Rome, Italy
April 16, 2009

  Click here to subscribe to RSS feed version of Scala

FROM THE EDITOR:
Happy Easter
Important announcements
St. Clement centenary celebrations underway
Regional Pre-General Chapter meeting update

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES:
Pope visits Angola
Saint Clement Province four years later
Campo Grande honors St. Clement Hofbauer
Lourdes shrine honors St. Alphonsus
Central American Brothers meet

PEACE AND JUSTICE:
Homily in honor of deceased Colombian C.Ss.R’s
Funeral of our murdered Colombian confreres

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Colombian province thank you
Important postal address addition
Beware of e-mail scams

FEATURED MEDIA:
CSSR.TV: A portion of Father General’s Easter Vigil homily

TRANSITIONS:
Professions, Ordinations, Anniversaries, Deaths

A LAST LOOK:
“...and I will raise him up...”

FROM THE EDITOR Around the world in 5 minutes

A blessed Easter season to each and every confrere! Our Easter is tempered this year, but deepened in faith, by the Long Lent suffered by our confreres in Colombia. We have more coverage of that tragedy in this issue. Please take a moment to read some important announcements in the announcement section of this issue. Celebrations have taken place, are taking place and will take place these coming months in honor of the centenary of the canonization of St. Clement Hofbauer. We will include coverage in SCALA of these activities, especially the celebration to be held in the province of Vienna next month. The Regional pre-General Chapter meetings are about halfway finished. The Regions of Africa, Asia-Oceania and Southern Europe have already met as their group photos attest to. Northern Europe will meet April 20 – 29, Latin America May 5 – 15, and North America will meet from May 24 –June 1.

Of course, everybody is interested in knowing who are emerging as candidates for Superior General and the General Council. For the time being, we will have to let that remain common room and meal-time discussion material. Regional meeting attendees. however, can speak to the results of their regional meetings.

The Chapter Preparatory Committee will meet the first week of June to synthesize the materials from the regional meetings. After that, you should begin to see more concrete information and documentation begin to appear in SCALA and/or uploaded to our CSSR.COM website leading up to the General Chapter itself.

Some preliminary, general information is already available. On our CSSR.COM website under the password protected Redemptorist section, we have activated our XXIV General Chapter menu item. For now, there is a short description of what a General Chapter is and its significance, a list of chapter members (with their photos as we receive them) and practical information for the Capitulars about travel and the chapter location. Documentation will follow and this site will also be a source of news and printed information during the Chapter.

We are also working on our CSSR.TV site to bring you selected portions of the chapter via video streaming, recorded video and photos. The Regional meetings must approve our plan before we proceed.

In these fifty days of the Easter season,
Grace and Redemption for all!
Gary Ziuraitis, C.Ss.R.

Index

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES:

Angola
The Apostolic Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Angola, March 2009
João Pedro Fernandes, C.Ss.R.

To this brief history I am attaching some photos of Pope Benedict’s visit. Unfortunately we have no photo of the Pope with the Redemptorists, because there was no special meeting for priests and/or religious.

Angola was the second stop for Pope Benedict XVI on his first papal trip to the continent of Africa His visit began in the Republic of Camaroes, where he gave copies of a special document to representatives of all the African dioceses. The document, called the “Instrumentum laboris”, contains guidelines for the second special assembly of the Synod of African Bishops. The document itself is entitled “The Church in Africa serving reconciliation, justice and peace.

Pope Benedict’s visit to Angola was short, only 3 days, (Pope John Paul II stayed 10 days in 1993), but heavy in content and importance.

Meetings and Pronouncements Obviously, each of the Papal pronouncements had a specific theme in accord with the individual meeting or celebration taking place at a given time and/or place: e.g., with the government or members of the diplomatic corps; with the Bishops of Angola and Eastern Africa, with the various pastoral personnel: bishops, priests, men and women religious, with the youth, with the people promoting care for women. But in a country rich in natural resources and a high percentage of poor people, the theme which Benedict most emphasized was social justice. In the welcoming ceremonies at the Luanda airport, the Pope spoke directly: “Your territory is rich, and your nation is strong.… Unfortunately, there are still many poor who are looking for their rights to be respected. Nor can we forget the many Angolans who live below the absolute-poverty line. Do not disappoint them in their hopes.” In his meeting with the highest civil authorities and the diplomatic corps, the Holy Father touched on some of the wounds in the Angolan society which need curing. When speaking about respect for and promoting human rights, a transparent government, an independent police department, free social communication, an honest public administration the Pope encouraged the various African nations to work together so that they would not become merely receivers of other people’s plans and solutions. Africans themselves ought to work together for the good of their own communities and thus become the primary agents of their own development.

