What's New?

The Christmas and Jubilee Year Message of Fr. General has been posted to the Letters & Documents section. It is available in English, French, Italian and Portuguese.

There are several fax and email numbers that need updating:

Philippines Formation House Cagayan de Oro, fax number: 0063-8822-712.457
Venezuela SCJ seminary in Caracas, email: filosofadoscjven@telcel.net.ve
Argentina Provincial and Formation House email: scjauprov@sinectis.com.ar
North Brazil for Marcos António Alves de Lima: malvesdelima@zaitek.com.br

Fr. General returns to Rome on 5 December and will resume the fall meetings of the general administration. These will conclude on December 17th at which time he will begin the visitation of the North Italian Province together with Umberto Chiarello (CU).

Yohanes Baptista Sismadi (IN) visited Rome on his return to Indonesia after studying English in the ESL (English as a Second Language) Program run by the US SCJ Province in cooperation with Sacred Heart School of Theology. He undertook the study of English in preparation for his work with the SCJs now in India.

What's Happening?

North Brazil
50 years of the Seminário Cristo Rei

On 22 November, the Feast of Christ the King, the Northern Brazilian Province (BS) celebrated the 50th anniversary of Christ the King Seminary in Camaragibe, a town close to Recife, where the SCJs began ministry in 1893. The house was a major seminary of the BS Province until 1978 when it was adapted as a retreat center. Later the Province built another major seminary, smaller than Cristo Rei, near the town of Paulista.

Editor's Note: Our apologies to BS for being late with this article. It was an error on our part, but we thank them for the news and look forward to more!

News from Madagascar

1. Cholera. The country has had a cholera epidemic with about one thousand deaths. The disease is spread about by the dirty conditions in the streets.

2. Meeting of the communities. From 6 to 13 November all members working in Madagascar met in Antsirabe. Fr. Chiarello, general councilor, was present. They had a discussion on the future juridical structure for the area.

3. Formation. Schools started on 18 October. There are 15 scholastics, They attend classes at the Jesuit School. During holidays they made a two week journey visiting the communities in the jungle. They traveled 200 km visiting 20 communities, experiencing what their lives will be like in the future as priests.

4. Anniversary. This year is the 25th anniversary of our presence in Madagascar. The first missionary, Nicola Giampietro, arrived with a group from Laici Terzo Mondo (Laity for the Third World). Now that territorial community is marching toward becoming a province.

Shrine of the Sacred Heart - Nkongsamba

In December 1997, on the 75th anniversary of the SCJ presence in Cameroon, Mgr Kuissi, bishop of Nkomgsamga said: "The shrine of the Sacred Heart will be the center of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the tenderness of the merciful God revealed through his Son, become man, according to the Scriptures, the Church's tradition and the inspiration of Fr. Dehon. This center will have a wide range influence".

There was the great need for financial assistance. To keep the memory of the first German missionaries alive, the German Province, through its provincial treasurer, Fr. Westendorf, undertook this project. He made contact with Missio, a German association, as well as the institution of fund raising during Lent in Luxembourg. A lot of anonymous benefactors gave their help as well.

We thank them all.

Presently the shrine is under the direction of Fr. François Siou and plays an important role in the pastoral activities of the Diocese of Nkongsamba. It is a center for spirituality, especially our dehonian spirituality.

On the threshold of the Jubilee Year, we Cameroon scjs wish to all members of the dehonian family, the courage of risking in the name of "We, the congregation", a renewed sense of commitment, so that even in these difficult circumstances The Civilization of Love may became a reality.

The shrine of the Sacred Heart at Nkongsamba was dedicated on November 25, 1991.

Venesuela:

A new regional government for VEN was appointed on 2 August 1999:

• Regional Superior: Fr. Gonzalo Arnáiz Álvarez
• 1st councilor: Fr. Miguel Imaz Reta
• 2nd councilor: Fr. Hernán Rodríguez Briceño

Editors note: Even in this day an age of 'rapid' communications some news travels slowly!

Congratulations

The following anniversaries celebrated in December around the congregation:

Professions:

60 Years: 20/12/39 F Mallmann Cláudio BM

50 Years: 20/12/49 P Skowronek Romuald Franciszek PO, P Lukasik Wladyslaw Jan Berch. PO, P Leks Pawel Jan PO and P Lukasik Stanislaw Józef PO

25 Years: 28/12/74 P Wróbel Józef PO

Ordination:

60 Years: 08/12/39 P Decker Bertholdo Irineu BM

25 Years: 17/12/74 P Ciarrocchi Umberto Lucio IM and 22/12/74 P Cuomo Mario IM

Portugal: On December 8 the following will be ordained deacons in the Portuguese Province. The ordination will take place in the Cathedral of Porto, at 11:00 am.:

• António José Martins Paiva Loureiro
• Joaquim da Silva Freitas
• José Camilo Dias das Neves

South Brazil

Congratulations to the following members of South Brazilian Province who will be ordained priests in the month of December:

On December 11, 1999

• Kleber Ferreira de Oliveira, in Formiga, MG. He will work in Pindaré-Mirim, MA.
• Pedro José Nogueira, in Japurá, PR. He is appointed to Meier, Rio de Janeiro.
• Sérgio Luís da Costa, in Joinville, SC He is appointed to Crissiumal, RS.
• Sildo César da Costa, in Joinville, SC. Sildo will work in Jaraguá do Sul, SC.

Note: Sérgio and Sildo are brothers.

On December 18, 1999

• Valério Eller, in Vargem do Cedro, SC. Valério is appointed to Joinville, SC.
• José Paulo Kolbeck, in Rio Negriunho, SC. José will work in S. Bento do Sul, SC.

clockwise starting from left bottom: Valério, José Paulo, Kleber, Pedro, Sérgio and Sildo.

Dehon Photo of the Week

This Stefan Tertünte writes on the life long friendship between Fr. Dehon and Leo Palustre (1838-1894). When Fr. Dehon learned of the death of his friend he wrote in his diary: "Rarely has a death impressed me so much. Palustre was 55 years old. We had lived together for three years almost like brothers. We made journeys together to England, Germany and to the Middle East. Yet after that we met very often. He was for me like a half brother." (Cf. Leo Palustre).

Dehon in Canada and America

In this weeks excerpt from Selections from Father Dehon's Diary, Fr. Dehon arrives in Montréal. One of the reasons for visiting the city at this time is to partake in the Eucharistic Congress. Commenting on this in his diary Fr. Dehon Wrote: "I already knew with what solicitude full of love, in this illustrious city, so worthy of being called Ville-Marie, the celebration of the 21st International Eucharistic Congress was being prepared. But I confess in a loud voice: the sight of the spectacle that is taking place before my eyes overwhelmingly exceeds my expectations and anticipation." (Cf. Montréal).
 

Mary and Elizabeth (1997)©
From Spirit and Life in Sculpture
Herman Falke, scj