Vow renewals
Congratulations to Frater Hung Pham, SCJ, Frater Truc Tran, SCJ, Frater Thuan Nguyen, SCJ, Frater Michael Wodarczyk, SCJ, and Frater Jacob Smith, SCJ, who renewed their vows on August 12 during Mass at St. Joseph Chapel at Sacred Heart Monastery. Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, received the vows. The community also commemorated the 99th anniversary of the death of Venerable Leo John Dehon. The students are pictured above.
As noted last week, Frater Jonathan Vuong Nguyen, SCJ, renewed his vows on August 11 in Mississippi.
Three of the students are now beginning their pastoral year: Frater Truc in South Dakota, Frater Thuan in Mississippi and Frater Michael in Houston. Frater Jonathan will continue his studies in Mississippi, and Fraters Jacob and Hung are on-campus at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology for the academic year.
Click here to view photos from the vow renewals.
Historian studies unique design of SHSST architecture
The building which houses Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology and Sacred Heart Monastery is an iconic landmark in the Hales Corners / Franklin area. Its unique design is the work of Henry Slaby, an architect who specialized in designing buildings for religious communities. Recently, it has become the focus of study of an Architectural Historian and Cultural Resource Manager from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
“I became interested in the work of Henry Slaby because of Sacred Heart’s distinctive style,” said Justin Miller (pictured above in the Province Archives), who was first introduced to Slaby through a project funded by the City of Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission. Miller is now preparing a profile on the building for a book commissioned by Docomomo Wisconsin that will feature two dozen Modernist buildings, including Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart was the second design that Slaby did for the Priests of the Sacred Heart. He also designed Kilroe Seminary in Honesdale, PA, which was built about a dozen years before the Hales Corners structure.
One of Miller’s favorite features in Sacred Heart’s design “is the use of repeated angles and triangular forms in the chapel,” he said. “They keep recurring on the exterior and interior, and they’re arranged in such precise and satisfying ways from the obvious, like the shape of the angled arches and the ‘folded plate’ ceiling, to the subtle, like the uplights in the chapel and the chevron-patterned diamonds around the base of the crown on the roof…
“Stewarding historic buildings can be tough sometimes, and I’m so happy to see that Sacred Heart is well loved and cared for,” he added.
Click here to read more on the province website.
Thank you!
The summer session of the ECS program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology recently came to a close. Fr. Rogerio Alves Gomes, a student from the Diocese of Uruaçu (Brazil), expresses his gratitude to the Priests of the Sacred Heart for the scholarship he received to take part in ECS:
“I would like to thank you very much for the help your congregation has given my diocese by giving me the scholarship to learn English. Not only have I improved my English, but I have also grown as a priest due to the beautiful witness and seriousness of the priests and staff of this beautiful formation house of yours. My desire was to continue to improve my English even more because it would help me proclaim the Kingdom of God through the teaching of Sacred Scripture since my doctorate is in Sacred Scripture. I wish you and the entire Congregation and benefactors all the blessings of heaven so that you can continue to do good to those whom the Lord sends you.”
Farewell and thanks!
On August 8, staff of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Houston gathered for their annual retreat at the Christian Renewal Center in Dickinson. It was a time of prayer, reflection, and fellowship. It was also a moment to say good-bye and thanks to Frater Hung Pham, SCJ, who completed his pastoral year with the parish. “We are deeply grateful for his dedicated service and wish him all the best as he continues his theological studies in Hales Corners, WI,” said a member of the staff in her write-up about the day.
Frater Hung is a fourth-year seminarian at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. He recently began his preparation for profession of final vows.
“Welcome Back” parade continues
A now four-year tradition borne of the pandemic requirement for social distancing continued at St. Joseph’s Indian School on Tuesday, August 13. Nearly 200 students and dozens of staff from across the campus celebrated the fourth annual outdoor back-to-school parade.
“Our students bring a special joy and spirit,” said President Mike Tyrell, “and when we begin a new year, we celebrate that they are the reason we are here. They are our mission.”
Staff turned out in myriad ways to celebrate the return of the wakȟáŋeža (children – sacred holy ones). Some offered smiles, waves and cheers. Others blew horns and whistles or showered the students with bubbles. Music wafted through the air. Suckers, s’more kits and bundled milk-and-cookie packs sweetened the walk. The Bookmobile crew passed out free reading material. The school’s equine therapy horses participated.
The parade was the closing moment of three days of student return activities. As the students now move into the classrooms, one of their first tasks is goal-setting for the new school year.
Jubilee year opened in Brussels
As noted last week, August 12 marked the opening of the Jubilee Year in recognition of the centenary of Fr. Leo John Dehon’s death in 2025, as well as the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 2028.
Fr. Carlos Luis Suárez Codorniú, SCJ, superior general, officially opened the Jubilee in Brussels, Fr. Dehon’s final home before his death.
“[I]n this house where our Venerable Founder Father Léon Jean Dehon died on August 12, 1925, I declare open the journey of our Dehonian jubilee, which runs from this memorable day until June 28, 2028,” said Fr. Carlos. “May these years of preparation, formation and celebration renew our response to the vocation of love and reparation that we have received, increase our missionary zeal, strengthen our unity and our passion for justice and peace, for the care of our common home, so that we may always and everywhere be ‘prophets of love and servant of the reconciliation of men and the world in Christ’ (Cst 7).”
Fr. General is pictured below (middle of the top row) with members of the SCJ community following the Opening Liturgy in Brussels. Joining the SCJs were lay Dehonians and other friends of the community.
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