In a country which is reforming itself, after 27 years of severe civil war, the Holy Father could not fail to point out ways of reconciliation and rebuilding with a change of heart as the base, in a new way of thinking. He referred to reconciliation and reconstruction which include not only institutions but each and every citizen as well, citing first the higher values of Angolan culture and the light of the Gospel, which are strong forces helping to recreate a solid social fabric. Another theme dear to Pope Benedict – that of hope – was also evident on different occasions. As, for example when he said: “Angola knows that a time for hope has arrived in Africa. Every good and human act is hope in action; it is the dynamic force of the future within you. You have received the force of the Holy Spirit to be the builders of a better future for your beloved country.” Even though the government authorities took political advantage of the Pope’s visit, Benedict XVI became an authentic witness for the sufferings and deep anxieties of the Angolan people, who in recent years have not gotten this kind of brave and prophetic support from their own pastors during years of civil war.

The number of attendees was limited due to difficulties arising from logistical problems in a country still in reconstruction and in a city of 5 million inhabitants, four-fifths of whom live in a ring of poverty and degradation around it.

The fact that the Pope is somewhat reserved in public in no way prevented a significant empathy from forming between him and the Angolan people. From the time of his arrival until his departure there was always a crowd in the plaza fronting the Apostolic Nuntiature where he was staying, as well as all along the exit driveway on which his cortege traveled to go to the various meetings and celebrations.

The Redemptorists Our little Vice Province was represented at the events and meetings by 11 members, all coming from each of our communities. Four confreres were especially involved in the papal visit. Fr. Felipe Saluvenge was one of the organists in liturgical celebrations. Fr. Eugene Lumingo, pastor of Holy Family, took care of the temporary chapel for the papal entourage who were housed in the hotel near the parish. Father João Pedro was a commentator on the private TV station, TV Zimbo. But it was especially Fr. Armando Alberto, the coordinator for the Episcopal Conference for Youth Ministry, who worked most and slept least. He was on the preparatory commission for the visit and coordinated the youth participation. The young people – one hundred of them per diocese – arrived in Luanda a week early to participate in some of the smaller gatherings for young people. In a city which has few logistical resources and a chaotic transport system, we can only imagine the headaches for the organizers…. Still, it was in our parish of the Holy Family that the catechesis for youth was held preceding the city-wide candle-lit procession to start the papal visit.

Index

Europe North
St. Clement Province, old age is not lacking but neither is enthusiasm!
Serafino Fiore, C.Ss.R.
 
The Province of St. Clement prepares to celebrate the fourth anniversary of its erection having been established on 1 August 2005, so we feel it opportune to inform the Congregation of this experiment. The recent visit of the General Government to this Unit has provided an occasion for its evaluation, to glimpse signs of hope and to appreciate the efforts made by the Provincial Government to manage this reality, which in some way is completely new in the Redemptorist panorama.
 
How is it ‘completely new’? First of all in its structure. Four Provinces –Flanders, Amsterdam, Cologne and Switzerland have now become Regions, parts of one Unit, that of St. Clement. Each of the four Regions has its own Council and the Province has its own Council as well, but only one Provincial Chapter. The Statutes are the same for the whole Province, but the financial administration has a special ‘Statute’. It is used for the contribution of each of the Regions for common projects, but remains separate because of the legislation in the different countries. The representation at the next General Chapter has required something new: in addition to the four Regional Superiors it demands that the Provincial Superior represent the Province as well.
 
But confining our report to the structure of the Province may appear rather dry and unimportant. St. Clement, in this configuration, is our second largest Unit after Warsaw with 270 confreres. It is witness to a long and important history that has seen the Redemptorists preach the Gospel in this northern area of Europe and from there set out to make foundations in the five Continents.
 
However this history now requires a new page! The growing secularization in this part of the old Continent has had significant consequences for the Redemptorist mission and especially in the decrease of vocations. The progressive, increasing average age of the confreres, at present almost 75 years, has provided a reason for the search for new solutions.
 
