BRAZIL - PRE-CHAPTER OF THE NEW PROVINCE

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- Newsletter, Nbr.4 – May 2014
BRAZIL - PRE-CHAPTER OF THE NEW PROVINCE An historical moment: the Vicariates of
Christ Liberator, Our Lady of Victory and
Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God,
came together from 27th to 31st January,
in Goiania - GO, for their first Provincial
pre -Chapter. Starting in May, these three
groups are to form a single province,
which, in their pre - chapter was
"baptized" with the title of Province of the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 56 religious
from the three Vicariates were present at
the pre-chapter. We ask for the strength
and the inspiration of our Holy Father
Founder, Paul of the Cross, to enlighten
the steps already taken and to guide the
future of this new Passionist Province.
BRAZIL - GATHERING OF THE PASSIONIST FAMILY
On 25th and 26th February 2014 , at the home of the Passionist Sisters in Brasilia /
DF, we held the annual meeting of the representatives of the institutions which
make up the Passionist Family in Brazil: Religious men and women, Consecrated
laity, Lay communities, nuns and Passionist students (female and male). Following
a year of work, the FPB By-Laws were approved .
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We hope to walk together in order to
"strengthen the unity of the Passionist
Family in Jesus Crucified, that we might
have a compassionate and redeeming
presence in the mission entrusted to us."
BRAZIL - CANONICAL VISIT OF THE SUPERIOR GENERAL
On March 17th, the religious of the Vicariate of Christ the Liberator, gathered at St. Paul
of the Cross Community in Goiania, for a moment of encounter with Fr. Joachim Rego.
It was an enriching morning for getting acquainted, for sharing and receiving very
important guidelines for our formation walk as a New Province. Thank you Fr Joachim
for your encouraging and joyful presence in our midst!
BRAZIL - MASS OF THANKSGIVING – Goias,
On April 21st, at the city of Iporá / GO, Passionist religious and students present in
Goiás gathered to celebrate a Eucharist of Thanksgiving for the Passionist mission
in the Goiás area. The work here was initiated by the Dutch Passionists who
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arrived in Goiás in 1958. With the
joyful presence of Father Cornelius,
we celebrated the life of our Dutch
religious who embraced this beautiful
mission with love and gave true
witness to the Crucified. It was also a
moment to celebrate the life of the
Vicariate of Christ the Liberator.
ARGENTINA - URUGUAY - CONC: WICHIS VISIT: STRUGGLES AND HOPES OF
NATIVE PEOPLES
We were visited by: Serafina, Beatriz, Amadeo, Gabriel and Vicente. These are the
brothers/sisters of the Wichis, indigenous peoples of Formosa. During the morning
sessions they shared with the students of Santa Cruz school. In the evenings we
experienced two very fruitful meetings: 1) With those involved and those who contribute
to the scholarship project for Aboriginal university students ("We looked back to our
village, we know the needs of our children" - said one of the indigenous) and 2) A panel
discussion with Perez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prize) and Father Francisco Nazar dealing
with "the struggles and hopes of Indigenous Peoples, to continue to decolonize our
mentality”.
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ARGENTINA - URUGUAY - CONC: MISSION MEETING IN FORMOSA
On Monday April 14th Juani cp and
Ricardo went to Formosa (1,500 Km
from Buenos Aires). Along the way they
were joined by others in Colonia
Caroya (750km from Buenos Aires).
They later joined others from Metán. In
all there were 16 missionaries who
went to our mission in the north to meet
“heart to heart” with the brothers and
sisters of the Passionist mission in
Ingeniero Juárez and neighboring
towns. They spent all of Holy Week
there. On Holy Saturday they held a
meeting with over 50 young people.
ARGENTINA - URUGUAY – CONC: AUGUST CANALI CP CANONICAL
VISITATION.
