Friday, October 19, 2012

Twin priests inspired by Vietnamese 'boat people'


Australian-born Father Kevin O'Neill, who was elected Superior General of the Missionary Society of St Columban in Los Angeles last month, is not the only member of his family to pursue a priestly or religious vocation, reports the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

Fr Kevin's identical twin brother, Fr Peter O'Neill, is also a Columban priest while the brothers' sibling, Sr Kate O'Neill, is Province Leader for Our Lady of the Missions in the Philippines where she works with street children and those addicted to drugs, helping rehabilitate them and reunite them with their families.

Growing up in rural Victoria, Fr Kevin says he and his siblings were inspired to work in overseas missions by the Vietnamese "boat people" who arrived in Australia during the 1970s.

"Our family belonged to an organisation in Geelong that welcomed Vietnamese refugees and once a month a young Vietnamese would stay with our family for the weekend," he says.

"It was the first time any of the six O'Neill kids had missed with people from another country and culture and we'd listen to them describe family life in Vietnam. We'd share each others cooking, pick up a little of the Vietnamese language and try to teach them our Aussie slang."

The visits by the Vietnamese to the O'Neill household continued over a period of four to five years and transformed the lives of Fr Kevin, Fr Peter and Sister Kate.

Fr Peter however was the first in the family to answer God's call.  After attending two retreats with his brother while still at school, the elder of the twins began thinking about training as a priest. After speaking with vocational directors at different missionary congregations, he chose the Columban Fathers.

"They seemed to speak directly to me and were so down-to-earth and from the start I was attracted to the challenge of their mission and their charism of crossing boundaries of culture, language and religion," he explains.

At the time, Fr Kevin was studying for a degree in chemical engineering at Melbourne's RMIT and although he admits he was curious about his brother's new life as a seminarian, he was unsure about his own future or what God was calling him to do.

"I was feeling deep stirrings and emotions I had never felt before but I wasn't sure if this was God calling me or simply my wanting to be with my brother," he explains.

For 12 months Fr Kevin remained conflicted then suddenly it all became clear and for the first time, he knew with certainty, he was being called to the Columban priesthood.