jesus to others in Chile, China/Hong Kong, England, Ireland, Korea, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Scotland and the United States. (visit www.columbansisters.org)

Familiarly known as the Columban Sisters, their work in the United States began on Christmas Eve 1930 when the first Sisters from Ireland arrived in Silver Creek, New York. It was there that Saint Columban’s On-the-Lake Retirement Home was eventually established to serve elderly men and women from the local area.

Through the years, the Columban Sisters have made a lasting contribution to the pastoral and missionary activity of the various parishes, hospitals, and schools where they have lived and served. These include California (Westminster and East Los Angeles); Illinois (Chicago); North Carolina (Elizabeth City); and in Massachusetts (Roslindale and Hyde Park).

At present, the Sisters are in ministry in California (Alhambra); Massachusetts (Boston, Brighton, and West Roxbury); and in New York (Silver Creek).

Wherever they find themselves, the Columban Sisters strive to raise awareness of what it means to be a missionary by inviting others to participate in and to collaborate with the Church’s missionary work to the nations.