From the14 to18 July we will hold our Provincial Chapter in Argentina. Visitation was
conducted by general consultor Augusto Canali cp. He visited Buenos Aires, Campana
and then went to the north: Metán and Ingeniero Juárez (where Juani cp is located
together with 32 young students of Santa Cruz school). He then returned to Buenos
Aires, and finally visited Montevideo,Uruguay.
ARGENTINA - URUGUAY – CONC: PASSIONIST PRESENCE IN SAN CAYETANO;
CAMPANA , BUENOS AIRES
After 10 years in Campana, in a very
poor neighborhood, Bernard Hughes
CP, who arrived in his 70s and leaves in
his 80s, will be transferred to the
mission of Ingeniero Juárez. The parting
was bursting with much affection,
gratitude and admiration for his devoted
and tireless work. His missionary
presence as a man of God was a
profoundly living Passionist witness to
his people over the years.
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USA – PAUL. 50th ANNIVERSARY OF PROFESSION
The Spiritus Dei Gala at Our Lady of
Florida that was held on Sunday,
March30, 2014. Fr. Paul Wierichs, C.P.
celebrated his 50th Anniversary of
Profession and renewed his vows into
the hands of Passionist Provincial Fr.
Robert Joerger, C.P. For more pictures
of the Gala go to the following website:
http://thepassionists.org/blog/2014/04/0
7/photos-spiritus-dei-gala/
USA – PAUL. PROVINCIAL CHAPTER.
Father Denis Travers, C.P., Consultor
to Fr. Joachim Rego, will preside at
the 2014 Chapter of the Province of St.
Paul of the Cross (PAUL). The Chapter
will be held from May 12 – 16 at Holy
Family Monastery in W. Hartford, CT.
USA – PAUL. 60th ANNIVERSARY OF ORDENATION
Fr. Stephen Haslach,C.P. celebrated his 60th anniversary of ordination on the 2nd
of May with his community of the Immaculate Conception Jamaica, NY. He was
ordained in 1954 at St. Michael’s Monastery in New Jersey by Bishop O’Gara,C.P.
who had just returned from imprisonment in China.
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USA CRUC. FR. TU-JIN PAUL KIM, C.P NEW MINISTRY IN CHICAGO´S
KOREAN COMMUNITY.
Fr. Tu-Jin Paul Kim, C.P., a Passionist for 28 years, has served in Passionist
ministries around the country, most recently to the Korean community in New York.
Fr. Tu-Jin arrived in Chicago in early 2014 to begin his newest ministry to
Chicago’s Korean community. Bishop John Manz installed Fr. Tu-Jin as pastor of
Chicago Korean Martyrs’ Catholic Church in March. “I am happy to be in Chicago.
Chicago was my first home when I came to the United States, so I feel like I’ve
come home.
Fr. Tu-Jin uses his abilities to
communicate in both English and
Korean. “I want to guide them to be a
part of the church. When they come
here to Korean Martyrs’, I want them
to feel welcome. Like me, I want
them to feel like they are home.”
USA CRUC. Fr. Donald Senior, C.P., received several awards for his
outstanding contributions to the life and work of the church.
March 2, 2014, received a Ministry Award from the Association of Chicago Priests
(ACP) on for his contributions, “to the life of the Church of Chicago.”
April 30, he received the “Blessed are the Peacemakers” award from Catholic
Theological Union (CTU), for his 23 years of dedicated and committed service as
president of CTU. The award is presented to those “…whose accomplishments
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and commitments reflect the values of
CTU’s, own mission, particularly in
the areas of reconciliation, justice,
and peace building.”
the Catholic Study Bible, editor-inchief of the journal The Bible Today,
and co-editor of the New Interpreters
Study Bible.”
May 3, 2014, Fr. Senior received the
Order of Lincoln Award, “the highest
honor for professional achievement
and public service” presented by the
state of Illinois. As stated in the press
release by the state of Illinois,
“President Emeritus Donald Senior,
CP, was named in recognition of his
contributions as, ‘...a world class
theologian, for 23 years the President
of the Catholic Theological Union, the
nation's largest Roman Catholic
graduate school of ministry.’ In the
statement from the Governor's office,
also mentioned were Fr. Senior's
contributions as general editor of
USA CRUC. NEW DIRECTOR IN HOLY NAME PASSIONIST RETREAT
CENTER IN HOUSTON.
