Fr. Henry Langhals, C.PP.S., 94, of St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, died in the St. Charles infirmary on Saturday, December 31, 2005, at 11:40 a.m. He was the oldest member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood throughout the world.

He was born on July 18, 1911, in Kalida, Ohio, entered the Congregation in 1925, and was ordained on May 6, 1937.

Fr. Langhals spent most of the first thirty years of his priestly ministry in parishes in Oklahoma, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan. From 1969 until 1986 he was a hospital chaplain in Northwest Indiana. He returned to his home parish of St. Michael, Kalida, Ohio, until his retirement to St. Charles in 1996.

Fr. Langhals was one of 14 children. He is survived by his youngest sister, Martha Kleman, and her husband, Harold, Miller City; two sisters-in-law, Martha Langhals, Columbus Grove, Ohio; and Rita Langhals, Kalida; two brothers-in-law, Henry Kahle, Cuba, Ohio; Bill Niese and his wife, Lorraine, of Van Wert, Ohio; and numerous nieces and nephews, including two religious sisters, Sr. Marie Langhals, C.PP.S., of Delaware, Ohio, and Sr. Diana Kleman, OSF/T, of Toledo; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

Fr. Langhals was a gentle presence in the places where he ministered, said his niece, Sr. Marie Langhals. “He was a very gentle, kind, loving person,” she said. “He had a very pleasant personality. People seemed to love him wherever he was.” That trait helped him in his ministry, she said. “People were drawn to him because of his gentle manner, kindness and compassion,” she said. “He seemed to be able to pull people together. He certainly held our family together through painful times.”

A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Thursday, January 5 at 2 p.m. at St. Charles Center , Carthagena , Ohio , with the Rev. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., officiating. Fr. John Hoying, C.PP.S., will be the homilist. Burial will follow in the Community cemetery.

Calling hours will be held at St. Charles from 1-5 and 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, January 4, at St. Charles , and on Thursday until the time of the funeral. There will be a wake service on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

From the official obituary released by the Cincinnati Province.

Domenico Berardi, a member of the Italian Province , was ordained deacon on December 28 in Messina , Sicily . The ordaining prelate was the auxiliary bishop of Messina-Lipari-S. Lucia del Mela, Francesco Montenegro. The bishop, who is also the president of Caritas-Italy, gave a moving homily in which he emphasized the need to be attentive to and responsive to “the cry of the innocent,” that is, of those who suffer from poverty, illness, or moral suffering.

Parishioners and friends filled the large church. Among the concelebrants were the Moderator General Barry Fischer, Giovanni Francilia, provincial director of the Italian Province , other C.PP.S. members and seminarians, and representatives of the local clergy. Adding to the joyful spirit of the celebration was the animation given by the parish choir.

The celebration took place in the parish of Santa Maria di Gesù in Messina . The Italian Province took on the pastoral responsibility of this parish last September. Friars Minor, who had staffed the parish until recently, left behind a rich heritage of Christian base communities and of lay participation. The C.PP.S. team is composed of four young priests: Fr. Terenzio Pastore, pastor, and Frs. Felice Aquino and Showry Kolakani (of the Indian Vicariate), and by our newly ordained deacon, Domenico.

We wish Domenico a fruitful ministry as deacon and our best wishes to the entire team who have taken up this new ministry in Sicily!

On November 27, 2005, the Feast of Christ the King, Hermann Imminger, a member of the Teutonic Province, was ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Kotghasser of Salzburg, Austria. Two seminarians from the archdiocese were also ordained at the ceremony that took place in Zell am See.

In Brazil, Antonio Arcelino Battista Magalhães was ordained to the diaconate on the Fest of Saint Francis Xavier in Belém.

Congratulations ond God's blessings to our confreres!

Nine C.PP.S. members from six countries met in Chicago on November 10-11 th to discuss economic issues facing the General Curia in light of the XVIII General Assembly. The Commission was convoked by Fr. Luis Filipe Cardoso, General Treasurer, and was hosted at the Siegman House of the Kansas City Province in Chicago.

Among the items discussed were: the evaluation of the current means of financing the General Curia; the possibility of establishing a solidarity fund to finance “ad experimentum” missions founded directly under the General Council; and the possible

ways of financing a future international center of Precious Blood Spirituality. The treasurers were able to overcome the language barriers and drew up a series of recommendations which will be studied by the General Council and presented to the Major Superiors at their meeting in August 2006 in Brazil.

We wish to thank once again our gracious hosts at Siegman House, as well as the Formation Community in Woodlawn, and the parish community of St. John's in Whiting, Indiana, for their warm hospitality in accommodating our guests. And thanks to the members of the Commission for their valuable assistance, insights, and recommendations!

Barry Fischer, CPPS

Augusto Menichelli and Simone Masone were ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, Decmeber 3, at 6 P.M. in the parish of St. Gaspar by Bishop Velasio de Paolis. Many priests of the province as well as family and friends were also present. The crowd filled the church, with many having traveled from Sonnino and Benevento, birthplaces of the newly ordained, and from Florence, where Simone completed his pastoral year.

Augusto and Simone celebrated their Eucharist of thanksgiving on the 4th and 8th of December in Sonnino and Benevento respectively.

Congratulations and God's blessings!

Francesco Bartoloni, CPPS

On Tuesday, November 29th, several hundred friends gathered in the gymnasium of St. Gaspar's College in Santiago, Chile, for the definitive incorporations of Juan Carlos Barajas and Omar Cerda. Fr. Richard Beischel, Director of the Chilean Vicariate, presided at the Eucharist and the majority of the Congregation's members in Chile concelebrated with him. Frs. Angelo Anthony, Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province, and Barry Fischer, the Moderator General, traveled to Chile to participate in this historic event. Both Juan Carlos and Omar are Mexicans who joined our formation program in Chile and will serve in the Chilean Vicariate. Relatives of both traveled to Chile to join in the celebrations. Also present was Fr. Rene Cerecedo and some of his family, also from Mexico.