The vitality of the Redemptorists in Holland, Flanders, Switzerland and Germany is truly extraordinary today. Many of our churches continue to be centers of worship. Wittem in Holland, Jette in Belgium, Bous in Germany and Baden in Switzerland are just a few of many who continue to provide generous service. Schools such as the Collegium Josephinum in Bonn and that of The Eucharistic Heart in Essen, Belgium, continue to give witness to the extraordinary work of Redemptorists in the education of youth, even if at the moment few confreres are directly involved in this field.
 
There are other forms of the Redemptorist mission that show generous dedication in spite of age. There is the telephone ministry displaying much imagination, confessions, parish missions and retreat houses, the apostolate of our sanctuaries, retreats, work for the homeless and refugees. Some confreres live outside their communities in order to help in parishes but return to them periodically. Others are chaplains to convents, prisons, and groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous etc. There is also an excellent system of communication within the Province, the presence of the Provincial Government in the communities, the custom of having a ‘Province day’ to which all are invited, common retreats and jubilee celebrations of Profession and Ordination.
 
It is rather interesting, we think, to draw attention to some projects to which the Provincial Government is giving particular attention and which are not easy.

       -The first project is that of a community for the elderly (Senioren Kloster) such as has been realised in Izegem, (Belgium), Boxmeer, (Holland), Leuk, (Switzerland) and for which they are finalizing a plan in Germany. It may be a new structure or in some cases part of a larger existing one run by religious or laity where the confreres of the third or fourth age can live in peace with medical and nursing services available when necessary and where the whole structure is at their service. There is no pastoral commitment unless freely sought by individuals, nor is there any administrative or maintenance work and meetings are reduced to the essential.
       -Youth Ministry in a Province with such a high average age is difficult to develop. Yet the Cologne Region has set up a Jugend Kloster beside our House in Kirchellen that arranges days of religious orientation for schools, week ends for young people, altar servers etc. This program depends much on the laity, mainly young people. There are many initiatives in the program such as courses in meditation and a rock concert each year etc. And in a nearby village a confrere works with youth who are neglected and marginalized.
      - Another point worth mentioning is that of partnership with the laity in concrete projects where the lay people are active and not merely passive or only receivers of the Redemptorist mission. In many of our houses such as Wittem, Roermond and Zendern there are foundations directed by lay people that according to circumstances direct our structures, ministry and retreat work. The Scala group in Holland meet periodically to deepen their Redemptorist spirituality. The group Bremstruik in Belgium has ‘inherited’ the running of our former church in Rooselare and have a program for the formation of the laity themselves and an experience of community. There are other groups of the laity such as Maria Kefas and Effeta in Gent that furnish interesting experiences of spirituality and evangelization. Other such groups are in Bous, Germany and other places too numerous to mention.

What seems worth stressing is that ‘something new’ is being born even in a context that could induce pessimism. There are many believers who want to deepen their life of faith, to understand better Redemptorist spirituality, to share our mission and to experience as lay people the value of a consecrated life. Who knows! The future is in the hands of God.

Index

Brazil Province of Campo Grande officially opens their Year of St. Clement Joaquim Parron, C.Ss.R. “To revitalize the apostolic life through Clementine spirituality” With the participation of a great majority of the confreres of the unit, the Province of Campo Grande officially opened the Clementine year with a 5-day retreat preached by Padre Dalton de Barros, C.Ss.R., of the Rio de Janeiro Province, from March 9-14, in Londrina, Brazil. At the end of the retreat, three young men (Sandro Cruz, C.Ss.R., Sergio Reis, C.Ss.R., and Roberto Santos, C.Ss.R.) made their perpetual profession of vows. The Provincial, Padre Joaquim Barron, C.Ss.R., then formally declared the opening of the Clementine Year in the Campo Grande province. The provincial council, following the suggestion of the General Government with regard to the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Clement, named a committee to help develop interest in the Clementine Year in the Province. Padre. Afonso Tremba, C.Ss.R., coordinator of the committee, stated that a statue of St. Clement will go on pilgrimage to each of the 14 communities of the Province. According to Pe. Tremba, the pilgrimage of the statue to the communities represents our own pilgrimage and should arouse within the province the spirit and the missionary dynamism of St. Clement himself. The pilgrim statue of St. Clement, after visiting all the parishes, sanctuaries and Redemptorist communities of the province will return to Londrina for the official closing of the Clementine year on March 15, 2010. May St. Clement bless all the units of our Congregation! Index

France
The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
St. Alphonsus honored

For some months now a picture of St. Alphonsus dominates the entrance to the large underground basilica of St. Pius X in Lourdes, France.

