PUBLICATIONS
NUNTIA -
Official Newsletter of the Congregation of the Mission
October 2003
http://www.famvin.org/cm/curia/
85 Tempo
Forte
The
members of the General Council met in a tempo forte session on October 6-10. Among the matters discussed
were the following:
1. Preparation
for the General Assembly 2004 (Rome, 5-29 July 2004);
2. The
meeting of the new Visitors (Rome 12-17 January 2004);
3. Volunteers
for new missions;
4. The
launching of the consultation for the naming of the Director
General of the Daughters of Charity;
5. A
discussion of reports from the Vincentian Solidarity Office (Brother
Peter Campbell), the Vincentian representative at the UN (Fr. Joseph Foley), and the Vincentian Family Office (Fr.
Benjamín Romo).
86 Pope John Paul II
25 Years of Pontificate (1978-2003). In the framework of the celebrations of the Universal
Church, and Rome in particular, during the month of October to
mark John Paul II’s 25-year pontificate were held: the anniversary
Mass, the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, an ordinary
public Consistory, the creation of 30 new Cardinals and dinner
and a concert in honor of the Holy Father, among other things.
Among the Vincentian “representation” which took part directly
in some of these celebrations were Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas, Patriarch
of Alexandria of the Copts (Egypt),
Msgr. Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M., Archbishop of
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and President of the Episcopal Conference
of Eritrea and Ethiopia,
and other confrere bishops from various dioceses on different
continents.
87 Toward
the beatification of Sr. Rosalie Rendu, DC
Festive atmosphere. On 9 November, John Paul II will beatify Sr. Rosalie
Rendu, DC (1786-1856). An important participation of Vincentian
pilgrims from the entire world is expected, especially Daughters
of Charity, confreres, members of the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul and other branches of the Vincentian Family, and many
of the poor. On 8 November, vigil of the beatification, a prayer
service will take place, presided over by the Superior General.
On 10 November, the Thanksgiving Eucharist will be celebrated,
presided over by the Archbishop of Paris. In the framework of
this event, a number of articles and biographies of this admirable
Daughter of Charity have been published. Fr. Roberto D’Amico,
along with several Daughters of Charity, has promoted the knowledge
of Sr. Rosalie through the mass media of the Vatican: press,
radio and television.
88 General
Curia
Visit to CIF. From 30 October
to 2 November, the Superior General was in Paris to meet with the
confreres who are presently taking part in a session of the International
Formation Center.
Visit to the United States. On
15-18 October, the Superior General met with the five Visitors
of the United States in Manchester (Connecticut, USA). Among the
many topics on the agenda was the discussion of a National Plan
for the United States in view of possible reconfiguration of the
five provinces. Later, from 20-23 October, Fr. Maloney gave a retreat
to the confreres of the New England Province (USA). The theme was
the Vincentian Saints. During this trip, the Superior General was
accompanied by Brother Adam Budzyna.
Pontifical Ethiopian College.
On 7 October, His Beatitude, Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud, Patriarch
Emeritus of Antioch of the Syrians, Prefect of the Congregation
for Oriental Churches, blessed the renovated locale of the Pontifical
Ethiopian College in Vatican City. Before the blessing,
there was a period of prayer in the ghez language, in the
College’s chapel, interspersed with songs of the Alexandrian tradition,
according to the Ethiopian rite, which was presided over by the
Rector, Abba Berhanemeskel Keflemariam, C.M. During this celebration,
after the talk of the Cardinal Prefect, Msgr. Berhaneyesus Demerew
Souraphiel, C.M., Archbishop of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and President
of the Episcopal Conference of Eritrea and Ethiopia, directed
to those present (some 50 people) a brief greeting in which he
evoked the figure of St. Justin De Jacobis and invited prayer for
peace. On the premises were present the bishops of the two countries,
Fr. Robert P. Maloney, C.M., Superior General, the members of the
General Council, the students of the Ethiopian College, priests,
religious, and laity.
Meeting of Archivists. On 7 October,
17 General Archivists met at the General Curia. Fr. Rolando DelaGoza,
our General Archivist, gave them a conference on the relation between
the General Archivist and the Provincial Archivists. After an exchange
of questions and answers, they held a business meeting and decided
to send congratulations to Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, who showed
great interest in this group of Archivists and who has now been
promoted to this dignity.
Jorge María Salvaire, C.M. (1847-1899). Msgr.
