editorial - assumptio.org · 2 june 2015 n no 17 father benoît grière, superior general, with his...

“The courage and the daring of the sisters are a good stimulant for us. There is a complementarity in our respective vocations.”

EDITORIAL

Anniversaries

JUNE 2015, No. 17

AA AA Newsof the Assumption

Religious and laity

the same mission

JUNE 2015 n no 172

Father Benoît Grière, Superior General,With his Council, has called

■ TO PERPETUAL PROFESSION

1) Bro. YABOUB, MiladProvince of Europe (06/02/2015)

2) Bro. LITUANAS, JayProvince of North Am-Philippines (06/02/2015)

3) Bro. QUINAL, Christopher Province of North Am-Philippines (06/02/2015)

4) Bro. HOUSSOU, Georges DemenyaProvince of Africa (06/02/21015)

5) Bro. KAKULE MUSAYI, SalvatorProvince of Africa (06/02/21015)

6) Bro. KAMBALE KANYAMA, Jean BoscoProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

7) Bro. KAMBALE KULALA, JanvierProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

8) Bro. KAMBALE MALIYABWANA, UzimaProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

9) Bro. KASEREKA MUNGA, JustinProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

10) Bro. MATICHA NYAROMBE, CayusProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

11) Bro. MBUSA KATUKA, DeogratiasProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

12) MBUSA MUHUMBANIA, Valère DuboisProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

13) MUHINDO MATHE, FrançoisProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

14) Bro. NDAMBU ZOLE, Eddy-GiresseProvince of Africa (06/03/2015)

15) Bro. PHEZO LONGO, GermainProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

16) Bro. SEZOUHLON KOSSI, LucasProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

17) Bro. VULA MBWAMOSI, DonctienProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

18) Bro. RAKOTOZAFINDRAMOHA, GermainProvince of Madagascar (06/05/2015)

■ ORDINATON TO THE DIACONATE19) Bro. KAHINDO SIKWAYA, Jean-MarieProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

20) Bro. KAMBALE KALONDERO, MatabishiProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

21) Bro. KASEREKA KAVUNGA, EmmanuelProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

22) Bro. KASEREKA VALYAMUGHENI, AlexisProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

23) Bro. KATSUVA TSONGO, JosephProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

24) Bro. MBUSA KALUMBA, MichelProvince of Africa (04/06/2015)

25) Bro. MUKWALA MUNENE, AugustinProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

26) Bro. MUMBERE MUPAYA, JacquesProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

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>> Official

Calls, nominations, changes...

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Editorial <<

Anniversaries

For the Assumption, 2015 is a year of anniversaries. In effect, the Oblates of the Assumption and

the Little Sisters of the Assumption each celebrate the 150th anniversary of their respective foundations. For us, Assumptionists, it is thanksgiving that beats in our hearts. The Congregations desired by Emmanuel d’Alzon and Etienne Pernet have a long apostolic history and their zeal is a witness to their pertinence today. Our Sisters have demonstrated with courage and tenacity that the Coming of the Kingdom was a mission that was given to us and that it was not finished. In my Assumptionist life, I have had occasion to cross paths with a few of these women passionate for the Kingdom and the Gospel. Be it in France, in the Congo, in Romania, in Vietnam, in Madagascar or elsewhere, the Oblates and the Little Sisters have a missionary vigor that gladdens me.Together we belong to the same family. The colloquium on the origins of the Assumption Family reminded us that our history was sometimes eventful, but that despite the difficulties we have been able to preserve the unity of spirit and collaboration. It is important that we realize the presence of 4 feminine congregations in the Assumption and that we develop collaborations everywhere that is possible. For us that also signifies that we need to be attentive to the emergence of feminine vocations. We know the fragilities that we all have in the West, but as I often repeat: The Assumption has not said its last word. And

when I speak of the Assumption, I associate the feminine congregations that significantly contribute to the spread of the charism of our family. The Assumptionists must respect the independence and the specificity of each of the feminine branches of the Assumption. We must strengthen everywhere that is possible a frank collaboration and find means to unite for the mission. I do not forget the community of Tunis where the Oblates and the Little Sisters live together of the Assumption; that is a good sign for today.Finally, the presence of our Sisters calls us to our proper Assumptionist mission. The courage and the daring of the sisters are a good stimulant for us. There is a complementarity in our respective vocations. The Orantes remind us of the primacy of prayer; the Religious, the importance of working for the reform of society by education; the Little Sisters of the commitment to the little ones; the Oblates for the availability for the missionary life. And for us, what do we bring to our sisters? I leave to each the care of answering this interesting question.I write to you as we are in a meeting of the Plenary General Council in Nairobi. We have a copious agenda and we are beginning to prepare for the General Chapter of 2017. In two years, we will have new orientations. I hope that this time of preparation will allow us be better understand the fundamentals of our religious life and stimulate us to go forward. n

Fr. Benoît Grière

General Superior of the

Augustinians of the Assumption

JUNE 2015 n no 174

>> Official

AgendaOrdinary General Councils•September 14-24, 2015

Benoît

• July 8-24 :CanonicalVisitationinQuebec•August 7, 2015:MeetingoftheSuperiorsGeneraloftheAssumptionFamily

•August 11-16:NationalPilgrimagetoLourdes

Emmanuel

• June 29-July 4:VisittothecommunitiesinTanzania

• July 9-July 23, 2015:AssumptionistFormators’MeetinginNairobi(Kenya)

• July 26-August 24, 2015:VisitintheKivu(RDC)•August31-September6,2015:Lyons-ValpréForum

John

• July 27-July 31, 2015:ProvincialAssemblyoftheAndean Province

•August 1 to August 31, 2015: In the United States• August 31-September 4, 2015:RetreatforthereligiousinQuebec

Didier

• June 25, 2015:BoardofTrusteesofBayard• June 27-July 3, 2015: Economic Council of the Congregation

Marcelo

•27-31 July, 2015:ProvincialAssemblyoftheAndean Province

A REMINDER“Itissurelyadelicatequestionforitcouldmakeonethingofdiscrimination.CanonLawgivestheseindicationstohelpindiscernment.Forserioushealthreasons,theCongregationcanrefusesomeoneforvows.BasedonCanon689{2,afterdiscussions,theCGPdecidednottoadmitcandidateswithHIVtothenovitiate.Forthat,itrecommendsthatthecandidatehavemedicalexamsbeforeenteringthenovitiate;theaim,firstofall,istohavehimobtaintheappropriatehelpifheissufferingfromaillnessthatheisunawareof.”(DecisionoftheCGPofJune2014,takenfromtheLetteroftheSuperiorGeneraltotheMastersofNovicesofJuly1,2014.Do-cumentsAssomption2014,n.39,p.230).

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Father Benoît Grière, Superior General,With his Council, has called

■ ORDINATON TO THE DIACONATE27) Bro. MUSANGANIA KOMBI, Jean-PaulProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

28) Bro. VINDUVIKUMWA WAMUHAVA, ClaudeProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

29) Bro. WAWERU GICHUKI, WilsonProvince of Africa (06/04/2015)

■ TO ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD

30) Bro. KAMBALE KOMBI, InnocentProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

31) Bro. KASEREKA SINDANI, EdmondProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

32) Bro. KIARIE NDUATI, JohnProvince of Africa (06/05/2015)

33) Bro. KASEREKA KIRIMUMBO OmerProvince of Africa (06/23/2015)

34) Bro. BWAMBALE KALIPI DominiqueProvince of Africa (06/23/2015)

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NominationsFather Benoît Grière with the consent of the Ple-nary General Council of June 2015 has named ■ as Master of Novices for South America, Fr. Joao GOMES DA SILVA, as of January 2016.■ as Master of Novices for Madagascar, Fr. Lucien Telolahy RAZAFIMANANTSOA, as of September 1, 2015.

Openings and closingsFather Benoît Grière with his Plenary General Council of June 2015 gave his permission ■ to open the South American novitiate, Nostra Senora di America at Espirito Santo Do Pinhal.■ to open the house of formation “Pavel House” in Brighton, MA.■ to close the community of Our Lady of the As-sumption for the Poblacion Robert Kennedy in Santiago, Chile.

Father Protais Kabila, Provincial of Africa for a second termOn the occasion of the Ordinary General Council of May 19, Father Protais Kabila, Provincial of Africa was named for a second three-year term as

of June 1, 2015.Father Protais, 54 years-old, begins his second term as Provincial Supe-rior as the Plenary General Council holds its session in Africa for the first time. He will celebrate his twenty years of priesthood next December 31st. The Province of Africa is the most numerous of the Congregation with 280 religious (120 priests, 61 perpetually professes religious and

99 in temporary vows) and 16 novices. It is pres-ent in four countries and has three Regions: the Region of Kinshasa, that of Butembo, and of Nai-robi. It is a missionary Province that counts today 42 religious living outside of its territory. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Assump-tion in West Africa, Fr. Protais joined the Provin-cials of Europe and Madagascar to celebrate this Assumptionist reality in West Africa in which the Province of Africa has a large place.

