03 February 2001

What's New

Meet an SCJ presents the fourth and final part in our series on the history of SCJs from the British-Irish Province who studied in Belgium from 1937 to 1947. This series was written by Gerard Jordan (BH), at the request of the Vocations-Formation Commission of the British - Irish Province in 1999.

Formation in the British-Irish Province of the Sacred Heart Fathers: The Students in Belgium 1937 - 1947 IV

XXth Century SCJ Martyrs

In preparation for the March 11th Beatification of Fr Juan de la Cruz García Méndez scj of our Spanish Province (HI) we will be presenting a weekly series on our "SCJ Martyrs of the XXth Century." This series has been prepared by Stefan Tertünte (GE) using the work of Fr. Bernd Bothe (GE) Märtyrer der Herz-Jesu-Priester (SCJ Martyrs). This week features the story Victim of the Nazi Struggles Against Religious Life Fr. Franz Loh, scj. Fr. Loh served as provincial of our German Province from 1933 to 1936
 

13.01.01 Introduction
20.01.01 Frs. Josef Benedikt Stoffels and. Nicolas Antonius Wampach
27.01.01 Fr. Mariano Johannes García Mendez
03.02.01 Fr. Franz Stanislaus Loh
10.02.01 Fr. Kristiaan Hubertus Muermans
17.02.01 Fr. Nicola Martino Capelli
24.02.01 Dutch SCJs in Indonesia
03.03.01  SCJs in the Congo

Education

This week we add to the Salamanca Education Conference page the address Fr. Dehon gave in 1895 to the alumni of St. John's College: Discours du Père Dehon aux Anciens Élèves de l'Institution Saint Jean. It is available in bothFrench and Portuguese.

Justice & Peace

Dave Jackson (US), a member of the scj pastoral team serving Willacy County (Raymondville) Texas, passed along an article by Maude Barlow: THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS AND THE THREAT TO SOCIAL PROGRAMS, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN CANADA AND THE AMERICAS. It is a available in English. The article was obtain through Citizen's Global Trade Watch 215 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Washington DC, 20003 USA mstrand @citizen.org.

What's Happening

Congratulations

To the following 26 scjs in Latin America who made their first vows on February 2nd


SCJ 2001 first profession class South Brazil

In Jaraguá do Sul - Brazil

  1. Ademilson Aparecido da Silva
  2. Emerson Pereira Vieira
  3. Everton dos Santos Carvalho
  4. João José de Souza
  5. Luiz Cláudio Cesarim
  6. Pedro Paulo dos Reis Mendes
  7. Rafael Querobin
  8. Reginaldo José de Souza
  9. Reginaldo Lot
  10. Saulo Rodrigues
  11. Aquiles Duarte de Souza
  12. Claudinei Roncki
  13. Cristian Fabiano Domingos
  14. Fábio Ballmann
  15. Leandro Neuri Leidemer
  16. Magnos José Baron Caneppele
NB: All of the above are members of the South Brazilian Province - BM

In Maciel, Argentina

  1. Diego Manuel Díaz - AU
  2. Ariel Rayes Zuleta - CH
  3. João batista Máximo - BM
  4. Arlindo José Ferrari - BM
  5. Carlos Fred Moreira - BS
  6. Carlos Vieira de Sousa - BS
  7. Francisco Batista de Sousa Filho - BS
  8. José Carlos Alves de Oliveira - BS
  9. Josemar Joaquim de Lima - BS
  10. Pedro Silva de Moura - BS
NB: These confreres made the South American SCJ Novitiate at Maciel, Argentina.
 
We also salute the oldest member of the Spanish Province, Fr. Pascual Ignacio Belda Pérez who celebrated his 91st birthday on January 29th! He is the 'handsome' young priest on the left in this photo supplied by Evaristo Martínez de Alegria (HI), assistant postulator general here in Rome.

Cameroon


Ngoya scholasticate

The Cameroon Province began the third millennium and the fifth year of its foundation in a very meaningful way. It began on 4 January, with a visit from Fr General. He went to every community and met all the members. Then on 17 January in the presence of Fr Emilio Ciarrocchi, the General Treasurer, and Fr Luigi Mostarda, the North Italian Provincial, Fr Bressanelli officially opened the new building at the Ngoya scholasticate. It was also for us an opportunity to express our gratitude to those provinces that contributed towards the cost of this enterprise: French Canada, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Italy, as well as to the General Treasurer. Behind these named groups we recognize a tremendous number of individual benefactors. It was indeed a time to appreciate the meaning of 'We, the Congregation'. During the thanksgiving Mass two scholastics received the ministry of Reader and eight that of Acolyte.


Fr. Joseph Kuate and his proud parents at his ordination on January 20, 2000 at Semto.

The celebrations continued on 20 January with the ordination to the priesthood of Fr Joseph Kuate SCJ in his home parish of Semto (west Cameroon ). This parish was founded by the SCJs 40 years ago, and it has already given nine priests (including two SCJs) to the Church. The fact that the ordination took place in the parish church rather than the Cathedral at Bafoussam was a way of stressing our appreciation to the parish community at Semto. It turned out to be a ceremony full of symbolism, color and warmth -- all so characteristic of Africa.

