Rome, Italy
February 16, 2009

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FROM THE EDITOR:
Colombia: Pro-Vicar Apostolic named for Puerto Carreņo
Peru: Award honors Peruvian Redemptorists
Ecuador: Redemptorist parish celebrates anniversary
Brazil: Alphonsian Academy graduate fights for justice
Brazil: Putting Moral Theology into practice
Vietnam and Canada: Stories of Redemptorist influence

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES:
USA: Redemptorists attend Obama Inaugural
USA: Our Neighbor, the President of the United States
USA: The Anatomy of a Church Restoration
Brazil: Union of Brazilian Missionaries hold meeting

XXIV GENERAL CHAPTER :
Commissions and Committee appointments
Regional meeting dates

REDEMPTORIST HISTORY:
Italy: The city of Corato honors Tannoia & native Redemptorists

FEATURED WEBSITES:
Information you can use on our CSSR.COM website

TRANSITIONS:
Professions, Ordinations, Anniversaries, Deaths

FROM THE EDITOR Around the world in 5 minutes

Francisco Antonio Ceballos, C.Ss.R., former Provincial of Bogotá, has been named Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Puerto Carreño, Colombia. The current Vicar Apostolic is Redemptorist Bishop Alvaro Efrén Rincón Rojas also of the Province of Bogotá. The Vicariate Apostolic of Puerto Carreño, established in 1999, is in the northeast part of Colombia, comprising 57,000 square kilometers of difficult terrain, with a Catholic population of about 30,000, 4 parishes attended to by 6 priests, 10 male religious and 6 female religious.

During its 93th Plenary Assembly, the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (SCLC) decorated three bishops and seven religious congregations serving in Peru, including the Redemptorists, with the Medal of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo. The award was given to the Redemptorist in honor of their 125 years of evangelizing ministry in Peru.

The bestowing of the Medal of Saint Toribio of Mogrovejo is "an honor that the Peruvian Episcopal Conference began in 2002 to recognize people and institutions that have contributed significantly to the good of the Catholic Church in Peru."

The parish of Saint Gerard in the city of Riobamba, Ecuador, Province of Quito, celebrated its 64th anniversary on Monday, January 19, 2009.

The principal educational institution and communities associated with San Gerardo parish held a parade to honor San Gerardo and its founding on January 15, 1945 during the administration of President José María Velasco Ibarra.

The parish was originally called “Mancheno.” Years later, the Redemptorists requested that the name be changed to San Gerardo. The first church was built on June 9, 1930. Presently the parish maintains a kindergarten, Rosario Jaramillo, the National college Dr. Carlos Zambrano, the Boyaca School, and a center for training Artisans.

Dom José Luís Azcona, O.A.R., the bishop of the Territorial Prelature of Marajó, Brazil, suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Belém do Pará and a 1965 graduate of the Alphonsian Academy, is speaking out against the drug and human trafficking that is occurring in his prelature. He says young girls are being tricked into leaving Brazil for Europe for a better life and are then enslaved for sex. His outspokenness has caused him to receive death threats. He says the Churches of Brazil and Europe should join together and exercise pressure upon officials of these countries to maintain a better vigilance and eradicate this embarrassing, disastrous marketing of people, which is so contrary to the dignity of humankind and to the gospel.

Is the 68 year old bishop afraid for his life? He says: “Preaching the gospel from this condition of being ¨marked for death,” enables one to do it with greater freedom.”

	Father Robson de Oliveira Pereira, C.Ss.R, pictured first on the left, of the Province of Goiás, is also a graduate of the Alphonsian Academy (2003). In his current ministry Father Robson is using his Redemptorist moral theology training to contribute to the moral education of his people by writing columns on moral themes in the newspaper Diário da Manhã, and also has a blog on the Shrine of the Divine Eternal Father website: http://www.paieterno.com.br/

Shown here are some Redemptorists with the patronal image of The Divine Eternal Father, and the Sanctuary of the Divine Eternal Father.

Le Phi Cong, an 82 year old Vietnamese stamp collector, is said to have in his possession a 1-penny orange stamp published in Mauritius in 1847 printed with the image of Queen Victoria, which is said to be worth one million dollars. Le Phi Cong credits a Redemptorist among those who interested him in stamp collecting at an early age: He said: "I still remember one Catholic Priest, Père Ganier (sic), at the Redemptorist Church and Sister Teresa at Phu Cam Church; they loved me very much and gave me any stamps they had." We believe the aforementioned Redemptorist was actually Father Patrice Gagné, C.Ss.R., (1898 – 1976) from the province of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, who served in Vietnam during that time period.

