N. 35 – November-December

N° 35 - New Series, November-December 2014

Supplement to L’Eco of Saint Gabriel, December 2014Sped. in a.p. -45% art.2 comma 20/c legge 662/96

THE YEAR OFCONSECRATED LIFEGospel

ProphecyHope

November-December 2014 - BIP n. 352

CONTENTS

LETTER ON THE OCCASION OF THE YEAROF CONSECRATED LIFE 2014-2015Fr. Joachim Rego, C.P. Superior General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pag. 3

THE SECOND EXTENDEDGENERAL COUNCIL MEETINGFr. Denis Travers, (General Consultor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 4

SOME PROJECTS COMPLETED BYTHE SECRETARIAT FOR SOLIDARITYAND THE MISSIONS DURING 2014Fr. Jesús María Aristín,(Secretary General for Solidarity and the Missions) . . . . . . . » 9

POPE PAUL VI AND THE PASSIONISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 11

THE FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMISSIONOF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR FORMATIONFr. Augusto José Canali, (Reference Consultor for Formation) » 15

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSOF PASSIONISTS INTERNATIONALFr. Giuseppe Adobati, (General Consultor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 16

PASSIONIST LIFE

News from the Configurations and the Provinces

THE PROVINCE OF THE KOREAN MARTYRS:FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONAND THE FOURTH MACOR PROVINCIAL CHAPTERBro. Laurence M. Finn, (CRUC-MACOR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 18

THE CONSECRATION OF THE NEW SHRINEOF ST. GABRIELFr. Vincenzo Fabri, (PIET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 20

ASSEMBLY OF THE CEB (EUGENE BOSSILKOV)CONFIGURATIONFr. Giuseppe Adobati, (General Consultor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 21

PASSIONIST SISTERS AND NUNS

THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PASSION:FIFTY YEARS AT STS. JOHN AND PAUL, ROME . . . . . . » 23

SR. MARIA MADDALENA MARCUCCI: “VENERABLE” » 25

SPECIAL EVENTS

SEMINAR ON BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERIRev. Julian Booth, (Archdiocese of Birmingham, England) . . » 26

PROFESSIONS AND ORDINATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 27

NEW PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 30

NOTITIAE OBITUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . » 31

Passionist International Bulletin N. 35 - New Series - November-December 2014Supplement to L’Eco of Saint Gabriel, December 2014

EditorGeneral Curiaof the Congregation of the Passion

General Consultor for Communications Fr. Denis Travers, C.P.

Editing and Translation of TextsAlessandro Foppoli, CPLawrence Rywalt, CPMiguel Ángel Villanueva, CPTarcisio Tagliabue, CP

PhotographsGiuseppe Adobati, CPLawrence Rywalt, CPStanley Baldon, CPVincenzo Fabri, CP

AddressUfficio ComunicazioniCuria GeneraliziaPiazza Ss. Giovanni e Paolo 1300184 Roma - ItalyTel. 06.77.27.11Fax. 06.700.84.54Web Page: http://www.passiochristi.orge-mail: [email protected]

GraphicsFlorideo D’Ignazio - Editoriale Eco srl

Cover LogoLoretta Lynch

Final page photo“The Emigrants’ Door”, by Paolo Annibali,Shrine of St. Gabriel, Teramo, Italy.

PrintingEditoriale Eco s.r.l.

Località San Gabriele - Colledara64045 San Gabriele (Teramo) - ItalyTel. 0861.975924 - Fax 0861.975655E-mail: [email protected]

heartedly committed to following Jesus as he is presented for us inthe gospels.

May this Year deepen our friendship with Christ through ourrelationship in both prayer and mission so that we may reflect hislight in our world. May we grow in freedom to love through ourgenuine living and witness of the evangelical counsels – poverty,chastity and obedience – and our special vow to keep alive thememory of the Passion.

Fraternally,Fr Joachim Rego CP

Superior General

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3November-December 2014 - BIP n. 35

Dear Brothers,I take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for your commit-

ment as a consecrated person and for your witness to Jesus and theGood News of the Kingdom of God as we celebrate the Year ofConsecrated Life.

I was present at the meeting of the Superiors General with PopeFrancis in Rome in November 2013. It was at the end of that meet-ing that Pope Francis announced the Year dedicated to ConsecratedLife. During the meeting, the Pope answered questions posed tohim about the Consecrated Life, speaking in a frank and open wayfrom the heart. For me it was an honest sharing from a man who hasdedicated his life to following Jesus as a consecrated person, butwho shared the human challenges and struggles in this quest withabsolute trust and confidence in the God who calls.

Like Pope Francis, we, too, have committed our lives to follow-ing Jesus Crucified in the consecrated life as Passionists, but wealso know of the struggles we face because of changes, challenges,expectations and influences in and from the world we live in. Thisis inevitable and we need to trust in God who calls us and promis-es to walk the journey with us. From time to time it is good, andeven necessary, to do a reality check. The Year of Consecrated Lifeinvites us to focus and take stock of the life to which God has calledus and to which we have given our “fiat”.

Personally, I do not see this Year as being one in which we arebeing asked to read or write more about the Consecrated Life.Rather, I see this Year as a celebration of this joyous life and anopportunity for renewal - an opportunity to focus specifically on ourvocation to follow Jesus in a specific way of life which we common-ly refer to as the ‘Religious Life’. The Congregation for Institutes ofConsecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CIVCSVA) invitesus “to reflect on the graced time we have been given to live...”

This ‘opportunity for renewal’ and ‘graced time’ begs both ourpersonal and communal response. We are living the consecrated lifefrom day to day. It is our life! Each of us has much food to reflecton and share from our experience of living this way of life each day.I encourage you to personally give time during this Year as a ‘mem-ory’: not only to remember or recall to mind, but to make presentagain that first experience of your call and to rekindle that first fer-vour and fire of your desire to prophetically commit your life toChrist. I also encourage you to give time to sharing your experienceand reflection with each other in community.

There is vast amount of rich material available for our reflec-tion, based on the thoughts of Pope Francis, which have been pro-duced by the CIVCSVA in preparation for the Year of ConsecratedLife, including the Apostolic Letter of the Holy Father. In addition,the Secretary General’s office will post regular reflections on ourwebsite www.passiochristi.org) during the course of this Yearwhich I invite and encourage you to use for your own personal andcommunal ‘food for thought’.

The desire of Pope Francis is for religious to be authentic andjoyful witnesses of the Gospel and to pursue the path of holiness,i.e. to be genuinely human, to form hearts of love and compassion,to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and to be whole-

The Year of Consecrated Life invites us to focus and takestock of the life to which God has called us and to which wehave given our “fiat”.

LETTER ON THE OCCASION OF THE YEAR OFCONSECRATED LIFE 2014-2015

Fr. Joachim Rego, C.P. Superior General

CONGREGAZIONE DELLA PASSIONE DI GESÙ CRISTO

P.ZA SS. GIOVANNI E PAOLO, 13 - 00184 ROMA - ITALIA

TEL: (39)-06.77.27.11 – FAX: (39)-06.700.8454

The Superior General

The Extended GeneralCouncil Meeting was held inRome from September 24th

to 26th. This advisory meeting, mandated

by the 46th General Chapter meetsat least once each year and its mem-bership is comprised by the SuperiorGeneral and Council, the GeneralSecretary and the presidents of thesix configurations that make up ourCongregation. At this meeting, thePresidents of the respectiveConfigurations, Frs. FransDamen (CCH), Moisés Ruiz Río(CJC), José María MartínSáez (SCOR), LeoneMasnata (CEB), Raphael Mangiti(CPA) and Bro. Laurence M.Finn (PASPAC) were present. Fr.Ramiro Ruiz Betancourt (SCOR) served as theSecretary of the meeting.

Key items for discussion:

The Norms for General Synod to be held in October2015

The Extended Council considered this complexissue for some time and offered several creative sug-gestions to the Superior General for possible lateraction. Amongst these was a suggestion that theNorms for the General Synod be moved to theCongregational Regulations.

There are some juridical functions of the GeneralSynod and these require clear Norms for the member-ship of the Synod. At the same time it is hoped bymany that the General Synod can be fully consulta-tive, creative, open and representative of the wholeCongregation in its widest sense - that is, not only itsjuridical entities but also its various cultures andnational groupings of Passionists and our laity.

A report with various options prepared by a spe-cially appointed commission was presented to themeeting and while no definite decision was made, theExtended Council supported a model whereby theSynod membership would be made up of members of


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THE SECOND EXTENDEDGENERAL COUNCIL MEETING

Fr. Denis Travers, (General Consultor)

the General Curia: Superior General, the GeneralConsultors, the Procurator General, the SecretaryGeneral, the General Econome, the PostulatorGeneral, the General Secretary for Solidarity and theMissions and our former Superior Generals (14) andthe Major Superiors of the Congregation. In the caseof the two configurations which are provinces (CEB,SCOR) they will have extra delegates (by virtue ofrescript). The Superior General is always able to addto this number by inviting various representatives.Thus the Presidents of Configurations who are notmajor superiors and those Vicars of entities with 25members can be accommodated.

It is intended that documentation will be availableto all members well in advance so that there can begood preparation for the Synod by all participants.

Various suggestions for the themes and issues forthe Synod were received. Among these are:

Norms of participation of future Synods andChapters; The charismatic nature of PassionistCommunity; Financial aspects of our Congregation’slife; Looking outside our Congregation – towardsissues like Evangelisation in a new world; Evaluatethe progress of restructuring to date (our experiencein configurations); The aspect of the Year of

Fr. Joachim Rego, Superior General, the General Council and Presidents of theConfigurations.

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Consecrated Life; Confronting thechallenges of Religious life andwhat our Passionist Mission asks ofus – e.g. the giving up of houses,patrimony, independence and takingon new options.

The General and Council willappoint a Preparatory Commissionin the near future and this body willthen advise the General Council onthe practical arrangements for theGeneral Synod of 2015.

General News from theConfiguration Presidents.

Configuration of Eugene Bos-silkov (CEB): Preparations for theinaugural Chapter (May 2015) arewell under way and fiveCommissions are at work. Amongsttheir task are study of two alternatives on governanceof the regions of the new Province (eight zones orfour zones or a unique Province). The authority of thevarious Vicars is to be determined still and aCanonical Commission is at work on this matter. TheFormation policy is being revised and a CommunityLife Commission is working on animation for com-munities (around sharing the Word of God, differentretreats for the entire Province, a Congress on NewEvangelisation and a document for pastoral activity.A Finance Commission has prepared a unifiedfinance system and norms for safeguarding funds.Also being prepared is a discussion paper on relation-ships and possible houses to close and the memberswill be consulted to determine a name for the newProvince. Further seminars are to be sponsored by“Gloria Crucis” and work on Letters of St. Paul of theCross, new liturgies and a breviary is underway. Inaddition to all this there have been two workshops (a)for younger men and (b) for Local Superiors.

Configuration of the Passionists of Africa (CPA):This configuration is developing structures andawaiting the results of Trilateral Commissions so asto determine the levels of support from the former“Mother Provinces” as the three General Vicariatesof MATAF, CARLW and GEMM move towardsbecoming Vice Provinces. Once each entity is stablein Formation, Finances and Personnel the whole ofCPA will be stable. The achievement of financialsecurity and self sufficiency for each entity remains areal challenge. Currently CPA is setting in place someinitiatives to assist our presence and communities inMozambique and some of the students are being

encouraged and prepared for mission there. Themeetings of the CPA keep as a focus some planningfor joint projects to build up a sense of unity of theconfiguration. Further there is also good interestamongst younger men in going to other missions inother parts of Africa (and also other parts of theCongregation). SALV Vice Province is assisting theother Vicariates in their preparation to become ViceProvinces.

