St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Societas Sancti Patritii pro Missionibus ad Exteros''; also known as the Kiltegan Fathers) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men composed of

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

. Its headquarters is at

Kiltegan Kiltegan () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland, on the R747 regional road close to the border with County Carlow. The 19th century mansion Humewood House lies just outside the village. It was built in 1870 for William Hume-Dick, ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Its members add the nominal initials SPS after their names to indicate their membership in the Society. The motto in Latin and English of the Society is ''Caritas Christi Urget Nos'' and ''Christ's love compels us'', (

2 Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in the ...

5:14), respectively.

History

The Kiltegan Fathers origins stem from an appeal by Bishop

Joseph (Ignatius) Shanahan Joseph Shanahan B.Sc., C.S.Sp. (1871–1943) was an Irish-born priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans), who served as a bishop in Nigeria – first as prefect apostolic of Lower Niger (now Onitsha) and then as vicar apostolic o ...

of the Holy Ghost Order, in 1920 to the seminary students in

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

for missionaries to Nigeria, Africa, where he was bishop; later that year Fr. Whitney accompanied Bishop Shanahan to Africa. The society was founded officially on

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

, 17 March 1932 by

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Patrick Whitney (1894 - 1942) at

. Its original aim was the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. In 1951, the society expanded its missionary activities outside of Nigeria. In the 1950s the society expanded, building a new college in Kiltegan, and opening a House of Studies in Sutton House, Rochestown, Douglas in Cork, with seminarians attending lectures in

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. In 1997 the Kiltegan Fathers, with the drop in vocations from Ireland, officially decided to open up internationally and set up houses of formation in Nigeria and Kenya. In 2000 trainee priests began studying philosophy in St Joseph’s Institute in Cedara, South Africa, and KWA Patrick house was setup. 2002 seen students study theology at the Kiltegan House in Nairobi, as the Society joined other orders in Tangaza University College. Also in 2002 a house of formation was founded in Lusaka, Zambia. As of 2018, the society has 253 priests on four continents including the countries of Nigeria,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

St. Patricks - High Park, Kiltegan

The Society moved to High Park, about 2 km from Kiltegan Co. Wicklow the former home of the Westby family, and named it St. Patrick's. It had been donated by a catholic businessman John Hughes to Fr. Pat Whitney in 1929. Fr. Whitney took over the building in 1930. The High Park residence had been rebuilt after it had been damaged in the 1798 rebellion.

Timeline

* 1920 - Appeal by Bishop Joseph (Ignatius) Shanahan * 1929 - Donation of High Park, Kiltegan to Fr Whitney * 1932 - Formal Foundation * 1934 - Kiltegans take charge of Calabar when the Diocese was divided * 1951 - First Mission outside Nigeria was to Kenya * 1956 - Kiltegan Fathers took over

Kitui Kitui is a town and capital of Kitui County in Kenya, 180 kilometres east of Nairobi and 105 kilometres east of Machakos. it covers an area approximately 30,496.4 km squares and lies between latitudes 0°10 South and 3°0 South and longitudes ...

, Kenya from the

Holy Ghost Fathers , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

* 1961 - First mission to Brazil * 1967 - Outbreak of the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

* 1970 - Kiltegan Fathers went to West Indies * 1970 - Kiltegan Fathers went to Malawi * 1983 - Mission in South Sudan * 1989 - Seen Missions to Cameroon, South African and Zimbabwe * 1993 - Society first sought members from outside Ireland * 1997 - Society opened houses of formation in East, West and Central Africa * 2015 - Headquarters moved to Nairobi, KenyaKiltegans relocate to Africa due to lack of vocations
by Cathal Barry, Irish Catholic, October 1st, 2015.

Abuse cases

In May 2011 allegations of sexual abuse by a member of the society in Africa were made on the

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

programme

Prime Time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

Investigates. Jeremiah McGrath, SPS was convicted in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in May 2007 for facilitating abuse by a paedophile named Billy Adams. McGrath had given Adams £20,000 in 2005 and Adams had used the money to impress 12-year-old jade critchlow whom he then raped over a six-month period. McGrath denied knowing about the abuse but admitted having a brief sexual relationship with Adams. His

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

in January 2008 was dismissed. In 2003 the society paid €325,000 for abuse committed by Fr. Peter Kennedy, SPS in 1982.

Notable members of the Society

* Bishop Derek Byrne, SPS - Bishop of Primavera do Leste–Paranatinga, Brazil (2014- ), Bishop of Guiratinga, Brazil (2008-2014) * Bishop

Edmund Fitzgibbon Edmund Fitzgibbon, 11th White Knight (c. 1552 – 23 April 1608), was an Irish nobleman of the FitzGerald dynasty, who held a Hiberno-Norman hereditary knighthood. His loyalty to Elizabeth I resulted in the capture of his kinsman, the self-decl ...

, SPS - Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria. * Bishop John Magee, SPS - Bishop of

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne The Diocese of Cloyne ( ga, Deoise Chluana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel (also known as Munster). Geographic remit Cloyne diocese is located in the north ...

, Ireland (1987-2010), Master of Papal Ceremonies, The Vatican (1982-1987), Papal Private Secretary, The Vatican (1978-1982). * Bishop William Dunne, SPS - Bishop of

(1963-1995) * Bishop

, SPS (1925-2010) * Bishop

John Christopher Mahon Bishop John Christopher Mahon, D.C.L, S.P.S. (1922-2004), was an Irish born priest a member of the Kiltegan Fathers. He served as Bishop of Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya from 1978 until 2000. Mahon was born on 25 December 1922 in Killurin, Killeigh, Coun ...

, D.C.L, SPS - Bishop of

Lodwar Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana County. The town has a popul ...

, Kenya (1978-2000), * Bishop James Moynagh, SPS (1903 - 1985) * Bishop

John Alphonsus Ryan Bishop John Alphonsus Ryan S.P.S. (b. 27 February 1952), is an Irish Catholic bishop and academic, who is the current Bishop of Mzuzu in Malawi. Ryan was born in Holy Cross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. He joined the Saint Patrick’s Society for t ...

MA PhD, SPS * Bishop Thomas McGettrick, SPS, first Bishop of Abakaliki, Nigeria * Bishop

Maurice Anthony Crowley Maurice Anthony Crowley SPS, is an Irish born priest and who serves as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitale, Kenya. Bishop Crowley is a member of the Saint Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions. Born in 1946 in Berrings, County C ...

BSc, SPS, Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitale The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitale ( la, Kitalen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Kitale in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu, Kisumu in Kenya. History * April 3, 1998: Established as Diocese of Kita ...

, Kenya (1998- )

Current organisation

In 2014 St Patrick’s Missionary Society held a General Chapter meeting which elected a new leadership team. In 2015 the society commenced moving its headquarters from Kiltegan in Ireland to Nairobi in Kenya. The Society produces the ''Africa - St. Patrick's Mission'' magazine. The Society has installed a wind turbine in Kiltegan. There is also a retirement home in Kiltegan for its members. The Kiltegan Fathers in association with

Sisters of the Holy Faith The Sisters of the Holy Faith is a Catholic religious congregation, originally for the care of Catholic orphans. It now works broadly in the areas of education and faith development. The congregation is part of the Vincentian family. History I ...

in 2013, worked to set up a primary school in Riwoto, South Sudan.what we do
Sisters of the Holy Faith

References

External links

*
Kiltegan Fathers UK website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions Patrick Missionary Society Christian organizations established in 1932 Societies of apostolic life