Headford News and Community Spotlight - Local Miracles

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Ireland, the compliance scheme for electrical and battery recycling, will be holding a collection at the Headford GAA Pitch on Tuesday, 23 September 2014 from 4 pm to 7 pm. Items accepted for recycling include radios, TVs, microwaves, IT equipment, florescent lighting, household, car and fence batteries, electronic toys and power tools. Items not accepted include hazardous chemicals, paints, aerosols and general household waste.


COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

'Coincidence is God's way of performing miracles annonymously.' - from A Book of Angels by Sophy Burnham

Do you know the difference between a Martyr and a Saint?

Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox religions all have slightly different definitions of ‘Saints.’ According to Father Raymond Flaherty, Parish Priest at St. Mary’s Church, Headford, the Catholic definition of a ‘Saint,’ is a person who is a model or inspiration to people, or someone who ‘lets the light shine through them.’

A martyr, on the other hand, is someone who died for their faith. But, even though a martyr may have exhibited heroic virtue, they are not necessarily a saint.

There’s one crucial element needed before a saint can become a saint. It’s not holiness or heroism or even Facebook friends. It’s Miracles. In order to be canonized as a saint in the Catholic faith, the candidate must perform at least two miracles. That requirement probably rules out a good few individuals who might otherwise be quite ‘saintly.’

One 20^th century resident of Headford is well on his way to achieving ‘martyr’ status. And, while it is debateable, he may even be associated with the requisite two miracles that could have him canonised a saint. It’s an intricate story that begins, oddly enough, just last year.

On the evening of December 6^th, 2013, Father Ray said a mass at St. Mary’s to commemorate a local man, Francis Canavan, who had died on that date 63 years earlier. Francis was a priest who had been born on Main Street in Headford and went to work in Korea in 1949, where he later died. After the mass, a lady came up to Father Ray and said, ‘If this guy was a saint, there’d be a lot more people here.’ That evening, Father Ray went to a gathering nearby. There was a power outage in Headford that night, and when Father Ray got back home, he was surprised to find the power was back on. So he checked his email. There he found a message from a bishop in Korea stating that he was lobbying for the beatification of Fr. Francis Canavan. [For those keeping count, this synchronistic series of events could be considered Miracle #1.]

The reason Fr. Francis Canavan is being considered for beatification is because of the way he died. In 1950, not long after Fr. Canavan arrived in Korea, North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—invaded South Korea, thus beginning the war. Monsignor Quinlan, Canavan’s superior, made it clear that he was free to leave. As a newcomer to the area, Canavan did not know the language and ‘could not contribute anything to the welfare of the people by remaining.’ Whereas, if he left, he ‘might live to help them more another day.’ Instead, Fr. Canavan chose to stay and ‘face the gathering storm.’

Today, most people don’t remember much about the Korean War except what was portrayed in the TV series, M*A*S*H. The reality, of course, was very different. The suffering endured by Fr. Canavan and hundreds of others, included a horrific ‘death march.’ The march took place over a period of years and involved over 830 soldiers, diplomats, missionaries and businessmen.

On the night of Halloween 1950, a North Korean officer took over and proclaimed that everyone would ‘March or die.’ That officer was nicknamed ‘the Tiger,’ for his brutality, and the march thereafter became known as the ‘Tiger Death March.’

The Tiger ordered prisoners (which included Fr. Canavan), to march for nine days over 120 miles of steep Korean terrain during bitterly cold weather. Prisoners were stripped of their boots, socks and, in some cases, their shirts. Food consisted of about a fistful of rice per day and water was scarce. An 80-year-old nun who could not keep up was gunned down. Many sick or infirmed prisoners were shot or simply pushed off a cliff if gunfire was inconvenient.  Others froze to death during the night. Ultimately, over two-thirds of the prisoners died during the march.

So why, then should Fr. Canavan be singled out as a martyr? According to Fr. Ray, the fact that Canavan chose to stay in Korea makes all the difference. ‘He had the opportunity to escape,’ Fr. Ray says. In the book, Three Winters Cold, by Philip Crosbie, the author claims Francis was ‘relieved’ to stay behind and ‘bear Monsignor Quinlan company.’

On December 6^th, 1950, Francis Canavan died of pneumonia in a Korean prison camp. Fr. Ray is quick to point out that December 6^th is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra, the man who became the model for Santa Claus. St. Nicholas also happens to be the patron saint of Galway. And this, for those who are counting, could be considered miracle #2. A Headford man, martyred while in religious service in a foreign country, coincidentally died on the feast day of his home land’s patron saint.

If you’d like to read more on this topic, Fr. Ray recommends, Carmel and the Korean Death March, written by the Korean Carmelite nuns.