Jaffna Oblates moving with their afflicted people

“Anpaham Orphanage,” run by the Oblates of the Jaffna Province, has been displaced for the third time in one month. The present situation in Kilinochchi and the surroundings causes undeniably awful pain and suffering.

The original home for 45 children was Mulankavil. They were uprooted from their haven in the first week of August 2008 and found refuge in the thick jungles of Akkarayankulam in Kilinochchi, due to intensified military operations in their vicinity. Artillery fire, shelling and bombing are their daily traumatizing events. Even Akkarayankulam did not give them shelter for long. They had to evacuate once again and go to Kanagapuram for safety since the little ones became haunted with fear and panic because of the surrounding war operations. Kanagapuram is just 4 kilometers from Kilinochchi town.

Even that place became vulnerable when it began to receive barrages of shells and artillery fire. The children again moved with their guardian, Fr. Francis Loshington, into the Visuvamadhu area. Presently they are housed there in temporary shelters. The International Committee of the Red Cross has helped them with 5 toilets and some sheets to cover their temporary sheds. Our Oblates continue to move with them and take care of them. Their ministry continues with even more dedication and self sacrifice, though they experience much want, inconveniences, hazards, hurdles and, of course, danger.

Places may be destroyed; buildings, demolished; roads, blocked; food may be denied but our Oblates, experiencing the same fate as the people, move with them. They are the Good Shepherds who know their sheep, call them by their names and lay down their lives for their sheep.

Besides the orphanage, other Oblate ministries have suffered. The Oblate Institute of Technology, English Language and Computer Centre, [OBTEC] at Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi, was severely damaged due to aerial bombing in the vicinity in early October. This centre has been serving as a home for integral care and education for children after the famous Tsunami. The buildings and lecture halls were badly damaged, including many computers that were used to educate the poor students in computer science. At that time, three Oblates were there; two of them had already been displaced from their places of ministry. We don’t have any news about their present condition. We hope and pray they are safe and unharmed.

Furthermore, the director and the patients of the “Annai Illam Counseling Centre,” have had to evacuate. The Centre is run by the Oblates of the Jaffna Province at Kanagaambikkaikulam, in Kilinochchi. The director, Fr.Edmund Reginald is in charge of this centre which is one of the most involved counseling centres in the district. It trains counselors to help the hundreds of mentally affected and traumatized victims of war. Now it is damaged very badly. I am told that shells that fell in the surroundings have destroyed some of the buildings and the properties.

We don’t know what the immediate future will bring. All our buildings, properties and assets are being unnecessarily destroyed. Besides the financial burden on us to run these centers and the programs, we are caught up between life and death, more death than life. Whatever happens, our ministries will have to continue. The Oblates are moving along with the people in order to be with them. This is our story. God help us. (M.Paul Nadchethiram, Provincial of Jaffna)

General Administration

VATICAN CITY
Father General and Oblate Bishops attend Synod

The Oblate Superior General, Fr. Wilhelm STECKLING, was chosen to be one of the representatives of the Union of Superiors General at the Synod of Bishops which took place in Rome from October 5-26, 2008. The theme of the 12^th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church.

The Holy Father opened the Synod in St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls Basilica, instead of at St. Peter’s Basilica, in order to underline the importance of the ongoing Pauline Year. However, the daily session were held at the Vatican in a special hall designed for these meetings. Father General is one of 253 “Synod Fathers.” There were also “experts” and “auditors” at the meeting.

Other Oblates among the Synod Fathers were Cardinal Francis GEORGE (Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops); Archbishop Orlando QUEVEDO (Cotabato, Philippines); Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo (Bloemfontein, South Africa); Bishop Bejoy D’CRUZE (Khulna, Bangladesh); and Bishop Philipp Pöllitzer (Keetmanshoop, Namibia).

The General House also offered hospitality to two other members of the Synod: Bishop Rayappu Joseph (Mannar, Sri Lanka) and Bishop Evaristus Bitsoane (Qaacha’s Nek, Lesotho and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Lesotho).

VATICAN CITY
Father General addresses Synod

Those Synod Fathers who addressed the 12^th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops were asked to submit a brief summary of their five-minute presentation so that it could be distributed to the press. On October 8, Fr. Wilhelm STECKLING, the Superior General, spoke to the assembly at the Vatican about finding the “word of God” in more than one way. This is the summary of his speech.

It is good to remember that “word of God” is more than a synonym for Holy Scripture. God reveals himself to us in manifold ways, not only through the Bible. But do we hear God speaking? Do we really discover “the sparks of the Word” in human culture, in interreligious dialogue, in our own life history?

Many positive examples of listening to God’s voice, both in Scripture as well as in life, are present in the founders of religious institutes. The Bible trained their hearing, giving them as if it were the vocabulary and the grammar to understand God’s language. Therefore, they were able to hear God’s word in life in new ways, for example, in the turmoil of post-revolution France in the case of my founder, Saint Eugene de Mazenod.