Finland


Bishop Józef Wróbel, scj

The ordination of Bishop Józef Wróbel, scj, took place on Saturday, January 27, 2001, at St. John's Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki, Finland. Zdzislaw Huber (FIN) sent several photos taken at the ordination as well as a short history of the diocese of Helsinki, and the opening remarks and homily given by Cardinal Edward Cassidy ordaining prelate (cf. Episcopal Ordination of Msgr. Józef Wróbel, SCJ Bishop-Elect of Helsinki, 27 January 2001).

India

No doubt people have contacted you to say we SCJs of the India District are out of the danger zone as regards the terrible earthquake that has hit this sub-continent. Even so it is numbing to try to understand the graveness of the event in human terms, humbling in acknowledging the limitations we have to help those so much in need.

Fr. Sebastian just dropped by to see how I'm doing; I rely on all the help I can get in attempting to communicate by e-mail. Meanwhile Fr. Adrian v.d. Wilk is out for Sunday morning Mass at the local parish. Br. Lenny is visiting in Cochin to coordinate his work on various projects. I'm sure he's got his Internet apparatus tuned in to pick up the Super Bowl game between his Ravens and The Giants. I for my part am just enjoying the leisure time the Sunday morning affords me.

Also, I need Adrian's prodding to keep the wheels rolling on our Vocation Camp Project, scheduled for the end of April. Our 15 boys were out last weekend making contacts in nearby parishes and now have some 77 names of youngsters who might like to attend that camp and later enter our seminary system -- after paring down, naturally. Fr. Teja is in charge of it, but he's assigned to the Aluva scholasticate in Cochin now, so the administrative work is all up to us on this side. I came here to fill in what with Tom Garvey being momentarily incapacitated and there being occasional interruptions in procuring visas by just about everybody. It sure is a valuable experience to be a part of this for however long a period of time. The Spirit is so manifestly alive and active here.
 
 

Tom Fix (IN)
28.01.2001
Guntur, India
NB Tom Fix, originally from the United States has worked in Indonesia for the past 30 years. He has most recently been a member of the parish team at St. Stefanus Parish, Cilandak (Jakarta, Indonesia).

Please Remember

+Fr. Facobus Josephus Jonk NE
(taken in 1949 upon his departure for Democratic Republic of the Congo)

born: 06.02.1921 in Hoorn
first profession: 08.09.1941
ordained: 28.07.1947
died: 25.01.2001 at Vanroy, Holland

Born in Hoorn, Fr. Jacob studied at Bergen op Zoom, in 1940 he went to the Novitiate at Asten. After his first profession he studied philosophy and theology in Liesbosch, Oosterhaut and Sittard and finally Nijmegen where he was ordained. This pilgrimage through the seminaries was due to the occupation of Holland by the German army during World War II.

On April 1949 Fr. Jonk went to The Congo. He worked at Avabuki and Ngayu. In 1960 he returned to Holland and was appointed to social ministry with the poor people in the outskirts of Rotterdam, in the "St. Francis Social Work" program that kept dozens of SCJs busy.

On January 1964 he returned to The Congo soon after the revolution broke out. After one month in the hands of the rebels he was liberated and returned to Holland permanently.

He resumed social work at ("St. Francis") this time at Schiedam. From 1967 to 1976 he was an associate pastor at the parish of the Resurrection in Helmond. In 1976, he was pastor in Wilbertoord until physical infirmities forced him to retire in 1998.

+Fr. Emilio Bontempelli (IS)

born: 03.11.1930
first profession: 29.09.1950
ordained: 28.06.1959
died: 27.01.2001 at Trento

Fr. Emilio Bontempelli died on 27 January in the community hospital of Santa Chiara di Trento. For the last two years he has been in the scj infirmary at Bolognano d'Arco, as his health began to fail.

Fr. Emilio began his seminary studies during World Ward II at the minor seminary in Trento and at Albino. After he made first profession at Albisola Superiore on September 29, 1950, he received his college degree at Monza and theology at Bologna.

He was ordained a deacon by bishop Kinsch, in the chapel at the Studentato [Bologna] on March 14, 1959, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Giacomo Lercano on Sunday, June 28, 1959.

After ordination he was a student at the Catholic University in Milano where he received his degree in Italian. His life was always one marked by teaching.

He returned in 1962 to the world of the scholasticate when the introduction of classical letters for young priests and students began at the scj seminary in Monza, where they would earn a degree at Leo Dehon High School. He had a true passion for his teaching. He loved to say that the professor's lectern was for him his altar. It was there that he was fulfilled as a man and as a priest. Everyone remembers his enthusiasm for Latin and Greek, which he would teach with a passion. It would pain him greatly when he felt the students were not developing a love for the classics. In his 34 years of teaching he saw over a thousand students both scj religious in formation as well as students from the outside. He endeavored to maintain contact with all, even though this was often difficult he would try to do it in the classroom. As both a teacher and headmaster he developed Dehon High School to the point it received state recognition as a private educational institute.

His activities as a teacher were contemporaneous with those of his priesthood. He helped frequently at the parish of Cristo Re in Monza. He was both cordial and shy in his relations, and was admired as both a preacher and confessor. His also served the Sisters of Mercy in Monza where he celebrated daily Mass for them at their institute.

In 1996 poor health forced him to resign from the school. It was a very difficult decision as he feared to leave the city where he had built so many friendships over the years.

Many scjs had him as a professor and remember him fondly as they mourn his passing.
 



Seminary Chapel window at Aluva (Kerala), India