11. General Curia

Itinerary of the Superior General. Fr. G. Gregory Gay, Superior General, participated, from 2-4 February in Rome, in the annual meeting of those responsible for some branches of the International Vincentian Family. On 5 February, he traveled to the Philippines together with Fr. Manuel Ginete, delegate for the Vincentian Family, in order to participate in the 75th anniversary of Adamson University. He remained in the Philippines until 21 February and had the opportunity to meet with members of the Vincentian Family on several occasions. From there he traveled to Japan, where he remained until 25 February.
Resignation of the Secretary General. On 15 February, Fr. Juan Carlos Cerquera Trujillo (Province of Colombia) resigned as Secretary General for reasons of health. We thank Fr. Juan Carlos for the time dedicated to this important service for the Congregation.
Visits to the Curia. Fr. Robert P. Maloney (Eastern Province USA) was in the General Curia from 4-12 February, participating in the meeting of the Vincentian Family and the meeting of the Think Tank. Fr. Benjamín Romo (Province of Mexico), International Coordinator of the AMM, visited the Curia from 5-10 February; he participated in the meeting of the heads of the International Vincentian Family.
12. New Secretary General

Appointment of the new Secretary General. The General Council has named Fr. Claudio Santangelo (Province of Rome) as the new Secretary General, replacing Fr. Juan Carlos Cerquera Trujillo. Fr. Santangelo was born on 8 May 1964 in Rome. He entered the Congregation on 15 September 1992. He made his vows on 25 March 1996 and was ordained to the priesthood on 13 September 1997. He is presently taking courses in the Institute of Religions and Cultural Studies, specializing in Islam, at the Pontifical Gregorian University. We wish him success in his new service in favor of the poor from the General Secretariat of the Congregation of the Mission. Congratulations!
13. Vincentian Family

Annual Meeting. The International Coordinators of the Vincentian Family were in Rome for their annual meeting from 2-4 February. They reviewed the activities of 2006, as well as those planned for 2007. They dialogued on the motto and the theme for the celebration of the Vincentian Family Day around the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul. There were 19 people present: Superiors General and delegates from the Congregation of the Mission (CM), the Company of the Daughters of Charity (DC) and the Religious of Saint Vincent de Paul (RSV), respectively. Likewise present were the Presidents, Coordinators or delegates of the lay Vincentian branches: International Association of Charities (AIC), Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP), Association of the Miraculous Medal (AMM), Vincentian Marian Youth (JMV) and Lay Vincentian Missionaries (MISEVI). Also at the meeting were some auxiliary persons, either for secretarial service or for that of translation.
14. Commission for Promoting Systemic Change

Biannual Meeting. From 5-8 February, the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change met in the General Curia. The members are: Fr. Robert P. Maloney (USA – Eastern), Mr. Eugene Smith (SSVP), Fr. Norberto Carcellar (Philippines), Fr. Pedro Opeka (Madagascar), Fr. Joseph P. Foley (USA – Eastern and CM NGO Representative at the UN), Sister Ellen Flynn, DC (Great Britain) and Mrs. Patricia Nava (AIC). Mrs. Rosa María Casas (AIC) also participated as translator. The Commission has as objective to promote systemic change through the apostolates in service of the poor of the members of the Vincentian Family.
15. CLAPVI

Course of the Latin American School of Vincentian Spirituality. CLAPVI just finished the third course of the Latin American School of Vincentian Spirituality, with the assistance of 15 participants, belonging to 10 provinces of that Conference. CLAPVI proposed to have this first experience of three years in order to determine the need and convenience of the School. Today, we can guarantee such a need and convenience according to the evaluations carried out during those three years. We give thanks to the Lord and Saint Vincent for this inspiration, and we thank the Province of Curitiba for the generous way it offered itself so that in it and with it we could carry out this project.
16. Colombia

Internal Seminary. From this school year 2007, the Internal Seminary will be established in the house of Santa Rosa del Cabal, the oldest house of the province. This house was founded in 1894 and until a few years ago was the Apostolic School. The Internal Seminary of this province welcomes, as on other occasions, seminarians from other provinces. This year there are 20 seminarians: seven from the Province of Central America (five from Guatemala, one from El Salvador and one from Nicaragua) and 13 from the Province of Colombia (11 from Colombia and two from Rwanda). The formation team is made up of Fr. Marlio Nasayó, Director of the Internal Seminary; Fr. Rodrigo Restrepo, superior of the house, Fr. Pedro Nel Delgado, professor, and Deacon Nicolás Salazar, professor. We hope that these young confreres will use this time to clothe themselves with the Vincentian missionary spirit. May God grant them perseverance in this Vincentian vocation.
17. Ireland

Canonical Visitation. Fr. Jozef Kapusciak, Vicar General, made the canonical visitation of the Province of Ireland from 20 January to 9 February. This Province, erected in 1848, presently has 12 canonical houses (nine in Ireland and three in England) and 65 incorporated confreres. Fr. Kapusciak visited all the houses and spoke with the great majority of the members of the province. He also met with seven “foreign” confreres, who, for reasons of study or work, live in the communities of the Irish confreres. In every house, he had a community meeting during which he explained the purpose of the canonical visitation and dialogued with them about the situation of the Congregation in the world. Likewise, during his stay in Ireland and England, he made fraternal visits to the Visitatrixes of the respective provinces of the Daughters of Charity. Fr. Kapusciak noted that the Province of Ireland, in spite of the advanced age of its members and the lack of new vocations, is still dynamic. The confreres work with dedication, carrying out various activities and ministries: education and pastoral work in school settings, work in parishes, spiritual assistance to the Daughters of Charity, animation of the Vincentian laity, formation of the clergy, service to the sick, disabled, refugees, marginalized and elderly, preaching popular missions and missions ad gentes. The problems that the province is confronting are tied to the lack of vocations, the diminishing number of members and the median age of the confreres.
18. Philippines

Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Adamson University. On the occasion of the celebration of its Diamond Jubilee, Adamson University had various activities from 5-11 February. Among them, on 7 February, the University conferred the degree of Doctor in Humanities Honoris Causa on Fr. G. Gregory Gay, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity. This event took place in the theater of the University of Manila, Philippines.
19. Naples

Canonical Visitation. Fr. José María Nieto, Assistant General, visited the Province of Naples and the mission in Albania from 22 January to 28 February. The province was founded in 1815 and presently has 50 confreres. It, like many provinces in Europe, suffers from the ageing of personnel. However, it has some candidates who, if formed well, will be a hope for the future. Naples is a province which offers help through personnel and financial resources to the foreign missions in Albania and Eritrea. The province needs missionaries for Albania and thus we make an appeal to the generosity of you, our confreres.
20. Orient

Canonical Visitation. From 2-26 February, Fr. Gérard Du Tran Cong, Assistant General, made the canonical visitation of the Province of the Orient, which takes in the communities which work in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. In Cairo, he held an interview with the Patriarch Emeritus of the Coptic Catholics, Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas, Vincentian. He also visited the communities of the Daughters of Charity who work in that metropolis, which has about 15 million inhabitants. The six confreres residing in Alexandria (seven million inhabitants), in the Northeast of the country on the Mediterranean coast, are in two communities: one in Menchié, founded in 1844, and the other in Miami. They have a primary and secondary school with more than 1000 students and a Coptic Catholic parish. The province has a house in Damascus, Syria, erected in 1827, where there are four confreres. They run a small “complementary” school and one of the confreres founded the Center “Land of the People – Syria,” in order to help handicapped children. The Provincial House is in Beirut, capital of Lebanon, where the confreres staff a much frequented Marian shrine, the Basilica of the Miraculous Medal. The province has a large school in Antoura, in the area around the capital. It has more than 3700 students, from nursery school to the last year of secondary school. This school, found-ed in 1783, maintains its national renown. In another area, not far away, there is the Technical School of Dahr-es-Sawane, established in 1964 on a hill which offers a splendid panorama. This school has 200 students coming from poor families. They are welcomed, fed and instructed without cost. Lastly, near Tripoli, the second largest city of the country, the community of Medilaya is dedicated to pastoral activities, catechetics and parish missions in the towns of the region. The Archbishop of this large diocese is Msgr. Georges Bou Jaoudé, a Vincentian confrere, former Visitor of the Province of the Orient.
21. Zaragoza

Meeting of Local Procurators. The province organized a meeting of local treasurers in Zaragoza-Casablanca from 23-24 January. The total number of participants of these days for formation and sharing was 17 (15 local treasurers, plus the Provincial Treasurer and the Visitor). Mrs. María Pilar Portaspana was responsible for the formation sessions. She spoke of general financial concepts and various taxes. Fr. Wilson Sitchon Figueroa, spoke on the functioning of the accounting program which the communities have and resolved some of the most frequent doubts. The Provincial Treasurer went over the concepts related to the presentation of Accounts, Budgets and various aspects of general interest. Fr. Julio Suescun reflected on “Vincentian Criteria for the Correct Administration of Goods.” The Visitor and the Provincial Treasurer gave reports on economic matters of interest for the province. All this time was supported by prayer and harmony among the participants. The welcome and atmosphere were highlighted by cordiality and simplicity.
NOMINATIONS
MOORE Brian 03-03-07 Visitor Ireland
SANTANGELO Claudio 05-03-07 Secretary General
GUERRA Giuseppe 05-03-07 Procurator General and Assistant to Treasurer General
PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS
INUEIUA CARAQUISSELACA Cinema Moz 27-01-07
FURMANN Jair Cur 04-02-07
SANTANA GARCÍA Luis Manuel Cae 10-02-07
NECROLOGIUM
SOETERBOEK Laurens Sac 05-02-07 Hol 82-61
MERINO RUIZ Áureo Sac 08-02-07 Mex 86-68
LÓPEZ ALARCÓN José Hipacio Sac 15-02-07 Col 97-48
MORA DAZA José Eulogio Sac 17-02-07 Bar 93-75
SLUTTER Bernard Sac 22-02-07 Hol 85-65
LARREA LAFUENTE Gerardo Sac 24-02-07 Cae 91-71
RIBEIRO MARQUES José Sac 09-03-07 Flu 84-65
CORNELISSEN Jacques Sac 11-03-07 Bel 85-66
WEBSITES:
Fr. Pedro Opeka, C.M. (Prov. of Madagascar): http://www.perepedro.com
http://www.paterpedro.de (in German)
Daughters of Charity (Prov. of Slovenia): http://usmiljenke.rkc.si
Sisters of Mary of the Miraculous Medal
(Province of Slovenia): http://marijine-sestre.rkc.si
Congregation of the Mission
(Province of Slovenia): http://redovi.rkc.si/lazaristi
Province of Mexico: http://vicentinos.org.mx
Vincentian Family of Portugal: http://cemporcentovicentino.blogspot.com

We ask the provinces which have changed information on their websites, please to send this to the General Curia (cmcuria@cmglobal.org), to Fr. Freund, Webmaster of the Vincentian Family site (freundj@cmglobal.org) and to the editor of Nuntia (vincentiana@cmglobal.org and/or vincentynuntia@yahoo.it) for their respective publications. Thank you very much!