April 2004
26. Meeting of Young Confrere-Scholars
of Vincentian Studies
Invited
by SIEV. Thirteen young confreres from an equal
number of provinces assisted at the First International Meeting
of Young Confrere-Scholars of Vincentian Studies . It
was held from 26-30 April in the Maria Immacolata house
of the Daughters of Charity in Rome. The objective of this
meeting was to learn and share the experiences of each province
in the area of Vincentian studies. Each of the 13 participants
and the five members of SIEV who assisted presented his own experience
and that of his province. It was noted that, on different
levels, good work in Vincentian studies is being done. The
Superior General was present for the first day of this meeting. As
an opening, he offered a conference on the importance of study
for the Vincentian missionary. In the same way the following
presentations were made: 1. Project on the publication of a history
of the CM (J. Rybolt and L. Mezzadri). 2. Website of the
Vincentian Family and instruments for Vincentian studies (J. Suescun). 3.
SIEV's various projects (R. Lovera). 4. Book of spirituality
for the laity of the Vincentian Family (J. Prager). 5. "The
Sense of the Past for the Future" (K. Stelmach). In addition,
three questions, worked on by language groups, structured the reflection
which was presented to the large group at the end: 1. The present
state of Vincentian studies in the provinces. 2. Necessary
tools for Vincentian studies. 3. Future projects. The
meeting, which was evaluated very positively, also included a visit
to the General Curia for an exchange with the local community and
to get to know the archives, as well as a visit to the Eternal
City, guided by Fr. J. Rybolt, the facilitator of the meeting.
27. Toward the 40 th General Assembly
of the CM
"Our Vincentian identity today, having lived the new Constitutions
for 20 years -- an evaluation and three challenges for the future." (Rome,
5-29 July 2004).
On 20 April, the Superior General sent the members of the GA a letter
communicating some important information:
• Asking the members of the GA to be in Rome, at least
by 4 July;
• Thanking the Preparatory Commission of the GA for its
work, as well as the organizing commission in the General Curia;
• Recommendations from the Preparatory Commission to
the Superior General and his council: a) Appointment of Fr. Manuel
Ginete as facilitator (accepted). b) Invitation to Fr. Benjamín
Romo, Delegate for the Vincentian Family, to be present at the GA
(accepted). c) Invitation to the Mother General of the Daughters
of Charity to speak to the GA (accepted). The lay presidents
of the principal branches of the Vincentian Family have also been
invited to take part in a round-table discussion. d) Spiritual
retreat, with a conference, as preparation for the election of the
new Superior General (accepted). Fr. Fernando Quintano has
been invited by Fr. Maloney to give the conference. e) Appointment
of various commissions and persons before the GA to facilitate its
work (accepted). In addition, Frs. Julián Arana and
Julio Suescun were invited by the Superior General to make up a book
of prayer for the GA. f) Arrangement of computers and Internet
connections for use of the GA (accepted).
• The Superior General also recalled that simultaneous
translation will be offered in English, French and Spanish. He
then invited the members to read the attached working document, which
synthesizes the thoughts of the provinces on the theme of the GA
and suggests various challenges. Finally, Fr. Maloney encouraged
the members of the GA to prepare for the election of the new Superior
General "peacefully and prayerfully."
In the near future, Vincentiana will publish the complete
text of the Superior General's letter and the Documentum Laboris.
28. General Curia
Visit to the General Curia . On 25 April,
after having participated at St. Peter's in the beatification of
six Servants of God -- among them Sr. Nemesia Valle (1847-1916), of
the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne Antide Thouret --, Cardinal
Agostino Cacciavillan, President emeritus of the Administration
of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and Msgr. Franc
Rodé, C.M., new Prefect of the Congregation
for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, came
to the General Curia to share dinner with the community. Cardinal
Cacciavillan has come to our house on a number of occasions
to study the various aspects of the spirituality of St. Louise de
Marillac and of St. Vincent de Paul. The Superior General,
the majority of the confreres of the Curia, Msgr. Rodé's secretary
and some guest confreres who had come to Rome for various reasons
were present at this friendly gathering.
