News & Events | June 08, 2026
Nine jubilarians celebrated
Four hundred and seventy-five! That was the total number of years of Dehonian religious life celebrated at this year’s Province Jubilee Celebration on June 4 at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI.
Fr. Richard Johnston, SCJ, leads the nine jubilarians this year with 75 years of religious profession; he made his first vows in 1951, well before Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, provincial superior, and all but one member of the Provincial Council were even born.
The other Dehonian jubilarians include Fr. John Czyzynski (70 years – pictured above at the dinner); Fr. Joseph Dean and Fr. Greg Speck (60 years); Fr. Charles Brown and Br. Frank Presto (50 years); and Fr. Rafael Querobin and Fr. Jean Claude Mbassi with 25 years.
Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, provincial superior, was the main celebrant and homilist at the Jubilee Mass. His closing words:
“Our founder, Fr. Leo John Dehon pointed us to two great Dehonian spiritual pillars: Ecce Venio (“Behold, I come to do your will”) and Ecce Ancilla (“Behold, the handmaid of the Lord”). Ecce Venio is our Dehonian expression of absolute availability — our willingness to be an instrument of God. Ecce Ancilla is our deep, trusting acceptance of whatever God does in our lives.
“Like the Sea of Galilee, we cannot hoard God’s grace or keep our vows tucked away for ourselves. We have to let Christ’s love flow through us to a world that, quite frankly, sorely needs it right now.
“To our jubilarians: thank you. Thank you for your combined 475 years of searching, and for the daily, quiet “yes” that brought you to this day. May we all, inspired by your commitment, continue this divine dance together — with much kindness, a commitment to walk humbly, and a shared, burning passion for the Heart of Christ.”
Click here to read Fr. Vien’s full homily.
During the jubilee dinner, a moment of prayer and silence was held for Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ, who has been missing since 2022. He professed his first vows 60 years ago and was among those honored at the jubilee.
Click here to read about the jubilarians on the province website.
Click here to view the online photo album.
Auto insurance cards
The new automobile insurance cards for SCJs in the US Province will go in the mail prior to June 15. For SCJs who live in a community house, all of the cards will go to the local superior for distribution. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Stanke at the province treasurer’s office.
Summer studies
The day after serving as cross-bearer at the Province Jubilee Celebration, Frater Michael Wodarczyk, SCJ, packed his bag and headed to Ecuador. He will be there until August 4, doing an immersion experience in Spanish and assisting at the local parish.
Fraters Truc Tran, SCJ and Thuan Nguyen, SCJ, remain in Hales Corners this summer. Both are taking part in CPE programs (Clinical Pastoral Education). In fall, all three seminarians will continue their studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
Welcome to Wisconsin!
This week, students and their adult chaperones from the five Dehonian elementary and middle schools in North America are in Hales Corners, WI, for “Schools in Collaboration.” The North American schools are a part of a worldwide network of over 40 Dehonian schools. Throughout the year the schools stay connected through collaborative projects, shared initiatives and student/teacher exchanges.
Four students and two adults represent each school, coming from Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas and Quebec. The summer gatherings in North America move to different venues each year. This week’s agenda includes tours of SCJ ministries in Wisconsin, visits with SCJs, picnics, group activities, and visits to local tourist attractions.
Please keep the young people in your prayers as they get to know each other and learn more about the Dehonian mission.
We also welcome…
Fr. Pedro Paulo Mendes, an SCJ from Brazil, arrived in the United States just in time to take part in last week’s Province Retreat, as well as the jubilee celebration. Coincidently, Fr. Pedro Paulo also celebrates his silver jubilee this year: he professed his first vows in 2001.
This is Fr. Pedro Paulo’s second time in Hales Corners; he was first here in 2017, enrolled in the ECS program. Fellow Brazilian and silver jubilarian, Fr. Rafael Querobin, SCJ, was in the same summer session. Fr. Rafael remained to continue in ministry in the US Province. Fr. Pedro Paulo is now back in the ECS program to prepare to do the same. In Brazil, his background is in parish ministry, having served at Paróquia Bom Jesus da Penha on Rio de Janeiro (2014-2017), Paróquia São Judas Tadeu – Terra Boa – PR (2018), Pároquia São Vicente Férrer – Formiga – MG (2019-2021), and Paróquia Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro – São José dos Campos – SP – (2022-2025).
Welcome Fr. Pedro Paulo!
Please remember
+ Tim Ewert, a 1979 graduate of Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson, IN, died on June 5 from pancreatic cancer.