The Asia-Pacific Passionist Configuration (PAS-PAC): The Configuration is very aware of its geo-graphical reality. It is located in the most denselypopulated region of the world and one that is sub-stantially non-Christian. The Configuration is com-prised of four provinces, two Vice Provinces and twomissions. Currently there are three commissionsworking for solidarity in formation, finances andpersonnel, but the Configuration is also interested insetting up a Commission for JPIC. Current projectswithin the PASPAC Configuration include theEnglish Language Program so that students can learnthe working language of the Configuration(English), and so far thirty one students have takenpart in this programme. The other initiative is theInternational Novitiate – currently in Adelaide,Australia and from this sixteen religious have beenprofessed.

The Configuration of the Sacred Heart (SCOR):The sense of identity is growing across the wholeProvince and there is a good awareness of the ‘new’reality that exists and less focus on what we havebeen in the past (not enclosed in our own worlds).There is great hope and security. The Province is

This advisory group, mandated by the 46th General Chapter, meets at leastonce each year.


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“The General Consultor should come as a brother; he alsohas a symbolic role, to represent the Superior General andin a sense the whole Congregation and thus the Visitationshould be done in a fraternal spirit.”

divided into four zones. Zone 1 is comprised ofBolivia, Chile, Peru; Zone 2: Venezuela, Panama,Ecuador and Colombia; Zone 3: Mexico, ElSalvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Cuba; andZone 4: Spain. The Provincial visits each zone oncea year.

In total there are 56 communities. The formationof younger members takes place in several centres -theological formation occurs in Colombia and ElSalvador, the two Novitiates are in Spain and Peruand the Postulant Houses are in Peru, Ecuador,Mexico and Cuba. The Aspirants are received andformed in nine countries.

The finances are coordinated by the ProvincialEconome and he together with the four zonaleconomes constitutes the Economic Commission ofthe Province.

The Province has chosen as priorities the situationof the indigenous people of Peru, the homeless, therevitalisation of our presence in Chile and the situa-tion of migrants in Mexico and Spain. Other Provinceprojects include vocations, JPIC, Passionist Familyand social media.

The Configuration of Jesus Crucified (CJC): TheConfiguration is aiming for increased communica-tions and also making a priority of working at new orenhanced formation opportunities (including ongoingformation). Other priorities include the interchangefor younger religious so that they can have concreteexperience and learn new language skills and partic-ipation of laity in our mission.

It is better to present the positive goals of the con-figurations (not just what must die).

Novitiates are currently established in Mexico andBrazil.

The Configuration of Charles Houben (CCH):There have been recent meetings of the Leaders ofthe Configuration and there is an annual Assembly ofLeaders and delegates.

Some of the current priorities of the Configurationare the fostering of the Vocation ministry and collab-oration together to enhance this. There have beensome new initiatives to encourage the study ofEnglish amongst younger members of theConfiguration. A Seminar on Memoria Passionis isproposed for 2015, as are meetings for membersunder 50 years of age and for students. A combinedMission Statement has been created.

The Configuration, like much of theCongregation, is challenged to find new ways – with-in a ‘new’ culture (even if it is our own and ‘familiar’culture) to proclaim the gospel. In western societies,for many of our contemporaries religion was a very

important part of their lives and of society’s life;today religion does not mean what it once did. Wehave to create new spaces for new proclamation.

Canonical Visitations (Constitutions 141 & Reg. 84)The Extended Council considered, but did not

choose to modify the present model of canonical vis-itations. However, some points made in discussionnoted that while there are limits to what a Consultorcan achieve (since practical decisions are made bythe Major Superior) we could note the following:

The Consultor should come in a positive spirit andshare the lives of the brethren in solidarity. TheGeneral Consultor should come as a brother; he alsohas a symbolic role, to represent the Superior Generaland in a sense the whole Congregation and thus theVisitation should be done in a fraternal spirit. It istrue that the General Consultor cannot solve certainissues, but he can refer them back to the Provincial orSuperior General for action.

While there is a shift from a juridical basis to afraternal style, it is better to keep both elements (talkto members, know the people, the struggles, but alsoto report to the Superior General and to give anynecessary advice to the members). Canonical visitscan be positive even with fraternal correction. TheVisitator should be a partner in dialogue and focuson issues that are of vital concern to the communitymembers.

The Superior General made a request to theConfiguration Presidents to ask community superiorsto re-establish the custom of keeping the variousrecord books for each house.

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The Charismatic nature ofPassionist Community

It was suggested that someprocess to address this GeneralChapter priority needs to begin ineach community. Indeed this may bea topic of the General Synod 2015.Various ways of encouraging a ‘cat-echesis’ of this issue were discussed.Options considered were: for theSuperior General to issue a basiccatechesis (via a General Letter orthrough video presentation, to havesome kind of regular discussionsheet/reflection sheet sent to com-munities.) Alternatively it was askedif the Consultors make use of theAssemblies of religious to do somecatechesis during Visitations.

The Superior General andCouncil will continue to study thisissue in subsequent meetings.Essentially it was felt that we need to look for expe-riences that unite us and identify us? Passionist lifewill find its own form in different cultures and con-texts, but we must look to our primary unifiers.

The Report of the Econome GeneralFr. Vincenzo Carletti presented a detailed report to

the meeting. The essential issues were: (1) Currently there is some maintenance underway

for the Generalate (roof repairs and some repainting).This work is being covered by Generalate funds andCommunity contribution.

(2) The question was asked whether we need apolicy that allows the Generalate to build up fundsfor investment and to have funds for greater expan-sion of the Congregation. Such a fund would bequite separate from the Formation Fund or SolidarityFund. (3) We have 29 entities – all except one regu-larly send their quota/contribution to the Generalate.This year the Solidarity Fund has received up to nowaround €335,000 from the 2% or 7%, and only a thirdof the entities have sent their donations. But talkingabout the 2% or 7%, donations should come not onlyfrom Provinces or Vice-Provinces but also from theVicariates of the Congregation.

Houses The Congregation maintains four houses under the

jurisdiction of the Superior General: Sts. John andPaul, St, Martha’s Bethany, St. Joseph’s Highgate andSt Joseph’s, Monte Argentario. The Generalate is

also responsible for the Vicariates of MATAF,CARLW, GEMM and the Mission in Vietnam. Anongoing issue is providing staff for these communi-ties. Currently the Philippine Province is providingthree men for Bethany.

FormationThe new Congregational Office for Formation is

established. Fr. Augusto Canali is the Consultor forliaison with the new office and Fr Martin Coffey isthe Executive Secretary. The six members of theInternational Formation Commission will meet withFr. Martin and Fr. Augusto in Rome on October 24th.

Year of Consecrated LifeAfter discussion of many ideas and suggestions

regarding the best way for our communities to cele-brate this special year, it was decided that:Configuration Presidents will collect suggestionsfrom throughout their Configurations and give theseideas to the General Secretary. (The GeneralSecretary will also forward them to the Office of thenew Secretariat for Formation).

World Youth Day: Krakow, Poland, July 25 – August1, 2016.

Many ideas and suggestions emerged in this dis-cussion, but no definite decision was reached regard-ing our own initiatives at the Congregational level forWYD 2016. Difficulties with previous gatheringshave concerned both the financing of the meetings

“The (CCH) Configuration, like much of the Congregation, is challenged to findnew ways – within a ‘new’ culture (even if it is our own and ‘familiar’ culture)to proclaim the gospel.”


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for younger Passionist religious and young peoplewho are associated with us, as well as logistical prob-lems in gathering our young people in the midst ofthe World Youth Day programme itself.

Suggestions were that perhaps we should onlyhave meetings at Configurational levels or only atProvince levels. If we have an international meetingthen it should be separated from the WYD meetingdays as this would make the organisation of practicalissues easier. Another view was that “meetings”today are different – they are often via social mediaand we should not neglect this issue. It was noted thatthe Dioceses in each country make big efforts forWYD. They stay somewhere beforehand to giveyoung people an experience of immersion in somesituation of poverty. Should we collaborate with ourlocal dioceses? There was also the challenge of find-ing ways of sharing/filtering this experience to otheryounger men who do not attend – until this occurs wedon’t receive the fruits of the gathering.

It was also suggested that we do an evaluation atentity level (and configuration level) before we planfor 2016.

Consultor for LaityAfter receiving advice from the Extended Council

the General Council is continuing to discuss this role.However it was generally thought that while mostactivity concerning our laity occurs at the Locallevel, the Generalate acting on the international levelcan help to organise this and help us to focus ouractivities and to walk in the same direction.

Our Laity organisations and their relationshipswith the professed members differs very much fromentity to entity around the world. It was noted thatmany of the Letters of the Superior General are writ-ten to ‘all’ the Passionist Family; thus it is possiblefor each Province or entity to use letters or mediafrom the Superior General for Laity as well.

Reviewing the Six Priorities of General ChapterThe general consensus of the Configuration

Presidents is that these priorities are being used. Forexample, in PASPAC they will serve as frameworkfor leaders meetings; in SCOR they keep theProvince alive and help each religious; and they arehelping CEB to evaluate the CEB project.

However, it is noticed that they are not alwaysused as a ‘backdrop’ in the planning of ProvincialChapters and there are challenges to apply these pri-orities. But it is also seen that often the priorities didemerge without being formally the topic of discus-sion in Chapters.

It was asked whether we should give some kind ofuniversal directive for evangelisation and it was seenas good if this issue can be a topic of reflection in ourconfigurations. Some are struggling to understandwhat the Chapter asked.

It was also noted that these six priorities do notapply equally across the Congregation. Some entitiescannot do this any longer. Some are well equippedand are embracing this work – e.g. within CPA thepriority of evangelisation is being embraced at com-munity and ministry level.

Liturgical calendarA revision of the Congregation’s Liturgical

Calendar is being proposed by the CEB LiturgyCommittee. Our Congregational Calendar was offi-cially approved by the Holy See in 1974. TheCalendar we currently have is somewhat modifiedfrom the original and was changed after aCongregation-wide consultation. This was presentedto the Holy See and gained approval. A GeneralSynod made or approved these changes. Addendahave been added – the original text is in Latin.

It was noted that no one Province can change ourliturgical calendar, but it may also be helpful at thistime that we form a liturgical group representative ofthe whole Congregation to work on somethingtogether. This matter was left to the General andCouncil to take any further action.

Meeting with Fr. Jesús María Aristín Fr. Jesús Maria spoke of the JPIC Workshop to be

held in 2015. The Passionist Office of Solidarity andthe Missions is organizing a seminar-workshop onJPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation) atthe Generalate in Rome from 13 to 19 April 2015.The following will participate in the workshop asspeakers: Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prizerecipient); Comboni Missionary, Fr. Alex Zanotelli;Fr. Joseph Mitchell (CP-CRUC); Martin Newell (CP-IOS; Antonietta Potente; and Andrea Riccardi,founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio of Rome.

The aim of this workshop is primarily to form anetwork of Passionist solidarity, to meet together asclergy, religious and lay people who work in theseareas of solidarity, justice and peace. The cost will be€50/day and the Workshop will last for six days. Tobook for the seminar please contact Fr. Jesús Maríaas places are filling fast.