Juan Guillermo Durán, from Argentina (Professor of Church History
and member of the Academy of History of his country), was at the
General Curia in the month of October. He was in Rome to participate
in a meeting of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences,
of which he is also a member. Msgr. Durán profited from his stay
at the Curia to do research on the life of Fr. Jorge María Salvaire,
C.M. (1847-1899), a Frenchman, who went to Argentina in 1871 as
a professor. In 1872 he was named Vicar at the Parish and Shrine
of Our Lady of Luján. In 1874 he was assigned to the mission among
the indigenous peoples. In 1876, motivated by a triple vow to Our
Lady who, according to him, saved his life, he returned to Luján
in order to write the history of the Virgin of Luján (1884), diffuse
devotion to her and construct a new church (1890-1934). Msgr. Durán
has already published two interesting volumes on the life of this
zealous missionary and a third will be published shortly, devoted
to the life of Fr. Salvaire between the years 1876 and 1899.
89 Vincentian
Site on the Internet
Teamwork. From 4-11 October,
the entire team which works on maintaining our web site
(www.famvin.org):
the confreres John Freund (Webmaster and responsible for
the English section); Julio Suescun (responsible for the Spanish
section) and Claude Lautissier (responsible for the French section);
and Mrs. Beth Nicol (responsible for the technical aspects) met
in New York (USA). The primary purpose of this meeting was to more
closely “align” the various sections of the international web site
of the Congregation of the Mission, but the team also worked on
similar issues for the main famvin site. In addition to
learning new technical skills, thanks to the help of Mrs. Nicol,
the team also discussed ways of making extensive collections of
materials more readily available and also more easily searchable
on the web site. It is hoped that these developments will
be implemented over the next few months. We invite you to visit
the web site of the CM:
http://www.famvin.org/cm/ (English)
http://www.famvin.org/cm/es/index.html (Spanish)
http://www.famvin.org/cm/fr/FAMVINModeles/accueil/accueil.html (French)
http://www.famvin.org/it/index.php (Vincentian
Family Italian).
90 CLAPVI
Executive Council and Ratio Missionum. On 18 and 19 October, the Executive Council of CLAPVI met
in San Pedro Sula (Honduras). This team is composed of the Visitors
of Colombia, Curitiba, Central America and Peru, and the Executive
Secretary. Later, from 20-25 October, the CLAPVI Formation Meeting
for the second semester of 2003 was also held in Honduras. It
treated the theme of Ratio Missionum. Fifteen priests, four coadjutor brothers and 15 Daughters
of Charity took part.
91 Spain:
Toward the Tercentenary
Opening
of the celebrations.
On 27 September, feast of St. Vincent, the four Provinces of
the CM in Spain (Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid and Salamanca),
solemnly began the celebrations for the Tercentenary of the
arrival of the Vincentians in this country. On this date, each
province celebrated the inauguration independently. On 27 September
2004, the grand celebration of the Provinces of Spain will
be held in Barcelona, the city that received the first Vincentians
in Spain, coming from Italy. Through an official poster of
the tercentenary, diffused in the media, historical Vincentian
studies, solidarity with the poor, etc., the Provinces of Spain
began celebrating this jubilee with the goal not only to recall
the past, but also “to make good use of the commemoration for
a new pastoral and spiritual impulse of the Provinces of the
Congregation in Spain, like what our forebears did,” being
driven to “the knowledge of our own roots, to revising our
present and to launching out into the future with enthusiasm.”
92 Holland
Canonical
Visitation. During
the month of September, Fr. Victor Bieler, Assistant General
for the Missions, made the canonical visitation of the Province
of Holland. The confreres, after have spent their energies
in the mission, especially in countries outside of Holland,
like Brazil, Taiwan, Indonesia and Ethiopia, can now spend
more time in relaxation, reflection and prayer. Fr. Bieler
was also able to visit Birkerød (Denmark) where the province
has a parish.
93 Salamanca
Opening
of the Canonical Visitation.
Fr. Ignacio Fernández de Mendoza, Vicar General, began the
canonical visitation of the Province of Salamanca. Together
with the Visitor, Fr Antonio Otero, he was in London (England),
from 13-18 September, visiting the confreres responsible for
the Spanish Chaplaincy. Later, the Vicar General was in Valencia
(Spain), participating in the opening of the process of canonization
of Msgr. Emilio Lissón, C.M. (1872-1961) on 20 September. Still
later, on the 23rd, in Salamanca (Spain), he officially opened
the canonical visitation of the province in conjunction with
the official opening of the Tercentenary of the arrival of
the Vincentians in Spain. On this occasion, the Vicar General
gave a conference: “The Reality of the CM on a Global Level
from the Experience of Eleven Years as Vicar General.” Finally,
from 25 September to 2 October, in Mozambique, he visited the
mission of Nacala, which comes under the responsibility of
the Province of Salamanca.