A collector of another kind, Numismatic Jean-Pierre Paré of Quebec, Canada has authored a book “Banks in Quebec.” His interest is in all that relates in some way to banks, currency, coins and their history. As a boy, his interest in this area was sparked by being an altar server at the Shrine of Sainte-Anne di Beaupre. The resident and visiting priests would give him a stipend for serving the Mass. He sometimes made $30 a week, at that time a real fortune! When his father told him to bank it in order to earn interest, his curiosity was awakened and his passion was born. He became fascinated with bank buildings and the whole process of banking. The moral of the stories: You never know when a word of encouragement or an act of kindness to the people we serve is going to impact their lives, lead to their benefit and to gratitude that lasts a lifetime. The Word takes root in the heart of the listener! Grace and Redemption for all! Gary Ziuraitis, C.Ss.R.

Index

NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES:

Editor’s note: The election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States has drawn much interest from around the world. Two American Redemptorists write of their experiences. Father Maurice Nutt, an African American Redemptorist writes about his experience at the inaugural. The other, Father Robert Fenili, talks about the practical matter of having a president in your neighborhood!

USA
Pilgrimage of Hope: An eyewitness to history
Maurice J. Nutt, C.Ss.R.

Shortly after noon, on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States of America -- the culmination of my citizen pilgrimage of hope.

As television cameras panned the multitude, Black faces were visible with tears of joy flowing uninhibited. White faces beamed with a glow of reconciliation. And Latino and Asian faces were brimming with pride and hope. The tears I cried as an African American Redemptorist paid tribute to the overwhelming feeling that God allowed me to observe something that I did not believe I would ever see in my lifetime. I also felt that I was standing as proxy for my ancestors, some of whom were slaves in America and prohibited from voting. I was their witness to the inauguration of an African American man taking the oath of office for the highest position in the nation on the steps of the Capitol and who will live at and administer the country from the White House - both buildings built in part by slaves. Unbelievable! Earlier that day, under the cover of darkness, in the frigid pre-dawn temperatures of this historic day, hundreds of thousands of people converged on the nation’s Capitol from all around the United States and the world and walked their way to the National Mall to witness the oath of office. Numbered among the estimated crowd of two million were Redemptorists.

I traveled to this moment in history with Redemptorists John Fahey-Guerra and John Schmidt from Seelos House in Chicago, Larry Luhan from St. Alphonsus Residence in Whitestone, New York, and Caribbean Redemptorists Kevin Bellot and Elton Letang, students studying in Washington. There was great excitement and anticipation in the air as the crowd assembled anyway they could by subway, buses, cars, bikes and on foot. I was amazed to witness the elderly walking with canes and walkers and some being pushed in wheel chairs. There were some families walking together that were made up of four generations. Coming together on the National Mall in a spirit of hope and harmony for as far as the eye could see were people of many nationalities and socio-economic, political, educational and religious backgrounds. This sort of incredible gathering at one time and in one place is a unique feature of the United States of America. At times the crowd acknowledged this unity in diversity by chanting, “We are one!”

Index

USA
Denver Province
Our Neighbor, the President of the USA
Robert Fenili, C.Ss.R. (Denverlink)

What is it like living on the same street as the President of the United States? The election of Barack Obama brought a big change to our Redemptorist Theology Residence (pictured on the left) in Chicago, IL since the new President’s home away from the White House in Washington, D.C. is directly across the street.

	When the family is present, all the streets for a block in all directions are closed to traffic, so we find ourselves in the middle of the most exclusive “gated community” in the world. While residents have access, others can only enter with a letter of invitation from a resident or by being met at a checkpoint. So if you want to vacation in the quietest (no trucks, buses, emergency vehicles) and safest (40 Chicago police and countless secret service personnel) place on earth, come visit us in Chicago, but be sure to call first!
	Now that the Obamas have officially moved to Washington, the super-security will be downgraded. As long as he or any family member is not home, you can park near and get to our house without showing identification.

Index

USA
Denver Province
The Anatomy of a Restoration
Kyle Fisher, C.Ss.R.