What then is the relationship between the Biblical and the extra-Biblical word of God? It could be said that the Bible is a language course in which we learn to listen. However, Scripture would remain dead letters on a page if we spent our whole life at school without going out to hear God’s voice in the world around us. Creating contact with the treasures of the Bible would serve, one could say, as a “basic language course” so as to better hear and obey God’s many words and advice today in each one’s personal lives and in the world that surrounds us.

The eternal Word of the Father broadcasts its seed more widely than what has found a place in the Bible. May his word be heard and obeyed everywhere; not only in Scripture but also in the manifold voices that resound in creation and in our daily lives, so that His will be done and His Kingdom come.

GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
Progress report

The 2004 General Chapter gave to the Superior General and Council the mandate to establish this committee to review the structures and functioning of Oblate government, primarily with regard to the General Chapter, the Central Government, Regions and Units. That committee has been working since September 2005 to respond to the chapter’s mandate. They have formulated some possible changes to the Constitutions and Rules that could be helpful for the Oblate mission in the context of the changes that have occurred in the Congregation and in the world, especially since the 1972 General Chapter.

In early 2008, there was a consultation of Oblates who have had experience at various levels of government: members of the General Council (1992-present); current provincials and their two immediate predecessors; current superiors of delegations; members of the General Administration from 1992 to the present: i.e., General Officers and heads of General Services; and Capitulants of the 1998 and 2004 General Chapters. The provincials were also asked to invite their councils and treasurers to take part in the survey. There was a more than 50% response of the almost 300 persons consulted.

Based on the responses to that consultation, the Government Committee has prepared an instrument to gather the opinion of all Oblates concerning the proposed changes. This consultation should be translated and ready to be sent to the Units by the end of October. The accompanying questionnaire will be available in various formats. For the first time, Oblates will have the opportunity to complete the questionnaire on the Internet, through our Oblate website (www.omiworld.org). In fact, the committee hopes that most of those who participate in this consultation will choose to answer electronically.

Based on the results of this larger consultation, the Government Committee will formulate another version of a text that can be presented to future Capitulants for their study and discussion prior to the 2010 General Chapter.

GENERAL POSTULATION
A new Cause for Canonization

On June 10, 2008, the Cause for Canonization of 15 presumed martyrs of Laos officially began in Nantes (France). Among them are five Oblates: Fathers Louis LEROY, Michel COQUELET, Vincent L’HONORET, Jean WAUTHIER, and Joseph BOISSEL.

In the Cause of another presumed Oblate martyr, Mario BORZAGA, the first diocesan phase came to a close in Trent on October 17, 2008. All of the documentation has been forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.

Bishop George Soubrier, Bishop of the diocese of Nantes, in conformity with the instructions from Rome concerning this process, has asked of Father General that the opening of this diocesan phase be published and communicated to all Oblates, in order to solicit further useful information. “Nevertheless, in the present case – given the political situation in Laos and the still precarious life of the Church in that country – the publication should be relatively discreet.”

If someone has something to report or add, he should write to the Diocesan Tribunal of Nantes or to the Postulator of the Cause, Roland JACQUES.

Whoever would like to know more about these presumed martyrs can visit the website of the General Posulation: www.postulacionomies.weebly.com, page “Oblatos Mártires” (in Spanish); www.postulationomifr.weebly.com page “Martyrs-Laos” (in French); www.omipostulationen.weebly.com page “Martyrs of Laos” (in English). (Joaquín Martínez, Postulator General)

JPIC SERVICE
New JPIC Director arrives in Rome

(Fr. Camille PICHE, the new JPIC director has taken up his new position at the General House. The article below appeared in several newspapers in Canada. Its title was: “Rebel heads to Rome to work for world’s poor.” Author: Ed Struzik, Edmonton Journal)

Camille Piché was on his way to the impoverished city of Cochabamba in Bolivia in February to meet Catholic missionaries working with the poor when he was blindsided by a letter from his boss.

Would he consider coming to Rome to assume the role of worldwide director of Peace and Justice in an office situated up the hill from the Vatican? The St. Albert-based priest’s initial response was, “No.” Having spent most of his life working with the poor and indigenous people in the Mackenzie Valley of the Northwest Territories, on reserves in northern Alberta, in the slums of Haiti and with Mayan peasants in Guatemala, living in the relative lap of luxury in one of the most beautiful cities in the world just didn’t seem to be the thing to do.

More important, he was 70 years old and had not been in the best of health. So Piché politely suggested someone younger and more energetic be given the opportunity to work with front-line groups such as Amnesty International, Bread for the World, the Rainbow of Hope for Children and other non-government organizations that share the same cause as this arm of the Catholic Church.

But Rev. Oswald Firth, the General Councillor of the worldwide Oblate Missionaries, wouldn’t be denied. There is in Piché, he says, “the kind of fire and passion that is needed in a man who is going to work with the wounded and the oppressed and who can show solidarity with them.”

“It always happens like that,” says Piché, at home packing his modest belongings. “Just when I line up a nice cushy job in Colombia, I get summoned to Rome.” Piché’s Road to Rome began long before South America and well before he became a priest in 1963. In seeking ordination, the son of devout farmers from Gravelbourg, Sask., was following in the footsteps of an uncle, brother, cousin and two sisters who went on to become a bishop, priests, a nun and lay missionary, respectively.

