The idea of founding the Missionary Society of St. Columban was first conceived in China between 1912 and 1916 when Fr. Edward Galvin and three other Irish diocesan priests who had volunteered to work in Hangyang saw the need for a mission from the Irish Church to the people of China. They would have as their patron the 6^th Century Irish missionary monk, Saint Columban, who had zealously preached the Gospel in Europe to those who had not heard of Christ.

The groundwork for the establishment of the Columban Missionaries began on October 10, 1916, when the Irish bishops were asked by Fr. Edward Galvin and Fr. John Blowick (a young theology professor at the National Pontifical Seminary of Ireland) to support an Irish mission to China. Thus, the Missionary Society of St. Columban was founded on June 29, 1918. 

The first group of Columban priests went to China in 1920.

Some of the early Columbans went to the USA, Britain, Australia and New Zealand to recruit young men for mission in China. 

In response to an urgent appeal by Archbishop Michael O’Doherty of Manila, the Columbans began to work in Malate Parish in 1929. By the 1970s around 260 Columbans were already working in Luzon, Negros and Mindanao. Most of the parishes established by the Columbans are now served by diocesan priests, as the aim of the Columbans was always to build up the local Church. Over the years the Columbans took on missions in Korea, Myanmar, Japan, Chile, Peru, Fiji, Pakistan and Taiwan. They have also had missions in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Guatemala and Jamaica over the years.