Welcome ECS students!

Students for the first session of the summer ECS program (English and Cultural Studies, formerly “ESL”) gathered in the lobby of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology last week for the annual “Name Game.” The ice-breaker is a way for students and teachers to get to know each other before classes begin. Each year the summer ECS program welcomes dozens of students from around the world. The program specializes in teaching English and American culture to those who serve the Church.

This year’s initial summer session includes 40 students from 15 countries: Angola (1), Brazil (9), Cameroon (1), Colombia (2), Croatia (1), Gabon (1), Haiti (2), Indonesia (1), Madagascar (4), Mexico (4), Nicaragua (1), Poland (2), Portugal (1), and Vietnam (10). Twenty-three of the students are SCJs or SCJ candidates, one is from the Congregation of the Sacred Heart, three are Franciscan Friars, one is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross, and 12 are diocesan priests or seminarians.

At the end of the ice-breaker, the summer students congratulated and said good-bye to Fr. Agustinus Sugiarno, SCJ (“Sugi”), a member of the Indonesian Province, who graduated from the program and is on his way back to his home country to serve in the provincial treasurer’s office. However, before leaving he still had one job left to do as a member of the Sacred Heart Monastery Community: teaching the new students how to use the laundry facilities!

Click here to view more photos from the morning.

Fr. Sugi receives his graduation certificate from the ECS program

Personnel updates

The online personnel directory was updated last week, as well as the PDFs of the print directory. The “Phone Book” is in the Members’ section of the US Province website and includes entries for SCJs and candidates in North America. The online directory is password-protected. Click here if you need assistance in accessing it.

There are two PDFs of the directory available: one version is high resolution (approximately 14 MB) which is appropriate for printing. The second is a low resolution version (about 1.5 MB) that is suitable for smart phones and other mobile devices.

Recent updates include (full contact information is in the directory):

Br. Diego Diaz, SCJ, moved from Sacred Heart Monastery to the SCJ community in Nesbit, MS.
Fr. Duy Nguyen, SCJ, is now a member of Sacred Heart Monastery; he recently transferred from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston.
Fr. Praveen Kumar Richard, SCJ, transferred from Sacred Heart Monastery to the South Dakota community.
Fr. Robert Tucker, SCJ, transferred from Sacred Heart Monastery to the Sacred Heart Community at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
Also, please note that Br. John Hung Dinh (VIE) and Br. Vincent Thoan Do (VIE), who were with the Toronto community during the past year, have returned to Vietnam.

If you notice an error in your listing, please click here.

Frater Paul and Postulant Hung assist Fr Hendrik and Dn. Steve at a Corpus Christi Mass and cemetery blessing in Stephan, SD

Summer in South Dakota

Fr. Christianus Hendrik, SCJ, shared photos of Frater Paul Phong Hoang, SCJ, and Postulant Hung Pham in the midst of their summer ministry program in South Dakota.

“They are learning a lot about what it is like to do ministry in this rural area with six parishes spread over two sides of the river in two different dioceses [Sioux Falls and Rapid City]. Paul and Hung are learning by doing. By being involved they are listening to and struggling together with both our ministers and the people they serve. Rural ministry sometimes means spending a whole day in the car, traveling long distances. Hung and Paul are learning how to be missionaries and how to take care of themselves as ministers in challenging areas.

“Learning from many helps them to learn to work with a team.”

Keep in prayer

Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, will have surgery on Friday, July 12, to remove the big toe on his left foot. Please keep him in prayer.

Can you join us?

Barbara Graham will open the July 11 gathering

This Thursday, July 11, the newly developed “Catholic Coalition on Immigration” will hold its first meeting at the Provincial Conference Center in Hales Corners from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Mark Peters, province director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation, estimates that over 50 representatives from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and various religious communities will take part.

The coalition has two primary goals: 1) organize Catholics to engage lawmakers in a non-partisan way and help them develop bipartisan solutions to immigration reform, and 2) to raise awareness about the issues among Catholics via parish educational programs and other outreach.

Mark anticipates a variety of options for engagement, some of which might only require a few minutes of one’s time.

“At her powerful Dehon Lecture in April, Sr. Norma Pimentel challenged all of us to ‘do something’ about our nation’s broken immigration system and the suffering it is causing migrants and refugees,” wrote Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, to members of the province in an email dated June 27. “She acknowledged that individuals may have little or no influence on our political leaders, but that in large enough numbers, we still can.

“I realize that many of you may not be able to be actively involved in this effort, but I hope we will have a good showing of SCJs on July 11 to show our support of this coalition.”

Barbara Graham, Director of Legal Services for Immigrants for Catholic Charities Milwaukee, will give a brief opening presentation.

If you plan to attend the July 11 gathering, RSVP to Mark Peters at justdir@usprovince.org or call 414-427-4273.

SCJs in Mississippi with Bishop Kopacz on feast of the Sacred Heart

Bishop Kopacz joins SCJs for feast-day celebration

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson joined SCJs and many others from Sacred Heart Southern Missions for the feast of the Sacred Heart celebration at Christ the King parish in Southaven, MS. Click here to view photos.

Instagram reminder

The US Province is now on Instagram. You can follow us at: https://www.instagram.com/dehoniansusa/ (@dehoniansusa)

Closing shot

Fr. Joseph-Thien Dinh, SCJ (first row, third from right), poses in front of the Dehon family home in La Capelle, France, with fellow participants in the General Formators Program. The program, organized by the general administration in Rome, is designed for SCJs who will serve in formation. From October through June the students studied primarily in Rome. The program then went on the road, first visiting places of significance to Fr. Leo John Dehon and the congregation, and now, the Holy Land. The group left Rome today and will be in the Holy Land until July 24. Soon after, Fr. Joseph will return to the US Province, where he will prepare for his new assignment as a part of the formation team – with Fr. Duy Nguyen, SCJ – at Sacred Heart Monastery.

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