The April 1999 issue of Columban Mission magazine was a special commemorative edition that honored the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Columban.
Lady Frances Moloney and Columban Father John Blowick led the efforts for the formation of the Columban Sisters. The Vatican granted the Columbans permission to establish a congregation of Sisters in 1920, and in September 1924 the first seven Columban Sisters took their vows under the leadership of Superior General Mother Finbarr Collins.
The first Columban Sisters arrived in China in 1926, and they went on to serve in many other Columban mission countries, including Peru, Korea, Pakistan, Burma/Myanmar, the United States and others.
Wherever the Columban Sisters put down roots, they established schools, clinics, and programs for the poor and disabled, and they stood up for the persecuted and underprivileged.
As the new millennium approached, the Columban Sisters could look back on 75 years of exceptional service all over the globe.