Father Luiz Gonzaga da Silva, the New Provincial of BrazilIt was on last May 19, that Father General in his Ordinary General Council named Father Luiz Gonzaga da Silva, Provincial of Brazil. He will succeed Father Luiz Carlos de Oliveira for a three year term as of August 1, 2015.Father Luiz Gonzaga da Silva was born on June 30, 1961 in Eugenopolis (Brazil) in the home of Ezio Sebastiao and Horacina Gonçalves. He was baptized on August 15, 1971 and confirmed on September 9, 1983 at Catuné-Tombos. He entered the novitiate of Pomaire (Chile) in 1997 and pronounced his first vows there on January 18, 1998. He made his perpetual profes-sion at Sao Paolo (Brazil) on August 18, 2001) during his the-ology studies. He was ordained deacon on April 5, 3003 by Dom Gilberto Pereira Lopes, Arch-bishop of Campinas, in the Par-ish of Saint Jude Thaddeus by Dom José Geraldo Da Cruz, As-sumptionist Bishop of Juazeiro, on July 17, 2004. As of 2003, he was in charge of coordinating the vocational ministry of the Province. The Province of Bra-zil, founded in 1993 is today the smallest of the six provinces of the Congregation with 27 religious. Among the numerous challenges it faces, there is that of formation, of missionary openness and economic recovery. The opening of the novitiate of South America is foreseen in Espirito Santo do Pinhal in January 2016. For two nears, the Prov-ince has welcomed two Congolese brothers with a view to preparing a common foundation of the Provinces of Brazil and of Africa in Portuguese-speaking Africa. Confronted by a difficult eco-nomic situation, the five communities are called to answer the exigencies of a greater transparency in the finances, revenues and expenses. That is the necessary passage for a true renewal of the As-sumptionist life in Brazil

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JUNE 2015 n no 176

From the novitiate to the first years of priestly min-istry, the Assumption num-

bers some 340 of its members. Since the Chapter of 2011, this important part of the Congrega-tion is mobilized by its studies and its preparation for apostolic and missionary life. The future of the Assumption is at stake.To measure the this challenge and the deep change that is go-ing on today, the meeting of the International Commission of Formation (CIF) that took place in Paris on the 16, 17, and 18 of March could be summarized as a change of vision: Forming one-self is learning to change one’s vision: see broadly, see far and see deeply.

To see broadlyIn order to re-appropriate the time and the stages of Assump-tionist formation from the pos-tulate to the doctrinal formation and passing through the novi-tiate, the scolasticate, and the or-dained ministries, it is a question of having a broader vision that cannot afford to neglect any as-pect. At the heart of these stages, a number of points were recalled, notably that of assuring a better accompaniment during all the states and that of not neglecting the stage beyond the studies.The “post-novitiate” period is the stage that prepares the brothers for the perpetual profession. It is a question of always pursuing more continuity and coherence in the following the brothers in for-mation. To do that, the transmis-sion of important elements of the

dossiers among formators should not be forgotten. It must explic-itly be recalled in the successive letters of obedience that, if the formation after the novitiate is a period of studies, it is essentially in the perspective of the prepara-tion of the perpetual profession.

See farThe brothers in formation must be better accompanied to help

them see the stakes in their au-to-evaluations. These must be “places” where the brothers in formation show the quality of their “spiritual fiber”. In this, the role of the formator is capital. It is his role to help each brother to make more precise, at each stage of formation, the great spiritual motivations of his commitment to the Assumptionist religious life. He will not hesitate to refer

By Jean-Paul Sagadou

Forming oneselfIs learningTo change one’s vision

>> Formation

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For his 80th birthday Fr. Claude Maréchal receives the Pro Pontifice and Ecclesiae Medal

On Sunday May 3rd, at “Debrousse”, in the presence of the two Assumptionist com-munities of Lyons, Fa-ther Claude Maréchal who was celebrating his 80 years had a special surprise, the presence of Cardinal Barbarin who had come to decorate

him with the pontifical medal Pro Ecclesia. In his well-tuned speech, the Archbishop retraced their relationship and recognized in him a great servant of the Church and of his diocese of Ly-ons. Very moved, Claude humbly received this event in thanking our Father General, Fr. Benoît Grière for having afforded him this honor.

Fr. Michel Kubler with the Pope

On Monday April 20, 2015, at the Saint Martha House, after the morning concel-ebrations, Fr. Michel Kubler was able to meet Pope Francis: “a

moment of a rare intensity for me,” underscores Fr. Michel, “this meeting with the Bishop of Rome, short but with an unimaginable impact.”

Fr. J.-Marie Meso, new Regional of East Africa

The Provincial of Africa has named Fr. Jean-Marie Meso Paluku Regional Superior of the East replacing Fr. Simon Njuguba Waweru for

a three year term beginning on May 1, 2015. Fa-ther was Provincial of Africa from 2000 t0 2006 and was stationed in London until 2014 before going to Nairobi.

to the sources that nourish our Assumptionist religious family and forge our spiritual forma-tion: the Word of God, the Directory of the As-sumption, the Rule of Life, the Ratio, etc.The exchanges on this point among the mem-bers of the CIF aim at inviting all the brothers to remember the words of our Founder: “Our spiritual life, our raison d’être, as Augustinians of the Assumption is found in our motto: Ad-veniat regnum tuum. The coming of the King-dom of God in our souls by the practice of the Christian virtues and the Evangelical Counsels in conformity with our vocation…`(Capitular talk of September 17, 1868, Ecrits Spirituels, p. 130).

See deeplyThe CIF starts with the following fact. The Assumptionist religious in formation do their studies in Universities and Institutes that do not honor completely the content of the As-sumptionist formation (Alzonian and Augus-tinian ecclesiology, Church and society, ecu-menism, interreligious dialogue…). No. 122 of our Ratio stipulates that to the eventual lacunae in certain courses, notably as regard the proper priorities of the Assumption, we should be attentive to complete the formation on the deficient points (Saint Augustine, ecu-menism…). The Commission feels then that we must seek an “originality” and a “specific-ity” in the formation and find our “Assump-tionist orientations” that correspond to the exigencies of the doctrinal, social and ecu-menical identity of the Congregation. Propo-sitions have been made in that sense and will be submitted to the CGP.Also during this meeting a memorandum of evaluation of the formation sessions was elaborated to help the Provincials follow the evolution of the formators. The commission formed by Fathers Richard Lamoureux, Em-manuel Kahindo, Iulian Prajescu and Jean-Paul Sagadou has already reflected on the questions that could be placed on the agenda for their next meeting.The International Commission on Formation (CIF) was set up on the recommendation of the General Chapter of 2011 (no. 131) and its mission is to make propositions submitted to Father General in his Plenary General Council for decision. n

In Brief <<

JUNE 2015 n no 178

Hand in hand with Bishop Plantier

Believing that the new bishop would not be able to accept his ideas and his

temperament, Fr. d’Alzon a pas-sionate Ultramontane, intimated to him that he wished to leave the diocesan administration, es-pecially since his great preoccu-pations were his school and his nascent community1.Bishop Plantier asked him to re-main with him, saying to some-one close to him: “This man has too much nobility of heart and spirit to not understand his bish-op and to help him.”

The Roman Question2

The ideas of Bishop Plantier on Napoleon III differed from those of Fr. d’Alzon; the bishop lauded the emperor for his politics sup-posedly favorable to the Pope and the pontifical territory, while d’Alzon, more perspicacious, smelled the deceit of the Head of State. Father d’Alzon suspected that the bishop was a Gallican, but what did this word mean? To Bishop Plantier’s mind, it indi-cated a profound attachment to France, eldest daughter of the Church, but that did not exclude an invincible love and an un-breakable obedience to Rome. Immediately after his first ad limina visit in 1858, Bishop Plantier proved it by writing an admirable pastoral letter. Here is its conclusion: “Oh, holy Church

of Rome! You are for us, follow-ing the beautiful language of Tradition, the Church Mother and Mistress, and we are your children. You are to guide us, and it is not for us to lead you. We are travelers and you are our light. Speak and you will be lis-tened to; pronounce and we will believe you; command, and we will march; defend, and we will obey. Our submission will be our joy as it is your right. Peter, we know, re-lives and is perpetuated in the succession of your pon-tiffs; it is he who expresses him-self by their mouths, it is he who decides by their authority; it is he who decides by their wisdom. Ah! It is enough for us to accept with blind confidence, all the acts emanating from their power, and we will go in peace towards the future under their thousand times blessed guardianship.”At the height of the Roman Question, Bishop Plantier will fiercely defend Pius IX with an apologia for the temporal pow-er of the Pope that could only entrance Fr. d’Alzon: “In the politics of the Holy See” wrote the Prelate, “the preoccupations and the conduct of the temporal Prince are measured by the spirit and the principles of the Head of the Church, and all is marked by the seal of the most pure and highest morality. Undoubtedly Roman politics are skillful and the diplomacy that it represents is esteemed, with reason, as the best diplomacy in the world. It is calm, master of self, foreign to

>> Emmanuel d’Alzon

Claude-Henri-AugustinPLANTIER,bornonMarch2,1813atCeyzérieux(Ain),namedBishopof Nîmes on August 30, 1855, acceptedbyRomeonSeptember28, 1855, consecrated in the Primate church of Saint Jean of LyonsbyCardinalJacques-Louis-MauricedeBonaldonNovember18, 1855 and died in Nîmes on May25,1875,after19yearsasabishop.(Episcopologen.2508).BiographybytheAbbéJ.Clastron,Vicar General of Nîmes and of Montpellier,1882.

