Provincial’s Time
Fr. Cassidy starts the week in Tucson, Az., where he is at the CMSM national board meeting. February 22-25 he will be at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, S.D.
New appointment for Bishop Bressanelli
Bishop Virginio Bressanelli, former superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, has been named coadjutor of Neuquén, Argentina. Since 2005 he has served as bishop of Comodoro-Rivadavia, Argentina.
Neuquén is in central Argentina and covers an area of 36,337 square miles. It was erected as a diocese in 1961 and has a population of 538,852 with 458,024 identified as Catholics. There are 56 priests, 12 permanent deacons and 130 religious.
Bishop Bressanelli, 67, was professed in 1964 and ordained in 1966. He was superior general from 1991 to 2003. Before being named bishop in 2005 he was superior of the “Theologian Dehoniano” in San Miguel, Argentina.
Keep in prayer
Fr. Charles Bisgrove is home from India but unfortunately, not home at the monastery. He has been hospitalized at St. Luke’s in Milwaukee for a significant foot infection.
Please remember
Fr. José Ocaña Garrido, a member of the Spanish Province, died February 14. He was born in 1952, professed in 1973 and ordained in 1982.
SCJs are featured speakers at parish mission
For an hour each evening during the week of March 8 SCJs will be the featured presenters at St. Martin of Tours’ parish mission. Fr. Byron Haaland starts the week with a talk on “Sacred Heart Devotion with Emphasis on Reparation.” On March 9, Fr. Jim Brackin will present “Lent –– A Dab of Mercy.” Fr. Paul Kelly will discuss the “Spirituality of Holy Week: Fellowship, Fidelity and Freedom;” and Fr. John Klingler will present the Beatitudes on March 11.
For more information contact St. Martin of Tours at 414-425-1114. Or visit the parish on-line at http://www.stmoftours.org
Not too late to be a sponsor
As noted earlier, Fr. Ed Kilianski, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston, will be participating in “Steps for Students,” a 5K run/walk sponsored by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to raise money for tuition assistance to needy children. Many of OLG’s students benefit from tuition assistance. The event takes place on February 20.
If you would like to sponsor Fr. Ed go to: http://www.firstgiving.com/edwardkilianskiscj
Happy anniversary!
Umat Katolik Indonesia, the Indonesian Catholic Community of the Greater Toronto Area, held its 30th anniversary Mass on February 14 at St. Anselm’s Church in Toronto. The faith community was organized by the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Fr. Wayne Jenkins, who did his seminary studies in Indonesia, was its first chaplain); it continues to be served by the SCJs. Fr. Aegidus Warsito of the Indonesian Province currently ministers to the community.
On May 15 there will be a larger anniversary celebration in Mississauga, Ontario. Curiously, the Indonesians will celebrate their heritage at a Polish Cultural Center.
SCJ project featured in Milwaukee newspaper
Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake, a development that will offer living space for members of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, as well as the general public aged 55 and up, was featured in the February 11 “Mature Lifestyles” section of the Catholic Herald.
If you would like to read the article on-line go to: http://www.chnonline.org/special-sections/mature-lifestyles/9282-sacred-heart-at-monastery-lake-takes-shape.html
Snow in Rome
Although it doesn’t happen too often there was actually enough snow at the Generalate in Rome to have a snowball fight last week. A few photos of students and staff in the snow have been posted on the general website: http://www.dehon.it/scj_dehon/news_day_uk.asp?id_not=3389
Congregation grows in the Philippines
On February 4 and 5 two SCJ deacons were ordained to the priesthood in the Philippines. The two celebrations allowed Frs. Marcial C. Aguirre and Donald S. Longno to each be ordained in their home parishes in Kumalarang and Margosatubig. The parish in Kumalarang is ministered to by the SCJs, and the one in Margosatubig is a former SCJ parish. In each community this was the second SCJ ordination.
Among those in attendance at the ceremonies was Fr. Mick Sinnott, a Columban priest who was kidnapped in October and spent a month in captivity. Fr. Mick just recently returned to the Philippines.
On February 13, and then again tomorrow, on February 15, two more SCJ deacons were to be ordained to the priesthood: Rechie Gier and Jigger Ganados. These ordinations will bring the number of Filipino SCJ priests to seven.
To read more about the community in the Philippines, go to the district website at: http://www.scjphil.org/
Remembering those who built the province
As we have for the past several months we will continue to share a bit of information about deceased members of the province on or near the anniversary of their death. This week we remember Fr. Francis Baumeister who died on February 21, 1946.
Fr. Francis first came to the community in Sittard, Holland. He pronounced his first vows in 1908 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1913. Soon after, he was off to Africa.
For almost ten years, Fr. Francis ministered in Cameroon and later, Fernando Poo. Bound for Spain, he left Africa in 1922 to help build a new province there. After ten years, he was headed to yet another country to help establish a new province: the United States.
During his final two years he was plagued by heart issues. As his health went from bad to worse, he was unable to celebrate Mass, “and for a priest not to offer Holy Mass is a real hell,” he said.
Often confined to bed rest in his latter years he took advantage of the opportunity to read books on the founder and on Sacred Heart spirituality. Students who visited him during this time remember that he enjoyed “verbal sparing” with them, challenging them to think about and discuss spirituality.
We also remember Abigail Notterman, an honorary SCJ who died on February 21, 1996.