The November 2008 issue of Scala featured an article about the fire caused by lightning at the historic Rock Church in St. Louis, Missouri in the Denver Province. I wanted to do a follow-up article for SCALA to share with Redemptorists around the world the progress of the restoration, because it is surely the largest restoration project of its kind in our city and probably the largest restoration project of its kind going on in the Redemptorist world at this time.

But, because there are so many work trades and facets involved in the restoration, where do you begin to share the many different stories?

So, I went back to that November article to see if it would lead me in a direction. And it did. At the end of that article we quoted the General Foreman of the reconstruction project: “I’ve never worked on a project where there has been so many surprises and challenges.” So, for this update article, I went back to the General Foreman and asked him, “What was one of the greatest surprises of the project?"

He said, “The scope of the project kept getting assessed and re-assessed. Once the damages had been assessed, the biggest surprise was the amount of work that was needed and the cost. In early November 2007 the estimate of cost was 4.6 million dollars. By December 2007 that estimate had spiraled up to over 6 million dollars.” As you can all imagine, the insurance company was getting a little nervous, because they said there were just too many surprises! The surprises had to stop and we had to come up with a definite financial number. The General Foreman, working with the General Contractor, now has that definite figure. The restoration of the Grand Ole Rock Church was going to cost $13.5 million dollars! Of course, insurance covers most, but not all, of that cost. The cost of the restoration is the greatest and number # 1 surprise. “But,” the Foreman went on to say, “when all is said and done you will have a brand new church inside and out, from top to botton.”

Which brings us to the second greatest surprise: the water damage. Because of the millions and millions of gallons of water used to fight the fire, we knew there would be a lot of water damage, which in turn would open a Pandora’s box of other problems. It did. Three of those problems were: Asbestos, lead paint/plaster and mold. And here in the United States, government officials are very strict and rigid when it comes to these potentially serious health risks.

So, a removal Company had to be hired to deal with the asbestos and lead paint. One group began with the asbestos in the small tunnel/crawl space under the church. The other group began on the church ceiling. They would mark out an area and put up “tents” to catch the debris. For this article, we will highlight the challenges encountered in the tunnel/crawl space underneath the Church. During the fire, as the tons and tons of water was poured onto the bell tower and the roof of the Church, the water fell like rain from the roof into the church interior and flowed down the walls and pillars. All this water had to go somewhere. It went through the floor and then into the empty spaces under the floors and into the tunnels/crawl space.

As the water was falling it was gaining force and momentum and, like a sunami, took along with it any mud, stones, rocks and debris under the church into the tunnels/crawl space, through Brother Terry Burke’s subterrenean office, and finally into the old boiler room - a room that is 45 feet long, 23 feet wide and 17 feet high, equaling 17,595 cubic feet or 1,035 square feet. The room was completely flooded and debris was floating in the water like logs down a flooded river. It also damaged the asbestos wrapped around the heating pipes and the asbestos was now part of the mud. The asbestos had to be taken off the pipes and out of the tunnels. But, there was asbestos in the mud too. So they had to dig up the mud with the asbestos and take it out also. In doing this the men had to follow the federal laws of wearing protective clothing, putting the asbestos and mud in protective plastic bags to be sealed and tagged with warning labels. They could only work for a limited time in the tunnels, then they were required to come out and take a shower to clean off the contamination and asbestos, take a break from the tunnels, then return to the tunnels for another limited time period.

As you can well imagine not a very enviable job, but as far as we know, there were no major complaints from the laborers. In the end, they filled over 50 – 55 gallon drums of leaded paint chips and plaster that were taken to a hazardous waste dump. With all of the movement caused by the flooding, dirt and soil from around the foundation and piliings were dislodged. That meant there was probably damage to the foundation, pilings and structure of the building. All these issues would have to be addressed. So, engineers had to go down into the crawl space, now dug out to the size of small workable tunnels, to assess and evaluate the damage to the structure of the church. They concluded that something had to be done to shore up the damage that was done to the walls, the pilings and the foundation to prevent further erosion and possible danger to the church.

