Another bishop!

On May 6 the Vatican announced that Fr. Zolile Peter Mpambani, SCJ, will be the next bishop of Kokstad, a small diocese near Durban, South Africa. Fr. Zolile, currently provincial superior of the South African Province, is 56. Many SCJs in North America know him not only from his years as a member of the General Council, but also from his time on sabbatical in both Canada and the United States.

Reflecting on his vocation he said that as a child, the Priests of the Sacred Heart were synonymous with the Catholic Church.

“I didn’t know that there were different kinds of priests,” said Fr. Zolile. As a boy growing up in Umliali, in the Diocese of Aliwal North, South Africa, his primary experience of the Church was through the German SCJs who served his family parish.

It is no surprise that when he felt a vocational call that he decided that he also wanted to be an SCJ too. “When my pastor [a German SCJ missionary] asked me what kind of priest I wanted to be I told him that ‘I want to be like you!‘”

Fr. Zolile was the first in his family to pursue a religious vocation, and also one of the first South Africans. Since what he knew of the priesthood and SCJ religious life was from what he saw in his parish pastor, he assumed that he would be a parish priest as well. However, much of his life has been spent saying “yes” to many other calls, including serving on the formation staff, as novice master, on general council and since February, as provincial superior of the South African Province.

The Diocese of Kokstad is 17,655 square kilometers (6,819 miles). It has a population of 1.7 million; about 4.5% are Catholic.

You can read more about the bishop-elect on the province website. Click here.

Keep in prayer

Mary Casper, the 95-year-old mother of Fr. Jim Casper, continues to struggle with advanced pulmonary fibrosis. Fr. Jim is spending time with her as she receives palliative care.

Due next week!

Local communities are reminded that a brief report on their discussions of the State of the Province is due May 15. They should be sent to Fr. Terry Langley at [email protected]. The reflections will be made available to the membership as part of the preparation for the June elections.

The primary focus of the reflection? To identify two to three challenges for the next provincial administration to address.

A reminder, the schedule and other preparatory materials for the Election Assembly are on the front page of the Members section of the province website.

 

North American Conference

The official convocation letter for the North American Conference, September 24-27, is being mailed today to all SCJs in Canada and the United States. The conference, to be held in Hales Corners, Wis., is the concluding moment of the general visitation.

“This will not be a ‘business meeting’ resulting in a plan of action and some nice statements,” write Fr. Tom Cassidy and Fr. Bill Marrevee in the letter. “Rather, it will be a conference where prayer, reflection and conversation will be the priority. We hope these will deepen our understanding of who we are and what we are, as Dehonians, in and for North America, so we can rekindle in ourselves the charism of Father Dehon to link the love of God with our efforts to transform society, and so that we can work for that with renewed hope.”

The letter is in both French and English.

Soon SCJs will receive more information about the conference, including requests for volunteers to help with things such as liturgy, hospitality and transportation.

Visit to Vietnam

As noted last week, Fr. Bernie Rosinski, who is teaching English in the Philippines, joined Fr. Tom Cassidy in Vietnam to celebrate the blessing of the first SCJ house in the country. Fr. Bernie has been writing about his experiences in Asia on the province blog:

“What did I enjoy? What are my impressions? What delightful memories do I retain?” wrote Fr. Bernie.

“Jumbled and massed together, I would distinguish the civic, external memories from the ones I have of my SCJ colleagues. Together they form an overall pattern of hospitality and warmth that I was totally unprepared for, since I had lived in the era of conflict between Vietnam and the US. Never a soldier, I nevertheless witnessed TV coverage of the events that took place there on a daily basis (thanks to Walter Cronkite and CBS) and surmised that bad feelings existed between our two countries as much for the general Vietnamese population as for the Vietnamese SCJs. I was wrong, absolutely and inexcusably wrong.

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is a beautiful, modern city with many wide avenues and boulevards sided with parks. There are also narrower streets and alleys. Automobiles tend to be mostly taxis, though some people possess their own vehicles. And of course Ho Chi Minh has a system of city buses that works very well and on time…

“A general feeling of benevolence and well-being was present when we visited our SCJ brothers. They fed us, conversed with us, guided us, and accompanied us in taxis to all the places we wished to go. They were eager to practice their English on us; it was a small price to pay to reciprocate their hospitable spirit.”

Click here to read the full post from which this was excerpted, and return to the blog later in the week to read more from Fr. Bernie.

Congratulations!

Fr. Toan Do, assistant professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart School of Theology, received word that an article of his has been accepted by the Journal of Biblical Literature (JBL). The JBL is the journal of the Society of Biblical Literature, which is the world’s largest academic society dedicated to biblical studies, and considered the most prestigious and influential scholarly journal in biblical studies.

Getting read to head to Afghanistan

Fr. Mark Mastin, a chaplain in the U.S. Army, will visit Hales Corners May 12-16. It is a short stop prior to meetings at the Pentagon and a few days with family before heading to Afghanistan with his unit the first week of June.

Dedication and Open House

St. Joseph’s Indian School will have an Open House and Dedication Ceremony on Sunday, May 12, for the new Historical and Alumni Center at the Akta Lakota Museum. Ribbon cutting is at 1:30 p.m. The center will host visitors until 5 p.m.

Provincial’s time

Fr. Tom Cassidy will be in the office much of the time in the weeks leading up to the June election assembly.