From the General Curia: Golden Jubilee of Priesthood; The Superior General; The Delegate for the Vincentian Family. From the Provinces: Province of Argentina. 150th anniversary of the arrival of the missionaries and the sisters; Province of Salamanca. Vincentian Week; Province of Saragossa. The Interprovincial Internal Seminary again in Teruel; Province of Peru: Meeting of local superiors; Vincentian Formation; Internal Seminary of the Southern Cone. Province of Paris. Session on the Itinerant Mission
NUNTIA
News Bulletin from the General Curia of the C. M.
September 2009
Jubilee Year:
Saint Vincent’s feast was celebrated this year with particular solemnity throughout the entire Vincentian Family. It marked the beginning of the Vincentian jubilee year: a year dedicated not only to evoking memories of the past, but also to revitalizing the plan of the present and projecting hopes for the future. Three hundred fifty years and the Mission continues and we want it to move forward. Mission is the focus that we want to give to this year of celebration, as the Superior General said in the proclamation letter for the Anniversary
The News Bulletins from the various provinces or branches of the Family, as well as the communiqués reaching NUNTIA, provide abundant information about this beginning of the Year.
NUNTIA highlights the inauguration of the Year in the Region of Lazio, of which Rome is the capital and where the Curia of the C. M. resides. Everyone in the house went to the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome, where His Eminence Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, presided at the Eucharist. There were four bishops, 40 priests and all the Vincentian Family. The Visitor of Rome, Father Nicola Albanese, at the beginning of the celebration presented to the Cardinal, the Vincentian Family present in the Basilica-Cathedral, composed of the various organizations and associations, religious and lay, expressing the Vincentian charism in Rome and in Lazio: the Priests of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antide Thouret and the Sisters of Charity of Zagreb, the Marian Association, the Vincentian volunteers, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Blessed Frederick Ozanam, and other associations related to our institutes. There were also present, filling the entire nave of the Basilica, many of those who observe the charity of God in lives dedicated to following the Vincentian charism. At the offertory, a reproduction of the Lord of Charity of St. Louise was unveiled as an expression that today the Vincentian Family understands charity as mission, the mission of Christ sent by the Father to the world to manifest His love. This was also the message that we heard in the homily by the Cardinal. In this way, in the local Church of Rome, at the beginning of this Jubilee year live in communion with the entire Universal Church and with the whole Vincentian Family throughout the world
From the General Curia:
Golden Jubilee of Priesthood: The routine of the house, set by the constant movement of those leaving and those returning, was altered by the festive celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Priesthood of the Director of the Office for Communications and also editor and publisher of NUNTIA. On the evening of the 20th, so that those who were returning to the house that same day could participate, we gathered in the Community chapel for the concelebration of the Eucharist, which Father Julio Suescun presided, accompanied by the Superior General and the Superior of the house. The Daughters of Charity, who serve in the secretariat, and two missionaries from the Vice-Province of Nigeria, who were returning from Portugal where they had taken a course in Portuguese as preparation for pastoral work in the mission of Mozambique, assisted. It was a joyful evening of gathering together to give thanks to the Lord.
The Superior General: Scarcely back from vacation, he went to the meeting of MISEVI International from 4-6 September in Madrid. From 6-17 September, he took part, with the Vincentian Family of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, in the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Vincentian charism in the above-mentioned lands. Returning to Rome on the morning of the 17th, he left in the evening of the same day to assist at the National Congress of the SSVP in Assisi. He returned to Rome just in time to be present at the Golden Jubilee Eucharist mentioned above. On the 21st, he was traveling again, this time accompanied by the Secretary General, Father Claudio Santangelo, to make the Canonical Visitation of the Province of Austria, including the house in Istanbul. We expect him to return to Rome on 29 September.
The Delegate for the Vincentian Family, Father Manuel Ginete C.M, was present at the Continental Session for Advisors and Leaders of the Vincentian Family, which was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 19-25 July 2009. This was the third such session this year focusing on the formation of Advisors of the Vincentian Family to the processes for Systemic Change.
In the first part, the Delegate of the Superior General gave a conference on the need for advisors for the Vincentian Family throughout the world. The second part was led, especially, by Father Maloney’s team for Systemic Change, composed of Gene Smith, Joe Foley, and Norberto Carcellar.
More than 80 participants, from 16 countries of Africa, found the entire week to be very useful and inspiring. They returned to their respective countries with a package of materials and committed to spreading the Vincentian charism throughout the continent.
Before this session, Father Ginete was present at the seminar of AIC-Africa. At the request of the Superior General, he participated in COVIAM’s annual meeting that took place shortly after the Continental Session.
From the Provinces:
Province of Argentina. 150th anniversary of the arrival of the missionaries and the sisters: As has been indicated, the Superior General accompanied the Vincentian Family of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay in the celebration of this solemn anniversary. The schedule of all the Superior General’s meetings during this visit is on the website of the Province of Argentina (http://www.cm-apu.org/). On 28 August, the website of the C.M. (https://cmglobal.org) announced this upcoming event and, from 14 September, the website of the Vincentian Family (http://famvin.org/es) continued to highlight the announcement of this event, while sending its readers to the website of the Parish-Shrine of the Miraculous Medal where the chronicles were published with abundant graphical information, in the link indicated by its authors.
