In 1982, a Columban General Assembly of representatives from all countries where Columbans lived and ministered, discussed the need for new missions for the Society.
Catholic dioceses in a number of countries had asked the Columbans for help. After much discussion, the Columban leadership made the decision to begin new missions in the English-speaking countries of Belize and Jamaica.
The first Columban Fathers arrived in those nations in 1986, and over the course of the next few years, worked mostly with peoples of African and indigenous American descent.
The missions in Jamaica and Belize were not without difficulty and some tragedy, particularly the murder of Columban Father Vincent J. Power in April 1994. Nonetheless, the missions in Jamaica and Belize were an important part of the expanded Columban presence in the Americas.
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The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.