Rev. Fr. Michael Corcoran is Irish,  and was born and baptised on  7th March 1960 in Kilkenny, Ireland. He responded to a missionary call and went to our MHM minor seminary St. Joseph’s College, Freshford , Ireland (1973 to 1978) .   This was followed by major missionary formation in Roosendaal, the Netherlands, and then in St Joseph’s College, Mill Hill, London, where he made his Perpetual Missionary Commitment on 29th  January 1985 and was subsequently ordained priest 18th August 1985 in Galmoy, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, and was appointed to Soroti, Diocese. Uganda. He continued to serve in East Aftrica in the following years, including being Vocations Director and Regional, and was  elected to the General Council in 2005, with special responsibility for our missions in Africa. Having completed his five year term, he was later  elected MHM Regional in Ireland and President of the Irish Missionary Union  which he is still at the time of his election as General Superior of our Society.

He was elected 12th General Superior of the Mill Hill Missionaries on Monday 15th June 2015 and was re-elected on Monday 6th June 2022 for an additional five year period.

Message from the Superior General

Sharing the Gospel requires literally ‘going out,’ witnessing to the joy of faith in person and not proclaiming the Gospel, just sitting at home, standing still, locked in an office, arguing with ‘keyboard warriors’ and replacing the creativity of proclamation with copy-and-paste ideas taken from here and there. The need continues for missionary disciples to be ready to set out and to be open to exploring new paths as they seek to share the Gospel through word and deed.   Pope Francis refers to this as ‘evangelical zeal’, looking at how that differs from pretending to share the Gospel while really just seeking attention or pushing one’s own ideas.  We are all called to ‘rekindle the charism of God that is within you’ (1Tim 1:6). The Founder of the Mill Hill Missionaries saw this charism for our Society as ‘going to where the need is greatest’.

In the world we live in today I believe we are called most especially to be signs of mercy, of forgiveness, of listening and of attentiveness to each other and to those whom we serve. We see a world around us fractured by acrimonious disagreements, extremes on every side, an inability to listen, a quickness to categorize and a refusal to even encounter those who think differently. All of us, most especially those commissioned to go out as missionaries are called to be brothers and sisters to all, to open a dialogue of presence, of respect, of dignity…and so we live as witnesses.

This year I have written dimissorial letters for fourteen young men who will be ordained to the missionary priesthood and will go out to be those witnesses – not ‘making the headlines’ but instead an often hidden, humble, sometimes a humiliating witness. Those commissioned this year to ‘go out’ come from Cameroon (8), Malaysia (1), Uganda (1), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2), India (1), and Philippines (1). As a Mill Hill Missionary Society we are truly blessed that these missionary disciples will be part of the evangelising mission of the church and will really make an effort to walk with the poor, showing them our closeness, our empathy, our genuine words of justice and charity; expressing our interest without any self-interest.

During our recently concluded General Council meeting, we reviewed the mandates and recommendations given by Chapter 2022. We will make this a continual practice at each meeting to ensure that we honour the mind of the Chapter. As a General Council, we are ever conscious that as a Mill Hill Society, we are living in a changing and fast moving world that often calls for directions to be taken whilst keeping the spirit of the Chapter in mind and at the same time dealing with the situations on the ground that demand our decisive consideration at this time. We will continue to seek the wisdom and guidance of our Members and Associates as we work towards carrying out these mandates and recommendations of the Chapter. 

We move forward with hope and enthusiasm as there is much to be done on the journey that we have embraced, ‘that they may have life in abundance’.

Gerry, Bernie and Philip join me in wishing you every blessing in your ministry.

God bless,

Michael Corcoran

Superior General