26 May 2001

What's New?

Change of Address

Please make note of the following street address change that took effect on May 24, 2001:

Priesters van het H. Hart
Provincialaat - Huize leo Dehon
Koning Leopolid III-laan, 27*
B-3001 Heverlee
België

*The old addres was: Koning Leopolid III-laan, 23

Philippines

The following notice was sent to various members of the congregation from our SCJ Philippine district:

Greetings from the Philippines! This is to inform you that after a very long time of silence on the World Wide Web we are signing on again. We hope that this time we'll be able to continue to update it regularly, so you can know what's up here. Please notice that we have changed our address, so you can also adjust the link on your website.

Visit us at: http://www.pagadian.mozcom.com/scjphil/

NB The 'blinking logo' is taken from their new website, also note that the link change will be made on our links page.

Salamanca

We are posting to the Salamanca Dehonian Education Conference page an article by EL Andrews Theunissen (NE) entitled: Padre Dehon y el Instituto San Juan de Saint Quintin. The article is available only in Spanish. Please note next week will post the final article to the Salmanca page in preparation for the July Dehonian Educators Conference.

XXth Century Martyrs

Stefan Tertünte (GE) has added one more to our list of XXth Century SCJ Martyrs with the story of Fr. Paulo Punt of North Brazil who was murdered on December 15, 1975. We quote from a poem written in his honor three years before his death:

His Church is the sea
The ship is his altar
Always ready to help
The faithful on his vine

NB The link page Celebrating the First SCJ Beatification: Fr. Juan Garcia Mèndez, scj has been updated to include this article.

What's Happening?

Congratulations

On May 26, 2001 at 10:00 AM at Stadniki, Bishop Józef Wróbel, scj, bishop of Helsinki, Finland, ordained the following members of the Polish Province:

To the diaconate:

  1. Wojciech Adamczyk
  2. Jan Krzysciak
  3. Dariusz Mroczek
  4. Marcin Pilat
To the priesthood:
  1. Rafal Czernia
  2. Piotr Dudek
  3. Piotr Fulara
  4. Przemyslaw Kozak
Italy

P. Beniamino Zambetti (IS) 101 Years Old!

On April 11, 2001, Fr. Beniamino Zambetti completed his 101st birthday, his 76th anniversary of priesthood in his service to the Church, the Holy Father and the parish of Cristo Re in Rome.

Italian television did an interview with him marking the occasion and the l'Osservatore Romano, on Sunday May 13th published an article and the photo you see above.

We are pleased to salute the oldest priest in our congregation who even after so many years has the same energy he exhibited 20 years ago when the Holy Father visited Cristo Re and Fr. Zambetti said to him: "Holy Father when I reach 100 years you will turn eighty." This prediction has come true and now he says: "With the grace of God I have arrived at this age, and the Holy Father has passed eighty years continuing to spend himself working for peace in the world. For this I give thanks and remember each day the prayer: : Dominus conservet eum et vivificet eum…[Lord protect him and grant him long life.]

You will find the complete article from while l'Osservatore Romano in Italian by linking here.

Provided by
Paolo Gazzotti, scj
Provincial secretary IS
 NB An article on Fr. Zambetti's 100th Birthday was publised last year April 16, 2000, (cf. Father Zambetti's 100 Years).
 
 

Mozambique

Fr. Maggiorino Madella, scj attacked in Maputo


Fr. Madella is second from left standing next to the superior general

On the evening of May 14, 2001, after celebrating mass for a community of nuns, Fr. Madella arrived at the gate of his residence in Fomento, Maputo when two individuals approached the car, one standing in front of it, the other along side the door. He was told to get out of the car. Their intention to steal it was quite evident. The priest said no even after a gun was pointed at him. When Madella switched on the electric gate the man standing by the door shot him and then they both ran away.

Fr. Madella was shot in the leg and was immediately helped by his confreres who heard the shot.

His condition is very bad. The bullet smashed his femur. His leg is very inflamed. The bullet passed near the artery. If the artery had been hit surely hemorrhage would probably have caused death.

In Maputo there simply are no facilities to deal with such a complicated situation and its after effects. So, it was decided to bring him to Italy. The difficulties of traveling are very complicated too: traveling lying down, changing airports, etc…

Contacts with the Italian Embassy, with the Italian Health Minister, and with the Prime Minister's Cabinet resulted in a good solution: a military aircraft will leave Italy and will take Fr. Madella to Bologna, Dr. Stefano Boriani, who was in Maputo by the grace of Providence, will travel with him on the journey back to Italy.

The flight will be also bring hope to a Mozambican by the name of Gregório, an employee in the Italian Embassy in Maputo, who had a brain hemorrhage which paralyzed him. He will travel with the priest, assisted by a medical team that will travel from Italy. This is due to the generosity of physicians and friends from Italy who will pay the expenses of the flight

In a few days both will be in Italy for the treatment they need. All that is now required is permission of the countries the aircraft will fly over since it is a military plane.

Such generosity and the intervention of so many people will contribute to a positive end to Fr. Madella's misfortune and the illness of Gregório. We just could not ask for more from God.

Please Remember

+LITTERIA CIARROCCHI, age 91

Last evening the mother of our general treasure, Emilio Ciarrocchi and his brother Fr. Umberto Ciarrocchi of the South Italian Province and director of the Poligrafico Dehoniano in Andria, died. Mrs. Litteira Ciarrocchi was 91 years old and has now rejoined her husband who died last August 12th.... (cf. Prot. n. 107/2001).