How that came to be goes like this: A confrere of the Province of Naples, Padre Filippo Indovino, during one of his pilgrimages with the sick to Lourdes, took note that the basilica of St. Pius X had suspended a gallery of banners of saints and beati whose lives were linked to a deep devotion to Our Lady, and especially the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But among the banners, Father Indovino noted the absence of our founder, St. Alphonsus. Father pointed out the anomaly to our General Government, and from there went an official petition to the Rector of the Shrine, Fr Raymond Zambelli. St. Alphonsus, the author of the Glories of Mary, and defender of Immaculate Conception a century before its universal proclamation deserved to be part of this gallery! Father Zambelli declared his willingness to correct the deficiency. We thank Father Anton Schönbacher, of the Region of Helvetica, for the photo that bear witness to the presence of our founder in one of the most famous Marian shrines in the world.

Index

Peru
Meeting of Brothers of the Northern Sub-Region of Latin America and the Caribbean
Jaime Ramos, C.Ss.R.

The members of the Sub-Regional Secretariat are:
Br. Edgar Lozano, Bogota Province
Br. Luis Valverde, Central America Vice-Province
Fr. J. Rafael Nieto, Quito Province

The meeting was held in Lima, Peru, at the Santa Anita House, on the 17th and 18th of March, 2009. The objective was to deal with some issues that concern Redemptorist Brothers. From the 19th to the 21st, the Brothers participated in the Seminar for Latin American Religious Brothers of the Latin American Confederation of Religious (CLAR), held at the retreat house of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Rosary. The theme of the Seminar was the identity of the Brother. Our meeting concluded with a tour of the city of Lima, in which we enjoyed the visit to the colonial churches and historical monasteries.

The participants at the meeting were: Br. Jaime Ramos Contreras, Province of Mexico; Br. Víctor Manuel González, Vice-Province of San Salvador; Br. Jairo Reales Cantillo, Province of Bogotà; Br. Eleazar Pérez, Province of Bogotá; Br. Jesús Manuel Bobadilla García, Vice Province of Perú-North; Br. Br. Redin Meza Tocto, Vice Province of Perù-North; Fr. Roque Machado, Prefect of Brothers, Vice Province of Perù-North; Fr. Rafael Nieto Cabrera, Province of Quito, Coordinator for Brothers of the Northern Sub-Region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

During the meeting the participants studied the stages of Formation and how they are structured in our Units, considering the whole of Formation and the formation of Brothers in particular. As a conclusion the participants formulated a general objective and some specific objectives and strategies, in order to respect and promote the Brother’s vocation as a valid and relevant vocation for today in the Congregation and in the Units of the Northern Sub-Region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Some decisions were taken in order to support Brothers and their integration in our (Vice) Provinces:

Three meetings of Brothers will be held during the next Triennium:
First Year: The meeting will be held among Brothers of neighboring (Vice) Province.
Second Year: Sub-Regional meeting of all the (Vice) Provinces that constitute the Sub-Region. The place of the meeting is decided by rotation.
Third Year: CLAHER-CLAIR, the meeting or Congress for the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean. The next Congress will be held in Chile in December, 2010.

The Units are asked to name a Coordinator for Brothers, who will assist Brothers in their Formation and in coordinating activities. It is recommended that there be two annual meeting of Brothers in each Unit; Recommended times could be in October and February, respectively, for the feast of St. Gerard and on the annual Religious Life Day.
First day: Spiritual Retreat
Second day: Theological formation of Brothers
Third day: A day for common recreation and sharing, tour, etc.

We express our heartfelt thanks to Fr. Argimiro Gago and Fr. Grimaldo Garay, and to the Vice Province of Perú-North for the wonderful welcome it has given us and truly making us feel at home.

Index

PEACE AND JUSTICE:

Colombia
In honor of our two murdered confreres
José Rafael Prada Ramírez, C.Ss.R.

Our dear and martyred Colombia has one of the highest rates of violence in the world (homicides, kidnappings, assaults, corruption). It would seem that the Lord God, besides the marvelous biodiversity that He has given to this country, gave a wink of permission to the devil in charge of despising life that he might have an easier time in his destructive task.

