Fr. Andrzej Sudol installed as SMOT pastor
During the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 26, Bishop James T. Schuerman, auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee, installed Fr. Andrzej Sudol, SCJ, as pastor of St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, WI. Fr. Andrzej has been serving the parish since July.
“Although I have been serving as pastor for the past few months, I am happy to share in this moment with fellow members of my religious community, seminarians from Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, guests from the Diocese of Joliet – where I previously ministered, and the parish community of St. Martin of Tours,” said Fr. Andrzej. “Thank you for being with me during this special day. I am blessed to begin this completely new chapter in my life as a Dehonian.”
Dehonians have pastoral responsibility for St. Martin of Tours, including the Vietnamese Catholic community of Milwaukee, which is a part of the parish family.
Originally from Poland, Fr. Andrzej, 52, professed his first vows in 1990, and was ordained in 1996. He served as a missionary in India and the Philippines before coming to the United States in 2014 for a sabbatical. At the end of his sabbatical studies at Catholic Theological Union and SHSST, he was asked to stay and serve on the formation team for the US Province.
Before being named pastor of St. Martin of Tours, Fr. Andrzej was postulancy director and associate novice master. He was also a formation director at SHSST; he continues serve on its Board of Directors. On the weekends, Fr. Andrzej often ministered with the Polish community of St. Mary Immaculate parish in the Diocese of Joliet. And in-between these ministries, Fr. Andrzej completed doctoral studies at Catholic Theological Union, and last year successfully defended his doctoral thesis on intercultuality and formation.
Besides Fr. Andrzej, other SCJs on the St. Martin of Tours parish team include Fr. Son Nguyen, SCJ (associate pastor), Dcn. Henry Nguyen, SCJ, and Br. Duane Lemke, SCJ.
PHOTOS: Click here to view photos from the installation.
Safe travels!
Fr. Mark Fortner, SCJ, is on his way to Indonesia today. He will assist with pastoral ministry until January 23, 2023. From 1969-1999 Fr. Mark was a missionary in the Indonesia Province. He has returned several times since then, including a celebration of his 50th anniversary of priesthood in 2018 (he is pictured above at the celebration).
Please remember…
+ Fr. Joseph Yebona Bomela, a member of the Congolese Province, died on November 23. He was born in 1978, professed in 2002 and ordained in 2013. In 2019, Fr. Joseph – who was then the DRC provincial secretary – was involved in a significant motorcycle accident. He had been in care in Kinshasa since 2020.
+ Charlotte Lockhart, the sister of Fr. Gary Lantz, SCJ, died November 22, on her birthday, from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. She was to be buried in a private ceremony next her her husband at Camp Butler National Cemetery near Springfield, IL. Fr. Gary said that she was the last of his five siblings to pass.
A hundred reasons to be grateful
Fr. Christianus Hendrik, SCJ, shared this photo from Thanksgiving at Fort Thompson, SD. He writes that “This is the first Thanksgiving community celebration that we have had since the pandemic. There are a hundred reasons to be grateful and thankful. Our Dehonian community in South Dakota joined our parishioners in Fort Thompson. Happy Thanksgiving to all!”
Those in the group photo: Fr. Jean Claude Mbassi, SCJ, Dn. Steve McLaughlin, Fr. Greg Schill, SCJ, Fr. Joe Dean, SCJ and Fr. Hendrik Christianus.
December birthdays
Those celebrating birthdays in December include: Fr. Chuck Wonch on Dec. 5, Fr. John Strittmatter on Dec. 6, Fr. Gary Lantz on Dec. 8, Frater Thien Nguyen on Dec. 15, and Br. Clay Diaz on Dec. 19. Happy birthday!!
Giving Tuesday
Following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday (with a break on Sunday to hang the Christmas lights and go to church), there is “GivingTuesday.”
GivingTuesday started ten years ago with an idea to encourage and celebrate generosity in the midst of the holiday shopping season. What was a small effort begun at a YMCA in New York City has grown to an international movement.
This year the Priests of the Sacred Heart have a matching fund set up for donations that are made as a part of Giving Tuesday. The focus of this year’s gifts will be on a Dehonian children’s center in Kisangani (Congolese Province) that provides food, medicine, clothing, education and shelter to homeless children.
Click here to make a donation for GivingTuesday on a secure link on the Province Development Office website.
Advent Hour of Recollection for Employees
As noted previously, all employees, volunteers and other collaborators with the Priests of the Sacred Heart, are invited to take part in an online Advent Hour of Recollection on TOMORROW, November 29, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Central). Sr. Nancy Schreck, OSF, will speak on “The Challenge of Making Room for Jesus During the Busyness of the Holidays.”
Click here to access the Zoom link.
Technical assistance:
Sr. Kathleen Burns, IHM, will manage the technical aspects of the Zoom session. If you have IT questions prior to or during the Zoom event you can contact her at: 570-780-8882, skb@sistersofihm.org
And for SCJs…
The Advent Hour of Recollection for SCJs will be on December 13. Participants are to log-on at 10:45 a.m. (central) and the presentation will be from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The speaker will be Pardeep Kaleka, who lost his father and other members of his faith community in 2012 when a white supremacist attacked their temple. Pardeep has since devoted his life to finding ways to address hate and violence and encourage reconciliation. A link for the Zoom session was sent to SCJs last week. It is also available in the Members’ section of the US Province website.
Correction
In the Fridge Notes last week we incorrectly stated the year of death for Fr. André Prévot; the actual date of his death was November 26, 1913. Our apologies for the error.
Click here to read more about him.
Calendar items
Dn. Henry Nguyen’s priesthood ordination, Dec. 17
Provincial Council meeting, Dec. 20-21
Combined North American Councils meeting (Zoom), Jan. 17
Provincial Council meeting, Feb. 7-8
Combined North American Councils meeting (Milwaukee), March 28
Provincial Council meeting, March 29
Pre-retirement workshop (details TBA), April 25-26
Provincial Council meeting, May 9-10
Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 16
Provincial Council meeting, June 27-28
US Provincial Chapter, July 17-21
Centennial celebration in Lower Brule, July 30
OLG feast-day preparation begins
Yesterday, the matachines at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston were blessed in preparation for the parish’s feast-day celebrations on December 12. The tradition of the matachines goes back many centuries. It is thought by many that Spaniards brought the dance style to the Americas as a part of their worship. Eventually, the matachines became an integral part of the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Fr. Rafael Querobin, SCJ (pastor) and Fr. Fabio dos Santos, SCJ (associate pastor) are pictured above with the dancers.
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