So laborers were sent back into the tunnels to take out more mud and dirt from the walls and floor so that they could construct and attach forms and rebar to the dirt walls and floor. The confining working space did not make this task easy or fun, but it was finally completed all the way around the church. Finally, a cement truck arrived, and to get the cement to the tunnels a system had to be rented to push the concrete through pipes to the tunnels. Then the laborers on their hands and knees moved the concrete to the forms and the floor. Here are some statistics about the tunnels and concrete that I think will help you use your imagination to put a picture together to understand what’s happening in the church and what’s going on behind the scenes, which some of it is not pleasant. The tunnels are 300 feet on both sides of the church and in most places are 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Over 50 yards of concrete were poured into the tunnels. That would be 5 truckloads worth.

Index

Brazil
Union of Brazilian Redemptorists (URB)
Meeting of Redemptorist Missionaries of Brazil

The Union of Brazilian Redemptorists (URB) announced recently a 4-day meeting for their membership, which includes all Redemptorist priests and Brothers, as well as religious women and lay persons who are directly involved in the Redemptorist missions presently being conducted in Brazil. The meeting will take place at the Redemptorist Seminary in Aparecida from February 16 to 20, 2009.

Father Jose Ulysses da Silva will serve as evaluator and advisor at the meeting that will begin on Feb.16, 2009, with Mass at 5 p.m. at the seminary. The meeting will close, again with Mass, at 9 a.m. at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida.

The members of the team organizing and directing this meeting are Fathers Jose Roberto (Coutinho), Ivair Luiz da Silva, Renato Salvassa (São Paulo), Pedro Grudzd (Bahia), and Gelson Luiz Mikuszka (Campo Grande).

For more information on the outcome of the meeting, you may email pe.ivair@yahoo.com.br

THE PROGRAM:

Dates: Feb. 16 – 20, 2009
Place: Redemptorist Seminary Santo Afonso
Rua Padre Claro Monteiro 152
12570-000 Aparecida SP Brazil
Phone: (12) 3105-2245 and 3105-2143

Reflection: Identify the Redemptorist Mission as such
1. Restructuring the Mission according to the content and strategies of the Documen of Aparecida (DA)
2. Search for the fundamental elements of Redemptorist solidarity
3. Sharing the experiences of each mission team
4. Evaluation, questioning, suggestions
5. Differences and common usages
6. Our participating in a Contintental-wide Mission

Strategies:
a. Sharing of each team’s modus operandi within the dynamic of the theme
b. An advisor will judge and go deeper into the final conclusions arrived at by the meeting’s exchanges.
c. Moments of common prayer will be taken from inspirations derived from Our Most Holy Redeemer, St, Alphonsus and Our Lady.

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XXIV GENERAL CHAPTER :

Rome, Italy
Preparations for the XXIV General Chapter
Appointees of the various Commissions and Committees

Preparations for the XXIV General Chapter, only eight months away, have been underway for quite some time. Following is the list of Redemptorists (and date of appointment) preparing for the Chapter in various capacities.

Central Preparatory Commission:

The Central Preparatory Commission (12 June 2007) has met three times: October 2007, May 2008 in Rome, and November 2008 in São Paulo Brazil. A fourth meeting is scheduled for June 2009 in Rome.

Serving on the Central Preparatory Commission:
Jacek Dembek, General Consultor and President of the Commission
Serafino Fiore, Vicar General
Joseph Dorcey, Secretary General
Gary Ziuraitis (Denver), Director of Communications
Seán Cannon (Dublin) Canon Law consultant
Michael Brehl (Edmonton-Toronto,) Moderator of the Chapter
Brendan Callanan (Suriname), Moderator of the Chapter
Francisco Antonio Ceballos (Bogotá), due to his appointment as Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Puerto Carreño, Colombia, he resigned from the Commission in December 2008.
José Ulysses da Silva (São Paulo), appointed to the commission to replace Francisco Ceballos and as a Moderator of the Chapter on December 16, 2008.
Johanny Álvarez Castro (San Salvador), in charge of support services at the Salesianum for the Chapter.
Seán Wales (South Africa), Co writer-Editor of the Instrumentum Laboris
Manuel Rodríquez (San Juan), Co writer-Editor of the Instrumentum Laboris

Pre-chapter Commission for Postulata (5 June 2008):
Serafino Fiore, Vicar General
Seán Cannon, (Dublin) Expert in Canon Law.
Joseph Dorcey, Secretary General

Credentials Committee (16 December 2008):
Jacek Dembek, Consultor General
José Monteiro Pinto de Sousa, Procurator General
Joseph Dorcey, Secretary General