Fr. Barry Fischer, Juan Carolos Barajas, Omar
Cerda, and Fr. Angelo Anthony

During the same Eucharistic celebration, brother candidate Sergio Suárez and seminarian Jorge Gómez made their first temporary incorporation. Some of Sergio's relatives traveled from Perú for the occasion and relatives of Jorge were also present. Fr. Angelo Anthony presented Sergio and Jorge with the distinctive pin of the Cincinnati Province and our Normative Texts, while Fr. Barry presented the definitively incorporated with our mission cross.

A joyful celebration followed in the school patio.

During this year nine young men from our Latin American Missions gathered in Peñalolén in Santiago , Chile for their year of special formation. This regional year of special formation gathered men from Guatemala (5), Perú (2), and Chile (2). They were accompanied by Fr. Marco Antonio López of the Central American Mission as formation director. Juan Carlos Barajas also lived with the men and accompanied Fr. Marco Antonio during the year. The year consists in learning in depth about our C.PP.S. patrimony, varied pastoral experiences, and an opportunity to forge long-lasting relationships among the future members of the Latin American Region.

Frs. Angelo Anthony and Barry Fischer spent part of the morning of November 29 th with the young men and were very pleased to hear their evaluations of this multicultural, multinational collaborative experience. By all accounts, the year worked wonders in breaking down cultural barriers and prejudices and it is noteworthy how a true community was formed in the bond of charity. Each of the young men expressed how they return to their respective units of the C.PP.S. fortified in their vocations by this experience and as true ambassadors of good will and a strong sense of our internationality.

Barry Fischer, CPPS

Don Vincenzo Lupo of the Italian Province died in the hospital at Albano Laziale on November 22 of the complications of pancreatitis. His funeral was celebrated at the Collegio Preziosissimo Sangue in Albano on November 23 and was buried in his home town of San Giuliano del Sannio on November 24.

Born in 1921, Don Vincenzo entered the formation program of the Congregation in Albano at the age of 11. He was definitively incorporated and ordained in 1945. Among other assignments, he served as a general councilor and as postulator general of the CPPS from 1973 through 1983.

God grant him eternal rest.

On October, 21 Hermann Imminger and Georg Wiedemann were definitively incorporated in the Teutonic Province. The celebration took place in the shrine Maria Baumgaertle. Many relatives, friends and faithful of the area assisted in the church, as well as about half of all Missionaries of the Province.

After Mass everybody was invited to the Agape in the nearby spiritual center "Begegnungsstaette Maria Baumgaertle."

Fr. Barry Fischer, Moderator General of the C.PP.S., was one of ten superiors general who participated in the recent Synod of Bishops. Here is his reflection on the synod:

The month of October, 2005 will long remain engraved in my mind! For three full weeks I lived what surely was a once-in-a-lifetime experience: a Synod of Bishops. I was one of the ten superiors general elected by the Union of Superiors General to participate in the synod which had as its theme “The Eucharist: Life and Summit of the Mission of the Church.”

Approximately 250 cardinals and bishops (either elected by their bishops' conferences or named by the Holy Father) and the ten superiors general, plus two more named personally by Pope Benedict, took part in the synod, which was held in the synod hall, part of the General Audience Hall Paul VI.

During the first part of the synod we listened patiently to each of the participants as each delivered his six-minute speech in the Synod Hall. The Holy Father was present for as much as he could squeeze into his schedule. Fortunately he was there the morning I gave my talk on “Communion and Reconciliation in the Blood of Christ.” Listening to more than 250 speeches can be grueling at times, but it was interesting to see the different perspectives from which the Bishops came. I would say that the majority of the speeches centered on the following themes:

• The Eucharist as sacrifice/mystery.

• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

• The concern over abuses in the celebration of the Eucharist.

• The need to do something about communities who have no access to the Eucharist because of priest shortages, etc.

• Better formation in seminaries, more emphasis on liturgy ( ars celebrandi ) and the need for better preaching.

• The need to help the faithful see the connection between the celebration of the Eucharist and their everyday life and commitments.

During the second part of the Synod we worked in language groups—English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German. (There was no “Latin Group,” although Latin was the official language of the Synod.) I was happy to be in a Spanish-speaking group as most of my priestly ministry has been in Latin America. In the groups we worked on the proposals to be presented in the plenary session. These, along with the proposals of all the other groups, would eventually be put together, reworked, and eventually voted upon one by one in the final session of the Synod. These were then presented to the Holy Father for his consideration.

Time will tell just what effect the synod will have on the life of the Church. However, I am grateful for the experience and for the opportunity to make the presence of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood better known and to promote a greater awareness of the spirituality of the Precious Blood.

Full text of Fr. Barry's "intervention" or presentation at the Synod: "Communion and Reconciliation in the Blood of Christ"

On October 29, 2005, Benedict Shango Magabe, CPPS, was ordained deacon among other 19 candidates from different religious congregations and one from diocese of Morogoro. In the homily the ordaining bishop, Telesphor Mkude, the ordinary of Morogoro, called the new deacons to be faithful in the new ministry.

in the picture. Deacon Benedict promising obedience and fidelity before the bishop.

Information and photo: Reginald Mrosso, CPPS

The Congregation welcomes a new member in the Tanzanian Vicariate, Benedict Shango Magabe, who was incorporated on October 9, at St. Gaspar College, Morogoro.

Benedict was born in 1971 and entered the Congregation in 1996. He has completed his pastoral year and will finish his theological studies during the current school year.

Welcome and God bless, Benedict!

Information from an article by Maryann Bremke, CPPS
Photo by Sr. Joni Belford, CPPS, executive director of the PBLC

There are various ways in which the feast of our founder, St. Gaspar del Bufalo, is celebrated. At St. Joseph 's College in Rensselaer , Indiana , the CPPS community there celebrated the lives and ministry of two priests who each are celebrating 65 years of ordination.

Fr. Leonard Kostka and Fr. Edward McCarthy have both spent most of their lives as priest members in service to the college. Congratulations to these two members who have followed in the footsteps of Gaspar for so many years.

Congratulations!

The Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood has awarded $47,000 through the Fr. Brunner Peace and Justice Fund for 2005-06.

The fund has supplied grants to 11 agencies or organizations that proposed programs of varied ministries. “We put a priority on those projects that directly help the marginalized. That was one of the criteria we used in our decision,” said Br. Jerry Hall, C.PP.S., who chairs the Brunner fund committee.