Dictionary of the Passion.

The Dictionary currently has a publication date forLent 2015.

Oruba (Kenya): The scarcity of water is undoubt-edly one of the most serious and urgent problems ofAfrica. Having access to water in this area is a luxu-ry. In addition, water is used many times as an influ-ential commodity for making money at the expenseof the thirst of poor people. If water is absent, lifeceases to exist.

For this reason, we have prioritized the realizationof projects for the construction of wells for drinkingwater, because they are essential to life and becausewater is a basic need. The right to water is an inalien-able right of individuals and nations. In coming yearsthe water problem will generate many conflicts andwill awaken many economic interests, as is alreadyhappening today.

We are called to be in solidarity with thirsty Africaand to help to provide more wells for drinking water.

Sheep and chickens in Molo (Kenya): Thiscommunity is home to young men aspiring to

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Every year the Office forSolidarity and the Missionsusually receives requests for

approximately twenty projects fromour missionaries seeking financialassistance from the Mission Fund.Our work involves submitting theserequests to different institutions andorganizations to seek approval forthem and if so, to subsidize them100%.

When the projects are well pre-sented accompanied and by thebishop’s letter of support, they usu-ally have an 80% chance of receiv-ing the grant. There are agenciesthat are very generous with us,among these the Italian EpiscopalConference, some Caritas groupsand some Congregations of reli-gious such as the Sisters Missionaries of St. PeterClaver. Additionally some Passionist provinces andcommunities make generous donations. Finally wereceive some donations from individuals that enableus to help our missionaries.

We want to take this opportunity to express toeveryone our deepest gratitude, and to inform youabout what we are doing. May God bless you andknow that we pray daily for our benefactors. Belowis a brief overview of some of the projects completedthis year.

Safe drinking water: In Nyarongi, Kenya, thehometown of Passionist Fr. Gilbert Otieng (CARLW)running water has finally arrived. Thanks to the sup-port of “Caritas Antoniana”, which donated 12,000Euros, and with the help of some friends of Fr.Gilbert in the USA, residents within a 20 Km. radiusof this town have access to safe drinking water.

Two water tanks for the new community of

SOME PROJECTS COMPLETED BY THESECRETARIAT FOR SOLIDARITY

AND THE MISSIONS DURING 2014Fr. Jesús María Aristín

Secretary General for Solidarity and the Missions

A child care center in Rousse (Bulgaria).


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Passionist life in Kenya. Like all formation commu-nities a large problem is economic self-sustainability.Therefore any projects that teach them how to workin order to provide financial income for the commu-nity are very important. The breeding of sheep andchickens has been a project that they have chosen andis one that has been successful in generating revenue.

The inauguration of a maternity department in

the hospital of Itololo (Tanzania): On August 21stthe new Maternity Pavilion in the Hospital of Itololo,built by the Passionists in our mission in this city, wasinaugurated.

The Association, “Friends of Fr. Ricardo”, hasbeen the leading organization that has supported andpromoted the construction of this pavilion designedspecifically for the care of pregnant women. It con-sists of a health center, a delivery room and an oper-ating room. The volunteers of the Association haveclosely followed the construction and completion ofthis maternity center. When these volunteers returnedto Italy they expressed their immense joy at accom-plishing this project. In the hospital three children,healthy and strong boys, have already been born.Indeed, this is their greatest satisfaction!

Honey production in Arusha (Tanzania): Fiftybee hives have been installed on the grounds of ourformation house in Arusha, Tanzania. This formationcommunity welcomes philosophy students fromMozambique, Kenya and Tanzania. This ecologicalproject aims to promote the financial self-sufficiencyof this house. The project, totaling 3,500 Euros, hasbeen financed by the Passionist Solidarity Fund.Collaboration in the area of formation serves tostrengthen the future of the Congregation in Africa.

Two bakeries in Kikwit and Lodja (Congo): Fr.Vital Otshudialokoka, Provincial Superior of theSALV Province of the Democratic Republic ofCongo has been the promoter and architect of thesetwo major projects, which from now on will feedthousands of our hungry brother and sisters, fulfillingthe Gospel command: “give them something to eatyourselves” (Lk.9:13).

This was possible due to an investment of approx-imately 80,000 Euros, of which 54,833.70 Euros wassubsidized by the Italian Episcopal Conference; theOffice of Solidarity and the Missions provided24,893 Euros.

The Retreat House of Uskirika (Kenya): Therehave been numerous requests for a prayer locationfrom groups of people who want to gather for this

purpose in this region of Kenya. Thus far our retreathouse of Ushirika has only been able to accommo-date small groups of no more than thirty people,whereas the majority of retreatants are more numer-ous. After building an extension to the retreat houseit can now accommodate groups of up to a hundredpeople. The project has cost about 300,000 Euros. Apart of this expense was financed through a gift andthe other part was provided in the form of a loan thatthe local religious will have to pay back during thenext few years. Over the past several weeks theyhave already begun to accommodate larger groups. A child care center in Rousse (Bulgaria): A childcare center was opened in the parish St. Paul of theCross in the city of Rousse. The children that are wel-comed in this center are ensured a warm meal, in anenvironment that will help them to develop socializa-tion and learning skills. Additionally some of themothers, working as teachers, will have a source ofemployment and will thus be able to improve thefinancial situation of their family.

Bee hives for honey production in Arusha (Tanzania).

Safe drinking water in Nyarongi (Kenya).

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From the discourse of Pope Paul VI on BlessedDominic of the Mother of God, Passionist, onthe occasion of his solemn beatification,

October 27, 1963.

Blessed Dominic Barberi: a Champion of Holiness

The Church confers on one of its sons a public andofficial honor: on one hand She honors the glory ofGod, and on the other this glory reflects on theChurch too, to our common edification, like a candle,lit in honor of God, that finds the assembly of thefaithful gathered for prayer… We have come to real-ize that Father Dominic is worthy of memory as ascholar and as an author of great studies of theologyand philosophy: for example his study on the papalinfallibility, anticipates, with sure vision, the doc-trine, that several years afterward, the First VaticanCouncil would define…

This profile of a man of sacred letters will be ren-dered still more interesting for all when we see himas a man of both prayer and action: we know thatFather Dominic was a great master of asceticism, anindefatigable preacher, an apostle and expert apolo-gist of the contemporary thought of his time… Actionalso characterizes his life in his government of hisreligious family, his travels, and the foundations thathe makes.

Pope Paul VI on the day of the Beatification of Bl. DominicBarberi.

[However] the fact which causes us to rememberFather Dominic, and which is most well-known, andhas been until now the main reason for his notorietyis the fact of the conversion of Newman. It wasFather Dominic, who during an evening of October1845, came to Littlemore, and received the decisiveprofession of catholic faith of that most singular spir-it. The extraordinary importance of that simple eventand the increasing fame of the celebrated Englishmanreflected upon this humble religious like a ray oflight. Ultimately the question comes to mind: Was itDominic who converted Newman? What was FatherDominic’s influence upon him?

These questions are still today of interest and if theanswers cannot attribute to our Blessed the directmerit of that formidable conversion, after highlylaborious and dramatic meditations, two other veryremarkable attributes must also be noted: that he lis-tened to a mysterious, inexplicable vocation whichwas clearly communicated to his spirit from the firstyears of his religious life, i.e. consecrating his apos-tolic ministry to England where the Passionists hadstill not yet put their feet… Father Dominic would bethe first Passionist to enter England, and, living there,would found four houses of his Congregation.

Newman wrote of this new Beatus, Father Dominicof the Mother of God: “He had a great love forEngland!” This phrase would seem to define the figureof this humble but great follower of the Gospel ofChrist; it seems to sum up the historical current of thesentiments of the Church of Rome, towards that islandof high destiny; it seems to give expression to this pres-ent spiritual moment of the Apostolic See, which nowraises to the glory of “Blessed” this generous mission-ary, whose arms are open wide towards all that is mostvenerable and most significant in that blessed country’spresent state of its magnificent Christian heritage; andit seems today to rise up from the heart of theEcumenical Council, being celebrated in this Basilica,like an on-going sigh of suffering, but which is alwaysconfident [in the hope of] Catholic brotherhood.

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From the letter of Paul VI on the occasion of thefirst centenary of the canonization of St. Paul of theCross, April 23, 1967.

POPE PAUL VI AND THE PASSIONISTSTo mark the Beatification of Pope Paul VI on 19 October 2014, we offer some of his

reflections on St. Paul of the Cross and the Passionist Charism.


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Presentation of the Reliquary of Blessed Dominic Barberi [L-R] Pope Paul VI, Fr. Malcolm La Velle (Superior General), Fr.Federico Menegazzo, Postulator General and Fr. PhilipHayes, IOS Provincial.

The Apostolate of the Holy Cross

What are the signs of the holiness of yourFounder, St. Paul of the Cross? If the nature andcharacter of this man is examined attentively, it willbe clearly seen that in a certain sense he rushed intohis own age as it were from the former days of antiq-uity - from the solitude of [the desert of] ancientThebes or Palestine. And his was an age not at all inharmony with his ideals. This indeed happened byGod’s design, so that more effective remedies mightbe given to a soft and lax age and so that theChristian discipline of public morality might berestored through the example of his more eminentvirtue and through the richness of his heavenlygrace.

The singular love which burned in him for ChristCrucified marked the whole course of his life. It char-acterized the whole tenor of his spiritual life; itinspired all his plans and works. Now it sheds itswarm light on us as we repeat and recall the samerealities. Paul indeed was a remarkable ascetic andmystic…

Moreover, the apostolate of the Holy Cross mustin no way cease after Paul has gone to his heavenlyreward. And the reason is this: an ordinary mild rem-edy would not suffice, especially in subsequent timesand particularly in our own age. The cure for the evilswhich is desired and sought after must be based onstrong, extraordinary power.

Indeed, this commission - the apostolate of theHoly Cross - which is certainly purer and more excel-lent than any other, is entrusted to this religious fam-ily which takes its origin from it. In view of this, afourth vow is added to the vows which the membersof the Congregation profess. This fourth vow is takento foster and promote devotion to the Passion andDeath of Our Lord Jesus Christ. O how beautiful isthat honor which is heaven’s choice! O how noble isthat work assigned to you!

The highest tribute is to be paid to the sons of St.Paul who after a short time, spread the Congregationthroughout the countries of Europe and then verysoon traveled across the Atlantic “with rich blessingsfrom Christ” (Rom. 15:29)... Moreover it is fittingand expedient that we give due attention to the normof the decrees of the recent Council, so that, accord-ing to the demands of the changing needs of ourtimes, the life of this Congregation and its apostolicform of action can be properly renewed.Nevertheless, strive to observe the sound law of theinterior spirit which you have received from yourmost holy founder. In this centennial commemorationof his canonization he is present to you as a gracious

father; he watches over you as a helping father andencourages you to greater growth in numbers and invirtue…

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From the Letter of Paul VI on the occasion of theSecond Centenary of the death of St. Paul of theCross, October 14, 1975

The miracles of God understood through the

Cross

We should like to mention this one fact in praiseof Saint Paul: namely, that he did not place before hiscompanions just any focal point of our religion, to bereflected upon, preached, lived by, and loved, but thatone which is supremely holy and worthy of rever-ence: the Passion and Death of Christ. Whether weconsider the Passion of the Son of God as the limpidfont, the source of man’s salvation, which could nothave been accomplished without the shedding ofblood (cf. Heb.9:22); or think of it as the sure path tothe conversion of sinners; or as the most efficacious

Under this aspect, the lifespan of your Holy Foundershows its fullness of Christian values.

