Please pray for the recovery of Columban Father Thomas O'Hanlon

We ask your prayers for the recovery of Fr Thomas 'Tommy' O'Hanlon in Pakistan who had a stroke last week and a relapse on Saturday. He 'has rallied but is still critical. He is on a ventilator but has had a stable 48 hours. When not sedated he recognises people and understands but can't talk due to tubes.' (From Fr Tomás King coordinator of the Columbans in Pakistan, 1 June). Father Tommy also uses the name 'Tanvir', which means 'Enlightened'.

Father Tommy is from County Kerry in Ireland and was captain of the Kerry Minor (Under 18) Gaelic Football team that won the Minor All-Ireland Trophy in September 1963, just before he entered the Columban seminary. He worked in Mindanao from 1970 till he went as a member of the pioneering group to our new mission in Pakistan in 1979.

Fr Patrick McCaffrey of the Pakistan Mission Unit of the Columbans died suddenly there on 18 May.

An anti-Christian banner at a busy intersection in Lahore

Apart from the recent, sudden death of one of our Columban priests and the sudden, critical illness of another, Columban missionaries, along with all Christians, are living in a situation of some tension, as you can read in the CathNews Philippines' story on 27 May, Anti-Christian banners alarm Lahore Church.