+ Monsignor Patrick Fryer, a former SCJ (professed in 1966), died on May 23. Most of his years of ministry were as a chaplain in the US Navy. He retired at the rank of captain. Click here to view his obituary.
To hear the Word and live it
From June 1-4 members of the US Province were on retreat at St. Mary of the Lake Conference Center in Mundelein, IL. Leading the retreat was Jesuit Father James Kubicki. Originally from Milwaukee, he has ministered among the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota, was national director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (2002-2017), is an author of several books, regularly gives retreats and spiritual talks around the country, and currently serves as a spiritual director at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology partners with St. Francis, providing the academic component of its seminarians’ training.
The focus of Fr. Kubicki’s Wednesday morning session was on the Word of God. “In your SCJ Rule of Life, it says to be faithful to hearing the Word, that through it you are invited to discover the person of Christ and the mystery of His heart more deeply,” he said, referring to Rule No. 17.
“I think that the Word is not just something that we hear,” he continued, “but we have to really listen to and allow it to take root and transform our way of thinking, our way of seeing, which will eventually affect the way we live.”
Fr. Kubicki closed the session with a prayer from Pope Leo XIV:
Lord Jesus, living Word of the Father,
in You we find the light that guides our steps.
We know that the human heart lives restless, hungry for meaning,
and only your Gospel can give it peace and fullness.
Teach us to listen to you each day in the Scriptures,
to let ourselves be challenged by your voice,
and to discern our decisions
from the closeness to your Heart.
May your Word be nourishment in weariness,
hope in darkness,
and strength in our communities.
Amen
Click here to view a few photos from Wednesday.
Consecration of the US to the Sacred Heart
On Thursday, June 11, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Click here for the link to the livestream of the Mass as well as resources from the USCCB about the Consecration.
Feast of the Sacred Heart
This Friday, June 12, is Feast of the Sacred Heart. Activities at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology will begin with mission talks by Fr. Floribert Bulo Dhelo, SCJ, Sr. Grecely Tangcogo, MCM, and Sr. Ramona Pandan, MCM. The feast-day Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. in the main chapel; Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, will preside. Lunch follows. At 1:00 p.m., visitors are welcome to go to the Provincial Office Building to view handwritten letters from Mother Teresa to Fr. Michael van der Peet, SCJ, as well as a relic from her canonization. Fr. Michael was a part of the work group that prepared for Mother Teresa’s beatification.
During the feast-day Mass, seven will be making their commitments as Dehonian Associates. They include Mary Donahue, who lives in Cape Cod and came to know the Priests of the Sacred Heart while on a pilgrimage in Rome; Mary Lestina, Pastoral Associate at St. Dominic’s Parish in Brookfield, WI; Jean-Paul Yafali, now living in Seattle but with connections with the Priests of the Sacred Heart back during his youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Vicki Johnson, an ECS instructor at SHSST; Caitlin Lewis, who works is the academic department of the seminary; Deacon Emmanuel Eklou from the Diocese of Joliet, who is also a member of the French Catholic community in Chicago; and Beata Moberg, from Illinois, who is currently studying the works of Fr. Dehon. David Wild, province director of facilities, and Dr. Selom Assignon, part of the French Catholic community in Chicago, are unable to be at the Mass and will make their commitments at a later date.
Renewing their commitments at the Mass will be Monica Misey, Edell Schaefer, Pam Milczarski and Jenny Drzewiecki who made their first commitments last year.
Dehonian Associates will also be making commitments (or renewals) in Mississippi and Texas this week. Please keep these Associates in your prayers and they continue to seek ways of living the Dehonian charism in their lives.
Fr. General’s feast-day letter
“[T]he Dehonian vocation is born from the desire ‘to be there,’ like the Son before the Father, in order to collaborate passionately in the gift of His Kingdom as servants of all,” writes Fr. Carlos Luis Suárez Codorniú, SCJ, superior general, in his letter to SCJs for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. “To this end, we embrace an indispensable requirement so that our communities, apostolates, and works may become a transparent expression of this service to the Gospel:
“Our response to this call presupposes a spiritual life:
a common approach to the mystery of Christ,
under the guidance of the Spirit,
and a particular attention to what,
in the inexhaustible richness of this mystery,
corresponds to the experience of Father Dehon
and of our predecessors. (Cst 16)”
Click here to access the letter.
Origin of the Dehonian Cross
Created in Germany in 1979 as part of a school competition, the Dehonian Cross has become an international logo of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Recently, the general website published a brief article that includes the history of the logo and the meaning behind it.