St. Paul of the Cross teaches that absolute prioritymust be given to prayer and contemplation because inthis every commitment to progress in the spiritual lifefinds its strength. In this respect, this exhortationoccurs so frequently in his writings that it is needlessto insist on it.

Regarding personal prayer, We wish to touch uponthat unremitting perseverance in meditation, theimportance of which is recognized by all authors ofthe spiritual life. Then in respect of the forms of com-munity prayer, Our exhortation goes first to the com-mon recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours whichmust remain, or again become “a most honoredevent” in your religious life. For in this commonrecitation of the divine praises the inexhaustible well-spring of supernatural fraternal love is found bywhich one can continue to build up an ever closerbond between intention and activity.

Another factor of great importance which St.Paul of the Cross requires of you is the practice ofpoverty, that is to say, a real spirit of poverty thatbecomes a way of life as well of individuals as ofcommunities. In this way your life is freed from thatmultiple interior and exterior slavery which in vari-ous ways impedes one’s commitment to spiritualprogress and apostolic ministry. On this point itshould be remembered that the first apostolate ofyour Holy Founder was directed in a special way tothe poorer classes in the depressed regions of histime: in the Tuscan Maremma and the Roman plains.

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incentive for daily taking up the Cross behind the Sonof God in order to follow him, weighed down as weare sometimes by an immense load of evils, nothingin the life of Christ is so sublime, nothing so abound-ing in riches as his pains and torments…

Therefore, beloved Sons, those words of yourHoly Founder that we read in his letters apply to all,but most particularly to you: “The miracles that Godworks in souls cannot be comprehended exceptthrough the Cross” (II, p. 497).

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From the message of Pope Paul VI for the GeneralChapter of the Congregation, October 12, 1976

The Passionist Charism

Not without reason did the Second VaticanCouncil, when determining the principles of renewalof religious life affirm that: “It serves the best inter-ests of the Church for communities to have their ownspecial character and purpose” (PC, 2; b); and “there-fore loyal recognition and safekeeping should beaccorded to the Spirit of Founders.” (ibid.)

If we wish to sum up briefly and explain in a fewwords the elements that form the characteristic spiri-tuality that shone forth in St. Paul of the Cross, wemust say that he was an “authentic contemplative”and an “untiring missionary”; indeed, he was anuntiring missionary because he was an authentic con-templative. As a matter of fact, his relationship withGod, that is, his union with Him, nourished and fos-tered by constant recollection and ascetical commit-ment, was a source and stimulus of that dedication toneighbor which made him take to heart particularlythe moral miseries, healing them by preaching theWord of God.

Should not, then, the Passionists of today be driv-en to live in such a manner as to reproduce in them-selves the features of the spirituality of him whomthey acknowledge as Father and Master? In thisrespect there comes to mind the particularly solemnand stimulating words with which, from hisdeathbed, St. Paul of the Cross exhorted his sons tokeep intact the “spirit of prayer, solitude and pover-ty” (cfr. St. Vincent M. Strambi, Life of VenerableFather Paul of the Cross - Rome, 1786, p. 184).

Greatness of soul and strength are required ofwhoever wishes to follow St. Paul of the Cross today;such a one must in fact go against the prevailing cur-rents, refusing a slavish conformity to a world that isa characteristic of the “old man”, opposing it with thenewness of a life reborn in Christ (cfr. Rom. 6:5,ff).

Fr. Theodore Foley (Superior General) and Pope Paul VI.

The Beatification of Pope Paul VI, 19 October 2014.


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And if the inhabitants of those localities willinglywelcomed St. Paul and his first companions, theydid so because they saw them so detached fromworldly goods that the people called them “the poorof Jesus”. Let your concern be, therefore, to give tothe Christian people a true and clear witness to per-sonal and collective poverty beginning, as is evi-dent, with Superiors who should be the first amongthe religious to give the example. As you know, St.Paul was tremendously jealous of poverty. This isevident in the very chapter of the Rules on poverty,which is the longest of all.

The third element which, along with the othersmentioned above, characterizes in a special way theform of your spirituality according to the intentionand orientation of the Holy Founder is the love ofmortification and penance. It is not necessary todelay on this point because his whole life and doc-trine are a glowing testimony thereof.Notwithstanding, it would perhaps be very opportuneto give some thought to a certain general normwhich, without descending into minute detail, wouldyet bind individuals and communities to this commit-ment, so that in your Institute there will truly be pres-ent a proper and characteristic element of “ecclesialidentity”.

If you cultivate attitudes of prayer and of asceti-cal commitment with generous assiduity, they willbecome for you wellsprings of fruitful apostolate.Having cast aside other means, they will also makeyou understand that in the mystery of the Cross is tobe found the solution of that problem which pro-foundly disturbs mankind; that is, the problem ofsuffering and evil. This problem cannot be resolvedby rationalized disquisitions because these are inad-equate. Man in fact cries out for ‘concrete’ help thatwill give him true freedom from slavery to the pow-ers of evil that oppress him. Without a doubt theseproblems are confronted with success when somany magnanimous men, forgetful of self, givethemselves to the relief of suffering, oppose vio-lence and repress injustice. Yet is this a reply calcu-lated to resolve the problem completely?Accordingly, having abandoned a first plan to takeupon himself the defense of truth by the force ofarms, St. Paul of the Cross preferred another solu-tion; namely, he vowed with all the fervor of hisheart to proclaim the death and resurrection ofChrist to men intent on seeking their own advan-tage. He was, in fact, intimately convinced that onlyby loving meditation on the Passion of the Saviorcould come the radical remedy for the evils of histime (cfr. Letters of St. Paul of the Cross, Rome,

1924, Vol. IV, p. 228). The sacred preaching of thisillustrious missionary and of his first companionswhich, like St. Paul the Apostle, centered on Christcrucified (cfr. 1Cor.1:23) did, in a short time, pro-duce abundant fruit. Indeed, men, even brigands andbandits repented of their misdeeds, put aside theirancient hatreds, abandoned plans for revenge, andgave up oppressing their neighbor by unjust vexa-tions. Thus society was reclaimed by the popularpreaching of the Passion, and in this way theCongregation sunk the roots of its vocation of wit-ness and evangelization.

Today We point out to you this charism underlyingthe origins of your Institute, reminding you that thepreaching of the Passion of the Savior to the peopleis still a valid and most useful mission, worthy ofmaking you concentrate all the strength of yourCongregation upon it. It would surely be a regrettablething if resources were so dispersed in other activitieswithout moderation and prudence that they becameexhausted, thus running the risk of no longer pursu-ing the end which is proper and characteristic of yourInstitute.

ing began with a presentation from Fr. Jesús María Aristín(Secretary General for JPIC and the Missions) regardingcollaboration between this Secretariat and the Office ofSolidarity and the Missions. They also met with Fr.Alessandro Ciciliani (PIET), President of the HistoricalCommission of the Congregation. It was agreed that it isimportant that these two groups work closely, collaboratingwith each other.

There was also discussion about the concerns and needsof the Configurations in order to see if there were any urgentmatters or priorities for the Commission to address. For thispurpose they reflected on two questions: What is the gift ofthe Passionist tradition for the reality of yourConfiguration? How can we in the Formation Commissioncapture and communicate that gift? In the course of thesharing and listening that followed numerous items werementioned. These were reduced to the two overall con-cerns: (A) Revitalizing the Gift of the Charism for our reli-gious and lay members; (B) Accompanying and supportingthose religious involved in formation.

Day three was devoted to a fuller discussion of these pri-orities and included discussion of practical ways or activi-ties of addressing them. The following activities were sug-gested.

Activities concerning point A: Prepare an inventory ofwritten materials and resources concerning the charism andthe history of the Congregation, in particular the matter oftranslations in languages other than the three major lan-guages Italian, Spanish and English; facilitate a sharing ofdifferent cultural experiences and expressions of the Charismwith the whole Congregation; Set up a “think-tank” to reflecton the charism in order to realize its greater potential for ourlife and ministry today and into the future; Make available tothe whole Congregation the fruits of any “experimental expe-rience” such as the one planned in the CEB Configuration;Organize courses on the spirituality of the Passion eitherlocally or at the General level; Design a “PassionistPedagogical Program/Itinerary” along the lines of theCastellazzo experience; Encourage, promote and organizepilgrimages to the places associated with the origins and highpoints of our history and spirituality; Help to cultivate anenvironment in the Congregation where members can sharetheir personal story of living the charism in various contextsand times of their life; Facilitate workshops or experimentswith new forms and expressions of the charism; and Workclosely with the new areas of the Congregation to help themreflect on their experience of the Charism as they find newforms of expression relevant to their situation.

Activities concerning point B: Contact and networkwith all those responsible for formation in theConfigurations; Organize a first meeting of all formationpersonnel; Encourage participation in and the use of initia-tives in formation in the configurations, in other religiouscommunities, and in the local Church.

Finally, Fr. Augusto shared some items from the GeneralCouncil: the celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life;ideas and programmes for a Sabbatical Year; and a GeneralConsultor for the laity.

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THE FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMISSIONOF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR FORMATION

Fr. Augusto José Canali, (Reference Consultor for Formation)

In order to address the specific need for formation inPassionist spirituality, the last General Chapter of 2012approved the creation of an Office for Formation for the

entire Congregation. The overall objective for this “GeneralSecretariat Office for Formation” is two-fold: (1) To pro-mote, support and plan programmes and processes of for-mation in the Passionist Charism and Spirituality for theongoing formation of our religious and laity who are drawnto our Charism, and (2) To ensure that our religious and laityhave access to the resources necessary to achieve this goal.The first meeting of the Formation Commission of thisSecretariat took place at Sts. John and Paul, Rome, October21 to 24, 2014. Present were Frs. Augusto Canali (GeneralConsultor), Mark Robin Hoogland (SPE), Amilton da Silva(CALV), Brian Traynor (SPIR), Andrew Okeyo (CARLW),José Luis Quintero (SCOR), Daniele Pierangeli (PIET), andMartin Coffey (Executive Secretary). The meeting wasfacilitated by Mr. Roberto Clark.

The first morning was devoted to a sharing of experi-ences of the Passionist Charism. Each member was askedto reflect and share how he would tell a young person aboutour life as Passionists. The sharing that followed enabledthe participants to highlight some essential elements of thecharism which are captured by the following statements:The infinite love of God, which is revealed in the Passion ofJesus, is a fire which sets our hearts aflame; We are gatheredto tell this story which sheds its light on our personal pas-sion, and which also touches the story of every human beingas an experience of compassion; Through this continualretelling of the Passion we discover a profound sense ofidentity which is rich and deep but impossible to capture ina fixed definition; Driven by the strong wind of the Spiritwe become co-protagonists of this story; We are confidentthat “all will be well” and that we will have a deeply felt joythat does not depend on tangible results; Our narrative mis-sion (Memoria Passionis) pays careful attention to the cul-tural context and to the language of the persons who sharetheir story with us; and We seek the help of those scienceswhich enable us to appreciate the new cosmology and thenew contexts in which we meet people today whose lan-guage is often new and unfamiliar.

The participants then discussed the document preparedby the General Council that described the objectives andnature of the Formation Secretariat and Commission. They

accepted theoverall objectiveas stated thereinwith the clarifica-tion that thephrase “ongoingformation” refersto all the stagesand levels of for-mation includinginitial and life-long formation.

