Father Gerald George “Jerry” Martinson, a US Jesuit missionary who lived and worked in Taiwan for 50 years, was praised at a memorial yesterday and Pope Francis sent a message describing him as a blessing for all people.
Martinson was also known as Uncle Jerry from his English teaching programs and his Chinese name Ting Sung-yun (丁松筠).
While doctors on Wednesday said he seemed to have died several days ago of a heart attack, the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference later issued a statement saying that he had passed away earlier in the day.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Ministry of the Interior had originally planned to hold a news conference yesterday to present Martinson with a national identification card for his work in Taiwan, but the news conference instead became a memorial for the beloved priest.
John Jao (饒志成), of the Society of Jesus, Chinese Province, said Martinson was “an optimistic, joyful priest filled with love.”
“He looked at things positively and rarely complained about other people. Everyone who met him loved him,” Jao said.
Although Martinson could not be on hand to accept the Republic of China ID card, he was sure to celebrate with the Lord above at officially becoming a Taiwanese, he said.
Jao added that Pope Francis sent a message after learning of Martinson’s passing, saying that he was grateful “the Lord has given us Uncle Jerry,” and that a lot of people in Taiwan, China and Asia knew him.
Control Yuan Vice President Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川), who once served as a secretary for Martinson, said that his concept of “family” was different from others.
Sun said he once invited the priest for dinner after work, but the priest declined and instead took his guitar to a construction site to eat with local and migrant workers.
Sun said that for the priest, the definition of “family” was extremely broad, including people from every class.
Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) presented the ID card to Jerry Martinson’s younger brother, Barry, who is also a Jesuit priest.
Barry Martinson, equally recognizable and known by his Chinese name Ting Sung-ching (丁松青), said that his brother had said to him before his heart surgery in April that if he died, he wanted people to know he loved them.
Choking back tears, Barry Martinson said: “I want to tell you now, I love you.”
He said that although he and his brother have long felt they are Taiwanese, he was happy to accept the ID card for his brother.
Jerry Martinson is to be buried in the cemetery of the Catholic Chingshan Spirituality Center in Changhua, a Society of Jesus staff member said yesterday, after earlier reports had said he was to be buried in the cemetery of Fu Jen Catholic University’s Faculty of Theology of St Robert Bellarmine in New Taipei City.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday tweeted a message in memory of Jerry Martinson, saying the priest was a bona fide Taiwanese who dedicated decades of his life to the nation and deserves “our respect and gratitude.”
The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation also issued a statement expressing its condolences.
Jerry Martinson was born in 1942. He came to Taiwan in 1967 as a missionary and went to live in Hsinchu County.
He became a television producer and host, working at Kuangchi Program Service, a television studio that has been producing free educational programs in Taiwan since 1958.
This story has been updated since it was first published to correct the name of the cemetery where Father Jerry Martinson is to be buried.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it