Grants were awarded to a variety of projects, each sponsored by a member of the Cincinnati Province . The projects are located in the United States, Guatemala, and Peru.

Today (23 October) in Rome, Alberto Hurtado, a Chilean Jesuit who was known for his work with the poor, was canonized along with four other saints. Fr. Antonio Baus of the Chilean Vicariate sent copies of correspondence between St. Alberto and the provincial director of the American Province, Fr. Joseph Marling.

On 31 October 1945, Hurtado wrote: "I suppose that Fr. Harold Diller spoke to you about the project of founding a school of agriculture in Chile for boys who will be farmers and for the training of teachers to teach other farmers." He went on to suggest that if the American Province would be interested in parish or educational ministry that he would be happy to convey the news to Bishop Scharman.

Marling replied: "I fear that it would be quite impossible for us to consider labors in Chile. We have already pledged ourselves to send a number of priests to another country in South America. Added to this is the invitation which we expect to undertake foreign mission work...To promise interest in the undertakings in Chile, I fear, would be a species of deception."

Two years later the first CPPS Missionaries arrived, and by 1950 there were fifteen CPPS men from North America in Chile, and eventually an agricultural school, San Bernardo, was established.

One wonders if the prayers of Alberto Hurtado had something to do with our presence in Chile...

Moderator General Barry Fischer writes:

At the end of August I began the visitation of the Kansas City Province in Chicago, where I enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Frs. Dick Bayuk and Dan Torson. The time spent there was relaxing and gave my body time to catch up with the timedifference before heading on to Kansas City.

The bright spot in this photo is Moderator General taking a photo of the reflective"bean" in MillenniumPark in Chicago. To his immediate left are Frs. Dick Bayuk and Dan Torson.

Vice-moderator General Francesco Bartoloni, center,
enjoys a few moments with Companions.

Sunset on the lake at the Kansas City Province Center, Liberty, Missouri.

Fr. Francesco Bartoloni, our Vice-Moderator, joined me in Kansas city. The month of September was spent visiting our members and Companions throughout the province. Francesco was awed by the wide expanses of open fields and prairies. But most of all, both of us felt the warm welcome of our members.

A special treat during the visits were the different gatherings with the Companions that we enjoyed in Iowa and Missouri.

Thank you one and all for your kindness and for making the time spent with you so enjoyable!

The Congregation welcomes two new members to its ranks. In the Polish Province, Brother Kazimierz Otmianowski was definitely incorporated in Czestochowa on 25 September.

In the Tanzanian Vicariate, student Benedict Magabe was definitively incorporated on 9 October. He will be ordained to the diaconate later this month.

Congratulations, welcome, and many blessings to these newest members of the CPPS.

Fr. Jeff Keyes, in green chasuble, blesses Fr. Julian Gnall, OSB, and Margie and Armando Martinez as new International Coordinating Team.

After 18 months of construction, residents of St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio, were able to move into 24 new apartments on September 6. The first phase of a massive renovation program is now complete, and work on the south wing has already begun. In all, there will be 55 units when construction is complete.

St. Charles was once the site of the major seminary of the American Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, but the seminary program closed in 1969. Now there are some 50 members, active and retired, living there. An excellent infirmary provides nursing care for those who need it.

Eventually, some of the new units will be available to lay people in the area who are looking for retirement living.

That soldier holding a tabernacle is none other than CPPS Fr. Bill Stang, a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserve, who was called to active duty with his unit in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Fr. Bill writes of his experience trying to locate a priest who would be able to celebrate the Eucharist with the soldiers when he would return to his teaching duties at St. Joseph's College. In the process he met a Josephite priest who, along with many of his parishioners in the coastal Mississippi town, had literally lost everything but the clothes he was wearing. Fr. Stang was able to enter the area because of his military status and helped the priest priest recover the tabernacle, the parish records, and the priest's ordination chalice.

We have heard much about the devastation wrought by Katrina and later by Rita, and it's heartening to know that Fr. Bill was there in the midst of it all, pitching in to help in true CPPS style.

To read more about how the hurricane affected a parish in Mississippi, read Fr. Bill's entire article.

Brother "Steve," as he was usually known, was called to his new life in Christ on Sunday, August 28, 2005. He was born on April 8, 1923 in Toledo, Ohio, and was professed July 1, 1946 at St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio.

Visitation will be on Wednesday, August 31, 2005, from 1 to 5 pm and 7 to 9 pm at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, with a prayer service at 7 pm. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, September 1, 2005, at 2:00 pm in Assumption Chapel at St. Charles Center. Interment will follow in the Community Cemetery.

God grant him eternal rest.

Fr. Blasick, a member of the Cincinnati Province, was called to his new life in Christ on Friday, August 26, 2005. He was born on February 3, 1932 in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, entered the Congregation in 1947, and was definitively incorporated in 1957. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 28, 1960, at St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio.

Visitation will be on Monday, August 29, 2005 from 1 to 5 pm and 7 to 9 pm at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, with a prayer service at 7 pm. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 30 at 2:00 pm in Assumption Chapel at St. Charles Center. Interment will follow in the Community Cemetery.

God grant him eternal rest.

Death called Fr. Joseph Hajduch of the Kansas City Province on Saturday, August 20. Born in Whiting, Indiana, in 1920, he entered the Congregation at Brunnerdale Seminary in 1935. He was definitively incorporated in 1942 and ordained to the priesthood in 1947.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Charles Center Chapel, Fr. James Urbanic, CPPS, presiding. Burial followed in the cemetery at St. Charles.

God grant him eternal rest.

August 15th was a moment of celebration to the Chilean Vicariate along with the rest of the CPPS units around the world. In this opportunity, all the three houses in Santiago de Chile joined in the Casa Central (Centerl House) to share the joy of this special date together.

The celebration began in the afternoon with a liturgy and then we worshiped the Most Blessed Sacrament, guided by Fr. Antonio Baus and student. Omar Cerda. During the liturgy, Fr. Antonio Baus narrated the foundation of our Congregation with many details, and then it concluded in front of one of the columns of Central House, where a stone from Saint Felix Abbey is encrusted.