The secondday of the meet-

What is the gift of the Passionist traditionfor the reality of your Configuration? ●


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Members of the Executive Board of Passionists International(L-R) Fr. Alex Steinmiller (CRUC), Sr. Claudia CeciliaEcheverría of the Daughters of the Passion, Sr. JoanneFahey and Sr. Anne Cunningham of the Sisters of the Crossand Passion.

On 11 and 12 November 2014 the Board ofDirectors of Passionists International (PI),our NGO (http://www.unodc.org/ngo/

list.jsp) accredited at the United Nations (UN), tookplace at the Passionist community of Jamaica, NewYork. The board is composed of the representativesof the three supporting Congregations of PI, which,in addition to our own, are the Sisters of the Crossand Passion and the Daughters of the Passion of JesusChrist and of our Lady of Sorrows. The PI board nor-mally meets twice a year, once in a conference callvia skype and the other in a meeting at the offices ofthe Executive Director of PI in New York.

The meeting was attended by Fr. MiroslawLesiecki (ASSUM) Executive Director of PI, Fr.Giuseppe Adobati Carrara (CORM) GeneralConsultor and representative of the Superior Generalof the Passionists, Fr. Alex Steinmiller (CRUC), amember of the board of PI, Sr. María Virginia Alfaroof the Daughters of the Passion (Superior and region-al representative of the Superior General), Sr. ClaudiaCecilia Echeverría of the Daughters of the Passion (amember of the Board of PI), Sr. Joanne Fahey of theSisters of the Cross and Passion (representative of theSuperior General), Sr. Anne Cunningham of theSisters of the Cross and Passion (a member of theboard of PI), Ms. Annemarie O’Connor (staff mem-ber of PI) and Mrs. Dorothy Brandreth (Secretary ofthe board of PI and staff member of our BishopMolloy Retreat House, New York).

This meeting was held a few months after thechange of Executive Directors, from Fr. FranciscoMurray (CONC) to Fr. Miroslaw Lesiecki. The goal ofthe gathering was to have an inital meeting with theExecutive Director at the beginning of his mandate andin the light of ongoing activities and projects in process.

Fr. Miroslaw invited all those present to sharesomething about their apostolic and pastoral experi-ence. Some very interesting testimonies emergedfrom this exchange about the apostolic commitmentof several board members. Consequently it becameclear that the efficacy of the work of PI, which exter-nally may look like “words and papers” (conferences,declarations, legislation and information notes, etc.)concerns keeping in contact with the concrete life ofour apostolic communities around the world, so thatthere can be sharing of information and furtherreflection on these topics.

This view was confirmed by the personal experi-ence of Fr. Miroslaw in his role as Executive Directorof PI. During these first months of his mandate hewas able to participate in several meetings and eventsof the United Nations, in particular the PermanentForum on Indigenous People (May 2014) and themeeting of the Permanent Department ofInformation (August 2014). The latter meeting gaveFr. Miroslaw assurance that our presence at the UN,while being minimal, is of great value, since we areable to offer our experience of apostolic and mission-ary life among the poor and suffering in differentparts of the world. Even Passionists International,along with many other NGOs, can bring to the atten-tion of the various committees of the UN, varioussocial, moral and humanitarian problems, with possi-ble solutions, emerging from the experiences of ourPassionist family. This is what took place, for exam-ple, with WGG-Working Group for Girls (in defenseof the rights of girls, composed of more than eightyNGOs), whose coordinator is Mrs. AnnemarieO’Connor, on behalf of PI. This group recently pro-duced a declaration, which was signed by additionalNGOs, and was presented by a Committee aspreparatory material for specific legislation on thematter.

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSOF PASSIONISTS INTERNATIONAL

Fr. Giuseppe Adobati, (General Consultor)

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itarian realities around the world. He is aware thatour NGO is one of the poorest in means andresources, and that he, like many other religious asso-ciations, had no special preparation (on diplomatic orlegal levels or in international law); but he is con-vinced that it is worth being there. Therefore hetalked about the orientation needed by the Board tomaintain our autonomy as an NGO, and not to mergewith any other Association (richer, powerful andwell-organized), which might offer greater opera-tional capability, publicity and maybe even increaseour effectiveness, as well as reduce our personnelcommitment and economic costs; but it would takeaway the identity/visibility of PassionistsInternational by reducing our freedom to promote ourinitiatives and to join our proposals to the proposalsof other entities or that other entities propose to us.

As a result of the dialogue among the members ofthe board of PI we realized that much of this activityand reality need to be shared better with our brothersand sisters through greater and more effective meansof communication. For this reason Fr. Miroslaw isworking on updating the web site (http://passion-istsinternational.org/), as well as the Twitter profileof PI (@passionistsint).

The board concluded its work by renewing theirgratitude to Fr. Miroslaw and also to the Superiorsand General Councils of the three Congregations thatsupport it, hoping that other Congregations of thePassionist family may soon become a part of thisproject, which seems to be a useful tool to help ourbrothers and sisters to be aware of, to understand,study and to respond to the urgent needs of thetoday’s world.

During the Board meeting theExecutive Director noted that duringthe first months of his term he hasgradually tried to enter into contactwith the “different worlds” presentin (and around) the UN. He partici-pated in a meeting of those commit-tees on which PI has been registeredfor several years (including one onindigenous people, social develop-ment, the increase of social informa-tion, the promotion of humanrights), and the NGO workinggroups (including one for povertyeradication, the development of fairtrade and solidarity, dialogue andpeace between Israel and Palestine,and in particular, the RUN, whichgathers all the religious NGOsaccredited at the UN. Fr. Miroslawhas devoted part of his time to so-called “public relations”, getting toknow (and be known by) differentrealities and people, through meetings and relatedactivities, among them, participation in specific con-ferences on indigenous people, on the objectives ofthe Millennium Development (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/beyond2015-news.shtml), on therights of the Palestinian people, on Christian critiqueof the gender theory. There were also meetings con-cerning particular topics such as the Israeli youthmovement “Refusing to occupy” (who fight for ademilitarization of Israel); Noam Chomsky (academ-ic philosopher and theorist of American communica-tions and professor at MIT university); Prince ZeidRa’ad Zeid Al-Hussein (a Commissioner for humanrights); and the Special Representative for humanrights in the Palestinian territories Richard AndersonFalk. In addition to these special events, he attendedfrequent meetings with NGO leaders of various reli-gious institutes (http://rngos.wordpress.com), espe-cially Franciscans International, DominicansInternational, the Congregation of the Sisters of St.Joseph, Vincentian Family Orientation, andAugustinians International with whom we shareexpenses and office space that we rent together nearthe UN in Manhattan.

Fr. Miroslaw said he was aware that any proposalfor social and human concerns presented at the UN isconditioned and impeded by a thousand interests(political, economic, social and cultural), but we needto believe that something can be changed, and that itcan be changed now! Therefore the matters orrequests promoted by various NGOs, some of whichactually get placed on the discussion table, providethe diplomats with a particular opportunity to havefree and independent contact with the social-human- ●

NGO representatives participate in a session of the UN.


The Province of the KoreanMartyrs celebrated twomajor events this year – the

commemoration of the fiftiethanniversary of the Korean founda-tion which culminated in the cele-bration of the fourth ProvincialChapter of the Province

The fiftieth anniversary was cele-brated on a number of levels, amongthose being: A week long seminarin September centering on the histo-ry of the Korean Province, with spe-cial emphasis on the earliest days ofthe foundation. Those important fig-ures in the decision to make newbeginnings on the Asian continentsoon after the closure of China tomissionaries were considered andstudied. Korea began in 1964 andwas preceded first with the Japanese Foundation in1953 and the Philippine foundation in 1958.

A professional study was done by the FuturePlanning Company which led us from a considera-tion of the past to a deeper look at the present reali-ty and the future possibilities for the Congregationin Korea. The chief work of this phase of the cele-brations was a questionnaire which reflected on theattitudes and dreams of the membership of theProvince regarding current problems and possiblesolutions to these problems. The state of religiouslife in Korea is going through a profound changechiefly in the areas of apostolate and training ofyoung religious.

The Provincial Chapter itself was held fromOctober 12 to 18 at the Passionist Monastery andRetreat House in Gwangju Province, South Korea.During the Chapter a new leadership team was elect-ed and confirmed by the Superior General, Fr.Joachim Rego, who presided at the Chapter. Fr. PaulMary Kang Su Gun, a leader in liturgical music in theKorean Church, was elected as Provincial Superior,

along with Fr. Peter Cheong Yeong Dae as firstConsultor and Fr. Peter Seo Hyeon Seung as secondConsultor.

Immediately following the Provincial Chapterthere was a public celebration of the fiftieth anniver-sary in the gardens of the Gwangju House ofMeditation. At the solemn Mass the principal concel-ebrants were the Archbishop of Gwangju, HyginusKim Hee Jong and the retired Archbishop AndrewChoi Chang Mu, along with the Auxiliary Bishop ofthe Archdiocese Simon Ok Hyun Jin. Also in atten-dance were the Superior General, Joachim Rego,along with two General Consultors, Fr. SabinusLohin and Fr. Denis Travers, plus all of theProvincials, Vice Provincials and Mission Superiorsin the Asia Pacific region. As a special guest, theProvincial of Holy Cross Province (CRUC), Fr.Donald Webber attended the celebration representingthe Mother Province of the Korean foundation.

At the close of the celebratory Eucharist, giftswere shared with all in attendance. Each guestreceived a copy of a special commemorative icon of

THE PROVINCE OF THE KOREAN MARTYRS:FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ANDTHE FOURTH MACOR PROVINCIAL CHAPTER

Bro. Laurence M. Finn, (CRUC-MACOR)

The Solemn Mass marking fifty years of Passionist presence in South Korea.

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all of the Passionist Saints andBlesseds as a memento of the day.Featured on the icon were fourPassionists who were directly con-cerned with the decision to make thefoundation originally (Fr, MalcolmLavelle, Superior General in 1964and Fr. James Patrick White,Provincial Superior of the U.S. HolyCross Province at that time). Alsoincluded in the icon were Fr.Raymond McDonough (1920-2008), superior for the first 16 yearsof the Passionists in Korea, and Fr.Justin Paul Bartoszek (1936-2008),one of the early missionaries to thisnew Asian foundation. The icon wascreated by a lay Passionist to cele-brate the first fifty years of thePassionists in Korea.

A Brief History of the MACOR Province

The birth of the Korean Catholic Church begantwo centuries ago when several Koreans were firstattracted to the “heavenly way” during a journey toChina. They received baptism, returned to Korea, andbaptized thousands, long before missionaries arrivedon the scene.

The CRUC (USA) Provincial, Fr. James PatrickWhite established the Passionist mission in SouthKorea, assigning the first three religious FathersRaymond McDonough and Patrick O’Malley in1964, and Justin Bartoszek in 1965. Father GabrielMulnix was assigned in 1968, Father RichardThomson in 1969, and Brother Laurence Finn in1975.

A Passionist residence and retreat house wereestablished in Kwangju in 1969 at the invitation ofKwangju’s Archbishop Harold Henry. At the requestof Cardinal Stephen Kim of Seoul, another founda-tion was made at the same time which consisted of asimple residence in lieu of future expansion in theArchdiocese of Seoul, which came to fruition in 1977with the construction of a retreat center in Seoul. Asecond house in Seoul was established in 1986.

