August 2003
Founder of Indian Mission Bids Farewell
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Fr. Giuseppe Montenegro, founder of the Indian Vicariate, was given a farewell celebration by members of the Vicariate and other friends as he left to return to Italy. The site of the Eucharist on July 28 was the Basilica of Our Lady in Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore, the very place where Fr. Giuseppe began his work in India twenty years ago. Both the current and retired Archbishops of Bangalore joined in the Mass and the program afterwards. In the photo Fr. Giuseppe (left) receives a portrait of himself, executed in inlaid wood, from the Director of the Indian Vicariate, Fr. Amaladoss Mariasusai. (information and photo: Frs. Amaladoss Mariasusai and David Jayasingh) |
Two CPPS Members Called to New Life
Father Giovanni Dalena, a member of the Italian Province, died in an auto accident near San Severo while returning from vacation on August 16. Fr. Giovanni was born in Putignano in 1934, and became a member of the CPPS in 1957. A priest for 43 years, he was working in parish ministry in his native Putignano when he died.
Father John Klopke of the Pacific Province died at St. Charles, Carthagena, Ohio, on Monday, August 26. Fr. John was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1928 and became a member of the Society in 1952. He just celebrated his fiftieth anniversary of ordination in June. After teaching philosophy at St. Joseph's College, Rensselaer, Indiana, for a number of years, he transferred to the Pacific Province in 1971 and ministered in parishes in the San Francisco Bay area.He served as Secretary General of the Congregation as well as Provincial Secretary. He is the author of several books, including a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, two books of essays in honor of St. Gaspar and, most recentely, an English translation of an Italian biography of St. Gaspar, No Turning Back, written by Mario Spinelli.
Vocation Discernment Day in Chile
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left
to right: Santiago Cárdenas, seminarian Sergio Suárez, Eliás
Cid,
seminarian Juan Carlos Barajas, seminarian Reinaldo Melgarejo, Lorenzo Rocco, Fr. Donald Thieman, Richard Yañez, Fr. Luis Briones, seminarian Omar Cerda, Juan Castillo, and Fr. Antonio Baus. |
Members throughout
the world marked the 188th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation in
a variety of ways, and the Chilean Vicariate celebrated by holding a vocation
discernment workshop on August 15. The workshops are held monthly in the Vicariate.
Five young men are currently in the formation program in Chile.
(Information and photo: Fr. Antonio Baus)
New Leadership for the Atlantic Province
At an electoral assembly held during the first week of August, the members of the Atlantic Province elected Fr. Mario Cafarelli as the new provincial director. The new provincial councilors are Father James Reposkey, Peter Nobili, and Ron Mahon. Father Nobili had been provincial director for twelve years and will be the province treasurer.
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left to right: Frs. Jim Reposkey,1st Councilor and Vice-Provincial Director, Mario Cafarelli, Provincial Director, Peter Nobili, 2nd Councilor and Treasurer, Ron Mahon, 3rd Councilor and Secretary (photo: B Fischer, C.PP.S.) |
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Don Angelo Totaro Celebrates One Hundred Years
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Seventy-seven years of priestly service as a member of the CPPS -- a remarkable feat for Don Angelo Totaro, who celebrated his one hundredth birthday on June 23 and the anniversary of his priestly ordination on July 12. Members and friends celebrated the occasion at the Sanctuary of our Lady of Mercy in Ferrara with a Eucharist at which Don Angelo presided. Don Angelo, by the way, continues to minister at the sanctuary. At far right, Don Angelo is pictured with Fr. Barry Fischer, Moderator General. At near right, a young Angelo Totaro is shown with classmates in Albano in a 1917 photograph. (photos: B Fischer, C.PP.S and CPPS General Archives) |
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Formators Complete Five Week Course
The Course for CPPS Formators ended on August 2 and the participants have departed with suitcases much heavier with mementos and materials from the course. They are also carrying with them a deeper appreciation for the "three pillars" of our Congregation -- spirituality, mission and community -- and for the history and current reality of the CPPS worldwide. Perhaps most important for them was the chance to meet other formators from around the world and to share their stories with one another.
Evaluations of the course were honest and overall quite positive with many helpful observations and suggestions. The hospitality of the community members at Via Narni in Rome and San Felice in Giano won high marks and everyone ate well, with one member lamenting that he had gained 4 kilos!
For the first time participants were able to take with them a CD containing most of the presentations as well as a "manual of formation" containing significant articles or presentations on core topics related to CPPS formation. Dozens of photographs from the course were also included on the CD.
This is the longest course of its kind ever presented by the CPPS General Curia. Judging from the reactions of the participants a course like this will probably be offered on a regular basis in the future.
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Photos:
J Keyes, CPPS
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Teutonic Province Student Completes Archives Project
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Martin Schmid, a candidate from the Teutonic Province, spent four weeks at the CPPS Generalate locating and scanning all of the photographs in the archives. At the end he and Fr. Jerry Stack, Secretary General, "burned" a CD with all of the images that will be sent to all of the units of the Congregation. He also began the process of transferring archived files to new boxes. Martin is the second CPPS candidate to spend time at the Generalate working on special projects. The general curia hope that this can becoming and ongoing program. (photo: J. Stack, CPPS) |
Death Calls a Veteran CPPS Missionary
Fr. Joaquim Farinha Cardoso of the Teutonic Province entered eternal life on 28 July 2003, at the age of 79. A natiive of Vila Viçosa, Portugal, Fr. Joaquim was incorporated in 1945 and ordained in 1947. Until 1972 his ministry was in his native Portugal and he served as the deputy provincial there. In 1973 he went to Brazil to work in the vicariate of the Teutonic Province there, serving in Belem and in Rio de Janeiro.
