New face is a familiar one

During last week’s Provincial Council meeting Br. Frank Presto was appointed as provincial secretary. He replaces Fr. Terry Langley who is completing his term with the office.

Br. Frank is hardly a stranger to the Provincialate or the provincial secretary’s office. He held the position for several years during Fr. Tom Cassidy’s administration.

Fr. Terry will transition out of the office in early November.

Please remember

+ Fr. Francisco Sánchez Jiménez, a member of the Spanish Province, died October 23. He was born in 1933, professed in 1951 and ordained in 1959.

+ Joanne Goetz, retired accountant at the Province Development Office, died on October 20. She was 77.  Click here to read the obituary.

Happy birthday

Those celebrating birthdays in November include Fr. David Szatkowski (40) and Fr. Ed Kilianski (59) on Nov. 2, Br. Brian Tompkins (57) and Br. Luc Coursol (63) on Nov. 4, Fr. Greg Schill (38) on Nov. 14, Fr. Jan de Jong (76) and Fr. Joe Doscher (80) on Nov. 17, Fr. Tim Gray (65) on Nov. 18, Fr. Christianus Hendrik (44) on Nov. 21, and Fr. Larry Rucker (80) on Nov. 30.

A lot has changed

As a part of his sabbatical Fr. Tom Cassidy is traveling to the countries for which he had responsibility when he was on General Council. Today, October 28, he leaves for South Africa. He’ll be there for three weeks.

During his travels Fr. Tom will maintain a journal that will be posted on the province blog. As he prepares to leave, Fr. Tom made his first entry:

“I first visited South Africa in 1987 when it was an apartheid state. Unlike today it required a hard-to-get visa to enter the country, and because I am a priest it was even more difficult to get one; in fact, my visa was granted just the day before I was to travel. I will never forget my introduction to the country as I went through passport control. As the officer stamped my passport at Jan Smuts (now known as O.R. Tambo International) airport he said to me: “Welcome to South Africa, Father, I hope you have a nice stay!” That was the first and only time I have been greeted like that. I’m guessing this visit is about my eighth since then and a lot has changed in the country.”

Click here to go to the province blog site.

Artwork of Sacred Heart students on display in Memphis

The Brooks Museum in Memphis selected Sacred Heart School as one of eight area schools to participate in the Ofrendas: Student-made Altars Exhibition. The exhibition is part of the museum’s celebration of the November 1 holiday of All Saints Day or “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), as it is  celebrated in Mexico and several other countries in Latin America.  Sacred Heart School’s eighth-grade religion class created the altar pictured here.

The exhibition will be on display at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art now through November 10. The exhibition is made up of eight altars created by area schools. Sacred Heart was invited to participate at the beginning of the school year and spent the next few weeks deciding on a design, working on decorations, and installing it at the museum. Elesha Newberry, associate director of Education, Family and School Programs at the Brooks Museum, said, “This is an exciting opportunity for students to learn about Latin American culture while working creatively and  collaboratively with each other, their teachers, the museum, and this year, with Rhodes College fellows.”

New member of Generalate staff familiar to North Americans

The Generalate recently announced a new member of its staff who is familiar to many in the US and Canada: Fr. Stefan Tertünte. Fr. Stefan, a member of the German Province, gave the opening presentation at the North American Continental Conference in September, just weeks after unpacking in Rome.

Fr. Stefan’s new job is as the “Dehonian Formation Collaborator. “He will work with the General Curia helping to promote our Dehonian identity in the context of formation,” said a member of the curia staff.

One of Fr. Stefan’s first tasks is to work with the nine-month formation course in Rome, a course designed not for those who are students in formation but for the formation directors who work with them.

Fr. Stefan will also be a part of “Anthropologia Cordis,” an SCJ theology seminar to be held in Taubaté, Brazil next February, and in the development of texts for the formation of the laity in Dehonian spirituality.

Before coming to Rome Fr. Stefan served in an ecumenical ministerial project at a shopping center in Oberhausen (Germany) and as editor of Dein Reich Komme. He has a doctorate from the University of Freiburg; his thesis was titled “Leo Dehon and the Christian Democracy.”

Click here to read more on the Generalate website.

Headed to Rome

Fr. Stephen Huffstetter and Dn. David Nagel leave for Rome on Wednesday (October 30) to take part in the Major Superiors Meeting at the Generalate November 4-9. This will be Fr. Steve’s first visit to the Generalate as the newly elected provincial superior. Dn. David will be there in his role as a member of the General Finance Commission.

Reports and photos from the meeting will be posted on the Generalate’s website, as well as the province Facebook page and province website.