Father d’Alzon and the Bishops of Nîmes (3/4)

By the Abbé René GUIGNOT

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all hot-headedness and any pre-cipitousness.As any other, and better than all others, it knows how to wait, be self-contained, keep silence and speak when it has to. But its discretion is never hypocrisy; its prudence and its skill have nothing in common with ruse and duplicity. The art of decep-tion is not among its means.”When in 1859, Napoleon revers-es his policies in regard to the Papal States in Austria and the Italian revolutionaries, Bishop Plantier, on November 4, pub-lishes a touching pastoral letter assuring the Pope of his support and his prayers for the keeping of his States, and pleading with the “present successor of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne to preserve this diamond that their victorious arm had attached to it”. Very happy about this ges-ture, Fr. d’Alzon spontaneously

went to the bishop’s residence leading a vast crowd, to thank the prelate for his courageous act and to ask him to transmit to His Holiness the assurance of the unalterable fidelity and filial love of the priests of the diocese of Nîmes.3

When, in December 1864, Bishop Plantier goes to Rome for the third time in order to defend the temporal power of the Pope, Pius IX will thank him and gives him a copy of the Quanta cura and of the Syllabus which were being published.

The ProtestantsOn the subject of the Protes-tants, there is unity of thought between the bishop and his vicar general: the heretics must return home. Perhaps the methods used and the arguments developed by Bishop Plantier in the polemics differ from the means and the

1 Fatherd’Alzonmustalsoadjusthimself to this change of per-sonalitywhenhewritestoMèreMarie-EugénieonApril10,1858:“Icannotquotemyself,becauseIdoeverythingbadly,butwhenI compare Bishop Cart to Bishop Plantier, I see the difference betweenamanwhocandoonlywithhisheadandhands,andamanwhoknowshowtodothingswiththeheadandthefingersofothers”.(LettersofFr.d’Alzon,t.II,p.419.2TheRomanQuestionisapoliticalcontroversyrelativetotheroleofRome,seatofthetemporalpowerof the Pope and also the capital of theKingdomofItaly.3Cf.Letters of Fr. d’Alzon,t.III,page174,n.54Alowseat,withbackandarms,usuallyreservedforpriestlyfunc-tions.Itismadeofsculptedwood,sometimesgildedorinmarble.

The façade of the Nîmes cathedral in a painting by Ferdinand Pertus (1883-1948), a Nîmes illustrator.

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paths used by Fr. d’Alzon, but the end remains the same.

Anecdotal witnesses of reciprocal attentivenessAt the end of the diocesan Syn-od of 1863, Fr. d’Alzon, in the name of all the priests, offered to Bishop Plantier “a faldisto-rium”4 of refined taste and in a very gracious Roman form. The prelate tried to answer, but his sobs choked off his words5.On the occasion of the found-ing of the Oblates of the As-sumption, Bishop Plantier was only too happy to travel to the Vigan to visit the small impro-vised convent situated in the suburb of Rochebelle and bless a statue of the Virgin called for the circumstance, Our Lady of Bulgaria.6

On the occasion of the death of General Lamoricière,7 defender of the Pope, Bishop Plantier organized a solemn service at the cathedral and designated Fr. d’Alzon to preside.In the same way for the young pontifical Zouave Henri Pas-cal, 18 years-old, from Brignon, Bishop Plantier, absent, dele-gates Fr. d’Alzon and Canon de Cabrières for the funeral service in the parish of the deceased hero.8

Also, when it was learned of the martyr’s death of a 30-year old young priest of the Gard9 ordained by Bishop Plantier five years earlier, the bishop of Nîmes cried out: “He is the first of my sons who sheds his blood for Jesus-Christ. I want to rec-ognize the honor that God gives to my entire diocesan family by crowning the brow of one of


5“ViedeMgrPlantierbyCanonJ.Clastron,Nîmes,1882,p.586.6Cf.Alzonian AnthologybyFr.Jean-PaulPérier-Muzet,t.1,Chap.33,p.175-179;t.II,Chap.38,p.187-191.7ChristopheLouisLéonJuchaultdeLamoricière(orLaMoricière),bornonFebruary5,1806inNantesanddiedonSeptember11,1865atProuzel (Somme) is an officer and Frenchpolitician.PromotedBriga-dier General in 1843 during the colonial campagnes under General BugeaudagainstEmirAbdel-KaderinAlgeria,LamoricièrecommitedhimselfalsoinpoliticsandwaselectedtothelegislativeAssembly.HewasnamedWarMinisterin1848andparticipatesactivelyintherepressionoftheJuneDays.Exiledinthe1850`sbecauseofhisoppositiontoLouis-NapoléonBonaparte, he returns to France and in 1860 and enters to service of the Papal cause in the fight againstGaribaldi,untilthedefeatofCastelfidardo.

The battle of Mentana of November 3, 1867 that opposed the Red Shirts of Garibaldi to the Pontifical and French troups that made 1000 casualties as well as 1398 prisoners according the Pontifical reports. The Pontifical Zouaves (3,500 men in total, among whom 600 French, 800 Durch and 450 Belgians took part.

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foot of the crucifix and watered it with his tears. And moved, thanking Fr. d’Alzon, he de-clared: “It is truly a royal gift that is offered to me as formerly to Clement XVI. The kings that present it to me are my beloved priests, depositaries of the most august of majesties. It is the faithful of this diocese about whom the angels themselves are pleased to say: “This is a chosen people, a holy nation. I open my arms, I open my heart, to receive this magnificent wit-ness to your filial love. Yes, we will again conquer by the cross! In hoc signo vinces!”11

The same fervent devotion to O.L. of Lourdes unites the bishop and the religious. Dis-covering Lourdes in 1868, Fr. d’Alzon prays for hours in front of the grotto where he will re-turn later.12 From there he writes to Mother Marie-Eugénie: “I gave myself the pleasure of having myself shut behind the

its members with the crown of martyrdom”. Again, he desig-nated Fr. d’Alzon to celebrate a solemn Mass in the cathedral.Bishop Plantier esteemed Fr. d’Alzon and approved the ar-dent and strong imprint he had given to his order and to the school. Also he often went to speak to the students, presided at the distribution of prizes and supported the new Congrega-tion so close to his heart.In May 1867, a rich gift was offered to Bishop Plantier: the crucifix of Algarde10. This great 17th century Italian sculptor had made a magnificent Christ in ivory for King Charles III of Spain who had given it to Pope Clement XIV who had sold it in Paris. A great-hearted man, Mr. de Cray, had bought it as a gift for the Bishop of Nîmes. On the day of the presentation, Fr. d’Alzon was charged by the Chapter to give the speech. The talk of Fr. d’Alzon showed his deep feelings for the bishop: “Your diocesans, Bishop, want-ed to show that they understand your soul. But in choosing to of-fer you a masterpiece of sculp-ture that Italy will now envy of France, they desired that, fixed in the diocese as a monument to their admiration and their devo-tion for their bishop, they per-petuate the remembrance; and even after the long years that we stubbornly work with you, the stranger who will come to contemplate in this palace this famous Crucifix of Algarde will recall how much the Catholics of the diocese of Nîmes loved their illustrious and valiant bishop and sought to offer him a pledge worthy of them and of him!”The bishop, adds Canon Clas-tron, who reports this fact, for a moment held his lips to the

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8HenriPascaldiesatMentanaonNovember3,1867.TheGarib-aldeancolumniscrushedbythepontifical troops and it is during thebattlethatHenriPascalwaskilled,“hisheadcrushed”,andhiscousinCasimirRouvièreseriouslywounded.HewillbeburiedonRomansoilbuthisbrainwaspre-served, enclosed in a lead vase and sealedinoneofthewallsofthechurch in Brignon during a funeral ceremonytothegloryoftheyounglocalhero.9ItisGabrielDurand,PriestoftheForeignMissions,fromLunel(1835-1865).Fatherd’Alzonpro-nouncedthefuneraleulogyinthecathedral of Nîmes on June 23, 1866.SeetheworkoftheAbbéProuvèze, Gabriel Durand, mis ‘a mort au Tibet, en haine de la foi. Sa vocation, son apostolat étudiés et racontés dans ses lettres, Nîmes, 1866,113pages.

The cortege of prelates walking to the hall of the Vatican Council I.

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lightened counsels of its dear chaplain.Both were ardent defenders of the Church and the battle against the enemies of reli-gion united them. For them the Church was firstly the Sover-eign Pontiff whose rights they defended: Ubi Petrus, ibi Eccle-sia. And Peter had spoken to the world with the Syllabus and Quanta cura and found in these two athletes of Nîmes one and the same voice to approve and communicate his words.

