10,000 attend church dedication

Fr. Dominic Peluse and Pam Milczarski from the province development office, along with Fr. Tom Cassidy, former provincial superior, represented the U.S. Province at Sunday’s dedication of Sacred Heart Church in Nambur, India. Benefactors from the United States were significant contributors to the project, the first church built by the Priests of the Sacred Heart in India.

Talking about the parishioners at Sacred Heart, Fr. Dharma, the pastor and primary force behind the new church, said that “our people are unskilled day workers, without guarantees of regular work, who make $2 for a long day of difficult labor. During the year they might only get 120 days of work… I often worry about them. The people here are good, devoted. There are nights that I cry for them in their situation.”

Sacred Heart Church replaces a former cowshed that the faith community worshipped in until it burned down.

Approximately 10,000 people took part in the day-long celebration. With challenging internet connections, our U.S. visitators were only able to get a few photos from their phones sent to us but they promise more upon their return to the States.

More from India

The Indian District has been a significant presence on our SCJ Facebook page during the past week. Fr. Abraham Lazar, a member of the parish team at Divine Mercy parish in Thane (near Mumbai), India, shared photos from the parish’s recent First Communion ceremony. He wrote:

“This was a day of jubilation for all of us, especially for our nine angelic children, to have their desire to welcome Jesus into their hearts fulfilled. The celebration was witnessed by more than 200 people in our parish, and relatives and friends who came from different parts of India, such as Kerala, Andhrapradesh, Mangloor and Tamilnadu. We pray that the presence of Our Eucharistic Lord will be always present in all our lives.”

Divine Mercy, with its mission parish of St. Anthony, is the SCJs’ first pastoral commitment in the Mumbai area.

Also writing from India is Fr. Tom Cassidy, who has been regularly posting on the province blog. Describing the SCJs’ Dehon Bhavan seminary in Kumbalanghy, he wrote:

“This is one of three minor seminaries the SCJ Indian District operates. Minor seminaries used to be very common in the United States; we had two in the U.S. Province. I can understand why here in India the minor seminary continues to make sense as a lot has to do with the quality of education available to students. By using good schools, the foundation is set for future academics in both philosophy and theology.

“The house language is English. India is a country of many languages and cultures and someone coming from the state of Andhra Pradesh would not know Malayalam. Since the SCJs are drawing students from several areas of the country they need a common language and since English is important for studies and communication with SCJs in other parts of the congregation it is also the common language of the district.”

Click here to go to the province blog and read this post in full, as well as other posts from Fr. Tom.

Portuguese SCJ joins tribunal court

Pope Francis named Fr. Manuel Gomes da Costa Saturino, an SCJ of the Portuguese Province, as a prelate auditor of the Roman Rota.

The Tribunal of the Roman Rota is a Tribunal Court of the Apostolic See, usually at the appellate stage, which fosters jurisprudence in the Church and safeguards the rights of individuals.  The Rota deals with trials of all kinds, but the majority of the cases are questions of declaration of nullity of marriage.

Fr. Saturino, 61, professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 1975. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. He did his initial theological studies at the Catholic University of Lisbon and later attended the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law.

He has served in the secretary general’s office in Rome, in formation and academics, as well as administration, in his native Portugal, on the tribunal for Lisbon and in parish ministry.

Fr. Saturino has previously served on committees and commissions of the Holy See.

Click here to read more about the appointment on the province website

Please remember

Joseph Gray, the 95-year-old father of Fr. Tim Gray, died on January 20.

Also, Anthony Vega, the brother of Fr. Ray Vega, recently died. He was 95.

Dehonian Mission Week

The Recife Province of Brazil (one of three SCJ provinces in the country) just completed “Semana Missionária Dehoniana” –– Dehonian Mission Week. The week brings together SCJs, seminarians and lay groups who share in the Dehonian charism.

This year’s theme is roughly translated as “Your Way is Our Way: Bringing Christ to the heart of the world and bringing the world to the Heart of Christ.”

“We are looking at new ways of being Church,” said Fr. Carlos Alberto de Costa Silva, provincial superior. “We wish to strengthen our commitment to keep alive our missionary zeal and contribute to evangelization.”

Click here for photos and a text in Portuguese.

Update

As noted previously, David Schimmel is the newly hired director of Dehonian Associates for the U.S. Province. If you would like to contact him, his email address is dfschimmel@juno.com.

Happy birthday

Those celebrating birthdays in February include: Dn. David Nagel (63) on Feb. 6, Fr. Paul Kelly (64) on Feb. 9, Fr. Duy Nguyen (36) on Feb. 17, Fr. Quang Nguyen (49) on Feb. 18, Fr. Greg Murray (57) on Feb. 19, Fr. Mark Mastin (57) and Fr. Antony Wijaya (34) on Feb. 21, Fridge Notes editor (51) on Feb. 23, Fr. Frank Clancy (82) on Feb. 25 and Fr. Peter Sanders (74) on Feb. 28.

Happy birthday!

Provincial’s time

Originally Fr. Stephen Huffstetter was to be doing a visitation of the communities at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake this week. However, with much of the SCJ wing under repair following the burst water pipe, the visitation has been postponed (would it be too much of a pun to say that Fr. Steve had to take a “rain check?”).

Fr. Steve will instead be at the Provincial Offices working on preparations for the February 4-5 council meeting, the Provincial Chapter, the North American Councils Meeting (March 3 in Montréal) and other items.

Reminder

On March 1 Vocation Central will sponsor “Looking to the Future,” at the Provincial Conference Center. Young people will have the opportunity to visit with representatives from men’s and women’s religious communities in the Milwaukee area and join them in prayer. Displays will be open from 6-8:30 p.m., Adoration is from 7-8 p.m. Refreshments follow.

Make the invitation –– encourage a young person to come to the gathering to learn about vocational possibilities, or simply to join in prayer and fellowship.

Questions? Call the vocation office at 414-427-4272 or email vocationcentral@wi.rr.com.