Perhaps there is no other country in the world where so many factors of violence unite: guerillas, paramilitary groups, drug-traffickers, government corruption, thugs who pose as soldiers, run-of-the-mill delinquency, and the laziness of a lot of the citizenry who now accept the intentional taking of life as something which is more or less natural and ordinary. Paradoxically, our two Redemptorist missionary confreres, Ariel Jimenez and Gabriel Montoya, have become victims of this situation. In the fullness of their youth, they were vilely assassinated in order to extract from them a few million pesos, money which should have gone to sustaining an indigenous boarding school of more than 200 children in the deep savannas and forests of Vichada.

Why such a situation among a people who are traditionally Catholic as are we here in Colombia? Because now we are veterans of many years of violence and we have become accustomed to it, according to some. Because we are poor and needy and in the face of such indigence our need pushes us to be violent, according to others. Because the capitalist and consumerist world of today has invaded our land, and from the heady drafts of materialism we have all ended up drunk and out of control before bundles of cash, say a third group.

All are partly correct, but maybe there is a deeper well from which all the currents of violence flow forth and produce the society we live in. I would dare to say, mixing together the intelligence and the drive of the Colombian with all his malice and desire for progress at any cost, we have created a subculture of national violence which we could express in the oft repeated refrain: “A Colombian never stops.” Yes, we have to put a candle before God with all our devotions, prayers and pilgrimages, and another candle in front of the devil with all our lies, corruption and pretenses. What is important in this subculture is to have, to show off, to possess, come what may, and by whatever means .... Later we go to confession or pay off a promise to a favorite saint, or we give some alms, or we help out a poor family to rid ourselves of our guilt.

The prophetic voice of some members of the Church, if not of all, is fastidious and bothersome to the portion of society whose picture we have painted here. And it’s important to get rid of that voice in whatever way, just that quick, crazily, without reflecting on what one is doing, without thinking of the consequences ... to silence conscience in order that having possessions and showing off might take center-stage without regrets.

But the voice of the prophet is not enough!

Let us become excited about an interior change of heart so that we might love the temple of God which is each one of us and honor the living God which is each of our brothers and sisters. Yes, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and Children of God, brothers and sisters of one another. That is the light of Christ which came into the world. Let us not prefer darkness to light, as the Gospel for this fourth Sunday of Lent tells us. “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” (Jn.3:20-21)

In Colombia we will lower the indices of violence when the State takes seriously its commitment of service to its citizens and not to particular interests which are narrow and corrupt. When the Church lets go of clericalism and no longer believes itself to be more intelligent or more holy that the simple mortal and realizes it too is sinful and subject for conversion. When civil society respects differences and is built upon dialog as a privileged bridge for communication and for seeking the truth. When there reigns the conviction in families that the family is better and more deeply formed through witness and example than through shouting and punishing or through permissive attitudes which allow for anything. When each of us accepts his or her self as we are, with our good qualities and our defects, with our instincts and tendencies, our ideals and aspirations. When the beauty of a tree or the song of a bird or the purity of the air or the clarity of the water has more value to us than the shameless construction of immense commercial centers, cathedrals to consumerism, where we feel protected by guards and we purchase with our eyes what we cannot purchase from our pocketbooks.

In sum, we will diminish fratricidal violence when we feel we are children of the same heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, on the just and the unjust. (Mt.5:43-45). For Him, Who is Love, what matters above all is the existence of the living being. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (Jn.3:17) I don’t want to condemn or to judge anyone, but, yes, I want to love each and every one of my brothers and sisters. It is not a question of ideas; it is a question of sentiment.

May Ariel and Gabriel, close to God by the very etymology of their names, help us from the heavenly homeland to live as and to sense ourselves as being brothers and sisters in this earthly homeland. Missionary Gabriel, Missionary Ariel:

Missionary who offers your life
without thinking that they might snatch it from you,
like Christ you are light, you are fire,
which will change this world in love.

Index

Colombia
Two Pilgrimages of Despair-Hope
Fr.José Cirer Grisales, IMC (Consolata Missionaries)

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.” (Is.40:1-2)

Perhaps it seems strange to you that a Consolata Missionary has been asked to give you this brief report on the funeral of two Redemptorist missionary priests, vilely assassinated in Vichada (Colombia).

Well, Fr.Salvador Medina asked me to represent the entire Consolata Missionary Institute of Colombia and Ecuador at this sorrowful event which causes such sorrow to a Christian community, to a religious community and to all the Church.

