Columban founder Edward J. Galvin was the first Columban Father to earn the title of bishop, but would not be the last.
In 1927, the Columban Fathers and Sisters had been working for several years in China to build a mission and had made significant progress.
The Columbans mission in Hanyang had endured harsh conditions and adversity to grow and demonstrate its “staying power.” The Vatican took notice of this, and made Hanyang a Vicariate in the summer of 1927.
Word came from Rome shortly afterward that Galvin (by now a monsignor), would be appointed the first Bishop of Hanyang.
The consecration ceremony took place on November 6, 1927, in Hanyang. The young Irish priest from County Cork who had founded the Columban Fathers was now Bishop Galvin of Hanyang.
Both he and the Society he had started were moving ahead with their mission.
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The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.