After fifty-four years of priestly ministry he retired to the CPPS residence in Schellenberg, Liechtenstein, where he died. He now rests with other CPPS confreres in the cemetery there.
New Member in Poland
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The newest member of the C.PP.S. is Brother Leonard Jozef Wasik, who was incorporated into the Society on August 10 in his home town of Jezowe, Poland. His current ministry is in the Holy Spirit Mission House and Hospice in Labunki. In the photo he is shown signing the incorporation document with Fr. Grzegorz Ruchniewicz, Vicariate Director. Congratulations and God's blessings, Brother Leonard! |
July 2003
Teutonic Province Elects Provincial Director and Councilors
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Members
of the Teutonic Province outside the retreat house "Maria Hilf"
in Kufstein-Kleinholz |
New leadership team for the Teutonic Province: Frs. Andreas Hasenburger, Josef Gehrer, Ferdinand Zech (provincial director), Josef Klingele and Georg Becher |
Meeting in the beautiful setting of the CPPS retreat house in Kufstein-Kleinholz in Austria, members of the Teutonic Province re-elected Fr. Ferdinand Zech as provincial director. Also elected at the assembly held from June 23-25 were provincial councilors Josef Klingele, Josef Gehrer, Andreas Hasenburger and Georg Becher.
A consultant guided the members through a process of looking into the future and discerning the qualities needed in province leadership in order to face the challenges and opportunities of the coming years. Part of the process also involved an opportunity to articulate specific goals and concrete proposals for possible apostolates in the future.
Feast of the Precious Blood Celebrated at Sant'Anastasia
The historic church of Sant'Anastasia, not far from the former location of the Piazza Montanara where St. Gaspar ministered to the poor of his day, was the site of a Eucharistic celebration and hour of adoration on July 1. Presiding and preaching at the Eucharist was Archbishop Giuseppe Mani, the new ordinary of Cagliari.
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Pilgrims
gather for "animation" prior to Mass. |
Archbishop
Mani bestows the Mission Crucifix on Fr. Pacini as Fr. Barry Fischer looks
on.
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A special moment in the Mass was the reception of Fr. Alberto Pacini, pastor of Sant'Anastasia, as an auxiliary Missionary. A diocesan priest, Fr. Pacini has embraced the spirituality of the Precious Blood. Sant'Anastasia is the only church in Rome in which there is round the clock adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Course for CPPS Formators Begins
Thirty CPPS Missionaries from around the world have gathered at the Collegio Preziosissimo Sangue in Rome for a five-week course and retreat. The goal of the course, organized by the General Curia with the theme, "Drinking from Our Well," is to help members directly involved in the formation of candidates to have a common understanding of our heritage. Presentations covering the history and current reality of the so-called "three pillars" of our community -- spirituality, apostolate, and community -- are scheduled for the first four weeks. A retreat at the birthplace of the Congregation, San Felice in Giano, will take place during the fifth week.
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Some
photographs from the first two days of the course- After introductions
and an introductory presentation by Moderator General Barry Fischer, Fr.
Beniamino Conti (right) began the presentations on July 3. |
The participants will not only be listening to invited speakers but will also be sharing the stories of their own provinces, vicariates, and missions with one another during the course. Many CPPS members have experienced a desire to know more about how the spirituality of the Blood of Christ and the charism of St. Gaspar are being lived in community life and in the apostolate in the different regions and cultures in which our Missionaries work. This course promises to be a rich opportunity for them to learn from one another and to carry back to candidates and members alike what they have learned.
The schedule for the course is available by clicking the following: schedule. A list of participants is also available.
Two Missionaries Called to Eternal Life
Two veteran Missionaries died during the month of June. In the Teutonic Province, Father Daniel Lins, 89, died in Schellenberg, Liechtenstein. Fr. Lins was a native of Austria and became a member of the Society in 1939. After the Second World War he was director of the retreat house in Kufstein, Austria, and was deeply involved in ministry to his brothers in community who had been affected by the that conflict, helping them to re-establish community life. His ministry also included the ministry of pastor in Schellenberg (where he received a distinguished citizen award and where he built the church) and the formation of students at St. Joseph's College in Salzburg. After serving there for ten years he once again engaged in parish ministry in Klagenfurt-Annabichl and later in Upper Saxony.
Father Charles Banet of the Cincinnati Province died on June 22. He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1922 and was ordained for the American Province in 1949. Virtually his entire career as a Missionary of the Precious Blood was devoted to ministry at St. Joseph's College, Rensselaer, Indiana, where he served as head librarian and eventually as President beginning in 1965, a post he held until retiring in 1993. He is known in the academic world for guiding the College in adopting the innovative Core interdisciplinary education curriculum. Within the Congregation he served on the Provincial Council of the Cincinnati Province and was one of the founding members of the Precious Blood Institute, which sought to promote devotion to the Precious Blood. After retirement he served in a parish with his brother, a Josephite priest.
Archived News:
January 2003 through June 2003