But Piché’s conventional Catholic view of life changed dramatically a year later when he took his Obedience with the Oblate missionaries. He was living in the Dogrib community of Rae in the Northwest Territories. Poor as his family was, he never imagined the kind of grinding poverty the Dene people there endured.

“Seeing a family of nine children, the poorest of the poor, living in a tent in -60 C weather in January, it was obvious to me that children freezing in totally inadequate housing was definitely not God’s will.” So Piché did what other Oblate missionaries in the Canadian North had begun to do. He started a co-op to answer the pressing needs of the people in the community. Together, they built new homes, a handicraft centre and a means of distributing firewood to everyone who needed it.

The experience, he says, redefined what it meant to be a Catholic priest. Liturgical celebrations, he realized, meant nothing if the people he served didn’t have the means of self-determination.

Since then, Piché has been on fire, promoting aboriginal interests in Canada and abroad. He was the one who got the idea of inviting the Pope to Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories. He was the one who convinced the Oblates to turn the Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage grounds over to Métis and aboriginal control. The apology the Oblates made to residential school victims was spearheaded, in part, by him. …

What Piché desires most now is that the Oblates forge a new relationship with First Nations people. “Aboriginal people throughout the world have had to bear the brunt of injustice, in many cases with their lives,” he says. “It is true that we imposed our Latin language and rituals, our religious customs and ways and too readily interpreted their spirituality as superstition.

“Perhaps now, if these events can be understood as a certain purification of our mission we can continue our ministry with a renewed dialogue. We can work along with First Nations and not for them.” Piché says in his new role, he will do whatever he can to work with others to hold governments and corporations accountable for what they do in the Third World.

“Our work will really take place at the grassroots, as it has in my case, with countless numbers of people working sometimes at the personal level or with others to give hope and combat poverty,” Piché says.

“It’s important that we network with others, either Oblates, NGOs, or other socially conscious groups, to bring about structural change and improve the lives of many so that the poor will realize their dignity as beloved sons and daughters of God.”

GENERAL POSTULATION
St. Eugene in Pakistan

In response to a recent request of the Postulator General that the Congregation of Divine Worship be informed of any churches, chapels, etc. dedicated to our Founder, and especially, whether he has been written into any local calendar (country, diocese, or institute of consecrated life), Father Victor GNANAPRAGASAM, the Apostolic Prefect of Quetta, in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan, has informed us that in the prefecture he leads, there are a parish and a church dedicated to St. Eugene. In addition, there are two other institutions: St. Eugene English Medium High School and St. Eugene Learning Centre, in Sibi. In the city of Quetta, there is another church dedicated to Saint Eugene and there is the St. Eugene Youth Group. Moreover, and this is the most important thing, the feast of St. Eugene de Mazenod, May 21, has been inserted into the Liturgical Calendar of the Dioceses of Pakistan, as an “optional memorial.”

With this important testimonial and other similar ones which we hope will be coming, we believe that the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship will be persuaded to insert St. Eugene into the Universal Roman Calendar. (Joaquín Martínez, Postulator General)

Africa-Madagascar

KENYA
Lessons in hospitality

A visit to the slums of Meru, Kenya, with pre-novices Silas, Cosmos, Sammy, Josephat and Zackery is an up-lifting experience. It may be a well-worn cliché to say that we receive more than we give but there is truth in the saying.

From the pre-novitiate, it is about a forty-five minute walk to the other side of the city. Once there, we first meet with the Nazareth Sisters who operate a school in the slums for the poorest of the poor. Their former school, built of sticks and with a bare, earth floor, recently burnt down but now a formidable stone structure has replaced it. The Sisters employ two teachers to look after nursery/pre-school children. They also feed the children.

After our meeting, we divided into two groups; I was with Silas and Cosmos. Our Oblate pre-novices have been visiting this area for a number of years so the people know them. The first woman we visited welcomed us, but was so destitute she didn’t have enough to give us a cup of tea. She had two children in primary school. The reason she was in town and not on a farm was that she had left her husband and so had no access to land. She was making money by selling coal and pombe (alcohol). She has to pay rent for this room (three meters by four meters), 400 shillings per month or six dollars. Water costs three shillings for twenty liters. There are many reasons why women predominate in the slums: some have been turned out of the house by husbands who wanted a younger woman; some, victims of horrific abuse, finally have the courage to leave what little security they have in an attempt to begin a new life. We prayed together before going on to our next visit.

This time the lady, a widow, had grown children nearby. She busied herself preparing avocados and sweet potatoes for us. It’s always astonishing how the poor of the earth can be imbued with such generosity! We had some but I certainly wanted her to have most of it. I offered the dish to her and she took some. She said, “It is a blessing having a visitor come from so far.” She was a very happy person. We prayed together and then went to Meru Hospital.