Temporary Secretary of the Chapter (16 December 2008):
Michael Brehl, (Edmonton-Toronto)

Notaries (16 December 2008):
Emílio Lage, (Madrid)
Jean Beco, (Belgium-South)
Brendan Kelly, (Cebu)

Redemptorist Brothers appointed members of the XXIV General Chapter, 2009
(16 December 2008):
Brother Jeffrey Rolle, (Baltimore) – North America
Brother Joel de Gujzman, (Manila) – Asia-Oceania
Brother Michael Duxbury, (London) – Europe
Brother João Batista de Viverios, (São Paulo) – Latin América
Brother Benjamin Posvo, (Zimbabwe) - Africa.

Experts (17 december 2008):
Seán Wales (South Africa)
Manuel Rodríguez, (San Juan)

Proposed Commission for the Economic Report (16 Decemer 2008):
(Pending: requires the approval of the Capitulars during the pre-chapter regional meetings)

Proposed Commission for the Liturgy (17 December 2008):
(Pending: requires the approval of the Capitulars during the pre-chapter regional meetings)

Proposed Lay Observers (17 December 2008):
(Pending: requires the approval of the Capitulars during the pre-chapter regional meetings)

Moderators of the Regional Meetings (22 December 2008):
Africa (January 18 – 28) - Larry Kaufmann, (South Africa)
Asia-Oceania (February 10 – 20) - Brendan Kelly, (Cebu)
Southern Europe (March 4 – 11) - Pedro López, (Madrid)
Northern Europe (April 20 – 29) - Cornelius Casey, (Dublin)
Latin America (May 5 – 15) - Marcelo Pomar (Buenos Aires)
North America May 24 – June 1) - Jack Kingsbury, (Baltimore)

Index

REDEMPTORIST HISTORY :

Italy
Honoring Antonio Maria Tannoia and the Redemptorist sons of Corato
Alberto Ceneri, C.Ss.R.

Being that 2008 was the second centenary of the death of Father Antonio Maria Tannoia (1727-1808), we Redemptorists and the parish of St. Gerard Majella in Corato, Italy, organized a two-day symposium on October 8 and 9, 2008 to honor this illustrious Redemptorist and native son.

To be sure, our city has other sons given to the Congregation during its 276 years of existence. We mention just a few examples of Corato’s glory here:

P. Antonio Tannoia (1727 -1804) biographer of Saint Alphonsus and Saint Gerard.
P. John Camillo Ripoli (1780 - 1850) Superior General
P. Vittorio Lojodice (1804 - 1916) Servant of God and missionary.
P. Serafino Fiore (1950 - ) Current Vicar General.
As well as our young Coratini Redemptorists: Father Sylvester Lafasciano, Father Filippo Strippoli and clerical student Vincenzo Loiodice.

The cultural symposium, through the light of a scientific, critical approach, had as its goal to highlight the historical and documentary value of Tannoia’s works and to give anew to the citizens of Corato the figure of a citizen religious that made known to the entire world Saint Alphonsus and Saint Gerard, and furthermore to affirm the anthropological and cultural roots of the people of Southern Italy.

The meetings took place in “Friendship Hall” at St. Gerard Majella parish in Corato. The presenters, Father Alfonso Amarante and Father Sabatino Majorano, professors at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, traced the life and itinerant apostolic ministry of Father Tannoia. Through Tannoia’s hagiographic writings (such as those on St. Alphonsus and St. Gerard Majella), the speakers outlined possibilities of reflecting on the future because Tannoia was not only a man of his times, but is, more than anything else, the memory of our future.

On Wednesday, October 8th, the evening began with greetings and welcome from Corato´s elected officials including the mayor, Luigi Perrone, and the Mayor of Deliceto, Benvenuto Nigro, followed by an introduction to the symposium by Father Antonio Perillo, now Provincial Consultor of the Province of Naples and Rector of the Shrine of Saint Gerard in Materdomini. This was followed by a presentation by Father Amarante on "Antonio Maria Tannoia: his past life, his work for our present." This spawned an interesting debate, and then the evening concluded with the intervention of the Episcopal Vicar of the region, Don Cataldo Bevilacqua.