The first two Korean Passionists were Father PaulKim and Brother Pius Chung. Both entered in 1970and were professed in 1974. Korea was recognized asa regional vicariate in 1972 and as a Vice Province in1988. By this time native Korean Passionists wereresponsible not only for retreat and parish aposto-lates, but also for vocation and formation ministryand leadership roles

From 1981 until 1989 the Passionists staffed aparish in the Cheongju Diocese where in 1991 ahouse was established at Choksan-ni for novices andpreachers. In early 1997 a community of three reli-gious began serving a parish on the southern island ofCheju and in the same year a community of greatersolitude was established in the northern province ofKangwon-do. This foundation was moved to largerbuilding with more ample facilities for privateretreatants in 1999.

In 2000 Vice Provincial, Fr. Augustine Kim senttwo Korean Passionists to the East Asian Mission forlanguage studies. Currently there are four professedKorean Passionists serving in this Mission, and for-mation has begun of religious from this area since2009. There are also three professed religious fromthis Mission who continue their education in thePhilippines and in Australia. Passionists have beeninvolved in the foundation of the Cursillo Movementand the Movement for a Better World, with MarriageEncounter, college and seminary teaching ministry,hospital apostolates, Army and Air Force chaplain-cies, and ministry with AIDS patients, prisoners, andyouth. Novices from the East Asian Mission andKorea have participated in the Asia PacificConfiguration’s International Novitiate programsince 2010 in Australia.

A monastery of Passionist nuns was established in1986, at Cheongju, and the Passionist Sisters of St.Paul of the Cross arrived in Chunchon in 1996.

The Vice Province was raised to the status of aProvince in 2002.

Fr. Paul Mary Kang Su Gun presents icon prints of Passionist Saints to theSuperior General and Fr. Donald Webber (CRUC).

PASSIONIST LIFE

On the morning of September 21, 2014, the newShrine of St. Gabriel was consecrated. The Riteof Consecration (that lasted approximately three

hours) was presided over by the special envoy of PopeFrancis, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, Archbishop ofFlorence and now President Emeritus of the PontificalCouncil for the Family. On the occasion of the consecra-tion Pope Francis sent a special letter that was read at thebeginning of the Mass. In this communique Pope Francisinstructed the Cardinal to “exhort everyone present to acloser imitation of Christ and to develop, with renewedcommitment, and through the intercession of St. Gabrielof the Sorrowful Virgin, an intense love for the Gospeland for the Church and so strengthen their faith.”

The consecration of one of the largest contemporaryshrines of Europe that is visited each year by two mil-lion pilgrims, was attended by the bishop of Teramo-Atri, Bishop Michele Seccia, the Passionist bishop ofSanggau (Indonesia), Bishop Giulio Mencuccini, andthe Superior General of the Congregation of thePassion, V. Rev. Joachim Rego and the General Councilof the Passionists. Also present were the ProvincialSuperior of the Passionist PIET Province, Fr.Piergiorgio Bartoli, as well as many priests, religiousand civil authorities and various members of the mili-tary. Also some relatives of St. Gabriel from Romewere in attendance, as well as some delegations ofimmigrant associations from Philadelphia (USA),Melbourne and Brisbane (Australia) and Dour(Belgium). The Rite of Consecration was attended bymore than five thousand faithful, but throughout the dayalmost ten thousand pilgrims visited the Shrine.

The construction of the new Shrine dedicated to St.Gabriel was begun on February 26, 1970. It is shapedlike a Greek cross, 90 meters long and 30 meters wide,

made of white concrete, glass, polycarbonate, alu-minum and steel. Nearly a mile of planters and sometwenty large terraces enhance the complex. The newshrine can hold 10,000 people.

At the center of the basilica is the great altar. In thefour corners of the Basilica there are six steps and along ramp that lead down into the great and welcomingcrypt that contains the relics of St. Gabriel. It wassolemnly blessed by Pope John Paul II during his his-toric visit to the Shrine on June 30, 1985. The Pope alsoinaugurated the new Reconciliation Chapel (which has30 modern confessionals) where he humorously con-gratulated the architect and the religious of theSanctuary saying: “You are helping us save theSacrament of Reconciliation!”

The construction of the new Shrine lasted more thanforty years. It was not easy to carry out such a huge andexpensive work, but thanks to the contributions ofmany devotees of St. Gabriel (including the generosityof the Abruzzesi emigrant associations throughout theworld), the subscribers to the monthly magazine the“ECO of St. Gabriel”, some significant benefactors andsome public entities, the construction of the new Shrinebecame a reality.

At the end of the celebration a dedicatory plaquecommemorating the consecration was unveiled. In partit reads: The new Shrine…will forever be an everlast-ing sign of God’s presence among his people, in theconvocation of the ecclesial community, and a memori-al of the wonders performed by God through his faith-ful servant Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin. It isa work of art for people of today and even more, forthose of tomorrow, because in silence and serenityhumans beings can renew their relationship with them-selves and with God and thus give a sense of purpose totheir life, and to love and trust again.


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THE CONSECRATION OF THE NEW SHRINEOF ST. GABRIEL

[This article was prepared with the kind assistance of Fr. Vincenzo Fabri (PIET) of the staffof the Shrine]

The Consecration of the new Shrine of St. Gabriel.

(L-R) Fr. Joachim Rego, Superior General, Bishop MicheleSeccia of Teramo-Atri, and General Consultors, Frs. MichaelOgweno, Augusto Canali and Denis Travers in front of theoriginal shrine of St. Gabriel.

PASSIONIST LIFE


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The annual Assemblyof Eugene BossilkovConfiguration (CEB)

took place from 30 Septemberto 3 October 2014 at theGeneralate of Sts. John andPaul in Rome. The principalobjective was to prepare forthe imminent unification ofthe eight provinces of theConfiguration into a singleprovince, which will takeplace at the Chapter of May2015.

The Assembly was com-posed of the Provincial superi-ors and the Provincial Councilsof the eight Provinces (sixItalian, one Portuguese and oneFrench) that compose it (CFXI, CORM, DOL, FAT,LAT, MICH, PIET, PRAES). In total (excluding thesecretarial assistants and the technicians) there werethirty participants, including Fr. Giuseppe Adobati(General Consultor) and former Superior General, Fr.Ottaviano D’Egidio (President of the CEB FinanceCommission). Fr. Leone Masnata (CEB President)presided and Fr. Antonio Munduate (GeneralConsultor) was the moderator.

At the beginning of the Assembly the SuperiorGeneral, Fr. Joachim Rego warmly welcomed thereligious, pointing out that the unification of theprovinces of the Configuration into a single provinceis a bold and brave project which must lead us toimprove our community and missionary life. It isespecially challenging to be able to work together,learning from each other, and especially listening tothose who are different from us or have an experiencedifferent from ours. They will also need to preparenew structures and new legislation for the combinedprovince which requires listening and respect for

diversity; thus, the process will be profitable for allthe members.

Much attention was given to legal issues that needto be studied further at the next chapter and duringthe initial period of the new province – an entitywhich will be composed of about 450 religious(located in at least six countries) and divided intosixty communities. Among the first decisions of theAssembly was the approval of the rules for participa-tion in the Chapter. The study of the new legislationtook into account the need to clarify the number, roleand the degree of autonomy of the Regions in the sin-gle Province. In fact, according to the decision of theGeneral Chapter, 2012 the new province should beestablished with an internal division into regionswhich, under one provincial Superior, will facilitateparticular attention to the diversity that will exist inthe single entity.

In addition to legal issues, a significant amount oftime was spent on the presentation of the activitiescarried out by the four Committees of CEB:

ASSEMBLY OF THE CEB (EUGENE BOSSILKOV)CONFIGURATION

Fr. Giuseppe Adobati, (General Consultor)

Assembly participants representing the six Italian Provinces and those of Portugaland France.

PASSIONIST LIFE


Community Life and On-going for-mation, Vocation (initial) ministryand studies, the Apostolate,Finances and Solidarity.

In the area of initial formationthey will continue sharing all forma-tion programs, starting with thePostulancy (on a regional level)including the single novitiate andtheologate. This will help to pro-mote a common experience for theyoung religious who, despite com-ing from specific regions, havejoined one, sole province.

The same applies to the spiritualdevelopment of the communities(promoted by the Commission forcommunity life and on-going forma-tion) which will continue to offer resources for spiri-tuality and formation (through materials for meet-ings, prayer times, shared listening to the Word ofGod), together with specific renewal programs forsuperiors, formation personnel, administrators, etc.

The Apostolate Commission focused on finding newinitiatives to propose to our missionaries and preachers(evangelizers) being aware that we must change theways and means of our preaching. The Commissionfound it very interesting and stimulating to study thepoints that Pope Francis proposed to the Church in“Evangelii Gaudium”, especially with regard to“always taking the first step to go out to the world” andto be attentive to bring the Gospel to the poor.

Two years ago the Finance Commission initiated aprocess of studying the assets that belong to the var-ious provinces, together with the progressive unifica-tion of their financial capital, creating new sharedfunds, with the participation of all provincialEconomes, based on the number of religious.Recently they published a study regarding the possi-ble reduction of the number of houses and communi-ties currently present in the eight provinces, in viewof the reorganization of the new united reality.

In conclusion, the following is an excerpt from thetalk given by of Fr. Leone Masnata, CEB President, atthe beginning of the Assembly: “Restructuring willnot end with the next provincial chapter, initiating asingle juridical entity, complex, but nevertheless, unit-

ed. Instead a process of welcoming and adjustment byall according to the same essential values which formthe basis for Passionist religious life, its communitylife, its apostolate... while respecting the territorialand historical identity of the regions… Restructuringbecomes a providential occasion for renewal foreveryone and everything, even the common life proj-ect that we want to achieve. There still remains, infact, a lot to improve in our prayer life, in charity, indeveloping spiritual growth the communities by shar-ing the Word of God (Lectio Divina)... This is natural,because communities are always defensive and wefind it difficult to admit that there are problems: thereare problems in all families. But we must not lowerour guard nor resign ourselves to the status quo. Weare still very fragile and inconsistent about organizingour life and work around central values such asprayer, the Eucharist, the Word of God. (…)

Fortunately there is no shortage of opportunitieseven today, and we must be ready to accept an invi-tation to go higher, keeping alive the inner desire tosearch for a more evangelical, credible and joyouslife. Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken about beingattractive, contagious — the way to make the Churchgrow via the new evangelization. “The Church mustbe attractive. Wake up world! Be witnesses of a dif-ferent way of doing, acting, living! It is possible tolive differently in this world. [...] I expect an answerfrom you”.

The poster announcing the first Chapter of the unified Province.

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PASSIONIST SISTERS

laundry and tailor shop for the two communities ofSts. John and Paul and the retreat house.

On 3 October, 2014, the Generalate Community ofSts. John and Paul, Rome, celebrated fifty years ofthe presence of the “Mexican Sisters”, the Daughtersof the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and theSorrows of the B.V.M. The day began with a festivelunch in the monastery refectory that included apower point presentation about the Sisters, the histo-ry of their Institute and their ministries. In the lateafternoon the community gathered in the Basilica fora solemn liturgy of thanksgiving. The SuperiorGeneral, Fr. Joachim Rego, was the principal cele-brant, and among the concelebrants were the Rectorof Sts. John and Paul, Fr. Matteo Nonini, and Fr.Ottaviano D’Egidio, former Superior General. In hishomily, Fr. Joachim remarked: “In your witness to usand to many people you live both as disciple and asapostle. In your busy day-to-day life of service to usyou make time to be like Mary sitting at the feet ofJesus or perhaps as Passionists sitting at the foot ofthe Cross, listening to Him the Crucified speaking toyou… We want to say that your work, your example,

your witness is not taken for grant-ed. We might not come every day tosay thank you. Perhaps, sometimeswe do. But on this day we want tocollectively…say thank you for yourservice to us your brothers and sis-ters. We ask God to continue to blessyou, to give you all you need to liveyour charism, your life and to be anexample to us.”