Again, the pre-novices have been going there for years but as there was a new Matron, permission to visit was required again. She had received our letter the week before but was not there; however, the Deputy spoke to us and allowed us to visit. The pre-novices went to a number of wards between noon and 1:00 pm. After that time, regular visitors (if any), come. In each ward, we report to the sister-in-charge and ask permission to greet the patients and pray with them if they want.

Hospitals in Kenya vary enormously in the quality of facilities and care. For those who can afford it, world-class care is available; for the poor, the situation is less inviting. We visited the children’s ward where two or three mothers and two or three small children or babies share each bed. The mothers are cheerful while the children recover from sickness. Some have intravenous drips in their arms. Silas was holding one child while speaking to the mother. After a white person (a mzungu) visits a child a few times, the little one loses fear and becomes friendly. Though a couple of children have run away from me screaming, others slap my hand with great enthusiasm. This time, one two-year old baby just wanted to hold on to my fingers and had no fear. We didn’t end up praying with any of the mothers. We went back to the Nazareth Sisters for lunch. I returned to Kionyo with chapatti (thick pancakes) which one of the women we visited generously gave us.

In the afternoon the pre-novices gather with twenty or thirty people near their homes to reflect on the coming Sunday Gospel, to pray together and to share about their week. Over the years I have given, with the help of donors, over 100 rosaries to the pre-novices along with a small pamphlet on how to pray the rosary in the Kimeru language. They have given these to interested people. The visits remind us of the goodness of humanity in the simple things of life. I am very happy with this pastoral work for our pre-novices who in the Oblate spirit are reaching out to the most abandoned. (Sholto DOUGLAS in Oblate Connexions Oblates, September 2008)

Canada-United States

NOTRE-DAME-DU-CAP
Novalis moves to Bayard Presse Canada

Saint Paul University will cease managing the activities of the religious publishing house Novalis. During a meeting held on June 25, the university’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution that would turn over the activities of Novalis to the publishing house, Bayard Presse Canada.

The activities of Novalis have been handed over to Bayard “in order to guarantee the viability and the vitality of its mission in the long run. A consolidation in religious publishing had become inevitable,” stated the rector, Dale SCHLITT.

Bayard Presse Canada is fully owned by the Assumptionist Fathers who have developed an international expertise in religious publishing. This publishing company is present in 18 companies. (INFO OMI, July 15, 2008)

OMI LACOMBE
Medical Friends of Peru Installed as Honorary Oblates

The first Oblate mission in Peru was begun in 1957, and in 1963, St. Peter's Province, Canada, accepted the mission as a Provincial Delegation. St. Peter's (and, after its division, St. Peter's and St. Paul's) supported the Delegation of Peru with Missionaries and financial assistance and has seen it grow to be able to provide for its own membership in the true Oblate Missionary tradition.
 
Nevertheless, because of the social, political and economic conditions in Peru, support of the medical mission there, which was started by Fr. Joseph R. BIRCH, and continued to this day by Fr. Maurice SCHROEDER, a medical doctor, and the Oblate missionaries in Peru, was beyond the capacity of the home Province. The Medical Friends of Peru (MFP) was founded by Fr. Birch in the mid-1960's as a group of medical doctors and affiliated professionals to fund and support that need, and it has continued to do so, both in the humid Upper Amazon Jungle area, and in the desert area surrounding Lima.

Fr. Birch was the first President of the Medical Friends, and Dr. Andreas Nuyens, HOMI, was the second President, who was ably assisted in this Oblate ministry by his late wife Henriette, who was an HOMI in her own right.
 
On Sunday, September 7^th about 50 MFP members, family, Oblates and friends gathered at the home of Mr. Paul Hewitt, Honorary Legal Counsel for the MFP, where the third and fourth Presidents of the MFP, Donald McCunn, MD and Barrett Adams, MD, were installed as Honorary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. This is the highest honor that can be bestowed on any non-Oblate and one which entitles them to share in the spiritual goods and blessings of the Oblates, both in this life and in the next.

After a brief MFP meeting, the installation began when Dr. McCunn called upon Fr. Moe Schroeder to lead the ceremony. In his introduction, Fr. Schroeder, Superior of the General Delegation of Peru, and former member of St. Peter's Province, outlined the medical work that has been done in the jungle by himself and his co-workers, as well as in the Lima area by the Tuberculosis Clinic of Bro. Leonard Rego, another former member of St. Peter's Province, who was also in Canada for this ceremony. (Submitted by Thomas CASSIDY, in www.omilacombe.ca)

NOTRE-DAME-DU-CAP
A great day in Winneway

Guests came from the four corners of the Province to Winneway (QC), on August 27, 2008, for the official blessing of an addition to the clinic, a new nursery school, and the new church.

After speeches outside by the Tribal Chief, the regional Director of Indian Affairs for Quebec, the Director of Health for Canada, the Director of the Youth Center, and by Bishop Dorylas Moreau, Bishop of Rouyn-Noranda, everyone went into the church to hear Fr. Rémi CADIEUX touch upon a brief history of the churches built by the Oblates to serve the Longue-Pointe nation. The first one was built in 1891 by an Oblate with a reputation for building churches: Brother Grégoire LAPOINTE. Bishop Moreau then went on to bless the chapel that can also serve as a community room. For the smoke offering, they used a mixture of tobacco, incense and sacred grass.

