Tragic and Talented Former Oblate

By Fr. Harry Winter, OMI

His Irish parents and he endured the persecution of the English during his youth in Ireland and England.  So when Con Scollen worked with the Native Americans in Canada and the United States, he bluntly told them any treaty from the national governments wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. An Oblate for 26 years, and a diocesan priest for the 17 remaining years of his life, he surpassed his teacher, Father Albert Lacombe, OMI, for his knowledge of Native American languages and culture. He is revered by them today.

He is the only Oblate to have materials in the Smithsonian Institution (see www.omiusa.org, July 13, 2016).

Recently the article was published on our on-line Oblate Historical Dictionary, available to all on the international Oblate website www.omiworld.org.   Click here for this new article on Fr. Con Scollen.  Does it have lessons for us today?