Congratulations!

During their annual Jazz Brunch in Wheeling, IL, on Sunday, April 23, the Sisters of the Living Word presented Fr. Jack Kurps and Sacred Heart Southern Missions with a Partners in Mission Award to recognize their collaborative work for basic human rights. Sr. Joel Curcio, SLW and Sr. Mary Ann Grausam, SLW, ministered at SHSM Catholic Social Services in Holly Springs from 2002 until their retirement.

Sr. Joel continues to be involved in parish ministry at St. Joseph Church in Holly Springs. Sr. Colette Fahrner, SLW, was resident pastoral minister at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Booneville, MS until SCJs returned the pastoral care of the four northeastern counties to the diocese. More recently, Sr. Sharon Glumb, SLW, worked with SHSM’s volunteer program to develop discernment weekends for women considering religious life.

Vocation Mass reminder

There will be a Vocation Mass at Sacred Heart Monastery at 11:00 a.m., on Sunday, May 7. As Fr. Ed Kilianski wrote in his letter of January 20, 2017: “We hope that many SCJs and members of the SHSST community can be a part of this. It will be a moment to promote vocations not just to the Priests of the Sacred Heart, but to the Church overall.”

If you can attend, please contact Pam Milczarski of the Province Development Office at 414-427-4230 or email her at [email protected].

Happy anniversary!

Over 70 people crowded the Dehon Formation House chapel and dining room in Chicago on Easter Sunday to celebrate Fr. Joseph Mukuna’s tenth anniversary of priesthood. Visitors represented five African countries.

“The liturgy was in French but in their exuberance, the group also broke out into their traditional languages, song and dance,” said Fr. Bob Bossie, a member of the formation community. Fr. Joseph, a member of the Congolese Province, is currently studying for his doctorate at Loyola University. Several members of the formation program joined the celebration and helped with the details.

Please remember

+Fr. Sílvio Antônio Salgado, a member of the Brazil – São Paulo Province, died April 17. He was born in 1926, professed in 1949 and ordained in 1953.

+Fr. Joseph A.G. van den Nieuwenhof, a member of the Dutch – Flemish Confederation, died March 23. He was born in 1926, professed in 1947 and ordained in 1954.

Happy birthday!

Those celebrating birthdays in May include: Fr. Charles Yost (85) and Fr. Mark Fortner (77) on May 4, Fr. Byron Haaland (68) on May 6, Fr. Bryan Benoit (55) and Fr. Jack Kurps (66) on May 7, Fr. Guy Blair (66) on May 8, Postulant Paul Phong 25 on May 9, Fr. Anthony Kluckman (70) and Fr. Elié Munzungu Kasongo-Ngoy (50) on May 12, Bishop Joseph Potocnak (84) on May 13, Fr. Thi Pham (42) on May 14, Frater Justin Krenke (26) on May 16, Fr. Jim Casper (78) on May 20, Fr. Bob Tucker (64) on May 21, Br. Andy Gancarczyk (42) on May 24, Fr. Wayne Jenkins (70) on May 25, and Fr. Stephen Huffstetter (58) on May 31. Happy birthday!!

Assembly information

Members of the US Province should have received their invitation letter for the June 5-9 assembly shortly after Easter. This year’s theme is “The Joy of Community Expressed in Our Mission.”

“The core of our gathering is to bring each of us back to our beginning, nurturing our own vocation and reminding ourselves of how community life can support and enhance our ministerial lives,” said Fr. Thi Pham, planning committee chairperson.

SCJs should RSVP for the assembly by May 18 by calling 414-425-6910 or by sending an email to [email protected]. Individuals are asked to make their own room arrangements. Fr. Jim Walters notes that all rooms with private baths at Sacred Heart Monastery are now taken during the week of the assembly. However, student rooms are still available. To make arrangements, contact Marlene at: 414-425-8300.

Communication

“Good communication is at the very core of our charism,” said Fr. Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, superior general, speaking to participants at the January meeting of SCJ communication professionals in Rome. “It is exemplified by the image of Fr. Dehon with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. When we tell the stories of our works, when we really reach the people we want to address, then we carry on the heritage of our founder.”