Among those present at the cele-bration in Rome were Sr. AurelianaAguirre de Guzmán, SuperiorGeneral of the Sisters, Sr. FabiolaFrancés, Regional Delegate and Sr.Lucia Margarita de la Cruz(Marroquín Zarate), one of the orig-inal group of Sisters who arrived inRome in 1964. Sr. Margarita sharedsome of her memories of those firstdays at the Generalate of Sts. John

THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PASSION:FIFTY YEARS AT STS. JOHN AND PAUL, ROME

The original group of Sisters with Fr. Theodore Foley.

In 1962 Fr. Malcolm La Velle, Superior General,officially invited the Sisters, Daughters of thePassion to come to minister at the Generalate of

Sts. John and Paul. On 4 November 1964, the firstgroup of six Sisters arrived from Mexico and werereceived by the then Superior General, Fr. TheodoreFoley. They were accompanied by the MotherGeneral, Mother María Elena de la Cruz Zavala, andthe Secretary General of the Institute. That sameevening, in the chapel of the Holy Founder in theBasilica, a simple liturgy was celebrated to implorethe blessing of the Lord on their new ministry.

In the presence of the Superior General, Fr.Theodore Foley, the General Curia, and the wholecommunity, the General Consultor, Fr. Feliciano ofthe Immaculate Virgin (Rodríguez) greeted theSisters and welcomed them on behalf of the superiorsand religious of the community. He expressed theirappreciation and gratitude for the work that they willdo. The liturgy concluded with the singing of the“Veni Creator” and Benediction.

The new community, which would normally con-sist of nine to ten Sisters, would work in the kitchen,

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PASSIONIST SISTERS


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and Paul: “Fifty years ago when wewent to the new foundation in Rome,at the Generalate of thePassionists… for me it was an invi-tation to give and offer my life inhidden and humble service. I wasvery happy; but not all of my fellowSisters felt the same, since in thosetimes if any religious left for a [for-eign] country there was no certaintyof returning to our homeland…When we arrived in Rome our great-est difficulty was the lack of knowl-edge of the language and little infor-mation about Italian food. Wecooked as if we were in Mexico,which caused difficulty for some ofthe priests and brothers. But theSuperior General [Fr. TheodoreFoley] and the Vicar tried to com-fort us by visiting us every day in thekitchen or in the laundry and offer-ing us words of encouragement. In those difficulttimes, prayer was a great source of help to us, and weoften prayed in the chapel of St. Paul of the Cross.”

Following the Mass, the community gathered inthe reception area of the Chapter Hall for refresh-ments and entertainment that included a mariachiband.

The Institute of the Daughters of the Passionand Death of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows

of the B.V.M. was founded in the Tacubaya section ofMexico City, Mexico, in 1892 by Fr. Diego Alberici,C.P. and Mother Dolores Medina Zepeda. It is anInstitute of Pontifical right.

In 1901, they obtained a letter from Fr. BernardSilvestrelli, Superior General, declaring them “inspiritualibus” with our Congregation and in 1912, Fr.Jeremiah Angelucci, Superior General, granted themthe faculty to wear our Passionist Sign.

Currently the Sisters minister inschools and centers of spiritualityand offer home care services. Theyassist in seminaries and retreat hous-es, as well as centers for missionaryevangelization and the care ofmigrants. In an ecclesial spirit and inkeeping with their charism, they areopen to other forms of apostolatewhich respond to the signs of thetimes. Currently there are 300 reli-gious who are present in twelvecountries (México, United States,Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,Cuba, Venezuela, the DominicanRepublic, Puerto Rico, Spain, Italy,the Democratic Rep. of Congo andTanzania).

The Mass of thanksgiving with the Sisters in the Chapel of St. Paul of the Crosswith Fr. Ottaviano D’Egidio, former Superior General, Fr. Joachim Rego,Superior General and Fr. Matteo Nonini, Rector of the Retreat of Sts. John andPaul.

(L-R) Sr. Rita Nuñez González, Sr. Amelia Martínez Ugalde, Sr. María PiedadRuíz Ríos, Sr. Lucia Margarita Marroquín Zarate, Sr. Marypaz Alonso Alonso.

PASSIONIST SISTERS


On 3 April 2014, the Holy Father, Pope Francisauthorized the Congregation for the Causesof Saints to promulgate decrees concerning

various causes of saints, among them the decree of“Venerable” regarding the Servant of God, MariaMaddalena (nee Maria Giuseppina Teresa) Marcucci,an Italian professed nun of the Congregation of thePassion of Jesus Christ (1888-1960).

Mary Josephine Teresa Marcucci was born on 24April 1888 in San Gemignano di Moriano, near theItalian city of Lucca. She had great devotion to thePassion of the Lord, a devotion which she subse-quently zealously promoted. At the age of 18, on 10June 1906, together with her sister Elisa, she enteredthe Passionist monastery of Lucca which was still inthe process of being founded. On June 27, 1907, theday of her vestition, she received the name MaryMagdalene of Jesus; but the name by which she isgenerally known is “J. Pastor”. This pseudonym wasgiven to her by her spiritual director the Dominican,Fr. Juan González Arintero, in order to hide her frompeople’s curiosity and to protect her humility. Shelater became a valuable and assiduous collaborator ofthe magazine he founded in 1921.

On March 18, 1913, at the age of 25, together withfive other nuns, she left Lucca to found a Passionistmonastery in Mexico, a project that could not be real-ized because of the revolution. On January 13, 1916,together with two other Sisters she left Mexico City,because she felt called by the Lord to go to Spain. Fortwo years they resided at Lezama, a village a fewkilometers from Bilbao and then finally in 1918moved to Deusto near Bilbao, where they foundedthe first Passionist monastery in Spain.

In 1935 she was called by the SacredCongregation for Religious to assume the role ofsuperior of the Passionist community of Lucca.During the five years that she held this position she,a native of Lucca, had the joy and honor to build thenew Passionist monastery as well as the Shrine of hercompatriot, St. Gemma Galgani in the area of the cityknown as “Fuori Porta Elisa”. She also prepared thecelebrations for her canonization which took place onMay 2, 1940.

On July 15, 1941, she left Lucca to return to Spainwhere, strengthened by an ardent love for the Passionof the Lord and for the salvation and holiness of hispeople, she founded a monastery in Madrid. Here, inthe Passionist monastery she founded, she died onFebruary 10, 1960, shortly before her 72nd birthday.

She wrote extensively to promote the ideal of holi-ness of life. Her autobiography, entitled the “Apostle

of love”, is described by the Dominican theologiansof Salamanca, Spain as “the most sublime work ...that has ever been written about God’s love for allcreatures”. In the introduction to his book, “La san-tità è amore” (“Holiness is Love”), Fr. Max Anselmi(CORM) writes: “One thing that somewhat surpris-es scholars about her spirituality is the amount andquality of the work that Mother Magdalene wrote tospread devotion to the Passion of the Lord and thespirit of joyful holiness. She did this unbeknownst toanyone other than her spiritual director, writing tire-lessly, but all in secret until her death. She can right-ly be considered to be one of the greatest writers ofPassionist spirituality, and also a pearl among theauthors of twentieth century mysticism, a very partic-ular phenomenon, so much so that great theologians,after her death, have felt justified and motivated inurging that she be promptly given the title of ‘doctorof the Church’.” ●

SR. MARIA MADDALENA MARCUCCI:“VENERABLE”

Venerable Maria Maddalena Marcucci:

“We have made the journey inreverse, which BlessedDominic made from his

beloved homeland.” These words ofBernard Longley, Archbishop ofBirmingham were spoken to anassembled group of clergy, reli-gious, laity and descendants of theBarberi family, gathered at aConvention held in Viterbo to hon-our the memory of Blessed Dominicof the Mother of God on September18th this year.

Earlier in the year the Archbishopreceived an invitation to visitViterbo and the sites associated withBlessed Dominic, from a group oflay people in Viterbo, the ‘Friendsof Blessed Dominic.’ This group doall they can to keep the memory ofthis famous son of Viterbo alive andmaintain the chapel at Merlano,near where Blessed Dominic livedon his uncle’s farm, prior to hisentry into the Passionist Congregation.

The Convention on Blessed Dominic took place inthe “Regia dei Priori”, a large hall in the city ofViterbo. Welcome speeches were made by the Bishopof Viterbo, Monsignor Lino Fumagalli, the Presidentof the Friends of Blessed Dominic, Mario Mancini,the Mayor of Viterbo, the President of the Province ofViterbo, a member of the Lower House of Parliament,the Superior General, Fr. Joachim Rego the BritishAmbassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker and finallyArchbishop Bernard Longley. In his remarks, Fr.Joachim noted that “As pilgrims…we use all oursenses to go into the spirit, the sense, the environmentof this Blessed. We know that Bl. Dominic was a bril-liant man; intellectually he was very capable. But hewas simple. He was a very deeply spiritual man. Hewas one who really had a spirit of listening to Godand speaking to him. It was God, through his motherMary…who called Dominic to be a Passionist priestand a missionary to England.”

After this there were three short lectures given onBlessed Dominic. The first lecture was given byLuciano Osbat a local historian, entitled: ‘ThePolitical and Religious Life of Viterbo from the 18thand 19th Centuries.’ The second lecture was givenby Passionist Fr. Adolf Lippi (PRAES), Superior ofthe Retreat at Vetralla: ‘Blessed Dominic of theMother if God and the Roots of Christian Europe.’

SPECIAL EVENTS


(L-R) Fr. Joachim Rego, Superior General, Most Rev. Lino Fumagalli, MauroGiorni and Silvana Barberi (decendents of Bl. Dominic), Most Rev. BernardLongley and Rev. Julian Booth.

The final lecture was given by myself: ‘BlessedDominic of the Mother of God, the Cause forCanonization’.

Two brief visits were made by the Archbishop tothe small chapel at Merlano near to where BlessedDominic worked in the fields on his uncle’s farm andto the birthplace of Blessed Dominic in the town ofPalanzana. Later that evening a Votive Mass ofBlessed Dominic was celebrated by the Archbishopin the Church at Vetralla with Passionists concele-brating including Fr. Joachim Rego, SuperiorGeneral, members of the local Passionist communityand members of the Presentation Province.

In his opening address to the Convention inViterbo on September 18th 2014, ArchbishopLongley said the following: ‘Today we begin to repayin a small way a debt of gratitude to the Church inViterbo for the gift of her son, Blessed DominicBarberi to the Catholic Church in England and wethank the Passionist Order for enabling BlessedDominic to spend his entire energy at the service ofour local Church. We continue to benefit today fromthe good foundation which Blessed Dominic estab-lished almost two hundred years ago’. These senti-ments give witness to the love and esteem whichBlessed Dominic of the Mother of God continues toenjoy in the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the gen-uine desire we have to see his Canonization.