After the liturgy, the confreres of Central House invited us to share an “asado” (barbecue) in the house gardens.

It's in opportunities like this that Saint Gaspar's dream becomes true: “I wish I had a thousand tongues to apply the merits of Jesus' Blood.” Tthe Cerro Navia House, the Center House, and the Special Formation House make a truly international community together. In the Center House gathering we had members, students and postulants from eight countries: Italy, Poland, U.S.A., Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, and Chile.

Text: Candidate Sergio Súarez
Photo: Candidate Danilo Sacchetti

CPPS Father Clarence Williams directed a ten-day cultural and religious exchange between Black Catholics of North American and Brazil in late July and early August. Williams, president of the Catholic African World Network, noted that the pilgrimage was aimed a building bridges between the North American and Brazilian experiences of Catholicism. "Brazil is the center of enslaved Africans in the Americas. Brazil's 76 million people of African descent makes it the larges national Black population in the hemisphere, and the majority are Catholic.

The Sankofa Observance of Catholics of African descent in the Western hemisphere beganwith the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of the USA to commemorate the first slaves from Africa broughtto the Western hemisphere in 1501. The first decade of the twenty-first century is dedicated to capturing the significance of the 500 year history of people of African descent in the Western hemisphere from a Pan African perspective.

Brazil is the first of five Sankofa journeys. The other four journeys will be the Afro-Hispanic experience in 2006, the global reality in the USA in 2007, West Africa in 2008, and Mexico in 2009.

Information: Clarence Williams, CPPS

Above, the Anawim Players, who represented Gaspar and the three foundresses in the opening drama of the Congress

Right: CPPS members,
lay associates, and Amici

Fr. Paul Buehler, one of the first American Missionaries to serve in Chile, died at the age of 86 in the infirmary of St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio.

Born in 1919 in Burkettsville, Ohio, he entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1937 and was ordained in 1944. After two years of parish ministry in the United States, Fr. Buehler was among the first members of the Congregation to serve in Chile after the American Province established its presence there in 1947. For all but eleven of the following years until his retirement to St. Charles in 2002 he served in Latin America. He was one of the Missionaries who helped establish the presence of the CPPS in Perú in 1962.

The obituary from the Cincinnati Province noted that "his gentle manner concealed an iron spirit." He spoke of the challenges and difficulties of missionary work as though they were quite ordinary. He continued his ministry even as health led him to retire and he "was one of the first and most faithful in responding to the call of his fellow members in their times of illness and distress."

He is the last surviving member of his family of birth. Survivors include his nephew, Fr. Thomas Brenberger, CPPS, and Sr. Jeanette Buehler, CPPS, a niece.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Charles at 2 PM on Friday, August 5, with Fr. Angelo Anthony, CPPS, presiding, and Fr. Thomas Brenberger delivering the homily. Burial will follow in the cemetery of the Community.

Information: Obituary Notice of the Cincinnati Province

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ, meeting in General Assembly in Rome in June and July, have elected their new general leadership team for 2005-2011.

Sister Bernarda Krištic, formerly provincial superior of the Zagreb (Croatia) Province, was elected Superior General. The general councilors are Sister Marykutty Kanattu of the Indian Delegation, Sr. Ivana Paialunga of the Province of Florence, Sr. Sônia Maria Pinho de Matos of the Manaus Province (Brazil), and Sister Therese Wetta, of the US Province. Sister Rosalia Armillotta of the Bari Province was named Secretary General and Sister Susan Elsby of the USA Province will be the Economo General.

Our best wishes and prayers to the new leaders of the ASC Sisters!

The President of the Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, congratulated the Missionaries of the Precious Blood for ther ongoing spiritual and material support for the development of the nation. He added that this support is particularly essential today, since the government has established as an objective to have the entire population to collaborate in development through work and responsibility.

The President spoke these words at the official inauguration of St. Gaspar School, built in Dodoma, Tanzania, with the collaboration of the Water Project of the Atlantic Province. Brother Anthony Canterucci (pictured at left with the President), who heads the Project, added that with this school the Missionaries see to continue their fight against lack of education, poverty, and illness.

Fr. Mario Cafarelli, Provincial Director of the Atlantic Province, noted that the school will be for the use of children of poor families so that they also may have an opportunity for education.

Text: Richard Mijigwa, cpps
Photo: Reginald Mrosso, cpps

On July 3, the feast of St. Thomas (a most important feast in India, which traces its Christian roots to the apostle), there was a celebration marking the arrival of C.PP.S. Missionaries Fr. Maria Antony Urigathan and Fr. John Peter Sippai to assume the pastoral care of the parish of St. Catherine in Eraviputhenthurai. (See the photo at right.)

The parish is located in Tamil Nadu, along the Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean). Many of the members of the 929 families of the parish are fishermen. It is now the largest parish staffed by the C.PP.S. in India. We have also been informed that the Indian Vicariate is moving outside India to Thailand. Fr. Robert Devadoss has been invited to teach there and will also be studying the Thai language and culture.

Fr. Deusdedit Mulokozi writes that this year's celebration of the Feast of the Precious Blood was especially significant, since several Sisters of the Precious Blood, a Chilean foundation (CPS) renewed their vows at a Mass at which Bishop René Bebolledo of Osorno was principal celebrant. Pictured at left is Bishop Rebolledo along with (left to right), Fr. Humberto Jaña, C.PP.S., Fr. Deusdedit, and Fr. César, a diocsean priest. Also picture are the Sisters of the Precious Blood and students of the local school or colegio.

Fr. Felice Aquino was ordained to the priesthood for the Italian Province on Saturday, 2 July, in the Parish of St. Ann in Boscotrecase, in the Province of Naples, by Bishop Beniamino Depalma of Nola. F. Felice celebrated his first Mass of thanksgiving on the following day.

Fr. Felice is pictured at left with his parents, Salvatore and Caterina Aquino.

Bishop Erwin Kräutler, C.PP.S., Bishop of the Prelature of the Xingú in Brazil, received an award from the Viktor Frankl Foundation in Vienna on June 21. The Fund honors persons who "contribute to a climate of understanding, tolerance, and openness."

