Missions - Japan

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MJ

Staff Only

Group Picture of Farewell Ceremony at Institute of St. Thomas

Scope and Contents

From 1947 until 1954 the Province was involved – with the Province of Canada and the Province of the Holy Rosary in Hong Kong – in an effort to establish the Order in Japan. The Province sent three friars, who all returned by 1954, but the Vicariate remains active today. Only materials that pertain to this relationship and to the Friars involved are found in this Record Group.

This collection includes one box with nine folders covering the Province's involvement with the Vicariate of Japan. The collection largely contains correspondence between various friars, photographs, and ephemera. There is also a file containing a quarterly newsletter to the St. Dominic Mission Society written by the friars stationed in Japan asking for donations and describing their experiences.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 1947 - 1954
Creation: 1947-1977

Biographical / Historical

During a surge in vocations and driven by a missionary spirit that would found missions in Nigeria and Bolivia, the Province of St. Albert the Great collaborated with the Dominican Provinces of Canada and Hong Kong to establish a Dominican Vicariate in Japan. Fathers John Houlihan and Fabian Larcher joined the mission in November 1951. Unfortunately, Fr. Larcher faced significant challenges and returned to America in early 1954, with Fr. Houlihan following later that year. Fr. Peter O’Brien, the first Provincial of the Province of St. Albert the Great, played a crucial role in the project’s inception and was appointed the first Vicar General for the Order in Japan in 1953, though he was reassigned later that year.

The Friars worked at the Institute of St. Thomas, which was established by the Canadian Province after World War II, and aimed to create a Studiate for Japanese vocations and missionary training. However, their efforts were hampered by financial difficulties and lack of collaboration, leading to the departure of the last Friars from the Province of St. Albert the Great in 1954. Despite these early challenges, the Vicariate endured and continues to be actively supported the Provinces of Canada and Hong Kong.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 Box)

Language of Materials

English

Japanese

Additional Description

Abstract

From 1947 to 1954, the Province collaborated with the Provinces of Canada and the Holy Rosary in Hong Kong to establish the Order in Japan. Although the three friars sent by the Province returned by 1954, the Vicariate remains active today. The Record Group contains materials related to this relationship and the involved friars.