The Servant of God, Victor Lelièvre, would have described the atmosphere in these words: “There was strong smell of pride and joy in the air!” (Rémi Cadieux dans INFO OMI, 15 septembre 2008)

UNITED STATES
Oblate museum reopens

In 1868 Father André Garin OMI, came to Lowell, Massachusetts, to preach a mission for the hundreds of working persons who had come there from Canada. The local diocesan priest, Father O’Brien, could only minister in English. This was a barrier for the many Canadians who were busy keeping the thousands of bobbins turning in the area textile mills. A true disciple of Saint Eugene, Father Garin preached to the working people, not in “Provençal”, but in French as it was spoken in Canada.

During that first mission, enough money was raised by the donations of the working people to meet the down payment for an abandoned church structure at 37 Lee Street. This was the first parish established in Lowell to serve the spiritual needs of the French-speaking immigrants. Saint Joseph was selected as the patron. In 1956, the downtown church, with its rich tradition, was dedicated as a shrine in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker.

The Oblate Historical Museum located in the former choir loft of St. Joseph the Worker Shrine has opened once more, as of September 27. Bro. Richard Coté has resumed his duties as museum director after a hiatus of 8 years. New to the museum are updated information about the number of Oblates serving worldwide, a new display on the Philippine missions and a new showcase that will change every quarter of the year, focusing on various Oblate accomplishments. This quarter, the display tells of the Oblates’ contribution to the founding of the Franco-American School in Lowell by Fr. Joseph Campeau and the Sisters of Charity of Quebec, one-hundred years ago. (Northeast/Southeast Area News, October 2008)

Latin America

HAITI
Haitians devastated by recent hurricanes

Hurricane Hanna wreaked devastation on a Haiti already buffeted by two previous hurricanes - Faye and Gustav. Many have lost all their possessions and food and potable water are scarce. What follows are excerpts from Oblates based in Haiti:

Hanna has caused more devastation in Haiti than Faye or Gustav. Many Oblate parishes and facilities experienced flooding and/or damage. Due to often poor communication, details remain skimpy - most Oblates are focusing on responding to the immediate needs of those around them.

From Charpentier, Fr. Adrien Difficile reported that the storm was truly catastrophic. Homes were washed away and people drowned in the raging currents. The river behind the church, St. Michel, overflowed onto the Oblate property just short of the Novitiate entrance making it difficult for the priests to venture out personally to check on the storm damage. Roofs were torn off and drinking water reserves gone. “This hurricane devastated almost everything in its path. Realizing that the people lost pretty much everything they owned is truly gut-wrenching. The Oblate parishes on the southern coast have been isolated from the rest of the country; hundreds of houses flooded and many important animals were lost. This was never before seen in Tiburon, Chardonnieres and Les Anglais. The waters rose higher than ever imagined and swept through the area with a fury.”

Immediately after the storm, Caritas and Catholic Relief Services quickly made attempts to assist those worst-off with at least one daily meal and some drinking water since the entire system is destroyed. Some of the bridges are impassable and others totally destroyed.

In Port-au-Prince, flooding destroyed houses, roads, bridges and gardens. For days communications were cut off. Many have lost all they had, and are now without food and shelter. The big problem now is getting things cleaned up, and getting food and water for the people.

Fathers John St. Cyr and Albert Cator, who were working with the Sisters of Charity, ministering to the tuberculosis and H.I.V. patients in the city of Gonaïves were lucky to get out of their house as the water rose very quickly. They escaped with just the clothes on their backs. They reportedly lost everything - house, car, books, computers, clothes and food. They were stranded in Gonaïves at a Haitian priest’s house for several days, waiting for the water to subside. Eventually, they were able to travel to Port-au-Prince. The Sisters and their sick were saved by going up onto the cement roof.

All of the 25 Oblate parishes along the southern coast suffered floods and much damage to the houses closest to the ocean. The gardens have been destroyed by rain and wind. These were the hope for food, as well as money to send the children to school.

“Each day people come and ask for help, food, shelter and aid to put their children to school. Tell me, how much can one possibly do in such a gigantic situation? There is so much need!” (http://omiusajpic.org/news/)

CUBA
Hurricane Gustav damages Oblate parish

On August 31, more than sixty percent of Cuban territory was directly affected by hurricane Gustav. The province of Pinar del Río suffered the worst damage from the storm, especially the towns of Los Palacios, La Palma, Bahía Honda, San Cristóbal, Viñales, Consolación del Sur and Candelaria, all of which were seriously affected. Isla de la Juventud was also hit badly by hurricane winds and by flooding from the storm.

The Oblates live and work in the town of Los Palacios. The town is beginning to get back on its feet after the blow it received from the hurricane which destroyed the whole town. Our brother Oblates from there, Ernesto Méndez and Antonio Ramírez, lived the brutal force of those moments along with their neighbors. Thanks be to God, there were no personal injuries.

