59. Postulator General (www.vincenziani.com/santi.htm)
Next Blessed of the Vincentian Family. The beatification of a young Daughter of Charity, Lindalva Justo de Oliviera, is near. She was born on 20 October 1953 in Sitio Malhada de Areia, in the municipality of Açu, a very poor area in the state of Río Grande del Norte (Brazil). She was baptized on 7 January 1954 in the chapel Olho d’Agua of the parish of Açu. She began her seminary with the Daughters of Charity on 16 July 1969 in Recife. She served the poor with great dedication and merited, on Good Friday of 1993, the palm of martyrdom for the defense of her virginity, uniting the sacrifice of her life to that of Christ the Lord. The cause of beatification took a step forward with the Congress of Theologians, held on 26 September 2006, which gave a favorable vote. Since she is considered a martyr, a miracle is not necessary for the beatification. So, we are only awaiting the meeting of the Cardinals and the conclusive Decree of the Holy Father. It is interesting to note that she will be the first woman beatified in Brazil.
60. General Curia
Tempo Forte. From 2-6 October, Fr. G. Gregory Gay, Superior General and the members of the General Council met to discuss matters of government of the Congregation. They began with an ongoing formation session, offered by Mr. Giancarlo Gallici, member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, who shared on the theme: “The Vincentian Charism in Our Contemporary Culture.” Some of the points treated were:
– The participation of the Superior General in a meeting of the Provincial Councils of Italy.
– The General Curia officially assumed the History Project of the Congregation of the Mission and John E. Rybolt will be the coordinator of this project.
– The members of the Preparatory Commis-sion for the Workshop “Confreres in Difficulty”, which will be held from 10-16 January 2007 in Rome with Fr. Manuel Ginete as moderator, met with the General Council.
– The General Council Project 2006-2010 was presented and approved.
– It was decided to contact a professional archivist to make a diagnosis of the situation of our archives in the General Curia. Fr. Alfredo Becerra was named to take on the function of General Archivist and librarian.
– Fr. Giuseppe Guerra will take on the function of Procurator General ad interim.
– The establishment of a Development Office was approved. The official appointment of the confrere in charge of this office is still pending.
– The report of the Vincentian Solidarity Office was discussed. This office continues to be a very great help in obtaining financial col-laboration for micro and macro projects that the poorer provinces of the Congregation are developing.
– The Council members reflected on the report of the Webmaster with various projects of special interest for the Congregation. One of these is the Pilot Project for the Online Study of the Constitutions (http://famvin.org/online study/). With the approbation of the General Council, Fr. John Freund has contracted Sr. Gail Reith, RSM, as executive assistant. The webmaster mentioned that St. John’s Univer-sity will provide him with a new and better quality server, which will contribute to increasing in great measure the capacity to do videos and projects.
– The report of the Executive Secretary of SIEV, Alexander Jernej, was discussed. He will send, both to the entire Congregation, as well as to the Vincentian Family, more detailed information with regard to SIEV’s projects. A Manual for formation in Vincentian Studies, which will be available for the entire Vincentian Family, was approved. The proposal for a meeting of young Vincentian historians is of particular interest for the council. This is a continuation of previous efforts which were begun to increase our resources of Vincentian historians.
– The Council members commented on the report of the CIF Program and, in a special way, on the Leadership workshop, which was held this past summer and which will continue next year ad experimentum.
– They dialogued on the International Missions of the Congregation. The Statutes for the International Missions, which were developed and presented by Fr. José Antonio Ubillús, Assistant General for the Missions were approved ad experimentum. The Statutes will be sent to the International Missions to be studied there by the missionaries. They approved opening a formation house for the Congregation of the Mission in the International Mission of the Solomon Islands. They were informed that the two new members of the International Mission in El Alto, Bolivia, Frs. Cyrille de Nanteuil (Paris) and Fernando Sánchez (Argentina) are in Rome for a missiology course. They studied the replies from volunteers who responded to the Mission Appeal Letters of previous years and decided to send two confreres to the missions ad gentes; one will be to the Vice-Province of Mozambique and the other to the mission in Tanzania.
Itinerary of the Superior General. From 2-6 October, he was in Rome for the Tempo Forte meeting. From 12-15 October, he was in Paris to meet with the CIF participants and with Daughters of Charity from Asia who are there for a formation session. On 20 October he presided the Eucharist in the Curia for the Pilgrims from the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal (CAAM, Philadelphia). On 22 October, he presided the Eucharist for the Daughters of Charity at the Provincial House in Rome. From 28 October to 2 November, he was in Cuba, visiting the confreres of the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity and members of the Vincentian Family.