About the UniversityIn 1868, the French bishops were alarmed by the attacks by certain university professors against Catholic dogmas. In all the dioceses, petitions had been signed to focus the government’s attention on that and ask for, as the only remedy to their propa-gation, the freedom of higher education. Bishop Plantier was

grillwork for some four hours! You see, I had the time to pray for my friends… If I could, I would favor this devotion… Lourdes gave me I don`t know what perfume of peace, of con-fidence, and of hope that I will be converted some day!”13 At the same time, Bishop Plantier developed the same devotion to Our Lady by making the di-ocesan pilgrimages to Lourdes an institution, and organizing a chapel dedicated to Lourdes in the cathedral in which he want-ed to be buried.The Institute of the Dames de Saint-Maur was the oldest teaching community in the city of Nîmes, and had a flourish-ing boarding school and all the Catholic schools for girls in the city. Fr. d’Alzon was the chap-lain. Each year, Bishop Plantier attended the board of trustees meeting with Fr. d’Alzon and laud the good administration of the institution under the en-

evidently at the forefront in this movement as well of Fr. d’Alzon, who, by the Revue de l’enseignement chrétien that he had founded, had already strug-gled for a long time for the ex-ercise of that right. In that area again, the bishop and the Father walked hand in hand.

The theologian of the BishopBishop Plantier`s great esteem for Fr. d’Alzon and the recog-nition of this great doctrinal strength brought about his being chosen in 1869 as his theolo-gian for the Council of the Vati-can for a stay that will last nine months, from November 1869 to July 1870. The bishop shared with Fr. d’Alzon not only his position on papal infallibility,14 but also the non-intervention of the state in the nomination of bishops, so that the simple vows of religion be given the same privileges as the solemn


(On the left) Saint Peter`s Square a day of the general session of the Vatican Council I. (On the right) Bishop Anatole de Cabrières (1830-1921) a student at Fr. d’Alzon`s Assumption School in Nîmes, will be the private secretary of Bishop Plantier, the Vicar General of Nîmes before becoming Bishop of Montpellier in 1873 and created a Cardinal in 1911).

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When he was not in Paris or in Rome, it was after the mid-day meal at recreation time, that Fr. d’Alzon arrived at the chancery. He brought the mail and especially the news from Rome. When he broached this subject his verve was inex-haustible. Soon it was concern-ing not only Rome and the en-tire Church, but he went beyond that, as the Abbé de Cabrières, the private secretary of the Bishop, states, “including all the actual questions, as capable of conversion the treatises of Plato or of Aristotle, as inter-preting Saint Theresa of Saint John of the Cross, Fr. d’Alzon brought to the conversations the communicative ardor of his apostolic enthusiasm and knew, when necessary, to temper the austerity of his judgments on our sad times by telling charm-ing anecdotes whose spiritual irony never was without a gra-cious bonhomie. n

vows, etc. In order to manifest his total accord with the bishop of Nîmes on papal infallibility, Fr. d’Alzon had taken the initia-tive of an “Address to the Holy Father” by the priests of the dio-cese to request the definition of the dogma of infallibility.Ill, Bishop Plantier left Rome for France on Easter Monday, April 17. 1870. He had giv-en complete authority to Fr. d’Alzon, his Vicar General, to represent him at the Council.During a serious illness in May 1874, Fr. d’Alzon had requested from Rome a Papal Blessing for the bishop who was thought to be on the verge of death. Re-ceiving it with gratitude, he thanked the Father, asking him to convey to Pius IX the hom-age of his gratitude and devo-tion until death.On the death of Bishop Plantier in 1875, he admitted having lost in him a great friend and impor-tant support!

10 Alessandro Algardi, called Algarde,bornin1593inItalyinthecityofBolognaanddiedinRomein1654,wasasculptor,decoratorandarchitect.11 See Le crucifix dans l’histoire, dans l’art, dans l’âme des saints et dans notre vie byClastron,p.83-84;andVie de Mgr Plantier, bythesameauthor,t.II,chap-terXIX,pages222ff. 12SeethearticlesbyFr.Jean-PaulPérier-Muzet,Sur les pas du P. d’Alzon à Lourdes, in Lettres du P. d’Alzon, t.XVII,p.629-641andLe P. d’Alzon, pèlerin à Lourdes, in Alzonian Anthology, t.I,Chap.38,p.199-202.13 LettertoMèreMarieEugénieon August 16, 1868, in Lettres du Père d’Alzon,t.VII,p.134.14 « The most unexpected of the sublimedaringsofthePope,»saidBishopPlantier.

It was to the French General Lamoricière (1806-1865), the hero of the conquest of Algeria, that the Minister of the Vatican Army, the Belgian Prelate, Bishop de Mérode, entrusted the command of the Zouaves regiment. On his death, Pope Pius IX had this cenotaph erected in the cathedral of Nantes.

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JUNE 2015 n no 1714

>> Greece

One of the liveliest parishes in Greece

A Pentecost Day in Athens

Athens, under its leaden sun and blue sky, hides the crisis that assails it

with difficulty. The pogroms against the immigrants and the rise of extremists on a back-ground of endemic corruption and economic crises tarnish the blue and white flag of the cradle of democracy.For more than 80 years already, in this quarter of the north of the Greek capital, the Assump-tion animates a parish rich with a long history. Today it is trans-forming in the image of the country. All the while keeping it Hellenic roots, the Christian community of Heptanissou has opened itself to “Catholicity” and has a very international im-age of Catholicism at the heart of this Orthodox country. The parish is the crossroads where rub elbows Filipinos working in Greece for a number of years, Orientals and Africans who flee in masse war and miseries of ev-

ery kind that afflict their lands.It is among these emigres that the youth of this Catholic com-munity is found, as witness the baptism and wedding registers. The face of this community is not without evoking, in many areas, that of the first apostolic communities of Saint Paul. The relations between the various groups that compose it have sometimes those inevitable ten-sions. For many years, Fr. Al-exandros Psaltis is at the head of this parish of a thousand faces, one of the most vibrant in Greece.During the first part of the year 2015, Fr. Benoît Grière did not spare his efforts to go meet with the communities of the Eastern European Mission. After the vis-its to the communities of Plovdiv and Jerusalem, from May 29 to June 1, 2015, the Superior Gen-eral and Fr. Marcelo Marciel, Assistant General discovered a living pastoral reality, welcom-

ing, warm, and dynamic. Fr. Alexander, Pastor on Sundays, on weekdays rather wears his “Abbé Pierre” costume. With Fr. Victor Blanco, his companion for the last three years, he forms a tandem in the service of the very poorest who are today the undocumented, these “boat peo-ple” landing by the thousands on the Greek shores. Charitable activities are at the heart of their life: clothing, distribution of basic furnishings, but also food and lodging. In the country of the Olympics, it is the flame of charity that they seek to rekin-dle. But even as the medal of charity has its other side, the As-sumption makes shine, against all odds, its social, doctrinal and ecumenical charism. During the four Sunday Masses, the parish has sometimes the visage of a fair or a Tower of Babel on this Pentecost Sunday, forcing out visitors to get away a bit from this effervescence.

The Ascent of SionThe Canonical Visitation in Jerusalem

« To live in Jerusalem is a grace for all men who recognize in Jesus the master of life. It is also the city of the three great monotheisms where the faith of the faithful of the

various religions is an important witness for whoever wants to follow the Lord,” said Father Benoît Grière going to Mount Sion with his assistant, Father Marcelo Marciel from May 1 to May 9, 2015.“This canonical visitation was above all a fraternal moment.” He remarks further in seeing how this ascent is really the ‘the way of the Rule of Life’. This path is for the Assumption rich with a long history since the con-struction of Notre Dame de France in 1885, the later establishment of Saint Peter in Gallicantu and the untiring Assumptionist pilgrimage apostolate since 1879… Still today the Assump-tionist presence is significant: “There is meaning in being here in Jerusalem and remaining here,” affirms Fr. Benoît.Even if the Assumptionist community is a trinity, our three brothers do not hesitate to “lend a hand” when necessary, are united together with a great availability, and a modest and sim-ple lifestyle. Certainly it is an exceptional grace to live in such a place that invites to an always greater intimacy with the Lord, at a time when, often in the Assumption, we have to face a “rather generalized deficit of interior life” underscores Fr. Benoît.The ministry is turned to the welcoming of pilgrims, but it needs to be re-thought. The Assumption lives in close contact with the other Catholic communities of the Holy Land, well an-chored in the “Jerusalem religious landscape.” Assumptionist brothers and Oblate sisters constitute two distinct communities with different sensitivities, but whose mutual concertation and respect form the cement of unity. Father General, during his stay, celebrated at the Holy Sepulcher, went to Galilee, visited H.B. Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch, Bishop Giuseppe Lazzarot-to, Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem, and Mrs. Minh-di Tang, Adjunct Consul General of France in Jerusalem. The future is encouraging even if we must be vigilant to internationalize more the community and redefine a project that will benefit the whole Congregation in recalling that our priority is to witness the advent of the Kingdom, that is, to place at the summit of our joy the Jerusalem above. “If I forget you Jerusalem, may my right hand wither”! (Ps 136).

