Visitations

Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, is pictured above with members of the Sacred Heart Monastery community during last week’s Provincial Visitation. “This is one of the most diverse communities in the province,” said Fr. Vien, who noted that SHM includes candidates, professed students and SCJs in final vows. It is an international, intergenerational community, and one that is often called upon to be the “province host,” welcoming both SCJ and non-SCJ ECS students and other visitors to the province, such as Archbishop Zolile Mpambani, SCJ, of South Africa.

The Provincial Visitations will resume after the General Visitation of Fr.Carlos Luis Suarez Codorniú, SCJ, and Fr. Stephen Huffstetter, SCJ, which will take place April 30 – May 22. The schedule:

April 30 – May 3, Pinellas Park, FL (arrive April 30, rest May 1, depart May 3)
May 4-6, Sacred Heart Monastery (SHSST commencement on May 6)
May 7-11, Sacred Heart Community at SHML (on May 10 Fr. General will meet with the Provincial Council in the morning, and visit with the Novitiate in the afternoon; on May 11 he will visit with the St. Joseph’s Community)
May 12-15, South Dakota (depart for SD on May 12, leave SD on May 16)
May 17-19, Mississippi (depart on May 19)
May 20-22, Texas

Welcome!

Bishop Joe Potocnak, SCJ, is scheduled to arrive in Milwaukee from Tampa early this evening. The bishop is joining the Sacred Heart Community at SHML. On May 7, he will ordain Frater Henry Nguyen to the diaconate at Sacred Heart Monastery / Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology

Personnel updates

First, we welcome Fr. Son Nguyen, SCJ (pictured above), who arrived in Hales Corners on Thursday from Vietnam. He joins the St. Joseph’s Community at SHML, and is assigned as an associate pastor to St. Martin of Tours parish starting on May 1.

A member of the District of Vietnam, Fr. Son turns 38 on Wednesday, April 27. He professed his first vows on May 13, 2015, his perpetual vows in 2019, and was ordained to the priesthood on December 30, 2020. Soon after ordination he was assigned to serve in the US Province but had to wait over a year before he was able to get the necessary documentation.

Also assigned to St. Martin of Tours will be Frater Henry Nguyen, SCJ. He is to be ordained to the diaconate on Saturday, May 7, and begin ministry at SMOT on June 1. Note: Frater Henry’s ordination ceremony will be livestreamed, beginning at 2:30 pm. The direct link will be included in next week’s Fridge Notes, published on Facebook, and sent to SCJs via email. You will also be able to find it by going to the province YouTube channel’s “Livestream Events.”

Other assignment updates include that of Fr. Fabio dos Santos, a Brazilian SCJ who has been in the SHSST ECS program, who is now assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe as an associate pastor.

And as of June 1, Frater Long Nguyen, SCJ, will be a member of the Sacred Heart Monastery Community, assisting with the residential students in the ECS program.

Fr. Wayne Jenkins to be honored

The Lux Center for Catholic Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology will honor Fr. Wayne Jenkins, SCJ, with the Building Bridges Award “for his continuing efforts to bring religious harmony into our world,” writes Bonnie Shafrin, director of the Lux Center. Fr. Wayne will receive the award at the Sister Rose Thering Award Dinner on Thursday, May 19th at 6:00 p.m. at the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners, WI. Dr. Steven Shippee, theology professor at SHSST, will also be a recipient of the Building Bridges Award. Fr. David Cooper and Rabbi Ronald Shapiro will be honored with the Sister Rose Thering Award for their lifetime of contributions to furthering interreligious relations.

Click here to purchase tickets for the awards dinner.

Cleaning up “Grandmother Earth”

Last Thursday, April 21, fifth- and sixth-grade students from St. Joseph’s Indian School spent the afternoon giving their Uŋčí Makȟá (Grandmother Earth) a good cleaning in celebration of Earth Day. They collected garbage in the communities of Chamberlain and Oacoma, S.D., competing for prizes in categories such as most trash collected, largest item found, and “most awkward item to carry.”

Jevjuan Dian, a St. Joe’s student, said that he was excited about his team’s prize, stating that “I was glad to win a prize for the most trash picked up by our group. [We] found some big items like a tarp, a piece of a broken sled and other stuff in the trees by the sledding hill in the middle of town.” The collection event is a repeat of last year’s effort that brought in a missing plastic kiddie pool.

But for students, it was about much more than the prizes. Sixth-grader LaKora Mills said she was happy to pick up trash because she felt helpful. Classmate Kayley Cournoyer added, “I was excited to go from the beginning. I found a piece of an old lawnmower by the Avenue of Flags. When I was done, I felt honored to help clean up Grandmother Earth.”

Please remember

Michael Fette, a former member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, died on April 16.

Mary Virginia Fendt, the mother of ECS teacher Dominic Fendt, died on April 23.

Memorial cards

We still have a few memorial cards left from Fr. Johnny Klingler’s funeral. Click here if you would like to receive one.

Keep in prayer

Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, continues to be treated for damage to his left hand, the result of earlier chemotherapy. Treatment has included the full removal of his fourth and fifth fingers, as well as removal of other tissue. Please continue to keep him in prayer.

How can we share our faith?

“Our faith helps us to recognize God’s presence among us. The Dehonian cross has an open heart in the middle. It challenges us to look with our hearts and see where God’s love is missing in our world, then fill that space with love. John’s Gospel filled an empty space for people who needed to know about Jesus but would not know him physically. John’s Gospel continues to be gift that fills our emptiness. How can we share our faith and fill the emptiness that others struggle with?”

The passage above is from yesterday’s Dehonian Associates’ mailing for Divine Mercy Sunday. It was written by Monica Misey, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology and a 2020 graduate of the seminary’s Cor Unum master’s degree pathway for laity. Click here to read her full reflection.

88 years later!

The North American Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians) was established on this date, April 25, 1934. The province has gone through a number of transitions since then. In North America, the SCJs now have the US Province and the Canadian Region. Next year, Dehonians will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the SCJ presence in the United States. Fr. Matthias Fohrman, a Luxembourger from the German Province, began ministry at St. Mary’s mission in Lower Brule, SD, in 1923. Some of the first SCJs to serve in the United States are pictured below.

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