NEWS FROM ROME  

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What's New

We apologize for not posting news for the week of August 15, 1998 due to my visit to Brazil. We have received a number of news items from various sources. These are presently in translation and will be posted as soon as they become available in English, French and Spanish.

We have received from Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva information on Justice & Peace Work in the Netherlands. This will be posted as soon as the English is ready. Please consult the Letters and Documents page.

Thanks to Bill Pitcavage from South Africa we have a report prepared by Zolile Mpambani (CU) on his visit with Fr. General to South Africa and Mozambique. It can be found on this page.

Thanks to Ged Flynn (BH) for sending us a photo of Fr. Matthijs Cornelius de Jonge (NE) who died on 31/7/98. The photo has been added to Fr. de Jonge's necrology page (cf Matthigs Cornelius de Jonge). In his email Ged wrote: I have a pic of Matthew De Jonge SCJ (RIP) who was with me in Gateshead for a few years. Stephen and I took him back to Asten when he retired and I have visited him a few times in Asten since. He was a fun loving and generous man with a great spirit. He loved a tipple and was always ready to listen to us when we were grousing about the latest theological lecture from Durham or whatever. I hear he had been quite ill in recent days and I am sure it was a happy release for him. RIP.

The Young Dehonian Meeting was held at Foligno, Italy from August 3-8, 1998. A report in Spanish was prepared by Carlos Luiz Suarez (HI). Click here to access the Spanish text or here to access the English text.

The Church in Brazil is in the middle of its month long vocation program. Tom Cassidy (CU) accompanied by Jack Kurps (US) concluded a ten day visit to the South Brazil Province to help prepare for next year's congregational vocation program to be presented by the South Brazil Province on the Church of Brazil's Vocation Approach.

 

The Christ of Rio de Janerio

FRATERNAL VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA AND MOZAMBIQUE

As it is already well known that Father General and Father Zolile Mpambani (CU) visited the AM province from May 31st to June 15th, here is a brief report of our visit.

We landed in Durban where we were warmly welcomed by Fr. Bill Pitcavage with whom we stayed for three days in a parish which he is temporarily serving. We participated in a Saturday evening Mass the day we came, as well as in a Sunday Mass where we could clearly see how much and what kind of service Bill renders as well as how much he is loved by the people he serves. We also had very fruitful discussions with him pertaining to our visit. Besides the discussions we received the best treatment (as best people), so he said.

Our next destination was the house of formation in Merrivale where we were equally welcome with such warmth. There we also spent a fruitful time talking to the formation directors as well as students. It was there where the students discovered that we all belonged to one tribe/family, "priests from the Sacred Heart of Jesus" and not Shona, Tswana and Sotho as they responded to the questions of Fr. General during his sermon, "To which tribe do you belong?"

From there we visited the bishop emeritus Bishop Baaij in Port Elizabeth whose joy for our visit could not be concealed. He definitely looked much healthier and younger than the last time I saw him. He could not be happier with the work he is doing as a chaplain at Nazareth House.

After Port Elizabeth we visited Graaff-Reinet, De Aar and Aliwal North respectively. In all these places we were treated with utmost care. We also had fruitful discussions with the communities as well as individuals. We also had an opportunity to attend a diocesan meeting in De Aar where we were struck by the way of sharing by the pastoral workers of that diocese as far as their joys, successes, sorrows and disappointments in their work are concerned. The province AM is three years old and the confreres there are trying their best to build it up. It is a true international province as it has people from South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United States and Poland. The only draw back is that they are in their third year of dryness as far as new vocations are concerned. With more hard work as far as pastoral vocations are concerned they hope to see positive results in the near future.

JOURNEYING FURTHER...

On the 15th June we left for Mozambique where we stayed until the 7th July. The days before the 19th June were spent visiting and discussing with the communities of Maputo where we first landed. There we were welcomed with warm hands and hearts by the confreres. The main topic of our discussions were centered around challenges, fears and hopes faced by the new province, community life, Dehonian lifestyle and relationship with the local church. "We, the Congregation in the service to the Mission," was also explained extensively.

The 19th June, on the day of the feast of the Sacred Heart, was D. day. The brand new religious province of Mozambique was inaugurated. The ceremony took place at Quelimane in the region of Zambezia. It started on the eve of the 18th with a holy hour and benediction followed by the Eucharistic celebration with Fr. General as presider. The following morning was spent officially inaugurating the new province. In that ceremony, among other participants were the Apostolic Nuncio of Mozambique, the Bishop of Queliname, Bishop Tome of Pemba, the provincial superiors of North Italy, Portugal, Cameroon, South Africa as well as Fr. Onorio, the provincial of Mozambique. Light lunch was served. The day was concluded by a very moving, prayerful, joyful and a very inspiring Eucharistic celebration. The parish church of Sagrada Famiglia was packed to capacity. The main celebrant was the bishop of Quelimane himself and a heart moving homily was delivered by Father General. This was followed by a big dinner crowning all the celebration.

The day after we set off to resume our visits to Pebane, Alto Molokue, Ile, Gurue I, Gurue II and Milevane respectively. We basically spent two nights at each place as in some cases the first day was spent traveling due to long distances between the missions. We spent at least one full day talking to the community and at times to individual members. In all the communities there was such a tremendous spirit of welcome and hospitality.

After a meeting with the communities of upper Zambezia at Milevane on the 29th June we traveled back to Quelimane with the same purpose. After a few days of visits and discussions we left for Maputo where we finished off by visiting and talking to the philosophy students one by one.

All in all the new province is facing a bright future as our confreresthere are also hopeful. This can also be seen in the different kinds of work they are doing, namely, pastoral work, in charge of different minor seminaries, two diocesan ones in Quelimane and Maputo, and one of ours in Quelimane and the different projects they are involved in, such as Escuala Basica Industriale Gurue, where they train people in different skills like carpentry, woodwork, steel works, sowing, knitting and others. They also manage a small farm a few kilometers from town. There is more hope for future priests too since they have 21 young fellows at the minor seminary, two postulants, one novice , nine philosophy students and seven in Theology.

Here we have all the reasons to thank the Lord, dear brothers, for having enriched our congregation with yet another new religious province. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Venerable Fr. Dehon may our brothers in that new province prosper in the apostolic missions they are engaged in that province.

Traveling with Fr. General on these visits could not have been a better opportunity for me to be introduced to the kind of work a general counselor is faced with since these were my first visits in a very short span of time at the generalate. It was a real blessing in disguise in more than one way. This also provided me with a glimpse as to who 'Fr. Virginio Bressanelli' is as much as he "got to know me better" (quoting his words).

Besides that, this was also home-coming for me. I could not help but remember the words of Jesus in Luke 4:24, "No prophet is accepted in his own country," which this time were proven to be the opposite as I was most welcome and felt respected by my AM province confreres.

A very encouraging and a lesson filled first experience for me. I learned a lot traveling with the veteran, Fr. General.

By Zolile Mpambani, scj

General Council

Please Remember

+Fr. Giuseppe Sebastiano Zampogna, IM
Born 07.12.1907
First profession 24.09.1927
Ordained 12.07.1934
Died on 09.08.1998 at Frascati, Italy

Fr. Zampogna was the first Superior of the Southern Italian Region (1957-1960) and first Provincial of the Southern Italian Province (1960-63).

+Fr. Petres Koevoets, NE
Born 08.09.1907
First profession 09.09.1929
Ordained 19.07.1936
Died on 05.08.1998 at Nimegen, NL

Fr. Koevoets dedicated most of his life to the Apostleship of the Sea, among sailors in Dutch ports. From 1953 to 1969 he was the director of "Stella Maris".