Jerusalem <<

Undoubtedly remembering the visit of Fr. d’Alzon in these places, our visitors climbed up the Acropolis, walked through the Areopagus, and discovered the curiosities of one of the most ancient cities of the world.Their visit would have been incomplete if their hosts had not surprised them by bringing them to Cape Sounion and the Attica some forty kilometers from Athens to admire the ruins of the temple of Poseidon, take a look at their house of Lagonissi and enjoy a fresh savor fish on the terrace of one of the small ports on the seashore, at Zea or at Mikrolimano. Bishop Sev-astianos Rossolatos, the pres-ent archbishop was absent, it is with the archbishop emeritus Nikolaos Foskolos, that Father Benoît Grière had a long talk during which the Greek prel-ate related the attachment of the Catholic Church in Greece to the apostolic ardor of the As-sumption.Before ending this postcard, let us go back to the history of the Assumption. If its first bishop was Bishop Louis Petit, named archbishop of Athens in 1912, it was only in 1934 that the As-sumption was able to establish itself in the Greek capital in a modest residence, on Heptanis-sou Street, whose chapel dedi-cated to Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus. And if today Father Alexandros Psaltis is the last Greek of the Congregation, the Assumption in this country has had, since its beginnings, some fifteen religious and has given to the Church two bishops: Bishop Gregorios Voutsinos (1891-1968) and Bishop An-toine Vartalitis (1924-2007). n

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JUNE 2015 n no 1716

From Monday March 30 to Friday April 3, Fr. Benoît Grière, accompanied by

Fr. Marcelo Marciel, Assistant General in charge of supervising the Mission to Eastern Europe, made the Canonical Visitation in Plovdiv. It was Holy Week for the Latin Rite community, but the Plovdiv community of the Byzantine tradition, celebrated Easter a week later.

A unique placeThe Assumptionist community of Plovdiv is unique in various ways. Firstly is the oldest foun-dation outside the borders that still exists. It is there that Fr. Galabert, pioneer of the Eastern Europe Mission, chose to found the first mission in 1863. Plo-vdiv is also the city where Pope St. John Paul II beatified our three blessed priests, Bulgarian martyrs, Josaphat Chichkov, Ka-men Vitchev and Pavel Djidjov since the three resided there. But today it is first of all the only As-sumptionist community present in the Byzantine Rite (since the closing of the community of Blaj in Romania). This presence goes back to the time of Fr. Galabert himself.

A Moment at once crucial and particularLast year, in answer to an in-vitation by Father General, the community had reported on the situations and the realities of the mission before the Plenary General Council and had under-lined the urgency of decisions concerning its future. It warned that without reinforcements in short order and without a clear redefinition of its mission its fu-ture was compromised. At the same time it proposed to become a community of formation in the

Byzantine tradition and spiri-tuality for the entire Congrega-tion. Since then, two events, each in its own way, recalled the urgency of these decisions: last February 12, the Lord recalled to himself Fr. Assen Karaguisov, the last Bulgarian Assumptionist and during this May the Oblate Sisters will celebrate the 150 years of their foundation which had as its origin the request of Fr. Galabert to Fr. d’Alzon for help with Sisters for the mis-sion to the Bulgarians. Today, 150 years later the collabora-tion with the Oblate Sisters in Plovdiv remains a very present reality, to such an extent that the existence of our Assumptionist community cannot be envisaged without that of the Oblate Sisters and vice-versa.

An invitation to fidelity and to availabilityFrom the beginning, it was clear that the Canonical Visitation would not bring decisions, as

necessary and awaited as they are, because that is not its role. Also, the process of discern-ment begun, not only for the Plovdiv community but also for the whole of the communities of the Eastern European Mission, is not yet finished. A commis-sion includes the brothers com-mitted to or from the Eastern European Mission, as well as the brother entrusted to accom-pany this mission on various levels, has begun its work to help in this discernment. While waiting for the decisions that will probably taken at the next General Chapter, this Canoni-cal Visitation, that took place in a fraternal climate, constituted an encouragement to renew our fidelity, to remain available to the requests of the Congrega-tion and to cultivate the links and the discussions as well with the other communities of the Eastern European Mission as with the representatives of the Province.

Daniel Gillier

Canonical Visitation to PlovdivA Return to the Cradle

>> Bulgaria

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Asia <<

A transitional stageThe 3rd meeting of the Inter-Asiatic Coordination

The springtime Assumptionist inter-Asiatic had its rendez-vous at Cap Saint Jacques

from April 14-16, 2015. The last meeting had taken place in Manil-la in March 2014. The seven wise men who are its members tried to make a picture of the situation in the three countries where the Congre-gation is actually working: Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Each one wanted to share its experiences and its problems. In the country “of calm mornings” there was a per-petual profession in August 2014 and another is in preparation for the end of 2015. In the Philippines, the opening of the novitiate, the arrival of six postulants in June 2015 and the foreseen perpetual profession of two Filipino brothers casts a glim-mer of hope in the midst of tornados and typhoons and the sadness cause by the sudden death of Father Chu-vi. In Vietnam, the important event will have been without contest the opening of the community of Vinh. In that country the Assumption has a rapid development with, today, some fifty young religious, a dozen novices each year, the animation of five vocational houses and an or-phanage that is being enlarged.Two preoccupations were broached: the vocational ministry and the chal-lenge for the formation of young religious. It is now a question of passing from a vocational anima-tion to a vocational culture that each imply, without forgetting the can-didates that come from other Asian countries where the Assumption has not yet pitched its tent. Everywhere there is a lack of formators. How do we face this? It has been suggested that an alternative to the CAFI be

studied. That will lead the Congre-gation to a redeployment of its per-sonnel in new territories. In Asia, the footbridges to establish a better mutual understanding, a common vision of the mission and a common consciousness of belonging to the body that forms the Assumption are called to become more solid bridges between the communities.A fruitful exchange took place on the preparation of the next General Chapter of 2017. It will then be a question of rethinking the apostolic project of the Congregation to re-spond to a demographic evolution which will accelerate. Today 70% of the apostolic forces are in emerg-ing countries while 70% of the eco-nomic resources are concentrated in Europe. Asia will have its place to hol in the future choices. In 15 years, or before, there will be more Asian perpetually professed than French. The Asian Coordination has estimated that the next Chapter will have to redefine the structures that will allow the realization of its ap-ostolic project. It was decided that the Delegate of the General for Asia would prepare a sheet to better point out the priorities, its apostolic proj-ect for Asia and its vocational plan.Two years before the next Gen-eral Chapter, in order to prepare this development of the Congrega-tion in Asia starting with the local strengths, Father General encour-aged each one to “forge for himself a common culture” and “to manifest a common will to go forward” for the good of the whole body. Asia is today a space where, Father Gen-eral affirmed, “the Congregation has made the barriers fall. n

JUNE 2015 n no 1718

D’Alzon of Nîmes and Theresa of Avila

She was born on March 28, 1515 in Gotarrendura in Old Castile and died in the

night of the 4th to the 15th of Oc-tober, 1582.1 Canonized in 1622, she was the first woman to be recognized as a Doctor of the Church by Blessed Paul VI on September 27, 1970.2 Very early, Father d’Alzon had undertaken the reading of the Works of The-resa of Avila, notably to enter-tain a discussion on the subject of mystics with his friend Dulac, and on her works that according to him “open the heart.”3 During his first residence in Rome from

November 25, 1833 to May 19, 1835, he was undoubtedly daz-zled by the famous Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, sculpted by Ber-nini (1652) that we can admire in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. In any case, all through his life, he kept the re-former of the Carmel as a perma-nent reference. In the documents relative to the foundation of the Assumption, he states that he had returned to Nîmes after his ordi-nation with two preoccupations: to found a college or boarding school because of the ruin of Christian education in France and support the foundation of a Carmelite convent. From the be-ginning of his ministry as spiri-

tual director, he frequently refer-ences Theresa4 in the counsels that he gives.

Founder of the Carmelite Convent in NîmesHe spoke many times with the Bishop of Nîmes about open-ing a Carmelite convent in his city without result. But the Abbé Goubier (1802-1855), pastor of Saaiante-Perpétue and faithful friend was a precious support in this affair; On December 18, 1843, his desire to found a Car-melite convent succeeds.5 It is good to recall the circumstances: the Abbé Sibour, the future arch-bishop of Paris, assassinated in

>> Spirituality

By Bernard Le Léannec

This year, 2015, Year of Consecrated Life, is also the 5th centennial of the birth of Theresa of Avila.