We are by name missionaries of “Consolation” and what better sign is there of this reality than our physical and spiritual presence in this celebration. It is an event which looks like a pilgrimage of the whole Christian community of Salamina and Aranzazu, but initially it looks like a pilgrimage heading toward despair.

In both towns there is silence. An air of sorrow hangs over everything: an air of stillness, of sorrow, of despair, of disconsolation, of impotence.

At ten in the morning the celebration in memory of Father Gabriel Fernando Montoya began at the church of Our Immaculate Lady of Salamina. The celebration was presided over by Mons. Alvaro Rincon, bishop emeritus of Puerto Carreño and 50 priests. We were fifty priests: among us Redemptorists, a delegation of Montfort Fathers, Vincentians, and Consolata Missionaries, besides five diocesan priests, among whom was Mons.Luis Enrique Hoyos, representative for the Archbishop, and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manizales, and many religious women and diocesan seminarians.

At two in the afternoon we found ourselves in the atrium of the church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Arazazu for the next celebration. It was presided over by Mons. Fabio Morales Grisales, bishop emeritus of Mocoa-Sibundoy. Here the presence of the diocesan clergy was much more numerous. In total 65 priests concelebrated and various communities of religious women were present.

In both towns, the Christian community came out en masse.

It was presumed that such a vile assassination would be condemned. All present felt the real consolation of the spiritual presence of the two missionaries who were sacrificed on the altar of someone’s desire for riches or whatever else it might have been.

The main theme of both homilies was repudiating this crime, but, at the same time, emphasis was placed on the joy of striving for a life which offers a contrast to the desire for revenge, for hate, and for anger. We are weak and our ability to get along together is threatened by conflicts, discord and offences, to the critical point of sapping the life out of people.

Life in common is possible only when brothers and sisters share with each other the forgiveness that each one has received from God. We are constantly putting limits on forgiveness. Jesus invites us to forgive without limits; that is, our forgiveness ought to be proportional to our desire for revenge. Only forgiveness is able to save and cement together the life of a community which commits itself to justice (the charity of God).

In fact, Mons. Alvaro and the priest Gustavo Jimenez Soto, Redemptorist missionary brother of Father Jesus Ariel Jimenez Soto, invited the community to work for pardon, reconciliation, peace, brotherhood and solidarity. They invited us to turn our eyes to God and to open our hearts to conversion, making use of this time of Lent which leads to Easter, and in these moments we are experiencing a foretaste of Easter because the death of these two brothers of ours in the Lord are the Passion which leads us to the fullness of the Resurrection. As symbol of this, during the offertory, the brothers lit various candles to point to the resurrection of these brothers of ours in the faith and in ministry. Really, it was an event of great consolation, the consolation which Christ brings those who believe in Him.

When Father Rafael Prada, provincial superior of the Redemptorists, spoke to the community, he invited us to celebrate this sacrifice with joy, and he made use of the occasion to invite children and youth present to consider the option of serving Christ and the Church as priests or missionary men or women. In the cemetery in Salamina one young man approached him and told him, “I would like to be a Redemptorist missionary.”

For all of this, this pilgrimage heading toward despair became an encounter with hope, with life, pardon, reconciliation and with consolation. In a very real way, the People of God on pilgrimage through this event has emerged consoled and inspired to continue supporting men and women in the cause of the Gospel both here and afar (the mission ad gentes). Indeed, what began as sorrow and pain became joy which was manifested in loud applause and in the accompanying of the body by firemen from both places. Their participation was a sign of dousing the thirst for vengeance, replacing it with a thirst for forgiveness; of reconciliation smothering the flame of hatred; and of fanning the flames of love and life.

In all the words of thanks that were offered in church, there was always a mention of the Consolata Missionaries for their solidarity and presence in this church event. It was coincidental with the fact that many Redemptorist missionaries know me for my service as Rector of CEPAF and as a fellow worker in pastoral ministry in Bogota as well as in Bucaramanga and Manizales.

At the end of each Eucharist decrees from the various civil entities were read (from the mayor’s office, the town council, the firemen, the Secretariat of Education of Vichada, etc.) in which the life and mission of these missionaries was praised.

Index

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Thank You 

Father Rafael Prada, Provincial Superior of Bogotá, and the Redemptorists of the Bogotá Province thank you for the expressions of condolence, spiritual support, solidarity and hope that you sent on the occasion of the violent deaths of Fathers Jesús Ariel Jiménez and Gabriel Fernando Montoya, who worked in the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Carreño; as well as for the passing of Bishop Ramón Mantilla Duarte, the first Colombian Redemptorist bishop.