However, the parish church and the houses of the neighbors were not as lucky. At the end of the storm, Antonio and Ernesto discovered a town physically destroyed by the fury of a wind and rain that left practically nothing untouched. Yet the town has decided to start anew.

A few days after the hurricane, with optimism and team effort, they began to stand strong while they removed the debris and started over. In its tri-monthly meeting, the Provincial Council of Mexico approved a special fund to help our Cuban brothers. (Noticias Oblatas, September 2008)

URUGUAY
The parish auction

Managing a parish financially is no easy task. Much less in Uruguay! For that, you have always to come up with new ideas.

In that line, San Rafael parish, on September 14, held its first parish auction. It was an event suggested by the finance committee of the parish in order to raise some funds for the maintenance of the parish itself. Everyone on the parish council liked the idea, so a few months ago, we began our difficult task: seeking donations, going to fetch them, preparing advertisements, spreading the news every way possible, hiring a professional auctioneer, etc. Then in the final days, we had to clean the objects and arrange them by category in the gymnasium where the auction was held.

Many parishioners and some mothers from the school helped with the preparation as much as they could. This too was a beautiful and positive experience which fostered a greater sense of belonging in the parish.

On Sunday, the day of the auction, rather ugly weather had us worried a bit. However, luckily enough, it did not rain. We opened the doors at 3:00 p.m. and at 3:30 p.m., the auction began. There was a bit of everything: refrigerators, paintings, baby carriages, stoves, beds and much more. The skill of the auctioneer was obvious: “How much will you give me for this? 100, 100, 1000…going once, going twice. Sold!”

We wrapped it up at 8:00 p.m., worn out but happy about the proceeds and for having shared our labor, our headaches, and our joys. (Fr. Stefano CARTABIA)

BAJA CALIFORNIA MISSION
A petition against violence

In the first few days of October, in the city of Tijuana, Mexico, the police discovered 16 bodies of victims of the escalating violence among gangs of drug traffickers. In 2008, more than three thousand people have been murdered in Mexico, most of them because of gang wars.

The Oblates who live and work in the La Morita Colonia in Tijuana have written a letter to their faithful, inviting them to sign a petition of solidarity and a commitment of prayers against “this diabolical business of drug trafficking” and violence. The first to sign were the local Oblates: Fathers Pablo WILHELM, Nicolás HARDING, Francisco GOMEZ, Pablo HUGHES; Brothers Pedro VASQUEZ and Julio Cesar Narváez.

To all the faithful:

As we celebrate today, October 19, 2008, World Mission Sunday, we, the faithful of the parish of St. Eugene de Mazenod in the Colonia La Morita in Tijuana, B.C., wish to reaffirm our baptismal commitment to the Mission of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to the world: “Go out and make all peoples my disciples.” (Mt 28: 16-28)

Accomplishing this great Mission has never been easy, much less so in our present historical situation here in Mexico, where the people are being held hostage by a wave of extreme violence as a consequence of the insidious business of drug trafficking. Sadly enough, all of Tijuana, being located geographically in the principal crossroads with the North, the final destiny of this diabolical business, has suffered an excessively severe penalty of late. A veritable orgy of murders, kidnappings and horrible massacres of police personnel, youth and innocent people, among others, comes to our attention almost daily in the local and international news.

Our Mexican bishops, including our own beloved shepherd, Bishop Rafael Romo Muñoz, have bravely and frequently raised a collective cry to heaven, condemning these atrocities. In one of their pastoral letters at the beginning of this year, they said: “We are greatly worried, as pastors of the Catholic Church, about this climate of violence and insecurity which tends to spread and worsen in the whole country, but particularly in various cities of our ecclesiastical province; we fear that it will spread to other places that enjoy, until now, a relative calm.” (Communiqué of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baja California, 25 January 2008)

Today, therefore, Mission Sunday, we want to join our voices and prayers, through our signatures on this letter, to those of our brothers, our bishops and shepherds; and we will commit ourselves to work tirelessly in this corner of Tijuana against this diabolical business of drug trafficking, seeking, furthermore, in this month of the Holy Rosary, the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace and Mother of our Savior Jesus, the Prince of Peace…

URUGUAY
Youth Days

In spite of the cold and the rain, on Saturday and Sunday, September 6 and 7, thousands of youth older than 15, members of parishes, schools and Catholic groups in general, came together for the 30^th National Youth Day in the city of Tacuarembó (400 km north of Montevideo). The theme was: “With Jesus: Mission and Life in abundance.”

In our country, we celebrate the National Youth Days on the first Sunday of September each year. In most cases, the activities take place in the different dioceses; but approximately every three years, there is one big celebration which brings together thousands of young people from the whole country. The first one took place in 1978, in Montevideo, in the midst of the dictatorship, while the most recent took place in 2005 in the city of Melo.

Again this year, some Oblates accompanied the young people from our parishes. After many sacrifices, we managed to gather the money needed for the trip to the celebration. Our parish communities throughout the host diocese did their part too, making about 1,000 “tortas fritas” per parish to satisfy the hunger of these youngsters.