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gious follow, like Saint John of the Cross followed Saint The-resa,” he would later write.6

The mystic of Avila as a referenceIn the school of St. Therese, he reminds Mother Marie-Eugénie that all reflection on the princi-ples of the Rule must be based on the Word of God.7 In the same period, he orients a goodly number of those he had directed to the Carmelites.8 He refer-ences again the saint of Avila, on August 27, 1847, day of the transpiercing of the heart by love that his wish for her is that she experience it in the manner of Theresa: “It would be, I believe, the only way to cure it.”9

1857, was a Canon of the Ca-thedral of Nîmes since 1822 and had been, during a vacancy of the See of Nîmes in 1837, chosen as the Administrator of the diocese of Nîmes. Made bishop of Digne in December 1839, Fr. d’Alzon was bent on attending his consecration that took place in Aix-en-Provence, and profited of the occasion to speak with the Carmelites with of view to a future foundation in Nîmes. He would then have to wait four years for the negotia-tions to succeed and that seven nuns come to found a convent in Nîmes and that Fr. d’Alzon become its ecclesiastical supe-rior until 1854. “Sometimes the nuns begin and the male reli-

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1) The formula can appear troubling,butitisexactforitwasthenightinwhichinmanyWestern European countries, thechangewasmadefromtheJulian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.2)ReadthehomilygivenbyPaul VI on this proclamation in La documentation Catholique ofOctober18,1970,no.1572,p.908-909andtheApostolicLetterMultiformis Sapientia, publishedintheAAS,63(1971),p.185-192.SeealsothebookUne année avec Thérèse d’Avila. Les plus beaux textes à décou-vrir chaque jour et à méditer, Bayard,2015,469pages.3)Lettertod’EsgrignyofMarch31,1834,inLettresduPèred’Alzon,t.A,p.539.4)LettertoMotherMariedeJésusBrochetofAugust20,1837(firstSuperiorGeneraloftheDamesdeMarie-Thérèse)and also to the same of August 25, in Lettres du Père d’Alzon,t.A.p.18-235)SeethearticlebyFr.Jean-PaulPérier-Muzet,Le P. d’Alzon, figure du Carmel, inATLP,1996,no.122,pp.19-23.6) Le Pèlerin ofFebruary9,1878,p.88-907)LetterstoMotherMarie-EugénieonSeptember8and20,1843, in Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.A,p.87-95.8)LettertoMotherMarie-EugénieonOctober15,1845,in Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.B,p.330.9)LettertoMotherMarie-Eugé-nieonAugust27,1847inLettresduPèred’Alzon,t.C,p.293.10)LettertoMotherMarie-EugénieonMarch19,1849inLettres du Père d’Alzon,tC,p.441,alsoint.XIV,p.511-512.11)LettertoMotherMarie-Eu-génieonNovember18,1852,in Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.1,p.210.Cf.Les instructions du samedi, Paris,1932,p.171-182and Prêtre et apô, t. XI, n 129, p. 325-329.

JUNE 2015 n no 1720

The Works of Saint TheresaOn October 15, 1854, he founds the orphanage for the little Protestant orphan girls called “Oeuvre de Sainte Thérèse” which will become the Barn-ouin Orphanage and will be at the origin of the foundation of the Saint François de Sales As-sociation.13

In October 1857, the Paris no-vitiate leaves Clichy to be installed in Auteuil,

But Mother Marie-Eugénie sus-pects him of having his heart di-vided between the Assumption and the Carmelites. Fr. d’Alzon is piqued and answers her: “Be-sides many others, there are two principal reasons that make me more with the Assumption than with the Carmelites. Firstly it is that I believe that the work of the Assumption does more than could a single Carmelite con-vent; secondly that you have at least ideas and that each day I discover that the daughters of Saint Theresa, that I know, put all their spirit in having ab-surd ideas. I ask pardon for basing my preference on such mo-tives; but it is quite true that I had to ac-cept to let them do as they please in all that would not be an af-front to the law of God.10 For Father d’Alzon, reading St. Theresa leads him to the conviction that conversion is obtained only through prayer and contempla-tion to which he invites.11 For him, contemplation to converse with God is an absolute neces-sity. He refers to what Theresa says when she compares in-teriority to four ways to water one`s garden: the well, the overshot wheel, the irri-gation canal and finally the rain. At this stage the gardener has only to let the good rain imbibe his soil.12

on Eymès Avenue. It is inaugu-rated on October 15 and placed under the patronage of Saint Theresa.In his correspondence he never omits having a thought for the feast day of Saint Theresa for the women who bear her name14 and he often encourages the reading of her works as also those of St. John of the Cross. He often alludes to the manner with which the saint gave her life and ma<de it “a continual gift”.15

If the principal aim of the As-sumption is to extend the King-dom of Jesus Christ in souls he insists on underscoring the ap-ostolic ardor also concerns wo-ment in imitation of Saint The-

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say what Pius IX says of certain Italian religious: God punishes by rogues the religious who do not correct themselves.”21

The Way of PerfectionIn 1876, he does a few days of retreat at the Vigan that he ac-companies with reading the life and the works of Saint Theresa, but until the end of his life, the book of The Way of Perfection will be one of his spiritual ref-erences. Theresa had written it in 1565 on the insistence of the sisters of the Carmelite Con-vent of Saint Joseph of Avila, but judged too personal by her confessor, it was not divulged until a few years later. Undoubt-edly Father d’Alzon used it fre-quently in the last years of his life because of the love he had for the Coming of the Kingdom. In her book, Theresa takes the Our Father as the foundation of her pedagogy on prayer, nota-bly in chapters 27 to 62. As in its time, this manual of prayer of the Carmelites that helped Father d’Alzon, can help us to have a realistic view of the world of today when she writes: “The world is on fire! They would want, so to speak, con-demn anew Jesus Christ since they make him the butt of so many calumnies! They would want to get rid of the Church! And we would waste time in presenting supplications that, if God heard them, would end in having perhaps one less soul in heaven! No, no, it is not the time to treat with God of un-important things.” (The Way of Perfection, 1, 5). n

resa: “Saint Theresa, a simple woman and cloistered religious really had the zeal of apostles”.16 He often encourages to walk in her wake on the path to sanctity and perfection.17 It is always to the sanctity and imitation of Saint Theresa that he calls the students of the Religious of the Assumption of Nîmes18 and on many occasions in his letters to Mother Marie Correnson.19

The story of his niece AlixWe must broach here an affair that altered somewhat his rela-tion with the Carmelites. His niece Alix, daughter of his sister Marie de Puységur had entered the Carmelites in Paris on de Messine Street with the name of Marie-Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus. Mme de Puységur died on April 4, 1869 in Nîmes. The following month the Father traveled to Paris to divide the estate and give to the convent its share. He was surprised, however, to find himself before some very greedy Carmelites. He writes: “I find Carmelites very detached from everything except money. Finally I hope that we will get through it. But nothing is harder to skin than a beast held by a daughter of Saint Theresa.”20 His Carmelite niece, ill in 1871, was transferred to the convent of Chamond, but the pressure of the Carmelites did not weaken for all that and Father d’Alzon wrote again to the superior: “If the state is what is the most perfect, all the nuns are not perfect and if the revolution that threatens us punishes some of them, I would

12) Saint Theresa of Avila, Vie écrite par elle-même, Chap.XI, in Œuvres complètes, Seuil, 1948,p.107ff.13) See the allusion in his letter toMotherMarie-EugénieonMay25,1856,inLettres du Père d’Alzon, t.II,p.85.14)LetterstoSisterThérèsedelaConceptionBardouwhomhecallshis“littlecop”onJune4, 1866, in the Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.VI,p.72andofDecember8,1869,inLettres du Père d’Alzon, t.VIII,p.59.15)LettertoMrs.DoumetonSeptember18,1858,inLettres du Père d’Alzon,t.II,p.526;letter to Sister Marie Marthe GibertononMarch26,1860,in Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.IV,p.44.16)LettertotheAdoratricesonMay11,1859,inLettres du Père d’Alzon,t.III,p.84.17)Inthelettersthathesendsto Sister Marie des Anges HughesonFebruary28andMarch17,1861,inLettres du Père d’Alzon, t.III,p.422and428.18)IntheletterofDecember1869 that he sends them from Rome,inLettres du Père d’Alzon, t.III,p.95.19)LettersofJuly27,1967(t.VI,p.306);ofJuly11,1970(t.VIII,p.474);ofJuly14,1871(t.IX,p.117);ofJuly17,21and25,1876(t.XI,p.414, 431, 438), andofApril17,1879(t.XIII,p.88-89).20)LettertoMotherMarieCorrensononMay29,1869,inLettres du Père d’Alzon, t.VII,p.319.21)LettertotheMotherPrioress of the convent of Saint-ChamondonFebruary23,1872,in Lettres du Père d’Alzon, t.IX,p.312-313.

The world is on fire! […] And we would waste time in presenting supplications that […] would end having perhaps one less soul in heaven!