We publicly renew our promise to stay faithful to following Jesus Christ in preaching the gospel to the poor as St. Alphonsus wanted, even if this means the sacrifice of one´s life.

Rafael Arcadio Bernal Supelano, C.Ss.R.
Provincial Secretary of Bogotá

Index

General House
Postal Address

The Italian Postal Service has slightly modified the address of our post office box. From now on, in order to mail correspondence via the post office box, it will be necessary to address correspondence in this way:

Addressee
C.P. 2458
00185 Roma – PT 158
ITALIA (only for correspondence from outside Italy)

The only change is to add “PT 158” after Roma.

N.B. Remember, you may send ordinary correspondence up to 2 kg (4.4 lbs., 0.3 stones) to the above address. For all other mailings, whether by postal service, DHL, FedEx or UPS, etc., you should use the following address:
Addressee
Via Merulana 31
00185 Roma
ITALIA (only for correspondence from outside Italy)

Index

Attention!
Please be aware of and avoid e-mail scams that harvest or steal the names of Redemptorists from various sources and include them in an attempt to get you to call phone numbers or to send/wire money for whatever reasons. You can be sure that the General Government and Provincial governments will only solicit your aid through official channels of the Congregation. If you have any doubt, contact the General Government or your provincial office by phone or fax.

Index

:FEATURED MEDIA:

Featured Media:
On WWW.CSSR.TV: A portion of Father General’s Easter Vigil Homily.

Index

TRANSITIONS

Recent noteworthy events in the Redemptorist Family. For a complete record of Transitions visit the Officialia site

First Profession of Temporary Vows:
Hélio de Abreu Araújo, Vice Province of Fortaleza, January 25, 2009
Gilberto José de Souza, Province of São Paulo, January 25, 2009
Luiz Almir Gonçalves, Province of São Paulo, January 25, 2009
Max Nestor Finger, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009
Domingos Wagner Lima de Morais, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009

Profession of Perpetual Vows:
José Enrique Altamirano Arévalo, Vice Province of Perú-South, February 8, 2009
Nel Javier Carrera Arellano, Vice Province of Perú-South, February 8, 2009
Yakov Ronald Chavez Martínez, Vice Province of Perú-South, February 8, 2009
Donato Díaz Huamán, Vice Province of Perú-South, February 8, 2009
Erick Luján García, Vice Province of Perú-South, February 9, 2009
Aldo Antonio Ramírez Denis, Vice Province of Asunción, March 7, 2009
Sandro da Cruz, Province of Campo Grande, March 12, 2009
Roberto Claudiano da Silva Filho, Province of Campo Grande, March 12, 2009
Sérgio Reis de Lima, Province of Campo Grande, March 12, 2009

Ordination to the Priesthood:
Augustine Mugambi Kiruja, Region of Kenya, January 13, 2009

Deaths:
Rev. Gerard Neagle, 67, Province of Canberra, February 27, 2009
Rev. Mario Stützer, 87, Province of Saint Clement/Region of Cologne, March 5, 2009
Rev. John George Hacker, 80, Province of Denver, March 7, 2009
Rev. Giuseppe Muccino, 84, Province of Naples, March 12, 2009
Bishop Ramòn Mantilla Duarte, 83, Province of Bogotà, March 16, 2009
Rev. Jesùs Ariel Jiménez Soto, 46, Province of Bogotà, March 16, 2009
Rev. Gabriel Fernando Montoya Tamayo, 41, Province of Bogotà, March 16, 2009
Rev. Patrick D’Souza, 62, Region of Kenya, March 21, 2009
Rev. Paul De Meyer, 85, Province of St. Clement/Region of Flanders, March 21, 2009

60th Jubilee of Profession:
Eduard Newrzella, Province of Saint Clement/Region of Cologne, April 17, 2009

60th Jubilee of Ordination:
Jan Piekarski, Province of Warsaw, April 17, 2009

50th Jubilee of Profession:
Johannes B.Stocker, Province of Munich, April 25, 2009

Suppression of House:
Domus Blauberg in the city of Sarreguemines, France. Suppressed on March 3, 2009.

Index

A LAST LOOK:

A LAST LOOK IN PHOTOS:
A picture is worth a thousand words

“For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40.

Index