16 December 2000

What's New

We have received a Portuguese translation of Paul J. McGuire's article FATHER DEHON: THE EDUCATOR, presented at Sacred Heart Southern Mission, Walls, Mississippi on August 11, 2000. It has been added to the Salamanca Conference Page.

The office of general secretary has prepared a SCJ Calendar of 2001 International Events. It covers all major congregational meetings for the year, as well as listing the pastoral visits of the general superior.

In this week's Meet an SCJ we travel to South Brazil (BM) where one of the novices, Fábio Ballmann, shares his vocation story. His account was written in August of this year.

What's Happening

Africa

African SCJ Formation Directors

African SCJ formators meeting was held at Mariannhill (South Africa) from November 6 to 11, 2000. The meeting was a great success in the sense that there were very important decisions taken by the formators, to be put forward as proposals to their respective Provincials and Regional Superiors. These proposals are for the better cooperation at the level of formation in the African Geo-cultural zone, as well as the promotion of the spirit of "We, the Congregation, at the service to the mission." This throws a brighter light to the closer collaboration of this zone in the future. We hope that by God's grace and the hard-work of the major superiors, formators and our students everything will be a success.

The representatives were as follows:

  • AM - Fr. Adam, AM, provincial superior, Frs. Mark Przybys, Chris Grzelak and Peter Surdel.
  • CA - Frs. Antonio Panteghini and Guillaume Halters.
  • CU - Fr. Zolile Mpambani
  • MAD - Frs. Mario Giusepe Cuomo and Rocco Nigro.
  • MZ - Frs. Emilio Giorgi and Alessandro Capoferi
  • ZA - Fr. Mateus Buss
from Zolile Mpambani (CU)

During the course of the African Formation Directors meeting Mark Przybys gave a report on "MY EXPERIENCES AS A FORMATOR, BEFORE AND AFTER PREPARATION".

Latin America: Preparation for final vows.

This year the preparation program for final vows for Latin American SCJs will take place at the "Instituto Meninos São Judas Tadeu" (a house for abandoned boys), in São Paulo (BM). The program will start on January 3 and end on February 12, 2001.

South Brazil: Church Social Teaching

A program on Church Social Teaching will be held at Taubaté (BM) from January 8 to 26, 2001. This is the fourth time this course will be offered. Fr. Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva (CU) will be one of the course lecturers.

Vocations

The Vatican website has released The Message of the Holy Father for the XXXVIII World day of Prayer for Vocations which will be celebrated on May 6, 2001, the Fourth Sunday of Easter. This year's theme is: Live is a Vocation. The message is available in all our major languages on the Vatican website, the link shown will take you to the English language version:

Please Remember

+Fr. Gaston Stanislas Kostka Forrat (EF)

born: 13.07.1917
first profession: 29.09.1938
ordained: 04.07.1948
died: 06.12.2000 at Nice


+Fr. Bernhard Lödding (GE)

born: 18.09.1906
first profession: 22.09.1929
ordained: 29.06.1934
died: 07.12.2000 at Neustadt

+Br. Lorenz Mainzer (EF)

born: 18.08.1937
first profession: 15.05.1963
died: 09.12.2000 at Redange, Luxembourg

Letters from the First Novices

In the twenty-sixth in our series from CORRESPONDENCE OF THE FIRST NOVICES BEFORE THE "CONSUMMATUM EST 1878-1883" by Egidio Driedonkx, we present the a letter sent by Fr. Paris to the novice Falleur on July 11, 1881.

"No le respondo largamente. El examen me apreta. Ya sé por el Abbé Roger que enfermó su señora madre y lo he lamentado mucho y he tomado parte en su dolor. He pensado también cuánto le han llegado las pruebas, y cuánto por consiguiente el Señor lo ama.