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JUNE 2015 n no 1722

A Multi-colored PentecostThe celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Oblates

On this Pentecost morn-ing on Lecourbe Street, the celebration is multi-

colored. To celebrated the 150th anniversary of their foundation, the Oblate Sisters wanted to give to the event both a familial character and that of an interna-tional jubilee. This Sunday re-calls the beginnings that are not without a similarity with what happened in the Cenacle on the first Pentecost.On the Wednesday, on the eve of the Ascension, May 24, 1865, at Rochebelle a twon near the Vigan, a house rented from English Protestants, served a the cradle for the Congregation of the Oblates. Father d’Alzon chose this day, the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, as the foundation day for his Congre-gation. The evening before, the Father had blessed the house

and given it the name of “Our Lady of Bulgaria”. (1) Before the six first novices and a group of ladies from Nîmes (among whom Marie Correnson, future foundress), the Father celebrat-ed the first Mass in the house. The next day, Bishop Plantier was only too happy to be associ-ated with this opening by bless-ing a statue of the Virgin placed in the center of the garden and was given the name of Our Lady of Bulgaria. From these humble beginnings was born 150 years ago the Congregation of the Ob-lates of the Assumption, a con-

gregation that today is present in some thirty countries.The festivities gathered repre-sentatives of all the branches of the Assumption Family, giving a beautiful picture of the variety and the collaboration that ex-ist today in the Assumption. It was the concelebrations of some twenty priests representing all the continents that constituted the summit of the day. Father Benoît Grière, Superior Gener-al, come specially from Rome, presided. In his homily, he re-called that it is still and always a question of marching under

>> Oblate Sisters

1)Cf.LafoundationdessoeursOblatesdel'AssomptionbyFr.PierreTouveneraudandSr.Marie-Leonide,1978,36pages,(CentennialSeries,n.4).AlzonianAnthology,t.1,chap.33,pages175-179.

the inspiration of the Spirit in a spirit of humil-ity and confidence that is inspired by the humble foundation of the Oblates. Those beginnings are always a suggestive illustration of it. Fr. Benoît did not forget to recall all that the male congrega-tion owes to the generosity and the apostolic zeal of the Oblate Sisters. And he added: “The voca-tion of the Oblate is to be available to answer the call to go out to sea. To see big and broadly was the ambition of our common founder. I thank the Oblates for the witness they give of confidence in Providence. You allow the Spirit to lead you and that is an example for us all.”The tone given in the welcoming address of Sister Bernadetta was heightened by the songs from the four corners of the world, reflection of the univer-sality of all the traditions and the various implan-tations of the sisters today in the world. Before a very fraternal and prayerful assembly, the reli-gious from China and Vietnam danced with that Oriental grace, the thanksgiving chant of Mary, the Magnificat.At the end of the celebration, various messages were read, notably that of Fr. Chiffu of the dio-cese of Oradea (Romania), thanking the Oblates for their commitment to the service of the Greek-Catholic Church and that of Pope Francis, signed by his Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin under-scoring how precious for the Church today is the collaboration of the religious such as the Oblates.Each moment of this memorable day underlined the spiritual proximity of the two foundations of Fr. d’Alzon. The quality of the work for unity ac-complished through this history by the Oblates was recalled. The unity of a family has a cost and the Oblates know how to witness it. The projec-tion realized by Sister Marissa Hipolita Duarte of Brazil, presented as a triptych of the last three generalates, highlighted the the witness to com-mitment of the sisters throughout the world and affirms to the beautiful future that the Oblates still have before them.Recently the Oblates have opened communities in Kenya and in Gabon, and, in Asia, their devel-opment is visible in Vietnam as in China. Their openness and their generous collaboration have allowed the Little Sisters of the Assumption to maintain their implantation in Tunisia. This in-dispensable collaboration is equally shown by their commitment to the session of the formators of the Assumption Family that is held in Nairobi in 2015. n

Sister Jozefa: an autoportrait

On the occasion of the commemoration oftheir150years, theOblatespublished two

booklets.Thefirst,nicely illustratedandpublished in thevariouslanguagesoftheCongregation,is,ononehand,ahistoricreminderofthepathfollowedbytheOblatessincetheirorigins,andontheotherhand,thepresentationoftheirpresentuniversaldevelopment, in the Eastern Europe, in Europe, inAfrica,,inSouthAmericaandinAsia.The second,with thetitle “La vérité reste tou-joursdebout,”containstheconversationofSis-terJozefaErdeswithLaurenceBohec.Thesistertodayaged92,recounts,like and adventure, herentrance in the Congre-gation of the Oblates in1948.nHerspiritualpathgoes though clandestini-ty and prison, her darkroom,asshesays.Sheisarrestedwhensheisonly33.The“Securitate”con-demns her to six yearsof prison. But the intre-pid Jozefa got though all these tribulations. Inthe 90’s, shewill be theoriginof theopeningofaclandestinenovitiatethatyounggirls frequent,amongwhom,FeliciaGhiorghies,todaySuperiorGeneraloftheObla-tes of the Assumption, Religious Missionaries.The“resistant”Oblatestriumphedintheend!

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JUNE 2015 n no 1724

>> The Little Sisters of the Assumption

While the Plenary General Council of the Congregation was being held in Nairobi, the Little Sisters of the Assumption were celebrating in Paris the 150 years of their foundation. As for the Oblates, this jubilee which coincides with the Year of Consecrated Life, is an occasion for a retrospective on their history and a discovery of their charism in the service of the poor. We print here a conversation between Sr. Lucie Licheri, with Anita Bourdin of the Zenit Agency.

The Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Assumption remains faithful to its mission in the service of the poor according to the intuition of the co-founder, Fr. Etienne Pernet, among the first disciples of Fr. d’Alzon.

The missionWith the poorestAn interview with Sister Lucie Licheri, Little Sister of the Assumption

What were the decisive events for the founda-

tion?The Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Assumption was founded in 1865, in France, at the beginning of industrializa-tion. The intuition was born in Nîmes while Fr. Etienne Pernet was in charge of a club for the children of the neighborhood, an among other the families of the Enclos Rey (so called of Nîmes): “I saw there miseries that I could barely name!” [the miseries of the proletariat].Especially when the mother of the family is ill: “There is the need of a woman and a reli-

gious woman.” He would later add “a woman, religious and an apostle, the basic aim from the origins being “the evangeliz-sation of the worker and poor families.” The meeting of Fr. Etienne Pernet with Antoinette Fage, a young woman already sorely tried by her family his-tory, who generously accepts to become “cofounder” of a work of unpaid “home visiting nurs-es” for the poor working fami-lies of the 19th century. This work quickly attracted many enthusiastic young women for this new form of religious life whose mission is a humble pres-ence of service in the home. The

SisterLucieLicheri,LittleSisteroftheAssumption,theologianandmoralist has taught at the Catho-licInstituteofParis,attheIssy-lès-MoulineauxSeminary,andinvarioushousesofformationforpriestsandreligious.Sheistheauthorofnumerousworksandarticlesonreligiouslife.

The Congregation has 680 sisters in 20 countries on the 5 continents.

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Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Assumption is born of the generous meeting of this man of these young women, in the love of Jesus Christ, Servant and Savior.

What will be the rendez-vous for this 150th anni-

versary that coincides with the Year of Consecrated Life? Each community is called upon to celebrate this anniversary so as to associate the people clos-est to the sisters locally in their neighborhood. Also at the Moth-er House in Paris, a great feast witll take place at the end of an International Assembly on June 21: aEucharistic Celebration in Saiant John the Baptist Parish in Grenelle, presided by Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, Auxiliary Bishop of Paris, followed by a shared meal in the gardens of the mother house and an internation-ally flavored celebration.

How do the Little Sisters de-fine their chrism?

By the care of families, the Little Sister want to “procure the Glory of God by the salvation of the poor and the little ones. Through the “Fraternities” of lay people whjo share the same spirituality, they desire to “reposition the person on the terrain of their baptism” and to accompany them on their path of human and spiritual growth.

Where are they today in the world, and how many are

there? What are their principal commitments?The Congregation has 680 re-ligious in 20 countries on the 5 continents. Depending on the country, the forms of their pres-ence vary, but always close to the families in the underprivileged neighborhoods in the periphery of the big cities where the communi-ties live. n

By Julio Navarro

The International CollegeOf Tor di NonaWhat happened to the library

Rome <<

At the closing of the In-ternational College of Tor di Nona in 1967,

its library was transferred to the house of Due Pini, and place in the basement of the building called “of the Ar-chives” In December 2000, when it was decided to orga-nize “a library… to fulfill the needs of the Rome communi-ty,” the first thing was to sort, classify, and integrate into the new library, the encyclopedias, dictionaries and collections of magazines from Tor di Nona. An inventory of the time indi-cated 95 magazine titles; not all were kept.The next stage (between 2003 and 2008) was to discern, physically group, and make

lists by subject matter, to know which of these works could be concerved, exchanged, given or eliminated.