In receiving this prize, Bishop Kräutler called for a "globalization of solidarity," noting that the time has come "for a clear witness to non-violence, to reconciliation, and to peace." Biblical righteousness means "helping the poor, defending the truth against lies, and defending honesty in the face of corruption." He also recalled the fate of Sister Dorothy Stang, who was murdered in Brazil in February for her commitment to justice for the poor. He also made reference to the tremendous destruction of the Amazonian forests and the de facto slavery of many of the poor.

Congratulations, Bishop Kräutler, on receiving this prize and for your ongoing commitment to justice and peace.

Meeting for three days in June, the Normative Text Commission has completed the first stage of its work by proposing changes to the Normative Texts in response to resolutions from the General Assembly of 2004.

The commission is made up of representatives of each of the five de facto regions of the Congregation: Antonio Baus (Latin America), Gary Luiz (North America), Walter Milandu (Africa), Michael Peter's (India), and Giandomenico Piepoli (Europe). The commission is chaired by Secretary General Jerry Stack.

The proposed changes to the Normative Texts have been submitted to the General Council, which is meeting during the first week in July. After reviewingthe proposals, they will be sent to all

the members through the directors of each province, vicariate, or mission, for discussion in district meetings between September 2005 and April 2006.

Suggestions from these meetings will be incorporated into a final set of proposals that will be considered at the meeting of the Major Superiors with the Moderator General and General Council in August 2006. That meeting will plan for the General Assembly to be held in September 2007.

C.PP.S. General Councilor Robert Schreiter, professor of theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, was recently awarded the John Courtney Murray Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theology. The award is given annually by the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Congratulations, Bob!

Information and photo: Edmund Chia

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."  So the deacons are called to do the same selfless service.

The Eucharistic celebration ended with the vote of thanks that was given by three deacons in three different languages. After that the newly ordained deacons had a photo as a group then followed by the cutting of cake and fraternal meal that ended the celebration of the day. 

Those ordained on June 11 were: Henry Bright Raj, Albert Michael Dharmaya, Anthony Daniel Joseph Das, Arokiadas Muthu Swamy, David Raju Matta, Jaya Babu Nuthalapati, Sahaya Ruben Franics, Vijaya Raj Vijai, Vincent Kitta, and Xavier Budhali.

Text and Photo: Amaladoss Mariasusai, C.PP.S.

June 18 will remain a day to remember for us Missionaries, students, parents, friends, and people of good will as we joined to thank God for the gift of the newly ordained minister Paul Joachim Kitaly, the son of Joachim Afamuel Kitaly and Elizabeth Leina Mushi. His ordination, by the Rt. Rev. Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichi of Dodoma, was celebrated at the Church of the Body and Blood of Christ in Kola Morogoro.

The newly ordained Missionary was born on the 6 th of February, 1967, at Mkuu Rombo in Tanzania . Before joining the Congregation, Paul received an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration and worked as Assistant Personnel Office for Aluminium Africa in Dar-es-Salaam. It was at this time that the Lord called him to follow Him in a special way as a priest and missionary.

After joining the Congregation, Paul completed his studies in philosophy and theology at the Salvatorian Institute, followed by a year of pastoral experience during 2003-2004. He was definitively incorporated into the Congregation in October 2004 and ordained a deacon on November 27 of the same year.

Fr. Vincenzo Boselli, C.PP.S., Vicariate Director, thanked Paul for being patient and faithful to this holy calling and expressed gratitude to Paul and congratulations to all who contributed to his spiritual and material well-being throughout his journey.

The newly ordinaed Fr. Paul Kitaly is pictured to the left of Bishop Ruwa'ichi. To the right of the bishop is Fr. Vincenzo Boselli, Vicariate Director.

Text: Reginald Mrosso, C.PP.S.

Text: Stephen Dos Santos, C.PP.S
Photo: Margaret Dos Santos

Members of the Teutonic Province gathered from May 29 through June 1 at the C.PP.S. retreat center "Maria Hilf" in Kufstein, Austria, for their annual assembly or "Provinztag."

The first day of the assembly marked the celebration of the ordination anniversaries of four province members: Fr. Michael Schiegl (50 years), Fr. Fritz Wimböck and Bp. Erwin Kräutler (40), and Fr. Josef Klingele (25).

Fr. Ferdinand Zech, Provincial Director, chaired the assembly, which began with customary annual reports. This year there was a special slide presentation by Polish Provincial Director Jarek Jablonski on the erection of the new Polish Province earlier in the month. There was opportunity for lively exchange on a variety of topics, including youth ministry and publications of the province.

During the assembly there was an opportunity for formal and informal dialogue, including a discussion of the direction of youth ministry in the province. Fr. Barry Fischer, Moderator General, offered some reflections on the official visitation of the members of the province, which began after the close of the assembly. Joining Fr. Barry for the first and second halves of the visitation respectively are Frs. Jerry Stack and Robert Schreiter, General Councilors. Sister Lisabeth Reichlin, Provincial Superior of the ASC Sisters of the Schaan Province, was present for the assembly.

Text: Jerry Stack, C.PP.S.
Photo: Antonio Baus, C.PP.S.

“The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is in each of us. What a precious gift, what a precious life, what a precious love we share, through Christ our Lord,” said Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S., Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, as he welcomed five men who took the next step on their journey of faith at a liturgy at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, on May 22.

Br. Rob Reuter, C.PP.S., was definitively incorporated as a Missionary of the Precious Blood. Br. Rob, 45, who was temporarily incorporated in 2003, received his blessing and mission cross from Fr. Anthony after both signed the papers that pledged Br. Rob's life to the service of God and God's people.

Left to right: Fr. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., Director of Vocation Ministry, Cincinnati Province; Joe Grilliot; Vince Wirtner; Kevin Scalf and Antonio Sison; Br. Jerry Schulte, C.PP.S., Co-Director of Initial Formation; and Br. Rob Reuter, C.PP.S.

Also at the liturgy, four men made their initial commitment to the Community. After living together at the Community's House of Initial Formation in Dayton, they will now move on to a year of ministry in Precious Blood parishes. The four are Joseph Grilliot, Kevin Scalf, Antonio Sison and Vincent Wirtner.