Itinerary of the confreres of the Curia. Fr. Józef Kapuściak, Vicar General, left on 9 October for the United States in order to make the Canonical Visitation of the New England Province, where he will be until 5 November. Fr. José María Nieto, Assistant General, traveled to Portugal on 12 October for the Canonical Visitation of the province, until 18 November. Fr. José Antonio Ubillús, Assistant General, departed on 15 October in order to make the Canonical Visitation of the Province of Rio de Janeiro, which lasts until 19 November. Fr. Gérard Du traveled to Iran on 29 October in order to begin the Canonical Visitation of the Province of Toulouse. Brother Adam Budzyna was in Paris from 8-15 October at a meeting of those responsible for the website of the Vincentian Family.
Visits to the Curia. The following confreres visited the General Curia: Brother Peter A. Campbell and Fr. Carl L. Pieber (Eastern Province USA), Frs. Fernando Sánchez (Province of Argentina) and Cyrille de Nanteul (Province of Paris), Fr. Dominique Iyolo Iyombe (Visitor of the Congo), Fr. Michael Joyce (Midwest Province USA), Fr. Wiel Bellemakers (Province of Holland), Msgr. Leonardus Dobbelaar, CM, Apostolic Vicar of Nekemte, Msgr. Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, Msgr. Theo Van Ruijven, CM, Apostolic Prefect of Jimma Bonga. A group of missionaries took advantage of a break in the CIF Program to visit the Curia: Frs. Raimundo N. Cándido Da Silva (Province of Fortaleza), Álvaro Mauricio Fernández Monsalve (Province of Colombia), Pablo Armando Pocol Sajché (Province of Central America), Tulio Cordero Mateo (International Mission in Papua New Guinea), Jesús María González Antón and Rosendo Palacios Palacios (Province of Madrid). Frs. Donald Harrington and Michael Carroll (Eastern Province USA) came from St. John’s University. Other visitors were: Fr. Stefano Angiuli (Province of Naples), Fr. Naoum Atallah (Province of the Orient) with his assistant, Fr. Anil Thomas Karakavayalil (South India Province), Fr. George Kavinkal Abraham (North India Province), Fr. Fanta Getahun (Vice-Province of St. Justin De Jacobis), Fr. Agustin Advincula (Province of the Philippines), Frs. Stanislav Zonták and Vincent Zonták (Visitor and member of the Province of Slovakia), Fr. Teodoro Barquín (Province of Madrid), Don Gino Franchi (Diocese of Leghorn) and Alexis Cerquera Trujillo (student of the Province of Paris). Accompanied by Frs. William J. O’Brien, Louis Trotta and John J. Hodnett (Eastern Province USA), a group of pilgrims from the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal in Philadelphia (USA) visited and participated in a Eucharist presided by the Superior General.
Commission for Confreres in difficulty. Members of the Commission, Frs. Michael Joyce (Midwest Province USA) and Wiel Bellemakers (Province of Holland) met at the Curia from 5-7 October, to prepare the workshop-meeting for Confreres in difficulty (10-16 January 2007 in Rome). They presented a proposal for the workshop to the Superior General and his council.
Appointment of Local Superior and Assistant. On 9 October, the Superior General and his Council named Frs. John W. Gouldrick (incoming Treasurer General) and Alfredo Becerra Vázquez, new Superior and Assistant to the Superior of the Curia House, respectively. Congratulations, John and Alfredo, on your new responsibility! We will keep them present in our prayers.
61. Ecuador
Various events. Fr. Ignacio Fernández Mendoza (Province of Zaragoza) was in Ecuador to offer various services to the confreres and members of the Vincentian Family: giving spiritual retreats to students and seminarians in Bethania, Quito (from 29 August to 2 September), to the confreres in Montalvo, Province of Los Ríos (from 4-8 September), and to the Daughters of Charity in the Gethsemane Residence, in Quito (from 12-19 September). He also offered the confreres of the province two Vincentian formation courses in Santo Domingo de los Colorados and in the scholasticate of Quito. Finally, he had two meetings with the various branches of the Vincentian Family in Santo Domingo and Quito, respectively. The retreats and the meetings were enjoyed by those who assisted at them and will continue to inspire the Vincentian Family of Ecuador.
62. Province of Paris
Symposium on Fr. Fernand Portal. On 14 October, in the Motherhouse of the Congregation, a symposium on Fr. Fernand Portal, CM, was held. The talks were given by: Fr. Jean-Marie Lesbats, CM, President of GRAV (Vincentian Research and Animation Group), Mr. Régis Ladous, Professor at the University of Lyon, Mr. Cholvy, Professor-emeritus of the University of Montpellier, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Sagovski, theologian and canonist from Westminster Abbey in London, Fr. Laurent Villemin, Professor of Ecclesiology at the Catholic Institute of Paris, and Fr. Yves-Marie Blanchard, Director of the Higher Institute of Ecumenical Studies (ISEO), of the Catholic Institute of Paris concluded the meeting. Without doubt, the evocation of the symposium “Fernand Portal, pioneer of ecumenical dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics” continues to be a challenge for our times.