Appointment of Superior and Postulator General. On
2 April, Fr. Mario Di Carlo, former Visitor of Rome and former Director
of the Daughters of Charity, was named Superior of the General Curia. Fr.
Di Carlo succeeds Fr. Roberto D'Amico, of the Province of Naples,
who has carried out this duty since 1995, together with that of Postulator
General. On that subject, on 14 April, Fr. Giuseppe Guerra,
was named the new Postulator General, a duty which he had already
carried out in previous years.
Visit from Egypt and the Congo. Fr. Youssef
Milad, Regional Superior of Egypt was at the General Curia for several
days and met with the Superior General and the members of the General
Council on 23 April. In the same way, Fr. Dominique Iyolo,
Visitor of the Congo, was at the General Curia from 29 April for
something similar.
29. International Missions
Visit to Papua New Guinea. From 2-8 April,
Fr. Victor Bieler, Assistant General for the Missions ,
made a visit to the recently created (2003) International Mission
of Papua New Guinea . The three confreres of the community
(R. Santos, Superior; T. Cordero and H. Marín) reside and
work as formators in "Holy Spirit Seminary," in Port Moresby, the
capital of this country in Oceania. During his visit, Fr.
Bieler met with, among others, the Apostolic Nuncio, the Archbishop
of Port Moresby, the Rector of the Seminary, the confreres and the
students. He also concelebrated the Chrism Mass together with
75 other priests. Fr. Bieler appreciates the coming of the
confreres to this mission and values their work in the formation
of the diocesan clergy, noting himself the important service which
they are giving to the students. Finally, he encouraged the
confreres in the practice of the Vincentian virtues, to carry out
the work of inculturation and to implement the Plan which
they already have and which he found to be very good.
30. CIF
New
Sessions. On 29 March, Fr. Hugh O'Donnell, Director
of CIF, wrote to the Visitors to communicate to them two additional
opportunities for the participation of confreres in the programs
of CIF: 1) Vincentian Heritage - VII (for confreres over
50), to be held from 5 September to 2 October 2004. This
session was announced initially for Italian-language confreres
only. Now it is open also to the participation of Spanish-language
confreres, because the above-mentioned session will be held in
Italian and Spanish. 2) Vincentian Heritage - VIII (for
confreres over 50), to be held from 10 October to 6 November 2004. This
session was announced initially for Polish-language confreres only. Now
it is open also to the participation of English-language confreres,
because the above-mentioned session will be given in Polish and
English. Interested confreres are invited to register as
soon as possible, preferably before the end of May. The
CIF Sessions for 2005 will be: 1) Ongoing Formation - XIX, from
20 February to 27 May, in Spanish, English and Portuguese. 2) Vincentian
Heritage - IX , from 5 June to 1 July, in English. 3) Ongoing
Formation - XX , from 11 September to 16 December, in French
and English.
31. MEGVIS
Annual Formation Meeting. MEGVIS ( Central
European Vincentian Studies Group ) met in Augsburg (Germany)
during Easter week (11-17 April. Eighty-six people took
part, including confreres, Daughters of Charity and religious of
various Congregations with the Vincentian spirit, coming from the
Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, France, Italy, Croatia,
and Hungary. The theme of this session was: "Changes in
our Vincentian Community Life." The CM General Curia was
represented by Fr. Victor Bieler, Assistant General for the Missions. The "Curia" of
the Daughters of Charity was represented by Sr. Christa Bauer,
General Councillor. The following were the principal talks: "The
Changing View of our 'Spiritus Primitivus' in the Last Three Decades" (W.