94 USA-East
Vincentian Chair of Social
Justice. The Vincentian Chair of Social Justice third biennial Conference on
poverty and social justice was held on 18 October at St. John’s
University (New York). Some 250 people, among them academics,
community and religious leaders and social justice committees,
were invited to take part in the conversations on poverty,
economic development and Gospel responsibility, and to form
working relationships as we move beyond problem analysis to
systemic and personal solutions. On this 40th anniversary
of Pacem in Terris, the conference was titled “The
Faces and Facets of 21st Century Poverty” (the picture
on the cover of this edition of Nuntia see page 1 corresponds to that used in the promotion
of this Conference and was drawn by a Malagasy student, Iandry
Randriamandroso, of St. John’s University).
The Vincentian Chair of
Social Justice was created in 1994 through a joint endowment by St. John’s
University and the Congregation of the Mission, Eastern Province.
It responds to the invitation Pope John Paul II issued to the
worldwide Vincentians in 1986 when he urged them “to search
out more than ever, with boldness, humility and skill, the
causes of poverty and encourage long- and short-term solutions
which are concrete, flexible and efficacious.” For more information
visit: http://vincenter.org
95 Vincentian Family
SSVP Extraordinary General Assembly. From 14-19 October the Extraordinary Assembly of the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul was held in Rome with the “principal
and historical aim” of the adoption of the new Rule for the SSVP.
All the Presidents and National Councils or Superiors were invited, as well as the members of the Permanent
Section. In addition,
showing concern for Vincentian youth, the President of the SSVP
invited, as observers from ten countries, some young Vincentians
of particular worth for their dynamism and commitment. For more
information, visit: http://www.ozanet.org/
JMV International Council Meeting.
On 11 and 12 October, the JMV International Council met in the General Curia. All its
members were present: Frs. Robert P. Maloney and Pedro Castillo,
Sr. Wivine Kisu (Delegate of the Mother General who replaces
Sr. Margaret Barrett), Sr. Asunción García, Gladys Abi-Saïd,
Edurne Urdampilleta, Ana Maria Escaño, Gloria Santillán and Francisco
Pires. The meeting basically treated: reports on the work of
the Association in the various countries where it is present,
the Formation Document, Book of prayers, collaborative projects
with the Vincentian Family and organization of Meetings of the
National Councils by Continents. The next meeting of this Council
will be in Spain on 23-25 January 2004.
AIC Executive Committee Meeting.
Fr. Benjamín Romo, Ecclesiastical Assistant of AIC, participated in the meeting of the Executive
Committee of this Association, which was held from 19-25 October in Berlin (Germany).
This Executive Committee is composed of 16 members. The topics treated were: animation
of the AIC in the various countries, formation, twinning projects, institutional
reinforcement, financial report, planning of upcoming visits.
One afternoon during those days, Fr. Romo offered the participants
elements of Christian and Vincentian spirituality, as part of
a reflection period, of faith sharing and prayer, which concluded
with the Eucharist. Beginning on 30 November, the AIC will have a new web site, which will be made known at
an opportune time.
Visit to Kosovo.
Fr. Benjamín Romo, Delegate for the Vincentian Family, was in Peć (Kosovo)
from 14-17 October, having been invited by the Regional Superior
of the Daughters of Charity. He led a session of information-formation
on the reality of the various lay branches of the Vincentian Family.
Thirty Daughters of Charity and some Postulants participated in
the meeting. Fr. Romo was able to see a great interest to know
the Vincentian charism and share it with the laity. In addition,
he met personally with the bishop of the country’s only diocese
and visited several of the parishes where the Daughters of Charity
work. It is hoped that the foundation of the Vincentian Associations
in Kosovo will begin soon.
RANDRIANATOANINA Edibert Fra Mad 27-09-2003
RANDRIANANTENAINA Césaire 16-08-2003 Mad
MOSA FAGNAHY René Fidèle 05-09-2003 Mad
MANCILLA
VALENZUELA Gustavo H. 27-09-2003 Chi
VARGAS
RUIZ Pablo Alexis 27-09-2003 Chi
ESPINOSA I OLLER Víctor 04-10-2003 Bar
PLANA
AGUADO Sergio Andrés 11-10-2003 Arg
NECROLOGIUM
2003
Nomen Cond Dies
Ob Prov Aet
Voc
O'MALLEY SHARPE John Sac 03-10-2003 Occ
7º 92-73
LORENZI Fernando Sac 14-10-2003 Rom
1º 79-64
CLARKE William Sac 19-10-2003 Hib
2º 62-45
BARRY John Sac 24-10-2003 Aul
3º 74-56
“Is
it not significant that her beatification is taking place on
the very day on which the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday?
With the witness of her life, Mother Teresa reminds everyone
that the evangelizing mission of the Church passes through
charity, nourished by
prayer and listening to God's word. Emblematic of this missionary
style is the image that shows the new Blessed clasping a child's
hand in one hand while moving her Rosary beads with the other.”
(John
Paul II, Homily of the Beatification of Mother Theresa of Calcutta.
Rome,
19.X.2003)