On the occasion of this celebration, the Priests of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity published a review of their works during these 150 years of mission and Vincentian service. The 460 pages, plus the attachments, “do not constitute, as it is said in the introduction, a history strictly speaking. Rather we can come closer to their intention if we consider them as a compilation of statements and events that reflect a bold and disinterested dedication in favor of the mission.”
Province of Salamanca. Vincentian Week: From 21-25 August, the 34th Week of Vincentian Studies was held in the House of Santa Marta del Tormes (Salamanca). The website of the Province of Salamanca (http://www.paulessalamanca.es) publishes a chronicle by Father Eugenio José Wisniewski on the Week.
Other participants also indicated their satisfaction for what they say it tried to be and was in honoring Saint Louise de Marillac. From Sister Rosa Mendoza’s chronicle in Sintonía, the news magazine of the Daughters of Charity of the Province of Barcelona, we copy: “The Vincentian Week’s speakers knew how to go to the written sources and to historical context in order to enlarge, if possible, the figure of Saint Louise. Their presentations will be among others often mentioned to which it will be necessary to go for a better knowledge of the Foundress.”
Province of Saragossa. The Interprovincial Internal Seminary again in Teruel: The Director, Father Corpus Juan Delgado of the Province of Saragossa, writes: “With great happiness the community of Teruel, with the members of the formation team, the Visitors of Naples, Madrid, and Saragossa, and the delegates from the Provinces of Barcelona and Turin, met to celebrate, on the solemnity of the Apostle Saint Matthew, 21 September, the beginning of the Interprovincial Internal Seminary.
The seminarians affirmed, at the beginning of the celebration, that, like the Apostle Saint Matthew, they heard the Lord’s invitation to follow him and, by various ways, they have come here: Enrico Ferretti and Lorenzo Durandetto from the Province of Turin; Lionel Azouz from the Province of Toulouse; Lorenzo Manca and Agustín Margjoni from the Province of Naples; José Alberto Ramos and Wílmer Alfredo Ramírez (who was united from a distance because of visa difficulties) from the Province of Saragossa.
The same seminarians expressed the meaning of the celebration: “Next to the Visitors and the delegates from the Provinces who accompany us, we want to give thanks to God for the gift of vocation and for the support of our communities in the journey we have begun. Let us ask the Lord that this day, which will remain marked for us as our vocation day, be the beginning of a life in fidelity to Christ Evangelizer of the poor unto death.” We expect to send a more extensive chronicle for cmglobal.
Province of Peru. The Provincial Bulletin for May-June comes filled with interesting news. What a pity they did not reach us until the end of September. We transcribe some of them:
Meeting of local superiors: In the letter of introduction from the Visitor, Father Rubén Pedro Borda, he highlights the event of the recently concluded Provincial Assembly and the letter of the Superior General concluding the Canonical Visitation that was carried out last year by means of his Councillor, Father José María Nieto, on which the superiors of the province must focus their task.
In the chronicle of Father Adolfo Salazar the work on the letter of the Superior General is stressed and other topics treated are noted too, like the revision of the updated Provincial Plan and the conclusions of the Provincial Assembly that encourage facing missionary commitments with optimism and hope.
The chronicle concludes with allusion to the moment of reflection on the text, The Service of Authority and Obedience, which Father Cesar A. Chávez presented and animated.
Vincentian Formation: Father John Rybolt from the Midwest Province of the United States led two weeks of Vincentian studies from 27 May to 13 June. The first week he travelled to Chiclayo, returned to Lima, and again travelled to Ica for two days of meeting with the missionaries of the southern half; the second week, from 8-12 June, in the community of Miraflores. The topics treated were: Vincent, Formator of His Confreres (the first phase) and of the Diocesan Clergy; Vincent, Formator of His Confreres (the second phase); Vincent, Formator of Himself; Vincent, Formator of the Students; Vincent Formator of Saint Louise and the Daughters of Charity. Internal Seminary of the Southern Cone: The renewed and improved website of the Province of Peru (www.cmperu.com.pe) allows one to follow, among other things, the activities of this important interprovincial experience of the Internal Seminary, as well as to read the Bulletin of the Internal Seminary, in which the seminarians practice their budding historical research and participate in Vincentian reflection.
Province of Paris. Session on the Itinerant Mission: CAHIERS SAINT VINCENT, Bulletin des Lazaristes de France, in its number 207, Summer, June 2009, tells of a two-day session, which the Paris Province organized for third time on: The Itinerant Mission.
“More than 40 persons assisted: Vincentians, Redemptorists, Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales, diocesan priests, laity who had taken part in some missions, an affiliated deacon, and a Daughter of Charity.
The topic was: Heritage and Challenges of the Mission Today. What signs do we perceive? Bearers of a missionary tradition, what initiatives have we for today? How might we provoke new initiatives? How do we mobilize people?
Father Claude Lautissier began the first day with a rapid presentation of the popular missions of the CM in France. Five testimonies and experiences of mission both in the Company and in the dioceses followed, all of them enthusiastic, for the fervor and the passion of the testimonies, for their originality, their inventiveness, and their Vincentian impact.
Tuesday morning was devoted to the intervention of Msgr. Albert Rouet, Archbishop of Poitiers. He also spoke to us about heritage, or better, about heritages, and about the challenges today. In the Church of France and on the level of a diocese how do you see the mission today? What paths to follow?
All those assisting remained captivated by a discourse that left aside hot air and relied constantly on experiences and examples lived by a bishop of the land.”