Activities began on Saturday afternoon with words of welcome. Later, there was a prayer vigil and finally a campfire where they spoke about the history of these days over the past 30 years.

On Sunday, the there were group activities wherein the youth, sharing their personal experiences, reflected and shared about the theme of the day: how to give witness to being a disciple among youth who do not believe in or are disconnected from Christ.

The day’s events culminated in the celebration of the Eucharist which tied together the whole experience. Now, it’s time for us to move toward the next day by living and proclaiming Jesus as our one and only ideal. (Jorge ALBERGATI)

Europe

FRANCE
N.D. de Lumière: ever since the Founder…

Lumière is a venerable place. Ever since the Founder, since 1836, the Oblates have been there! Lumière is full of memories, reminders of missionary accomplishments, of young communities, of fervent crowds in procession toward the Chapel of St. Michael. We still live with this past, and one of the projects at Lumière is to keep alive whatever we think has value! So the crypt has been restored through the efforts of J.-M. TOUSSAINT. The church could also use a good coat of paint, and we are looking for a solution to the positioning of the “ex-voto” memorials, presently hanging up high, but which we would like to render more accessible.

Of course, all of that has to do with material things. But there are also the annual pilgrimages to care for; groups to welcome; the rare pilgrims from Compostela to lodge; retreatants to guide; and time to set aside for the sacrament of reconciliation and one-on-one conversations.

But the times are changing, Gaston! There is a lot to do and we are no longer in the era when the crowds prayed and sang “Jamaï, Vierge de Lumièro.” One hears it still on August 15 and September 8, a bit off-key perhaps, since it’s no longer well known. On the other hand, nowadays we consider it helpful to foster personal prayer. First of all, we try to arrange things in a way that respects where people are today: if many like to pray in front of a statue of the Virgin surrounded by little angels (too bad they are all white), others prefer a simpler style such as we offer now in the room we call “the retreat.” Already at Lourdes, these places for different expressions of prayer had struck me. So there’s a project well on its way.

Another project: insisting on the understanding of the faith, in both directions:

1^st: a reflection on life itself. For the time-being, we are trying to have a “resource person” each month. So far, we have had someone come to speak about icons; also some nuns from Marseille and from Haiti. This year, we hope to have a conference about prisons, another on Tibhirine (a Trappist monastery in Algeria) and maybe one about popular piety.

For an understanding of faith as it is lived, the book of intentions in front of the Black Virgin is for me a powerful source for reflection.

2^nd: Emphasis on the Bible. In the church, there is a notebook next to the Book where people can write whatever verse strikes them, with a personal reflection. It’s beginning to catch on!

Also, going back to the great tradition of Fr. BOBICHON and many others, we hope to organize a Bible group. Perhaps…

3^rd: We need to become “windows.” Who comes to Lumière? Of course, there are pilgrims, very serious believers, the afflicted whose touching needs fill the intention books, and people coming to give thanks. At the 11 o’clock Mass on Sunday, you can experience a lovely atmosphere of prayer and song.

But there are also many tourists who come, well-to-do vacationers, and low-paid workers; they don’t always know how to genuflect, but they open their eyes, they look, they ask questions. It is then that Lumière becomes a window on the Church, rendering important the Christian face we show them. But that is not a project; that’s daily life! We have to simply remember that passing through here are many seekers, of God to be sure, but also many who are simply curious. But Zachaeus was also curious.

There are still many other projects, but we won’t speak about them since they are still “under wraps.” Surely, we would like to do something for youth, but where do we begin? I have hesitantly contacted the chaplains at Avignon, Apt, and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue; maybe something will happen this year? Even with the Oblates in Aix, and why not?

To conclude, a tip of the hat: Jan GERLOWSKI and I are greatly helped by the understanding, the encouragement and the participation of our community at Lumière. I hope they really feel a part of our projects. Isn’t that what it means to be young at heart? (Christian DURIEZ in OMI France, September 2008)

ANGLO-IRISH PROVINCE
Lourdes: a pilgrimage

Somebody has said that Lourdes “is the one place in the world where the local industry is prayer.” No doubt there is an element of truth in that. The whole economy of the town revolves around an irregular rock face where pilgrims gather by the thousands throughout day and night at a spot where an invalid girl knelt in prayer one-hundred-and-fifty years ago in the presence of an apparition who declared to her: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

For most of those one-hundred-and-fifty years, the Oblates of the Anglo-Irish Province have been leading pilgrim groups to that spot annually. This year, 2008, there were more than nine hundred in the group from many parts of the world: Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Jersey, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Africa, USA, and Canada. It is a long standing tradition that the pilgrim group includes a number if invalids, mostly in wheelchairs. This year there were at least sixty. Their comfort and safety was assured by a team of volunteer doctors, nurses and young people, many of whom have been providing that service for a number years. In fact, the doyen of the group celebrated his fortieth anniversary of presence on this occasion. Throughout the seven days, all of the invalids were sure of having someone to help them in getting dressed, being taken to the dining room, being pushed along in the various processions, being taken to the baths, being accompanied on shopping trips — whatever their needs required.