Thursday, October 9th the evening began with remarks from Archbishop Giovanni Battista Pichierri, Archbishop of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie and Nazareth, followed by Father Majorano´s presentation on "Antonio Maria Tannoia, missionary transmitter of the memory of Saint Gerard Majella”. The conclusion of the symposium was offered by the Superior of the Redemptorist community in Corato, Father Alberto Ceneri.

The two-day study was accompanied by an exhibition of documents dating from the 18th to 19th centuries from the Provincial Archives of Naples, the General Archives in Rome and the Historical Archives of the Academy Georgofili in Florence.

Although our Spicilegum Historicum (LVI Annus 2008 Issue I) has already published ample material on him, we feel obliged to submit a brief profile of Tannoia that emerged during this symposium.

Antonio Benedetto Tannoia was born in Corato, Bari (southern Italy) on October 27, 1727 to Nunzio Tannoia and Agata Tondi. He was baptized the next day probably in the Church of St. Maria Greca. From his childhood he frequented the monasteries and churches of Corato, especially for services at the crypt of the Greek Madonna, today a shrine Church.

After the death of his father, and after his mother married again and moved to Lacedonia (Avellino), Tannoia did his classical and literary studies there. At the age of 19, on October 16, 1746, he decided to embrace religious life. He entered the Augustinians, but attracted by the preaching of the Redemptorist missionaries he soon entered the Redemptorist Congregation, founded only a few years earlier.

Welcomed at the House of Saint Mary of Consolation at Deliceto, Tannoia met Alphonsus for the first time and they became friends and confidants. A month after his entrance, he began his novitiate in Deliceto, transferring a few months later to Ciorani.

On December 8, 1747 at Pagani, Tannoia made his religious profession to Father Andrea Villani, and like all the Redemptorists of that time, he added to his own baptismal name the name of Mary. After his profession he remained in Pagani to continue his theological studies in preparation for the priesthood.

During these years of study he fell seriously ill enough times for there to be alarm for his life; his delicate health would accompany him for life.

In 1750 he was sent to Deliceto where it was thought the air would be beneficial to his health. On November 1, 1750 he was ordained a priest. Two years later, on October 24, 1752, he would be appointed Novice Master at Ciorani. In October 1755 the novitiate was moved from Ciorani to Deliceto, Tannoia now having the dual roles of Novice Master and Superior of the community.

From 1769 to 1780, Tannoia was Procurator General of the Congregation and from June 26, 1780 he was Consultor General almost continuously until his death. In 1770 he was again appointed Superior of Deliceto and from 1782 to 1785 once again Novice Master. Tannoia spent much of his life in Deliceto, where he died in 1808.

He was a historian and a biographer of great value. In fact, the philosopher Benedetto Croce, talking about Tannoia, called him the greatest biographer of the eighteenth century due to his personal, concrete and elegant writing style. He was able to move beyond the biographical writing style of his contemporaries and through his writings, the people he wrote about became real and alive.

The works of Tannoia reveal a man truly knowledgeable in every field; through these works we gain an insight into his personal life: his love of nature, culture and his sanctity.

His love for nature led him to write: "Of Bees, their usefulness and how to manage them well ..." and his love of culture stimulated him, first, to write small “memorabilias” of deceased Redemptorists, and leaving to humankind the most complete portrait of Saint Alphonsus, founder and theologian, and of St. Gerard because Tannoia himself was miraculously healed by his intercession.

A charismatic messenger of Christ's redemption, he was a man of the people and during his apostolic ministry of itinerant preaching, he gave birth to many pastoral initiatives in and around Puglia and especially in his home town of Corato.

He loved another city: Deliceto (Foggia). Tannoia, who spent much of his life in the Redemptorist Monastery of St. Mary of Consolation in Deliceto contributed to, not without physical and economic difficulties, the growth and expansion of the monastery.

The cities of Corato and Deliceto are linked by a kind of virtual and invisible bridge of almost 250 years: In the 18th century, during Redemptorist missions in Corato the people drew close to the Redemptorists, a friendship that endures to this day. Every year the citizens of Corato go by foot, on a pilgrimage to Deliceto for a retreat.

Tannoia cared for both cities in equal measure. He tried unsuccessfully to get a Redemptorist foundation established in Corato, a foundation realized only in the 20th century. He was also preoccupied with revitalizing the associations of secular priests of his day and reforming the rules governing orphanages.