Father Joseph Barbieri, C.P., will
become the next director of Holy
Name Passionist Retreat Center in
Houston, Texas, effective July 1,
2014. Current director, Father Joe
Moons, C.P., will be going on
sabbatical. Father Joe will be leaving
the center after serving for 12 years
as director. “I have really enjoyed the
people and the recovery retreats. You
really get to know the people who
make the retreats. Most of them come
back and that is really special,” says
Father Joe.
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PUERTO RICO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - PAC: FORMATION HOUSE
The Community Our Lady of La Paz, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is a
formation community (Aspirants - Postulants). Currently there are four young men
in the community: Heriberto de Jesús Marte Fajardo, Wandy Castillo Florentino,
Luis Miguel Reynoso Batista and Luis Emanuel Quezada Delgado. They are
accompanied by formators Frs. Angel Perez (First Consultor), Genelio García
(Second Consultor) and John Martin (newcomer from Colombia for a four yearexperience in our Caribbean Vice-Province).
This year we expect four other young
men to join the community, the result
of constant and difficult vocation
promotion being done by Fr. Genelio
with the assistance of his brothers in
the Community. At the far left of the
photo is Fr. Angel and at the far right
is Fr.John Martin, in the red shirt, Fr.
Genelio. In front, from left to right,
Luis Emanuel and Wandy, and in
back, Heriberto and Luis Miguel.
PUERTO RICO - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - PAC: VOCATION PROMOTION
"Both in Puerto Rico and the Dominican
Republic, vocation promoters Frs. Luis
García Lopez and Genelio are doing a
commendable job with the help of the
brethren in their Community. In Puerto
Rico fourteen young men in total
participated in the last two gatherings.
Three of them joined us at the formation
community of Dorado. Meanwhile, in the
Dominican Republic, 28 young men took
part in the last two gatherings and four
of them will soon join us. Some of them
in the photo, including the four referred
to.
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BRAZIL - CALV: MEETING WITH RELIGIOUS ENGAGED IN DIFFERENT
MINISTRIES
At the end of February and in early March, the Provincial Council of CALV
Province promoted meetings with the religious involved in various ministries:
superiors of communities, pastors, vocation directors and formators. Out of these
groups arose several small projects and proposals in line with the objectives of the
Province, approved at the last Provincial Chapter (September 2013).
These proposals will help to better
community life experiences (prayer and
fraternity), vocation ministry ( vocational
and vocational accompaniment events),
mission (parish and social) and the
sharing of goods and gifts (human
resources responding to the different
needs ad intra and ad extra the
group).These meetings take place every
year, but this year the participation was
with almost complete participation. The
minutes of the projects were sent to the
communities,
thus
engaging
the
religious and their practices as well.
BRAZIL - CALV: ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF " Fazenda
do Sol " CENTER FOR DRUG ADDICTS
On 27/01/13, " Fazenda do Sol, São Paulo da Cruz center " in the city of Itu -SP,
for the treatment of drug dependents, was inaugurated. The center is under the
responsibility of CALV Province. At that time, at the request of the Provincial
Council, Fr. Rogério L. Mendes assumed the direction of the house, with total
willingness and self-giving, with the help of Fr Leonildo P. dos Santos and various
lay people of Calvary parish. The center currently has 25 people in recovery. In the
festive Mass celebrating a year of its opening, Fr. Amilton cp presiding, Brother
Jose Milton F. da Silva was confirmed; he had been coordinating the work since
late 2013. Frs. Rogério and Leonildo will continue with spiritual assistance at the
center, receiving support from a large group of lay people, especially
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from the parish of Calvary. Our
gratitude to all those who in one way
or another have contributed to the
recovery of these young people in
treatment.