On the morning of September 16, a Scottish pipers band in their green and tartan uniforms led the opening ceremony in St. Bernadette’s chapel. The Mass was presided by Bishop Raymond Field, Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Dublin. He was the leader of all the ceremonies: the penitential service, the Mass at the Grotto, the Mass of the anointing at the altar of St. Bernadette, the late evening Rosary procession led by the Oblate pilgrims on Wednesday, the final closing liturgy on Sunday when the services of long standing helpers was acknowledged by the distribution of special medals. In his concluding address, Fr, Willy Fitzpatrick, Provincial, was eloquent in his acknowledgement of the organizational work done by Fr. Vincent Mulligan and his team of helpers throughout the past year. Fr. Peter Clucas and his group of young people were also worthy recipients of praise and gratitude. And now they begin again the work of preparing the Anglo-Irish Oblate Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2009. (Ned CAROLAN)

Asia-Oceania

INDIA
A new mission: a Ruby Jubilee Gift to the Oblates in Andhra Pradesh!

The Oblates in India have opened a new mission in Rayanapadu, in Andhra Pradesh, on June 20, 2008 in the presence of Fr. Francis Nallappan, the Delegation Superior, Fr. Paniadimai Pragasam and Fr. Cheruparamban Varghese, the Counsellors, Fr. Melchor, the parish priest of Guntupally Church, and the other Oblates from the region and some priest-friends from our Oblate parishes. During the Holy Eucharistic Celebration, Fr. Yesu Rathnam and Deacon John Thomas DAVID were installed as pastors of this new mission. In his homily, Fr. Yesu Rathnam rightly started his pioneering job with the mission manifesto of Jesus Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. For He has sent me to bring good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18) – the charism of the Oblates!

Rayanapadu is a village located 8 km from the city of Vijayawada. Originally, it was one of the substations of Kondapally parish. Later, it was attached to Guntupally. The Salestian priests built a church in Pydurupadu Malapally and called it after their founder Don Bosco. Last June, Bishop Mallavarappu Prakash entrusted to the Oblates the pastoral care of the people, as a token of gratitude for our service in his diocese. He has also given us a piece of land in Rayanapadu to put up a presbytery. We have just got through the dispute over the land. And there will soon be a wall to protect it from those who encroached upon the land earlier. Until then, we stay in a rented house in Shanthi Nagar, a village near Rayanapadu.

There are about 150 catholic families living in both the villages of Don Bosco Nagar and Pydurupadu, about 14-17 km from the city. The villages are located in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. The people belong to the “Backward Community” caste of society. Almost all are coolies. Men mostly work in construction in the city and women either work in the fields, or rear their buffalos or remain at home. Men are paid Rs.100 to 150 a day, while women receive only Rs. 50. This wage seems to be enough for the day, but it does not leave them enough for any savings for their future, or at least for their children’s education. There are 72 children and 40 youths in the villages. Some study in the CSI schools, some in the Convent Schools (English Medium Schools) while some work because of their family condition.

The villages are located in the valley; when it rains, the lake near Don Bosco Nagar floods the villages, destroying the mud houses of the poor and their crops. This year, about 15 homes were affected and the people took shelter in the church and cooked and slept there in the nights. With the help of the Vijayawada Social Service Centre and the Missionaries of Charity Sisters, we could distribute 10 kg of rice, bed-sheets and soap for 250 families, for both the Christians and the non-Christians from both the villages. The Government officials have visited the villages and taken note of the houses that were badly affected; they had done the same thing twice before, but nothing came of it. Since there are going to elections next year in this State, can we hope for something good?

Since these villages were neglected earlier, all that we do seems to be a new beginning here. For example, we were surprised to hear from the people that for the first time they have seen the National Flag hoisted in the church on the Independence Day (August 15). We have 20 Masses regularly for both the villages in a month.

We have begun catechism classes for the children and a youth association for the young people. We identify the poor students and help them to achieve the annual scholarship from the diocese and from the Delegation (Child Development Cell). Our community also helps certain individuals with their education, like paying the fees and distributing note-books. We have also begun English classes for those students who go for their Board Exam this year.

We are revitalizing the Legion of Mary and the Vincent de Paul Society, out of which we hope there will emerge a MAMI group. Putting a wall around our piece of land in Rayanapadu is also a priority. We have a deep sense of gratitude to God for His gracious guidance and all who gave us their gracious assistance to win the dispute over those encroached upon our land. (Fr. Yesu Rathnam and Deacon John Thomas)

Anniversaries - November 2008

1948.11.21

08596

Fr. Carlo Mattiussi

Italy

50 Years of Religious Life

1958.11.01	11176	Bro. Aurèle Gallant	Notre-Dame-du-Cap
1958.11.01	10591	Fr. Jürgen Jagelki	Central European Province
1958.11.01	10590	Fr. Norberto Schlechter	Paraguay

50 Years of Priesthood

1958.11.16

08940

Fr. Mario Andreotti

Italy

Suffrages for our Deceased