NUNTIA, NOVIEMBRE 2007

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and Advent. General Curia: The Superior General; The Assistants Genera; Solidarity in action. Echoes of the Feast of Saint Vincent. The confreres’ difficulties. Formation News: The CEVIM Internal Seminary; The Theologate of the Alberoni College; Brazil, Province of Rio de Janeiro; Midwest Province USA; Eastern Province USA; Ongoing Formation in the CM News from the Provinces: Venezuela, Superiors Meeting; Peru, Toward the 150th Anniversary; Argentina, Preparing the Anniversary; NCV-USA, Reconfiguration News. Beatification of Sister Lindalva.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and Advent:
Nuntia is being written when many missionaries in many places on earth are animating, among the faithful Christians, joyful celebrations in honor of Mary, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. We hope it arrives in your houses before the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Between the two feasts, the Miraculous Medal and the Immaculate Conception, there is room for a little reflection on the significance of Mary in Advent, the time of hope in the manifestation of the Lord.
Mary goes ahead, like the dawn of the Rising Sun. In every place on earth, men and women hope, from their own realities, for the birth of Justice, as those needing the coming of God’s Salvation.
The Superior General has brought us from his visit to the China mission, about which he will report in a later letter, this image of Mary, which is in the Church of Saint Joseph in Taiwan. The references to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal are clear. To her we will entrust the hopes of our missionaries, in the many difficulties that they are experiencing in these days.
General Curia:
The Superior General: From 1-14 November, he visited the China mission. He will speak about this in an upcoming letter.
Upon returning to Rome, he assisted at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Union of Superiors General, flew to Seville from 17-18 November for the meeting of MISEVI International, then continued taking part in the meeting of the Union of Superiors General and remained in Rome dealing with his matters and preparing the next tempo forte council meeting.
The Assistants General: As the days of the tempo forte meeting approach they are returning to the Curia from their visits to the provinces. Thus, Father Kapuściak returned from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus; Father Nieto from Barcelona; and Father Gérard Du from Indonesia. We hope that, in the next issue of Nuntia, they can communicate to us their impressions of the visits to the provinces.
Solidarity in action:
As a sign of solidarity, the Congregation is trying to collect US $100,000 each year, for a period of five years, to help the Daughters of Charity and the Community of Sant’Egidio in their Project DREAM, their program to fight AIDS, especially in Africa (where, at present, DREAM has centers in ten countries). An anonymous donor has offered to match any annual contribution up to this sum, for a period of five years.
Echoes of the Feast of Saint Vincent:
In the past issue, Nuntia supposed that the feast of our Founder would be celebrated in all our provinces with the whole Vincentian Family. And now abundant confirmation of this supposition has reached us. As one example, we mention the long communication from the Visitor of the Province of Argentina, in the bulletin, “News of the Province”: In Paraguay on the days before the feast, meetings were held in our Saint Vincent Seminary; in Uruguay, the first meeting of young Vincentians was held; in Argentina, it was decided to spend the day in a poor area, the Barrio de las Acacias, and there the topic of systemic change was treated, with the assistance of delegations from the entire Capital and Greater Buenos Aires, while in the parish of San Juan a lovely novena to Saint Vincent was held.
The confreres’ difficulties:
We began by presenting to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal the difficulties that the confreres are experiencing. Sometimes the difficulties come from the society, from the environment that surrounds us.
There are difficulties in Eritrea where working for integral evangelization is becoming more difficult every day and at least seven foreign missionaries have had to leave the country.
There is a perplexing situation in Venezuela, where, as the mass media recount, the cardinal himself has been threatened with jail.
Other times the difficulties come from the mission itself, in which the warning of the Lord is becoming accurate “they will cast you out of the synagogues ….”
In Caminos de Misión, the Quarterly Bulletin of Vincentian Missions, which is published by COVIDE-AMVE (Spain), Father Lusarreta, C.M., missionary in Cuba, tells us what was experienced at a missionaries’ meeting: “We were gathered together at a workshop on projects with the delegates of COVIDE-AMVE, missionaries from Rwanda, Tunisia, Mozambique, Angola, Madagascar, Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Congo, Cuba, Paraguay, etc. In many moments, it was said, we feel tremendously alone. Our culture is different and we know that, in spite of our bold efforts at inculturation, we will never be one of them: The color of our skin singles us out … our religious feelings are different … And it is very difficult for us to grasp the symbolism of their rites … We are foreigners, but it is the same Lord who unites us all.”
Formation News
The CEVIM Internal Seminary: On 26 September, the CEVIM Internal Seminary officially opened in Ávila. There are nine seminarians: one Romanian, three Italians, one Albanian, one Guinean, one Honduran, one Slovak and one Spaniard, who represent the canonical Provinces of Toulouse, Naples, Salamanca, Zaragoza, Slovakia and Madrid. The Superior General, at the opening Eucharist, highlighted this diversity and internationality in which converge not only provinces, nations and different languages, but also diverse cultural and religious traditions.
The Theologate of the Alberoni College: This is another experience of interprovincial collaboration. The National Theologate of Italy began on 1 October at the Alberoni College in Piacenza. It is covered by a Statute approved by the three Visitors of Italy. Two Hungarian students and one Slovenian have joined the five Italian students.