Last week Fr. Heiner sent a letter regarding work on a communications strategy for the congregation, including a renewed congregational website. Recently, the General Council developed and approved a Mission Statement upon which that strategy will be based.

“We believe that it captures our core purpose as a religious community and in particular, as men who have been called to carry on the charism of our founder, Fr. Leo John Dehon,” said Fr. Heiner. “The Mission Statement is not simply a communications tool. Much more important, it is a tool for us in our ministries and our life together as Dehonian confreres to help us to reflect on and answer the question: ‘Is this Dehonian?’”

“We live in community, are inspired by daily Eucharistic Adoration and in a fragmented world we believe unity to be possible,” is the concluding line of the Mission Statement. CLICK HERE to read it in full, as well as the rest of Fr. Heiner’s letter of April 15.

Other downloads available

Besides Fr. Heiner Wilmer’s letter, several other items are now available for download from the US Province website, including:

CLICK HERE to download Fr. Bernie Rosinski’s thesis “The Owner of the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-6; the ‘Evil Eye’ and Other Mysteries.” Fr. Bernie recently defended the thesis for his master’s degree in scripture from Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. CLICK HERE to read more about Fr. Bernie and his return to graduate studies at the age of 79.

CLICK HERE to download Fr. John Czyzynski’s homily for the Mass of Christian Burial for Br. Gabriel Kersting. Also available is an online photo album from the liturgy and interment. CLICK HERE to view it.

Earning a master’s in DehonDocs

Since 2008 the University of Siena in Italy has offered a program that allows students to earn a master’s degree in Digital Information and Publications. As the name suggests, the focus of the degree is on the utilization and development of digital resources and the adaptation of conventional materials.

Marta Moruzzi (pictured above on the left), a student in the program, chose www.dehondocs.it as the focus of her master’s thesis. DehonDocs is a digital resource center of the founder’s writings; it is administered by the Dehon Study Center in Rome in collaboration with the Data Service Center of Bologna.

During her successful defense of her thesis on March 23 Marta said that “we can safely say that they [Dehonians] are visionary pioneers of the great digital revolution that has occurred in recent years in the world.”

More about the project will be in the next newsletter from the Dehon Study Center.

Walking with the cardinal

Fr. Bob Bossie, Candidate Hubert Liassidri and Postulant Henry Nguyen took part in Chicago’s Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, led by Cardinal Blase Cupich. The two-and-a-half hour walk began at St. Benedict The African East Catholic Church where several members of the SCJ formation community have ministered. Located in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, the walk remembered in a special way victims of violence in the city. Several hundred people took part.

Provincial’s time

After a quick trip to South Dakota for a C-POSH board meeting Fr. Ed Kilianski is back in Hales Corners for the meeting of the North American administrations beginning this evening and running through Tuesday. The Provincial Council meets on Wednesday, April 26. The next day Fr. Ed heads to Mississippi for board meetings there; he returns on May 1. He will take part in graduation exercises at SHSST on May 5 and then return to South Dakota for a visitation through the week of May 12.

Cultural traditions come together at St. Martin of Tours

At St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, Wis., many of the cultural traditions of the Vietnamese community that is a part of the parish are incorporated into prayer. This year’s Good Friday service was one such example where the Stations of the Cross were read in both Vietnamese and English, songs in both languages were sung, and a white headcloth, a sign of mourning often seen at Vietnamese funerals, was worn by all as Jesus’ body was brought to the tomb.

CLICK HERE to view photos of the Good Friday service. Fr. Yvon Sheehy is pastor of St. Martin of Tours; Fr. Joseph Thien Dinh is associate pastor.

Closing shot

Br. Andy Gancarczyk shared several photos from Holy Week and Easter at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston. Below, Fr. Duy Nguyen, OLG pastor, is pictured doing a baptism at the Easter vigil (evidently with some cold baptismal water!). CLICK HERE to view photos from Holy Thursday and Good Friday.