Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Brazil

Four young Oblates from the Eastern U.S. arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1945, after difficult travel in the immediate post-war period.  The Superior was Lowell native, Father Walter Mooney, OMI.  Beginning with ministry to the English-speaking colony of the area, they and succeeding U.S. Oblates were assigned to outlying priest-less districts and the desperately poor urban favela slums of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Belen in the Amazonian north.

Several Oblates were targeted by the authoritarian regime for imprisonment and even torture because of their championing the interest of the indigenous people and the poor of the city of Recife whom they served.

Joined the 1960’s and 1970’s by Oblate missionaries from the Central U.S., Canada, France, Belgium and Ireland and an increasing number of Brazilian Oblates, the Brazilian Province now numbers 65 priests, Brothers and seminarians in four districts.  They work to extend the Word and Work of the Gospel through pastoral ministry, social services, and the formation and support of Basic Christian communities throughout the vast country. The vast favela slums of the cities where Oblates have lived and served.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate in China

The Oblates arrived in China (Hong Kong) in 1967. They built Notre Dame College and began serving at Notre Dame Parish. Until now they have been working in two parishes and three schools. Through work in parishes and schools they became known throughout Hong Kong and mainland China.  The mission is sponsored and supported by the Oblates of the Australian Province and numbers 19 Oblates, working as an international missionary team.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Australia

The Oblate mission in Australia was begun by Irish and English Oblates in 1894. The mission in Australia significantly developed in 1926, when Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne requested the Oblates to preach in the east of the country. He entrusted the poor fishing village of Sorrento to them as a foothold from which to preach missions.

 The 1950s and 1960s, saw an increase in personnel and so the Australian Oblates sent men to start missions in New Zealand and Indonesia. In the 1990s, Australia was asked to take on the mission in Hong Kong.

Currently, there are 42 Oblates serving in Australia. We administer nine parishes across the country, direct 3 boys' colleges and provide chaplaincy to hospitals, prisons, youth ministries, homeless ministries along with a variety of other services. The Province of Australia includes the Delegation of China and Hong Kong where an additional 19 Oblates serve.