Bellemakers), "New Vincentian Departures -- International Missions
and the Vincentian Family" (V. Bieler), "St. Louise as Spiritual
Guide" (M.-R. Marchl), and "The Changing Image of St. Vincent in
the Context of Changing Community Rules" (A. Richartz). Likewise,
reports were presented on the new works for homeless people in
Graz, Austria; the formation of the clergy in Kiev, Ukraine; the
work with priests in Germany; and the developments in the Federation
of the Sisters of Charity in Germany. Fr. Victor Groetelaars,
President of MEGVIS, concluded this important meeting with the
presentation, "In Memoriam of a Missionary: Gerard van Winsen,
C.M." Well-prepared liturgies and the fraternal interchange
made this a deeply paschal meeting.
32. Austria
Affiliation
of a Muslim Woman to the CM. At the request of
the Province of Austria to the Superior General, affiliation to
the CM was granted to a Muslim woman, Birgül ?ahinler, a long-time
collaborator of the Community of Istanbul (Turkey). She
is a former student of our St. George's High School in that city. She
has been responsible for decades for financial and organizational
matters of the confreres' work in Turkey. She is also a
member of the SSVP and has the legal responsibility for the publication
of our monthly German ecumenical magazine, "St. Georgs-Blatt." Fr.
Eugen Schindler, Visitor, handed over the affiliation document
to Ms. ?ahinler at the end of a festive Eucharist, presided over
by the Latin Bishop of Istanbul, on the feast of St. George. For
the event, the Ecumenical Patriarch sent a representative, the
German Lutheran community participated in the choir and Pastor
Pastor Nollmann read one of the readings at the Mass. All
the Provincial Councillors of Austria were present for this unprecedented
event. Unfortunately, the Province of Austria has no young
confreres for future work in Istanbul and hopes for international
help.
33. Ecuador
Practical Guide for the Local Superior. Fr. Ignacio
Fernández Mendoza , Vicar General, visited
the Province of Ecuador from 3-20 April. During Holy Week
he participated in the successive liturgical celebrations and helped
the confreres who provide pastoral care to the Parish of La Milagrosa,
located next to the Scholasticate. He visited all the houses
and communities of the province: the Scholasticate, the Provincial
House and the School of Conocoto, all three located in the capital,
Quito. He also went to Santo Domingo de los Colorados in
order to visit the Cathedral Parish Church; the Internal Seminary,
located in the Parish of San Vicente de Paúl (El Esfuerzo);
the Parish of La Milagrosa and the Diocesan Seminary "San Pedro
Apóstol." He dialogued with all the confreres and
noted the situation of the various works in each place. He
had an interview with the Archbishop of Quito and with the Bishop
of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, as well as with the Visitatrix
of the Daughters of Charity. From 12-16 April he met in
the Scholasticate with the confreres of the province in order to
study the Practical Guide for the Local Superior . Almost
all the confreres of the province participated, including the Visitor,
the students, and the seminarians. At the end of the meeting,
there were frequent expressions of satisfaction for an excellent
achievement. On 19 April he took the return trip to Rome.
34. Slovenia
Visit
of the Treasurer General. From 21-24 April, Fr.
Elmer Bauer, Treasurer General, visited the Province of Slovenia. During
his stay in this country, he met with the Visitor and with the
Provincial Treasurer. He likewise had the opportunity to
visit the works of the province in Ljubljana, Miren, Celje, ?martno, ?entjakob
and Zagreb (Croatia).
35. Paris and Toulouse
Cahiers
Saint Vincent. The Bulletin des Lazaristes
de France began in 1965. For various reasons, this
Bulletin ceased publication with No. 185 (January 2003). The
Visitors of France then decided to relaunch a modern edition
of the Bulletin in 2004. The result is a new
bulletin: Cahiers Saint Vincent ("Quarterly magazine
of the CM in France"), whose first issue came out recently. It
is planned to publish in each issue of these Cahiers :
an editorial, an in-depth article, news of the activities of
the confreres of the provinces (Paris and Toulouse), information
on the current world situation from a Vincentian perspective,
bibliography, official information from the two provinces and
death notices. Here at Nuntia we welcome with
hope and gratitude this relaunching, knowing the usefulness it
will bring to its readers.