It was a weekend of vocation awareness and community spirit for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; the day before, on May 21 at St. Charles Center, 40 lay associates, called Companions, made or renewed their covenant with the Community.

For Br. Rob, the rite of Definitive Incorporation was a culmination of a decision he made long ago. A native of Cleveland , he joined the faculty of Saint Joseph 's College in Rensselaer, Ind., in 1996. There he came to know the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, who sponsor the college, and to discern his own vocation as a brother.

Vince Wirtner, 42, a native of Fort Wayne , Ind., was a campus minister at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne before he entered formation with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He is also a licensed practical nurse.

Joe Grilliot, 23, of Versailles, Ohio, holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Toledo .

Cincinnati native Kevin Scalf, 29, holds a master's degree in theology from Xavier University .

Antonio Sison, 39, a native of the Philippines , lived in the Netherlands before entering initial formation last August. He holds a doctoral degree in theology and cinema from the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands .

The four men who made their initial commitment to the Community will be traveling together this summer as they learn more about the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. All four will also be enrolled in inter-community novitiate programs for the coming year.

Text: Companion Jean Giesige
Photo: Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S

Just over 20 years after the first CPPS Missionary went to Poland, the new Polish Province was formally established on 1 May 2005 at festivities held at St. Gaspar House in Czestochowa, Poland. Major superiors from 12 units of the Congregation were present for the event, along with the Moderator General and members of the General Council.

The celebration began in the morning with a multimedia presentation of the history and current situation of the Province in the morning followed by a ritual celebration of the establishment of the new province and the installation of newly elected Provincial Director Fr. Jaroslaw "Jarek" Jablonski.

Twenty-five Companions from the United States spent a week in Italy recently in order to retrace the steps of St. Gaspar and to have a retreat experience in the birthplace of our community in the Abbey of St. Felix in Giano.

The Companions who came from all three United States Provinces were accompanied during their entire stay by the Moderator General who also guided them in their retreat in Giano. They enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of our Italian C.PP.S. houses at Via Narni, Giano, Albano , and Sonnino.

Also on the agenda was a day trip to Acuto to see the birthplace of the Adorers of the Precious Blood, and a brief stop in our parish in Sonnino. They especially relished walking through the narrow streets and alleyways of the city which seemed to take them back a century in time.

A special thanks is in order to Tony O'Malley of the Florida Companions who organized this trip. It was a great experience for all!

Text and photo: Barry Fischer, CPPS

The Italian Province celebrated its third ordaination to the diaconate this year on 23 April. In Putignano, Graziano De Palma was ordained deacon at the CPPS parish of San Filippo Neri. Graziano, a native of Molfetta, Province of Bari, currently ministers in San Filippo.

Congratulations, Graziano!

With great emotion and embraced with love and expectations by the church in Bogotá, the C.PP.S. were officially welcomed and opened their first house in Colombia on 3 April 2005.

The official celebration of welcome was held at the School of the Presentation, with the playing of the national anthems of Colombia, Perú, Chile, Guatemala, and the United States, by the band of the Naval Academy of Colombia. Welcoming speeches by representatives of the laity of the Kyrios Foundation followed, along with a splendid performance of folkloric dances of Colombia by university students and singing by a local children's group.

The new mission is a collaborative effort, under the auspices of the Peruvian Mission. Fr. Ernest Ranly of the Peruvian Mission and Fr. Abelardo Ibaceta of the Chilean Vicariate are the C.PP.S. Missionaries who are inaugurating the new Mission, in response to an invitation from Fr. Humberto Silva of the Kyrios Foundation.

Also present for this historic moment were Frs. Barry Fischer, Moderator General, Angelo Anthony, Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province, Fr. Donald Thieman of the Chilean Vicariate, Fr. Darío Caal, Director of the Guatemalan Mission, Abel Cruz, also from Guatemala, and, of course, Fr. Humberto Silva.

A representative of the Kyrios Foundation greeted the C.PP.S. thus: "Welcome to the land of Colombia, Missionaries of the Precious Blood, in this historic moment, when Colombia awaits the transfusion of the Spirit of peace and reconciliation which the mercy of God has brought us, now, through the Most Precious Blood of His Son Jesus Christ!"

Frs. Ernest Ranly, Humberto Silva, and Abelardo Ibaceta

Bishop Javier Pizarro, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Trinidad (Casanare) presided at the Eucharist and welcomed the Missionaries warmly in the name of the Cardinal of Bogotá, who had left from Rome upon the death of the Holy Father. Others who have offered a warm welcome are the Bishop, Vicar of Religious, and other families of religious.

We invite all to ask for God's blessings upon this new C.PP.S. initiative. May all of the members of our Congregation accompany our men in Colombia so that they may be faithful heralds and witnesses of the Precious Blood, as was our founder St. Gaspar, in this new land.

A special thanks to all who have helped to make this dream a reality.

Fr. Tom Conway of the Kansas City Province has returned to Rome to assist in a project of reorganizing the general archives of the Congregation. He had served as a general councilor and archivist general from 1985-1989.

In the two months he has been in Rome, Fr. Tom helped complete the database project begun last summer. This involved transferring the biographical data on members from index cards to a computer database.

The archive project has so far involved a new numbering system for the nearly 350 boxes of material as well as transferring about a third of the collection to new boxes. Now all the old boxes in the archives have been replaced with new ones and have new labels. The next stage of the project will be to begin a more thorough indexing of the materials contained in the collection.

Fr. Louis Barga, 77, died unexpectedly in the infirmary at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio, on Sunday, 6 March.

Born in 1927 in North Star, Ohio, he entered the C.PP.S. in 1942 and was ordained in 1954. He spent his life as a priest in parish ministry, serving in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri. During the last 25 years of his life he was pastor of two parishes near St. Charles, St. Sebastian, Sebastian, Ohio, and St. Mary's, Philothea, Ohio.

His survived by two sisters and three brothers, one of whom is Brother Adrian Barga, C.PP.S. of Carthagena.

According to his family, Fr. Louis was a bit stubborn as a child, a trait that served him well in his religious vocation. He had a number of health problems but was never daunted by them. Although he became legally blind, he continued in his ministry for many years.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, 10 March, at St. Charles Center, with interment to follow in the Community cemetery.