63. Province of Venezuela
Annual Meeting of the Executive Committee of CLAPVI. On 20 and 21 October the annual meeting of the Executive Committee of CLAPVI was held in Caracas.
Latin American Meeting of the Advisors of Vincentian Youth Work. From 22-29 October the Latin American Meeting of the Advisors of Vincentian Youth Work, organized by CLAPVI, was held. Some 110 people, from almost all our provinces and with representation from the various branches of the Vincentian Family, participated. The objectives and contents of the meeting were prepared by the International and Latin American Regional Secretariats of JMV.
Anniversary of the CM in Venezuela. On 14 November, the province will celebrate 75 years of presence of the Congregation of the Mission in Venezuela. On this date in 1931 the first Vincentian missionary arrived in Venezuela to take over the running of the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Barquisimeto. Because of this jubilee, the Superior General will visit the Province of Venezuela for 13 days.
64. Provincial Assemblies
Chile. From 2-6 October in Macul (Santiago de Chile). Thirteen confreres partici-pated. The topics: development of the Provin-cial Project, revision of the Provincial Norms and other topics of interest.
Sts. Cyril and Methodius. From 23-27 October in Kharkiv (Ukraine). The dynamics of the Assembly had various moments: presentation of the participants, sharing of pastoral experiences, the financial situation, formation, and proposals for the future of the communities and of the Vice-Province.
Venezuela. From 29 May to 2 June, the Provincial Assembly took place in the Provincial House of Caracas. The subjects treated were: “Revision and renewal of works,” “Integration of the Bolivarian Provinces of CLAPVI (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela)” and “Revision of the Provincial Norms.” Fr. José María Nieto, Assistant General, was invited to the Provincial Assembly and gave two enlightening talks: “Priority Ways of the C.M.” and “Renewal and Revision of Works.”
65. Vincentian Family
Animation. Fr. Manuel Ginete, Dele-gate for the Vincentian Family, was at the CIF Program in Paris from 5-11 October.
New members of the JMV International Secretariat. On Monday, 9 October, the new members of the JMV International Secretariat in Madrid formally began their activities with a Eucharist and a planning meeting. Three new young people were incorporated to replace Dorys Castillo, Gustavo Gómez and Pamela Mantuhac, who completed their service and returned to their respective countries. The new volunteers in the Secretariat are: Emmy Leticia Velásquez from Mexico, Carla Pandere from Italy and Ghislain Atemizing from Cameroon. Also incorporated, in her activities, is Sr. María Pilar Hurtado de Caracho Galárraga (Province of San Sebastián), the new Sister Delegate replacing Sr. Asunción García, D.C. They, together with the other members, Yasmine Cajuste from Haiti and Fr. Pedro Castillo (Province of Venezuela), will continue the task of animation, formation and communication that has been carried out since 1999.
To the Visitors of the Congregation of the Mission
Dear Brothers,
I write to inform you that soon you will receive two CDs, which contain all the articles published in Vincentiana from 1999-2003. One CD is for the Windows 98 version and the other is for the XP version. We are at your service for possible technical difficulties. We thank all those who made this project possible, bringing it to a successful conclusion. It is, without doubt, a precious resource for our Vincentian formation.
Father Alfredo Becerra, C.M.
NOMINATIONS
Solás Sánchez Francisco 31-10-2006 Visitor – Venezuela
PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS
Fahamaro Jean Marcel Mad 22/09/2006
Díaz Monción José Antonio Por 23/09/2006
Mbepera Paschal Mwanalika InM 24/09/2006
Berchmans Belina Werang Yohanes Ids 30/09/2006
Puji Nurcahyo Yohanes Thomas M. Ids 30/09/2006
Murjiyono Yohanes Ids 30/09/2006
Agus Setyono Yohanes Ids 30/09/2006
Garis Augustinus Ids 30/09/2006
NECROLOGIUM
NOMEN COND DIES OB PROV AET VOC
Festari Luigi Sac 20-09-2006 Rom 84-67
Smoluk Antoni Sac 22-09-2006 Pol 91-73
Amasanti Luigi Sac 24-09-2006 Rom 85-67
Temprado Vaquero Maximino Sac 30-09-2006 Mat 76-59
Arh Janko Fra 09-10-2006 Sln 80-59
García Isaza Germán Ep 11-10-2006 Col 70-53
Cleere Desmond Patrick Sac 16-10-2006 Hib 86-68
Pachwicewicz Jan Sac 18-10-2006 Pol 61-43
Gardiner Charles Sac 20-10-2006 Hib 77-60
Chaves José Elias Ep 31-10-2006 Flu 80-60
Givry Clotaire Sac 31-10-2006 Par 102-84