It was at Deliceto, however, that he wrote most of his works, and as mentioned above, contributed to improvements to the Monastary.

If we wanted to offer a personal opinion, we could conclude by saying that Redemptorists embody a fundamental principle of the vichiana philosophy (G.B. Vico, Neapolitan philosopher, 1668 – 1744): of the "verum ipsum factum" and of the "verum factum"; they are that which they do and come to possess the truth from knowing the past, which is identified in the charismatic figures of Saint Alphonsus, Saint Gerard, and Father Tannoia himself and so many other Redemptorists still remembered or now long forgotten.

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FEATURED WEBSITES:

Just a reminder of some of the “hidden gems” of our WWW.CSSR.COM website.

You can always keep up with the monthly schedule of the General Government by reading the scrollers on the home pages of our seven-language cssr.com website. If you would like to look ahead for upcoming events of the General Government, you can click on the “news” menu item of the cssr.com menu and then click on “Activities of the General Government” for the yearly calendar.

On the same homepage is a button under the picture of St. Alphonsus that says “message and music.” Click on that button for a selection of 25 favorite Redemptorist and church hymns including A Maria Nostra Speranza, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, and “O God of Loveliness” by our founder St. Alphonsus Liguori.

We would also like to inform you that we have added the new Vatican You-Tube channel to our WWW.CSSR.TV news video site, http://cssr.tv/news/ where you can also find numerous other international Catholic video news sites in various languages, including Redemptorist stations TV Aparecida and TV TRWAM.

Index

TRANSITIONS

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

First Profession of Temporary Vows:
Serafin Minaya Durán, Province of San Juan, January 8, 2008
Modesto Rodríquez Montero, Province of San Juan, January 8, 2008
Yorman José Carillo Camargo, Vice Province of Caracas, January 9, 2008
Maurício Manuel Castillo Baldallo, Vice Province of Caracas, January 9, 2008
Aparecido José da Costa Filho, Province of Campo Grande, January 25, 2008
Loacir Resner, Province of Campo Grande, January 25, 2008

Profession of Perpetual Vows:
José Francisco García Narváez, Province of México, August 1, 2006
Héctor Jiménez Vázquez, Province of México, August 25, 2007
José Israel Romo Díaz, Province of México, August 25, 2007
Seni Ferriera dos Santos, Vice Province of Manaus, September 20, 2008
William dos Santos Betônio, Province of São Paulo, November 16, 2008
Sebastião Fernandes Daniel, Province of São Paulo, November 16, 2008
Rodrigo Manuel Vélez, Province of Buenos Aires, November 22, 2008
José Ailton da Silva, Vice Province of Recife, November 28, 2008
José Rinaldo da Silva, Vice Province of Recife, November 28, 2008

Ordination to the Priesthood:
Felipe de Jesús Rojas, Province of México, February 25, 2006
André Ricardo de Melo, Province of Goiás, November 29, 2008
Rolando Germán Soto Chávez, Province of Bolivia, December 4, 2008
Alexandre de Assis Peixoto, Province of Goiás, December 13, 2008
Javier Alfredo Roldán, Province of Buenos Aires, December 14, 2008

Deaths:
Rev. Miguel Riel Wagner, 90, Province of Buenos Aires, December 18, 2008
Br. Francis Alfone, 80, Province of Baltimore, December 31, 2008
Rev. Stefan Huber, 73, Region of Copenhagen, December 31, 2008
Rev. Ignace Bui Quang Diem, 87, Province of Vietnam, January 1, 2009
Br. Robert Joseph (Martin) Shields, 81, Province of Denver, January 2, 2009
Rev. Cornelius (Estêvão) Kuijpers, 77, Province of St. Clement/Region of Netherlands, January 4, 2009
Rev. Bernard Mottet, 86, Province of Lyon-Paris, January 7, 2009
Rev. Júlio Negrizzolo, 85, Province of Goiás, January 13, 2009
Rev. Joseph Bertrand, 83, Province of Baltimore, January 14, 2009
Rev. Donato de Arrieta Mendizábal, 77, Province of Madrid, Janaury 15, 2009
Rev. Miguel Heredia Espinosa, 94, Province of Madrid, January 19, 2009
Rev. Edmund Regensburger, 89, Vice Province of Richmond, January 23, 2009
Rev. Anthony Thomas Foy, 90, Province of London, January 23, 2009
Rev. Franz Pfister, 70, Province of Indonesia, January 27, 2009
Rev. José Luis Lara Lara, 77, Province of Madrid, January 28, 2009
Rev. Robert Rossbach, 87, Province of Denver, January 29, 2009
Rev. Francisco Javier García Galdeano, 80, Province of Madrid, January 30, 2009