We are pilgrims, we live in a temporary inn, we are in transit and this is not our homeland.
(St. Gaspar del Bufalo, letter 3785)

Information: Cincinnati Province obituary notice

Father Fredrick Arokiam Lourdusamy was ordained to the priesthood for the Indian Vicariate on 19 February 2005 in Kannakkankuppam in Tamil Nadu, in the church of Our Lady of Lourdes. 20 priests and about 300 families gathered for the ordination by Bishop Antony Anandarayar.

Father Fredrick's ordination brings the total number of priests in the Vicariate to 34.

Information: Fr. Amaladoss Mariasusai, cpps

Fr. Dionicio Alberca, Director of the Peruvian Mission, has announced that a delegation has been chosen to be the initial presence of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in Bogotá , Colombia . The members participating in the ad experimentum Mission will be Fr. Ernesto Ranly, who will work on promoting the Spirituality of the Precious Blood with the Fundación Kyrios, Fr. Abelardo Ibaceta, who will work with the pastoral outreach of the Fundación Kyrios, and Fr. Máximo Mesia who will work part-time with the vocation and formation efforts in that county.

On Sunday, April 3, 2005, Fr. Barry Fischer, Fr. Angelo Anthony, Fr. Dionicio Alberca, and several other members of the Latin American region will gather in Bogotá to celebrate the formal arrival of the C.PP.S. delegation. Fr. Humberto Silva, a diocesan priest from Bogotá who has laid the groundwork for the C.PP.S. presence in Colombia, will be there to welcome them. He has been in contact with the Vicar for Religious in Bogotá for the canonical recognition of our presence there and has been assisting in the search for a place for our members to live.

Fr. Humberto and the Fundación Kyrios (the lay group he founded) are very excited about this celebration. Please keep this effort in your prayers as the Precious Blood Community seeks to expand our missionary efforts to Colombia , South America, to be a healing and reconciling presence to the people of that country, proclaiming the redeeming Blood of Jesus Christ.

Text: Cincinnati Province Newsletter

Death came to Fr. Leonard Sudhoff on Thursday, February 24, 2005, in the infirmary at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio. He was the second oldest member of the Congregation.

Fr. Sudhoff was born in 1911 in St. Anthony, Ohio, and entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1926. He was ordained in 1939. He worked as a parish priest and as a chaplain throughout his life as a priest until his retirement in 1993.

Friends and confreres remember him as a committed pastor, quiet but determined. One example of that determined commitment was that he visited the families in the parish in which he was serving during the years of change after the Second Vatican Council, explaining the changes to them to help them through that time of transition in the Church.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, February 28, 2005, at 2 PM at St. Charles Center, with Fr. Kenneth Schnipke, C.PP.S., officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Charles Cemetery.

Let us remain in the wounds of Jesus Christ, preparing ourselves for the years of eternity
so that we can be reunited with the very center of our joy. (St. Gaspar, letter 1497)

Information: Cincinnati Province obituary notice

Bishop Rino Fisichella, Rector of the Lateran University, conferred the order of deacon on Augusto Menichelli of the Italian Province at a Eucharist celebrated at the church of Corpo e Sangue di Cristo in Rome on Sunday, 20 February.

The new deacon is the son of Tommaso and Gabriele Menichelli of Sonnino and entered the formation program of the Congregation in 1998. He is serving on the pastoral staff of Corpo e Sangue di Cristo Church.

Photo: Jerry Stack, CPPS

Fr. Joe Nassal, CPPS, of the Kansas City Province is a well-known retreat director and author. As part of the Precdious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation he has been writing a regular column on the theme of reconciliation. They will be available online at this site.

The first column to be available is entitled "Archbishop Oscar Romero: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Death of a Dreamer."

As a tradition in the Chilean Vicariate, the CPPS members and students have a summer mission in the communities in southern Chile.

The mission was a time of grace: a gathering of CPPS members, students, and postulants from six different countries. They were Danilo (Italy), Juan Antonio y Sebastián (El Salvador), Fr. Marco Antonio López, CPPS, Rony, Antonio José y Jacobo (Guatemala), Juan Carlos, CPPS, Omar, CPPS, y Gregorio (Mexico), Jorge, Claudio, Santiago y Elías (Chile), y Rufino, Richard y Sergio (Peru).

Misson team in Puerto Octay, southern Chile

The site chosen for the mission was the community of Puerto Octay, territory of San Agustín Parish. Frs. Abelardo Ibaceta ( Chile ), and Magnus Tegete, CPPS, ( Tanzania ) serve there.

Before the mission, the team had time to pray, to learn, and to get to know each other. The mission group was divided in three mission teams. The mission lasted from January 20 to 28. .

During the time of mission, during the week of 24 January, the Chilean Vicariate Annual Assembly was held. During the Assembly Juan Carlos Barajas and Omar Cerda renewed their incorporation.

Note that the Chilean Vicariate has nine nationalities present in different levels: Poland, Italy, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Tanzania, Peru, and Chile.

The renewal of temporary incorporation of Juan Carlos Barajas and Omar Cerda took place at the Assembly.

Right: Juan Carlos Barajas, P. Wojtek Czernatowicz, P. Richard Beischel, y Omar Cerda

Formation Community. First row from left to right: Rufino Flores, Jorge Gómez, Sergio Suárez, Juan Antonio Cañas y Antonio José Hernández. Second row from left to right: Rony Díaz, Fr. Marco Antonio López, Jacobo Ramírez, Sebastián Argueta y Richard Poma.

This year the period of Special Formation for Latin America is being held in Chile as part of the initiative for more cooperation between CPPS units. This community is formed by Fr. Marco Antonio López, CPPS, Rony Díaz, Antonio José Hernández and Jacobo Ramírez (Guatemala), Juan Antonio Cañas and Sebastián Argueta (El Salvador), Rufino Flores, Richard Poma and Sergio Suárez (Peru), Jorge Gómez (Chile), and Juan Carlos Barajas, CPPS (Mexico).

The special formation house is located in the community of Peñalolén, in eastern part of Santiago de Chile.