36. Poland
Ongoing Formation Meeting. A provincial ongoing formation
meeting for confreres 6-10 years of priestly ordination was held
in the Provincial House, in Kraków (Poland) from 10-12 March. The
session focused on human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral formation,
following the main lines of the post-synodal exhortation, Pastores
Dabo Vobis, of John Paul II. The conferences for the
meeting were given by professors from the Jagielloniana University,
the Pedagogical Academy and the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The
Eucharistic celebrations were presided by Frs. Arkadiusz Zakr?ta,
Visitor; Kryspin Banko, Assistant; and by Msgr. Kazimierz Nycs, Auxiliary
Bishop of Kraków. The participants evaluated the meeting
very positively.
37. Vincentian Family
Visit to Mexico, Panama and Belgium. During
Holy Week, Fr. Benjamín Romo, Delegate for the Vincentian
Family, along with 18 young people from JMV, accompanied seven rural
communities in Mexico in the celebrations proper to that liturgical
time. Afterwards, during Easter Week, he was in Panama, preaching
the annual retreat to the confreres of that country. Then,
from 22-25 April, Fr. Romo visited the Vincentian Family in Belgium. During
his stay in that country, he met with the team of AIC's International
Secretariat and held a day of reflection with the leaders of the
different branches of the Vincentian Family. Finally, he visited
Lessines (Belgium), where the confreres have a parish dedicated to
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and support activities in favor
of the AMM.
JMV. Under the theme, "With Christ, be life
in the life of others," the second in a series of meetings in preparation
for the Second General Assembly of JMV was held at the parish of
the National Shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Muntinlupa City, Metro
Manila (Philippines), from 24-27 April . Forty-four participants
from six Asian nations (Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, India,
Philippines) took part; there were also two representatives from
the International Council of the Association and one guest. JMV
has around 86,000 members in Asia, the majority of which are in the
Philippines. Among the presentations made at this meeting
was that of Ana Maria Escaño, member of the International
Council, on "Tasks and Functions of the Members of the National Councils
of the JMV," and that of Fr. Pedro Castillo, Subdirector of the Association,
on "The History of JMV." Fr. Robert Maloney participated in
a "virtual manner" at this event, through a videoconference entitled: "Spiritual
Values to be Fostered in the Leaders of JMV in the Third Millennium." At
this meeting, the representatives of each of the above-mentioned
countries had the occasion to present the reality of youth and the
state of the Association in each one of them. Among other
things, social commitment, integration of the Marian and Vincentian
identity, insertion into parishes and dioceses and the common request
for good formation programs were highlighted. For more information
please visit: http://www.secretariadojmv.org/
*****
NOMINATIONS
DI CARLO Mario 02-04-2004 Local
Superior - General Curia House
REDONDO Saturnino 05-04-2004 Director
DC - Argentina
GUERRA Giuseppe 14-04-2004 Postulator
General - General Curia House
MARKOS GEBREMEDHIN 14-04-2004 Visitor - Ethiopia
ÁLVAREZ SAGREDO Félix 24-04-2004 Director
DC - Northern Africa
VOWS
IYONGO MPUTUDUKA José Fra Cng 25-03-2004
AGUILAR NINAPAYTAN José Marino Fra Per 25-04-2004
PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS
NASCIMENTO MESQUITA Antonio M. 17-04-2004 For
SOUSA NASCIMENTO Francisco Ivo 17-04-2004 For
LOKANDA EBUMBA Dieudonné 18-04-2004 Cng
SIMON ILLERA José Luis 24-04-2004 Mat
NECROLOGIUM 2004
Nomen Cond Dies
Ob Prov Aet Voc
GALVIN James M. Sac 19-04-2004 Occ
7º 79-60
BEUNK Bernard Sac 21-04-2004 Hol
1º 76-56
KEMPENER Gerrit Fra 02-05-2004 Hol
5º 87-66
O'HEGARTY Diarmuid Sac 02-05-2004 Hib
5° 79-60
PRIEDHORSKÝ Rudolf Sac 02-05-2004 Slk
1° 69-36
HERRERO CALZADA Julio Sac 06-05-2004 Mat
1° 68-52
