Ordination date set
Dn. Greg Schill will be ordained to the priesthood on May 21 in San Antonio, Texas, where his parents reside. Bishop Oscar Cantú, auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, will be the ordaining bishop. Invitations will be out in the next few weeks but Dn. Greg reminds SCJs that all are welcome to be a part of the celebration. Mark your calendars!
Dn. Duy Nguyen’s priesthood ordination is tentatively planned for June 11 at Sacred Heart Monastery.
St. Joe’s benefactors named CORE “Philanthropists of the Year”
Marianne and Jim Denning, long-time benefactors of St. Joseph’s Indian School in South Dakota, were named “Philanthropists of the Year” by the Coalition for Residential Education (CORE) in the organization’s annual Catherine Hershey Awards.
Avid donors and supporters of St. Joseph’s, the Dennings have had a relationship with the school since the 1980s. One of their favorite activities is to make an annual trek from their home in Mesquite, Texas, to annual the St. Joseph’s powwow in fall.
St. Joseph’s mission is to provide for the needs of the whole child – physical, spiritual, emotional and educational. “Jim and Marianne work tirelessly to meet our children’s physical needs and have provided everything from shampoo and clothing to Christmas gifts,” wrote Mike Tyrell, executive director of Child Services at the school. “They have also helped our ‘tiyospaye’ – extended family – grow, putting in many hours helping others understand the work St. Joseph’s does and why it is necessary.
“Jim and Marianne have become like family. They attend our ‘wacipi’ – powwow – almost every year and have also started coming to eighth grade and high school graduations…
“Late last fall, Jim entered a contest with QVC [cable television shopping channel] with the hope of winning a shopping spree for our students. The theme of the contest centered on random acts of joy. In his entry, Jim described his relationship with the school and provided a picture of him with shopping carts overflowing with basketballs for our student. Jim earned the greatest response for his cause winning $3,500 in QVC gift cards for the school…
“Jim and Marianne are active within their workplaces encouraging others to give to St. Joseph’s, sharing information on the school’s needs, and answering questions about our mission…
“The Dennings have impacted our lives by becoming our friends. More importantly, however, they have impacted our children’s lives by making sure that they are cared for and loved.”
The Dennings will receive their award March 17 at a CORE banquet in Hershey, Pa. Founded in 1994 and based in the Washington, DC area, CORE is a nonprofit organization that serves economically and socially disadvantaged children through residential education programs.
The numbers
The statistics of the congregation as of December 31, 2010, have been published on the congregational website. At the end of the year there were 2,204 SCJs worldwide (three more than at the end of 2009) and 61 novices. The province with the most SCJs is Poland with 257, followed by the Central Brazilian Province with 212 SCJs (there are three provinces in Brazil). Indonesia is the third largest province with 178 members. One of the most rapidly growing provinces is the Congolese Province with 21 novices.
Click here to view the full statistics.
Cor Unum
The latest Cor Unum, with minutes from the February 17-18 Provincial Council meeting, is available under the Members section of the province website. For assistance in accessing the Members section, please contact Mary Gorski. The hard copy will go in the mail later this week.
Please remember
Fr. Jan Maurissen, a member of the Flemish-Dutch Confederation, died February 20. He was born in 1928, professed in1948 and ordained in 1954.
Fr. Giovanni Chiappa, a member of the North Italian Province, died February 21. He was born in 1914, professed in 1932 and ordained in 1940.
Arrangements for Mrs. DiLeo
As noted last week, Esther DiLeo, the mother of Fr. Rick DiLeo, died February 20. A Memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 4, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Houston.
Fr. Ed Kilianski, OLG pastor, welcomes SCJs to a dinner the night before the funeral (Thursday, March 3). It will be at the new OLG rectory at 6 p.m. There will also be a luncheon following the Memorial Mass. He asks that those attending the Thursday night meal let him know that they are coming. You can email him at: Ekilianski@olghouston.org
Fr. Rick asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made either to the OLG capital campaign or the OLG scholarship fund. Checks, made out to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, can be sent to 2405 Navigation Blvd., Houston, Texas 77003. If making a donation, please indicate on the check where you would like the money to go (capital campaign, scholarship fund, or general needs). Donations can also be made through the parish website at: http://www.olghouston.org
Updates
Last week we noted that Fr. Chuck Wonch was hospitalized because of abnormalities in his blood levels. He is now recovering at Villa Maria.
Fr. Robert Tucker had surgery for a detached retina and he reports that the surgery went well. Until Thursday (March 3) he has to keep his head down as a part of the healing process. If all goes as planned, doctors believe that later this week his sight will be restored to where it was at prior to the retina’s detachment.
John Albers, the brother-in-law of Fr. Tom Cassidy, had surgery last week for what was thought to be lung cancer. However, instead of a tumor doctors found a mass of dead lung tissue. They have not yet discerned the reason for the dead tissue, but the good news is that it appears that Mr. Albers does not have lung cancer.
Calendar updates
March 1-2: Local superiors (coordinators) meeting
March 21: Deadline for SCJ feedback on proposed Mexico project
March 29-30: Provincial Council meeting
May 9-11: Provincial Council meeting (budgets)
May 21: Dn. Greg Schill’s priesthood ordination (San Antonio)
May 23-24: North American councils meeting (Chicago)
Week of July 11: Province Assembly, Hales Corners, Wis.
August 30-31: Provincial Council Meeting
October 4-5: Provincial Council Meeting
November 14-16: SCJ Retreat, Pinellas Park
December 14-15: Provincial Council Meeting
Upcoming events at SHM
The Province Development Office, in collaboration with Sacred Heart Monastery, will be hosting the following events. If you would like information about attending one or all of the events, please call the development office at 800-448-7674 (in Milwaukee call 414-425-3383). SCJs, as well as the general public, are always welcome at SHM events.
Easter Concert: May 1, 2 p.m.
Masses for the Anointing of the Sick: May 17 & 19, 1 p.m.
Feast of the Sacred Heart: July 1, 11 a.m.
Pet Blessing: October 2 (time to be determined)
Advent Concert: December 18, 2 p.m.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Tom Cassidy will be in the office much of the next two weeks. Tuesday and Wednesday (March 1-2) he will attend the meeting of local superiors at the Provincialate Conference Center.
March 14-17 he will be in Rome for CMSM meetings