We ask for your prayers so this Special Formation year may be a time of grace for the students and the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

Text: St. Sergio Suárez; photos: Juan Carlos Barajas, CPPS

The Cincinnati Province has recently made the difficult decision to discontinue the grain and dairy farming operations at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, after nearly a century and a half of operations there. Generations of brothers and students worked the farm along with lay employees. For years the farm provided food for the St. Charles community and additional income for the Province. The farm properties, totaling about 1,100 acres (445 hectares), will be rented to local farmers.

Fr. Angelo Anthony, Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province, noted how difficult it was to make the decision and expressed his gratitudefor the many members over the years who faithfully cared for the land. The farming operations will come to a close at the end of this year and will be marked by a service of thanksgiving, remembering especially the many brothers of the Congregation who contributed so much to this important ministry in the history of the CPPS in the United States.

The full article from the Cincinnati Province Newsletter is available here at our site.

The first Bolivian member of the Congregation, Hilton Rodríguez Roca, was definitively incorporated on 28 January 2005 in the chapel of Casa Merlini, Chaclacayo, Perú. Hilton is 30 years old and was born in Santa Cruz, Chiquitos, El Chochis, Bolívia. He entered the formation program of the CPPS in 1997.

At the same ceremony, Joel Jesús Nolasca Ñaupari and Tomás Chamaya Alva renewed their temporary incorporation.

Information and photo: Hilton Rodríguez Roca, CPPS

Precious Blood Parish in Florence celebrated the diaconal ordination of Simone Masone on Saturday evening, January 29. Bishop Claudio Maniago, auxiliary bishop of Florence, was the ordaining prelate.

Don Simone is a native of Benevento and the son of Pio and Concetta Masone. He entered the formation program of the CPPS in Italy in 1998. He is currently serving as a member of the parish pastoral staff at Precious Blood Parish in Florence.

After a rich ministry of 64 years as a priest in the Congregation, Fr. Norbert Loshe died at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, on Thursday, January 27, after a brief illness. He was born in St. Anthony, Ohio, on February 23, 1914, and entered the Missionaries of the Precious blood in 1932. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1940.

For most of his ministerial career he served in parishes in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He also served as treasurer at Brunnerdale Seminary, Canton, Ohio, for eleven years. Fr. Norbert was serving in a parish (Mary, Help of Christians, in Fort Recovery, Ohio) until his retirement last year.

Fr. Paul Wohlwend, pastor of Mary, Help of Christians when Fr. Norbert was associate there, said of him: "He was a very dedicated and conscientious priest and pastor, everywhere he served."

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, February 2, at Assumption Chapel, St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, with Very Rev. Angelo Anthony, Provincial Director, presiding, and Fr. Paul Wohlwend giving the homily.

CPPS Missionaries and Students in Bissau

First row, l-r:Fr. Joaquim Cardoso Pereira, Sana, Fr. Leonidas Ntampera, Rui, Lima; second row: Ferdinand, Cipriano, Fr. Barry Fischer, Fr. José Luis Morgado Fereira

Fr. Egidius Seneda

Bishop José Camnate na Bissgn and
Fr. Joaquim Cardoso Pereira at blessing of new house

During the festivities following the meal, we witnessed the arrival of some unwelcomed guests: an invasion of red locusts which darkened the skies and came to rest in our area, eating the greens and destroying the buds of the Cajun nut trees, the main commodity of the country. For the first time in my life, I can now add a visual image to the Old Testament story of the “plague of locusts” which invaded Egypt !

Fr. José Luis flees the plague of locusts!

Text and photos: Barry Fischer, cpps

Most Rev. Joseph Charron, CPPS, bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa (USA) has written a pastoral letter for the Year of the Eucharist that was featured in the December 9, 2004, issue of Origins, the documentary service of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop Charron, a native of North Dakota, was ordained for the Congregation in 1967 and celebrates 11 years as bishop of Des Moines this month.

For the text of his pastoral letter with a study guide, available in English and Spanish, please go to the web site of the Diocese of Des Moines.

1 January 2005

We received an update on the effects of the earthquake on the CPPS parish in Kalapakkam (Tamil Nadu) from Vicariate Director Fr. Amaladoss Mariasusai on December 31. He writes that in Kalapakkam the community was just finishing Mass at about 9:15am on December 26. As the final blessing was being given, they saw that the water was going to reach the church. Pastor Fr. Irudayaraj took some children with him as he ran into the street. Fr. Raja remained in the church and was fortunate to have saved his life. One of the sisters escaped to the roof with 2 children. 10 parishioners died in the tsunami, and in about 300 more were killed in two nearby villages, many of them fishermen as well as children who had been playing on the beach.

Although water did reach the church of St. Anthony in Sadras (not far from a nuclear power plant), but Fr. Amaladoss writes that all escaped. At this point it is certain that housing will be needed and that the fishermen will need boats and nets so as to earn their livelihood once again.

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26 December 2004:

Visitors to our site already know of the devastating earthquake and tidal wave that has struck India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries. One of the parishes of the Indian Vicariate was affected by the tidal wave. Fr. Michael Peter's of the Vicariate writes:

"Sadras where our missionaries are working is badly hit by the flood this morning around 6.40 AM and waters entered the Church and ruined the Church very badly and many died and many huts there in the village were washed away in the flood. Our missionaries, Fr. Irudayaraj and Arockiaraj, escaped from the flood miraculously. The presbytery and their vehicles are damaged. Vehicles are carried away in the waters. But the missionaries are now safe at Thirukazhagu Kunram, about 18 Km from Sadras. We have no further news. I ask you of your prayers."

The above message arrived at the Generalate at about 1300 hrs on 26 December. Indeed, let us keep our brothers and all affected by this massive disaster in our prayers.

The Guatemalan Mission elected Fr. Dario Caal as its new Director at an assembly held on 2 December. Also elected as councilors at the assembly were Frs. Abel Cruz and Mauricio Alvarez. The results of the election were confirmed at a meeting of the Provincial Council of the Cincinnati Province on 6 December and the appointments will become official on 15 January 2005.

The Provincial Council offered a special word of thanks to outgoing Director Fr. Noe Lemus for his many years of service as Director of the Mission.

Congratulations!

Information: Angelo Anthony, CPPS, Provincial Director, Cincinnati Province