75th Jubilee of Profession:
Thomas Cruice, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2009

70th Jubilee of Profession:
Neville Francis Cox, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2009

60th Jubilee of Profession:
Patrick Keenan, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2009
Virgíneo De Carli, Province of São Paulo, February 2, 2009
José Marques da Rocha, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2009
Luís Anselmo Duarte Duarte, Province of Santiago, February 2, 2009
Enríque Edelberto Gómez Martínez, Province of Santiago, February 2, 2009
James (DeSales) Casey, Province of Dublin, February 11, 2009

60th Jubilee of Ordination:
Tarcísio Generoso da Fonseca, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2009
Alberto Ferreira Lima, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2009
Armando Russo, Province of Campo Grande, February 6, 2009
Hermann Schmid, Province of St. Clement/Region of Helvetica, February 6, 2009
Rafael Canseco Combarros, Province of Madrid, February 20, 2009
José Maria Goicoechea Aizcorbe, Province of Madrid, February 20, 2009
Fulgencio Sáiz García, Province of Madrid, February 20, 2009
Antonino Cavero Combarros, Vice Province of Caracas, February 20, 2009
Sebastián Cubillo Martínez, Vice Province of Caracas, February 20, 2009
Valentín Villar Pérez, Vice Province of San Salvador, February 20, 2009
Roland Iuncker, Province of Lyon-Paris, February 24, 2009
Bishop Roger Emile Aubry, Province of Bolivia, February 24, 2009
Xavier Cattin, Province of St. Clement/Region of Helvetica, February 24, 2009

50th Jubilee of Profession:
Bishop Pastor Euistaquio Cuquejo, Vice Province of Asuncíon, Feburukary 2, 2009
Władysław Drozd, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Alberto Pasquoto, Province of São Paulo, February 2, 2009
Euclides Pedro Cembranel, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009
Pedrinho Arcides Guareschi, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009
Dionísio Afonso Rockenbach, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009
José Manuel Arias Barajas, Province of Bogotá, February 15, 2009
Keith Teefey, Province of Canberra, February 25, 2009
Hugh Thomas, Province of Canberra, February 25, 2009
Paul Pang Ting Wye, Vice Province of Ipoh, February 25, 2009

50th Jubilee of Ordination:
Adrianus (Gabriel) Hofstede, Vice Province of Recife, February 2, 2009
Mário António de Freitas, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2009

25th Jubilee of Profession:
Kazimierz Starzyk, Province of Munich, February 2, 2009
Piotr Andrukiewicz, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Ryzard Jerzy Bożek, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Andrzej Kukła, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Kazimierz Pelczarski, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Jan Przewoźnik, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Adam Andrzej Sitko, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Leszek Zabdyr, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Henryk Zienkiewicz, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2009
Stefan Czesław Kawula, Vice Province of Resistencia, February 2, 2009
Ariel Cesar Cattaneo Bonilla, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2009
Carlos Cordoba, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2009
Marcelo Pomar, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2009
Daniel Adolfo Virgili, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2009
Santiago Pablo Eugenio Lavigne, Mission of Mozambique, February 2, 2009
Víctor Luis Fernández Escalante, Province of Santiago, February 2, 2009
Pedro Alejandro Irizar Irizar, Province of Santiago, February 2, 2009
Enio Roberto Biasi, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2009
Marek Maria Marszalek, Vice Province of Burkina-Niger, February 2, 2009
Jósef Smyksy, Province of Bolivia, February 2, 2009
Juan Francisco Becker, Vice Province of Resistencia, February 3, 2009
Wanderly Borges, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
Domingos Cardozo Prestes, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
Fábio Bento da Costa, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
Abdon Dias Guimarães, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
José Batista dos Santos, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
João Otávio Martins, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
Antônio Carlos Oliveira, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009
Geraldo Teizeira Borges, Province of Goiás, February 5, 2009

25th Jubilee of Ordination:
José Inácio de Medeiros, Vice Province of Recife, February 4, 2009

Index