SEMINAR ON BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERIRev. Julian Booth, (Archdiocese of Birmingham, England)

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PROFESSIONS AND ORDINATIONS

Fr. Carlos Rosendo Díaz Castellón (SCOR).

PROFESSION OF FINAL VOWSTen religious professed Final Vows during the

period July to December 2014. In the REPACProvince of Indonesia, the following religious pro-fessed Final Vows on 06 July 2014: Yohanes PaulusArief Samara and Agustinus Riang Kapuka. In theFAT Province of Portugal, José Gregório DuarteValente professed Final Vows on 03 August 2014. Inthe PATR Province of Ireland-Scotland, Francis Triasprofessed Final Vows on 14 September 2014. In theTHOM Vice-Province of India, three religious pro-fessed Final Vows on 26 September: Binu JohnsonKunnummel, Johnson Emmanuel Mamath and JifinSebastian Mappilassery. Jorge Henrique AbreuTanus, of the EXALT Province of Brazil, professedFinal Vows on 15 October 2014. In the PAC Vice-Province of Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic,Santiago Alberto Valerio made Perpetual Professionon 18 October. Finally, on 07 December 2014,Salvatore Viola professed Final Vows in the LATProvince of Italy.

PROFESSION OF FIRST VOWSDuring the period of July to December 2014, thir-

ty two Religious professed First Vows. On 14February 2014 in the Asian mission of the GeneralCuria, two religious professed First Vows: JosephDonald Liaia and Anthony O’Connor Simbel; and onthe same day in the MACOR Vice-Province ofKorea, John Pingjun Lin and James Woo-Cheol Yangprofessed First Vows. Twelve novices of the REPACProvince of Indonesia professed First Vows on 05July: Delfinus Dhobu, Yohanes Yustinus Doi,Agustinus Ga’a Dela, Rovinus Longa, RovinusLonga, Eduardus Madha, Heribertus Peri, ViktorRiyadi, Bro. Lusius Riyanto, Ignasius DendiSunarya, Yohanes Yodi, and Petrus Yuniarto. On 07July, eleven religious professed Vows in the CPAConfiguration of Africa: Allan Jakech (CARLW),Beatus Kabyemela, Alexander Karitu, Bro. LukeMalenye, Simeon Ngicho, Francis Nyibai, FelixOnyango, Daniel Otieno, Bro. Isaac Wafula, and Bro.Victor Wanjal (CARLW). And on 14 September, sixReligious from various provinces of the CEBConfiguration professed first Vows: GiovanniBenenati (CFIXI), Ippolito Di Maggio (CFIXI),Marino Longo (LAT), Salvatore Palumbo (LAT),Alberto Sorcinelli (PIET) and Marcelo Vieira (FAT).

PRIESTLY ORDINATIONSThirteen of our Religious were ordained to the

Priesthood during the period July to December 2014.On 27 June 2014, Frs. Yakobus Ego and Yosef FeriWara of the REPAC Province of Indonesia wereordained to the priesthood. Fr. Edilberto Junior daCruz was ordained in the EXALT Province of Brazilon 16 August 2014. On 20 September in the PASSProvince of the Philippines, Fr. Crisanto Renacido Fr. Alfonso Tarazona Cáceres (SCOR).

Salvatore Viola (LAT).

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Fr. Piero Berti(PIET).

(L-R) Alberto Soricelli, Giovanni Benenati, Marino Longo,Marcelo Vieira, Salvatore Palumbo, and Ippolito Di Maggio(CEB).

Fr. EdilbertoJunior da Cruz(EXALT).

Dimaculangan was ordained to the priesthood. In thePIET Province of Italy, three religious were ordainedpriests: Frs. Marco Staffolani (27 September),

Deacons Carlos Aguilar Quiroz and Alexander MárquezOlivares (REG)

Fr. Marco Staffolani (PIET). Fr. Mykola Lyahutko (ASSUM).

Salvatore Frascina (04 October) and Piero Berti (22November). In the SCOR Province of Spain-LatinAmerica, two religious were ordained on 18 October:



Fr. Salvatore Frascina (PIET).

DeaconFrancis Trias(PATR).

Fr. GarethThomas(PATR).

DeaconFrancescoSolazzo(LAT).

Deacons Binu Johnson Kunnummel, Johnson EmmanuelMamath and Jifin Sebastian Mappilassery (THOM).

Fr. WilmerGuevara Fuentes(SCOR).

Frs. Carlos Rosendo Díaz Castellón and RónalSangama Mendoza. On the same date Fr. GarethThomas was ordained in the PATR Province ofIreland-Scotland. Fr. Mykola Lyahutko of the ASSUMProvince of Poland was ordained on 19 October.Lastly, in the SCOR Province of Spain-Latin Americathe following two religious were ordained priests: Frs.Alfonso Tarazona Cáceres (22 November) and WílmerGuevara Fuentes (8 December).

DIACONATE ORDINATIONSDuring the same period of July to December 2014,

eight Religious were ordained deacons. In the REPACProvince of Indonesia, Yakobus Ego and Yosef FeriWara were ordained deacons on 19 February 2014. On13 September, two Religious of the REG Province ofMexico were ordained deacons: Carlos Aguilar Quirozand Alexander Márquez Olivares. In the EXALTProvince of Brazil, Jorge Henrique Abreu Tanus wasordained on 22 November 2014. And on 27 Septemberin the THOM Vice-Province of India, three religiouswere ordained to the diaconate: Binu JohnsonKunnummel, Johnson Emmanuel Mamath and JifinSebastian Mappilassery. On 13 December 2014, in thePATR Province of Ireland-Scotland, Francis Trias wasordained a deacon. And finally, on 14 December,Francesco Solazzo was ordained to the diaconate inthe LAT Province of Italy. ●


NEW PUBLICATIONS

Cabiddu, Carmine, C.P., RACCONTI MISSIONA-

RI, Edizione: Padri Passionisti, 2014.

Cempanari, Atanasio (Mario), C.P., I CONVENTI

DEI PASSIONISTI NELLA BUFERA DELLA

SECONDA GUERRA MONDIALE: RICORDI

DI GUERRA, Edizione: EDIZIONI ICTHOZ, 2014.

Lippi, Adolfo, C.P., PAOLO DELLA CROCE:

MISTICO ED EVENGELIZZATORE MAE-

STRO DI SANTITA PER OGGI, Edizione: EDI-ZIONI FEERIA, 2014.

Mirra, Pierluigi, C.P., RICORDANDO MONS.

ERNESTO MIRRA: UN PASTORE COL

CUORE DI DIO, Edizione: Basile Ati Grafiche -Forino, 2014.

Odoríssio, Mauro, C.P., A ORACAO DE E EM

SAO PAULO DA CRUZ, Edizione: EDICOESLOYOLA, 2014.

Pereira, José Carlos, C.P., GESTAO EFICAZ:

Sugestoes para a renovacao parroquial, Edizione:PAULUS, 2014.

Piccioni, Matteo, C.P., CARO IN IESU BENEDIC-TA- LA CONNESSIONE CRISTOLOGICA E

ANTROPOLOGICA IN RUFINO DI CONCOR-

DIA, Edizione: PONTIFICIA UNIVERSITASLATERANENSIS, 2014. Dissertatio ad licentiam intheologia et scientiis patristicis consequendam, INS-TITUTUM PATRISTICUM AUGUS TINIANUM

Senior, Donald, C.P., WHY THE CROSS?

Reframing New Testament Theology, Edizione:ABINGDON PRESS, 2014.

Turrisi, Tarcisio (Carmelo), C.P, STORIA DEI

PASSIONISTI: IL PERIODO DEL LIBERALI-

SMO (1866-1925) PROVINCIA DEL SACRO

COSTATO, Edizione: SAN GABRIELE EDIZIONI,2014.


Usque ad diem 1 Agosto 2014 – 6 Dicembre 2014, acceptae

DIE OBDORMIVIT PROVINCIA NATUS VOTAIN DOMINO NUNCUPAVERAT

31/07/14 Sac. Quentin Amrhein PAUL 22-giu-26 15-ago-47

01/08/14 Sac. Eustace Cassidy PATR 10-ott-30 25-set-52

09/08/14 Sac. Kieran McIvor PATR 09-nov-20 23-set-41

11/08/14 Sac. Benedict McCaffrey IOS 18-nov-21 28-ott-42

16/08/14 Sac. Bruno Nederend SPE 18-ago-25 24-ott-46

22/08/14 Fra. Manuel Torres y López FAM 15-gen-33 29-mar-51

26/08/14 Sac. Giuseppe Castoro CORM 28-nov-41 15-set-74

29/08/14 Sac. Klemens Hayduck VULN 31-gen-24 13-set-50

13/09/14 Sac. Iñaki (Roberto) Goiri Ojinaga CORI 28-mar-34 02-set-51

14/09/14 Sac. Giovanni Continisio LAT 23-nov-41 18-set-60

20/09/14 Sac. Bernard Weber CRUC 07-set-42 27-giu-76

05/10/14 Sac. Lucas Arrigo Costa CALV 18-nov-16 24-nov-32

25/10/14 Sac. Silvan Rouse PAUL 18-gen-22 15-ago-42

31/10/14 Sac. Ludovico De Simone PIET 29-lug-25 16-lug-42

11/11/14 Sac. Patrick Cooper SPIR 15-mar-31 17-gen-51

12/11/14 Sac. Alessandro Coletti PRAES 28-giu-20 25-set-36

22/11/14 Sac. Domenico Curcio DOL 06-lug-42 26-set-59

26/11/14 Sac. Bruno Senofonte DOL 28-set-36 04-ott-53

06/12/14 Sac. Lawrence Bellew PAUL 01-gen-26 15-ago-47

MONIALES ET SORORES DEFUNCTAE

25/07/14 Sr. Maria Magdalena van het Kruis Monasterio Passionistarum 21/07/1919 16-set-42(Madeleine) Seurinck de Heule (België)

28/07/14 Sr. María Patricia de Jesús Crucificado Inst. Filiarum Passionis 10/10/1940 31-mag-61(Carolina Elvira) Figueroa Araujo D.N.I.C. et Dolorum B.V.M.

(México)

29/09/14 Sr. Vincenzina della Passione Corvinelli Inst. Sororum Passionistarum 16/05/1952 27-set-81a S. Paulo a Cruce (Signa)Prov. Sacro Cuore di Ges·

01/12/14 Sr. Paola della Croce (Dina) Salvi Monasterio Passionistarum 23/08/1917 28-apr-39de Campagnano (Italia)

NOTITIAE OBITUS

VISIT OUR WEB SITE

WWW.PASSIOCHRISTI.ORGE-mail BIP: [email protected]

St. Paul of the Cross wanted to be a preacher to the people:and he knew how to descend from the heights of contemplation,

like Jesus who came down from the mountain, to catechize,to evangelize, to proclaim the Good News.

May you not lack a sense of commitment and purpose,and a spirit of sacrifice in order to fulfill this duty of preaching:

without forgetting that your words, as well as the knowledgeof today’s challenges, must originate from a heart replete with God,

as was intended by the Founder. Only by habitually living and lovingin communion with our heavenly Father, through the mediation of Christ,

the eternal Victim and Pontiff, and only by means of the school of assiduousprayer, and by imitating Him will you discover the source and the depth

of your words, the power of persuasion, and the spark that movesand converts hearts.

(Address of Pope Paul VI to Passionist Mission Preachers, 6 Feb. 1974)

Documents

N. 35 – November-December