Brazil, Province of Rio de Janeiro: The Parish of the Merciful Father was the scene of a notable event. Our confrere, Msgr. Vicente Zico, Archbishop Emeritus of Belém do Pará, ordained four new deacons to the service of the Kingdom in the Church and in the Congregation. Many missionaries, Daughters of Charity and the faithful from the Parishes of the Merciful Father and Our Lady of Fatima joined the relatives and friends of the ordained in the celebration.
Midwest Province USA: In a letter to the confreres in Vincentian Confreres Only, Father James E. Swift, starting from the conviction that the major resource of the province are the confreres, invites them to prepare themselves, making use of the well-known sabbatical year for that. He presents a series of possibilities, among which he highlights the learning of Spanish, the renewal that CIF offers or the participation in “Come and See” of Kenya. He adds: The [Provincial] Council and I strongly support each of these initiatives and would like to see confreres making use of them regularly.
Eastern Province USA: Father Thomas F. McKenna, in his letter in the Newsletter of the Vincentians, speaks of the need for delivery vehicles in order that our ideas do not remain in the clouds and that the beautiful theories are put into practice.
The Vincentian Mission Institute (VMI) will begin one of these vehicles, thanks to the joint effort of the three universities, which have decided to offer a practical course of action for lay people at Niagara, St. John’s and DePaul.
Twenty-seven lay employees of the universities will begin a three-year program next year. These men and women have been selected because of the promise they have shown to be strong, convinced and, we hope, long-lasting Vincentian witnesses in the universities. For 36 months, they will hear talks, read books, share experiences with the Vincentian Family, travel to heritage locations, pray in the Vincentian style and, of course, serve the poor. The creators of the program have marked a way that will take the lay collaborators to Vincentian practice and spirit.
Ongoing Formation in the CM: Following the line marked out in Mexico, the Superior General has appointed a task force, made up of Francisco Solás, Daniel Borlik and Manuel Ginete, to gather and unify in a report all that emerged on ongoing formation before, during and after the Mexico Meeting, as well as material from other sources. The report will be used as basis for the development of an Ongoing Formation Plan in the C. M.
News from the Provinces:
Venezuela. Superiors Meeting: The local superiors of the Province of Venezuela met on 13 and 14 November, on the occasion of the “Province Day,” which this year coincided with the closing celebration of the 75th anniversary of the presence of the Vincentians in that country. The meeting was friendly, but very demanding. The agenda of the meeting and the photo of those assisting can be found at https://cmglobal.org.
Peru. Toward the 150th Anniversary: There is in action a plan to record the different works, to make a video on the Vincentian life in Peru. We hope that the project will be carried out to the satisfaction of the promoters, for the profit of all and the promotion of the service to the poor.
Argentina. Preparing the Anniversary: Father Vicente Bokalic writes that the Commission for the 150th Anniversary of the Vincentian Presence in Argentina met in October. It already had advanced in some points: definition of the logo and motto for the anniversary, writing the prayer to be recited at meetings, decision on the place and date of the interprovincial mission, advertising and broadcasting the anniversary. The Commission will meet again on 22 December. The Jubilee year will begin on 18 October 2008 in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The Visitors of CLAPVI, who will be gathered in Buenos Aires in those days, will assist at the opening of the Jubilee year.
NCV-USA. Reconfiguration News: At present, five working commissions are functioning: Finances, Community, Leadership, Provisional Norms and Provisional Policies.
The Commission for Community has begun its work by inviting confreres to meetings in the three provinces. The first of these meetings was for the Province of the West and was held, on 7 August, at St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo. Because of the extent of the Midwest Province, the meetings have been held by regions, in different places and on different dates. The meeting for the Southern Province was held in New Orleans.
Invitation from Australia.
Australia wants this invitation published in Nuntia:
“Registrations are now open for the Vincentian Family Celebration (9th-13th July 2008) in preparation for the World Youth Day festival in Sydney 2008. If you are intending to come to Sydney for this event it is strongly encouraged that you visit www.vincentianswyd.org.au to register as soon as you can.”
“For those groups who are not able to come to Australia, please visit our website for the Vincentian Family World Youth Day prayer and the many resources available to learn more about our Vincentian story. Your prayers are very much appreciated as the young people of the world prepare for this amazing event! For more information please email Lisa at wyd@cmaustralia.org or visit our website www.vincentianswyd.org.au .”
Beatification of Sister Lindalva:
The solemn ceremony, in San Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, on 2 December 2007, will be presided by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints and by Cardinal Geraldo Agnelo, Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahía and Primate of Brazil. Among those attending are the Mother General, Sister Evelyne Franc and the Postulator General, Father Giuseppe Guerra. For all the news about the Beatification, as well as for the Proper for the Liturgy of Blessed Lindalva, in all languages, please visit: http://www.vincenziani.com/santi.htm
Nominationes

Ordinationes

Necrologium

The shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing
that has taken place,
which the Lord
has made known to us”
(Lk 2:15).

This is the invitation that Nuntia makes to all its readers,
desiring that the devout celebration of Advent
will lead them to a

Happy Christmas