DonationsFirstly we kept for the Due Pini library a certain number of works of theology, of spiri-tuality, antique books of art, etc.• A goodly number of works were sent to Assumptionist libraries: Valpré (on French culture, politics, economy, his-tory, spirituality), Kinshasa (especially valuable dictionar-ies), Bulengera (some hundred boxes with various works), Nairobi (books in English). • Conscious of the impor-tance of the scientific riches and theie meaning for the Congregation the so-called “Byzantine Library”, prior-

JUNE 2015 n no 1726

ity would be given to this sec-tion. The collaboration of Fr. Arno Burg and of Fr. Lucian Dinca was precious in identify-ing the subjects and the impor-tance of these works (many in Greek or in Slavic languages or in Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Persian…). By a decision of the Superior General, these books were destined for the Library of the Saint Peter and Saint Andrew Center of Bucharest. In Septem-ber 2010 some 1400 works were sent there (some 1,750 volumes) and between 2011 and 2012 more shipments of books and magazines took place, notably the Latin Patrology of Migne and other Patrology collections.• During this same period, we offered to the libraries of the Roman Universities and other institutions works that, even if they have a certain value because of their age or their specializa-tion, do not correspond with the interests of our community li-brary. Benefited from our dona-tions:• The Pontificia Università della Santa Croce (works in Canon Law).• The Alfonsianum Institute (Moral Theology works).• The Claritianum Institute (works on religious life and ha-giography).• Fr. Benoît Grière, (works on “travels”.Also benefitted from some works: the Library of the Ponti-ficia Università Urbaniana; the Pontificio Colegio Latinoameri-cano; the Pontificio Colegio Mexicano; the San Benedetto de Norcia Monastery.In July and October 2012 a goodly number of works were sent to Juvisy (Paris) to the book depository organized by Fr. Pa-teick Zago, especially some

collections of great value (The Greek Patrology of Migne, The Complete Works of Saint John Chrysostome, etc. ConservationIn 2010 we had begun to separate and dispose of by subject matter the books called “old”, that is, published before 1830 (date of the use of rotary presses, and that we consider the dividing point between the old books and the modern ones). The oldest works were in Patrology and were dat-ed from the 16th century. With the accord of the Superior Gen-eral, we considered these books as “patrimony of the Congrega-tion”, to be preserved in the Gen-eral House and not to be squan-dered or given away.With the help of professors and librarians from Assumption College of Worcester, in Febru-ary and May 2012, all the “old” books were electronically cata-logues (with hard copies), were protected one by one with wrap-ping paper, placed in well-sealed cardboard boxes and deposited

on the third floor of the Oblate Sisters’ house of Due Pini. In all, that represents 203 boxes con-taining 2,067 volumes. We hope that someday these books will be preserved and exposed in a wor-thy place well-protected from robbers as well as from the natu-ral enemies of books (insects, humidity, etc.).

EliminationFinally there remained a consid-erable quantity of books that had not been taken by the institutions to whom they had been offered. We visited a few book merchants of Rome to propose oour offer. Only the Libreria Casaretti (via Pié di Marmo, 27) was interested and bought a certain nimber of these books (on Cchristian ar-cheology, Italian history and lit-erature, tourism guides, etc.)All the rest was taken together by a second-hand bookseller of Porta Portese (Roma). The work of restructuring the house for the students of Assumption College of Worcester, the Villino Dufault had already begun. n

>> Rome

On the shores of the Tiber

WhenMussolini took power, Romeunderwent a profound urbanrestructuration and certain old neighborhoodswere destined fordestruction.Ourfirstautonomousimplantationsince1893situatedatthefootoftheCapitol,thePalazzoFilipanionAraCoeliSquare,theCasaGioveandthechurchofSaintVenantiuswereshortlyde-molishedbecausetheyweresituatedprecisely inthatpartofthecity center. That house and its churchhadbeenour residence inRomefor36years.Buttheeventspressedustofindanotherresi-dence. InAugust1927,Fr.Quenardboughtapieceof land in theLungotevereTordiNona,acrossfromtheCastleoftheAngelontheothersideoftheTiber.ThefirststoneofthenewconstructionwasblesseonOctober29,1927andthebuildingwasfinishedtowardstheendof1930.InMay1929,theAssumptionistInternationalCo-llegewascreatedthere.TordiNonawill remaintheInternationalCollegeoftheCongregationinRomeuntil1967,dateonwhichthebuildingwassoldtotheVaticanthatuseditasaformationplacefortheReginaMundiInstitute.

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Since the Vatican Council II, the Church has been atten-tive to the formation of the

religious in all the dimensions of their persons, spiritual as well as affective, psychological or even physical. Many international meet-ings have been held to mark this Year of Consecrated Life. Rome welcomed, for a four day semi-nar some 1200 delegates from the whole work to reflect on and debate about the identity of the consecrat-ed person and what contemporary society requires from formation.The Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CIVCSVC) ini-tiated this colloquium in order to gather people of different cultures to reflect on what constitutes the identity of consecrated life in the Church and in the world and on the requirements of formation the con-temporary context. This initiative met with a great success.The Assumption family was well represented by three Oblate Sis-ters, a Religious of the Assumption and three Assumptionists: Mikael Kakule Tsongo (Africa), Louis-Martin Rakotoarilala (Madagascar) and Jean-Luc Eckert (Europe). In addition, Fr. Emmanuel Kahindo assured the animation of a work-shop on the dialogue with cultures and the factoring in cultures in for-mation and gave testimony in the

inter-culture of our formation com-munities in Africa. The first served as an introduction to the discus-sions for a workshop of 38 persons. The second was given to the whole assembly of 1200 formators, men and women, to present to them the case of the Augustinians of the As-sumption in Africa.Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Bra-zilian, Prefect of the Congrega-tion, presided the congress with the Spanish Franciscan, Bishop José Rodrìguez Carballo, the Secretary of the Congregation. The meeting began with an evening prayer ser-vice in the church of Saint Gregory VII. After the work in linguistic groups, the congress had imagined an origi-nal dynamic mixing moments of prayer, lectio divina, to open and close each day, then conferences alternating with personal moments, and discussions in small groups. The participants were divided in tens to constitute “table communi-ties” as they occur in all religious experiences.There were strong moments in the meeting. At the end of the work, a Eucharistic celebration of thanks-

giving was celebrated in Saint Peter`s after which they had an audience with Pope Francis. The Pope did not forget to recall the first qualities of a formator: listening, discernment, personalized com-panioning and especially patience, echoing the work of the congress.Other themes were also taken up such as the process of formation, the attitudes to be encouraged in all formators, permanent formation, the care for those in the peripher-ies of the Church and education to freedom, and to the responsibility of the young being formed, recall-ing that all existence is constructed around the vital center that is the Christ.The session ended around a table with those responsible for the three departments in charge of forma-tion (with the Congregation for Religious, the Congregation for the Clergy, and for Catholic Educa-tion).In September 2015, there will be another meeting of the young con-secrated persons preceding the sol-emn closing of the Year of Conse-crated Life around the Pope in Saint Peter’s on February 2, 2016. n


Imitate Christ and awaken the World

“Living in Christ according to the Gospel way of life” was the theme selected for the international session of the formators of consecrated life that was held in Rome from April 7 to 11, 2015.

The Year of Consecrated Life <<

JUNE 2015 n no 1728

Last April 25th as I traveled to Genezzano, I sought to find an-swers. Above all, I admit hav-ing always been intrigued by this devotion that a young As-sumptionist Brother who died in Rome in 1883 at 19 years-old, Bro. Bernard Fortin, had for her. A few days before his death, he had pleaded to be brought to this shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel.1

The City of the ColonnasGenezzano is a small town of 6000 inhabitants hanging on a stony peak at 400 meters of al-


Our Lady of Good Counsel: this title might appear strange and old-fashioned. Why give Mary the title of “Mother of Good Counsel”? Why is she listed in the proper of the Augustinian Order and in that of our Congregation?

The Mother of Good Counsel of Genazzano

titude, fifty kilometers from Rome. On this beautiful spring day, its high walls are adorned with mauve clusters of fragrant wisteria that add an unchang-ing note to the Marian city. In olden times it was the fief of the Colonna family that gave a pope to the Church, Oddone, who took the name of Martin V (1417-1431). Since the end of the 13th century, the Augus-tinians had built their convent there. In the middle of the 15th century, the widow of John of Novera, Blessed Petruccia, who became an Augustinian Tertiary gave her entire fortune for the reconstruction of the shrine, but, despite all efforts, the construction remained un-

finished. Far from being dis-couraged, she turned to the Virgin and Saint Augustine to ask them to bring the work to completion before she died. On April 25, 1467, on the feast of Saint Mark, at Evening Prayer time, an image of the Virgin Mary suddenly appeared in the church. The event moved all of Italy and from all the cities and towns a crowd of pilgrims went to pray there. Their gifts quickly allowed the sanctuary and the convent to be finished.

A miraculous coming?This image is a fresco that represents the Virgin, wearing a blue robe symbolizing her maternity, inclining her head towards the Child Jesus in a red dress, a rather old face that evokes the wisdom of maturity. He has his right arm around his mother`s neck while his left hand clutches the neck-line of her dress.Would its coming to Genezza-no have been miraculous? How would this representation car-ried by angels have crossed the Adriatic? What we can retain is this, that in the same year, Scu-tari (Albania) where the shrine of this icon is situated, fell into the hands of the Muslims, leav-

>> A memorable place

Here is the prayer

Oh!Mary,MotherofGoodCounsel,QueenofPeace,OurLadyofVictories,inspireyourchildrenaserioushatredforsin.Thishatredwill establish them inpeace, thismostprecious goodof all thatyoursonwishedforhisapostles.MayconcordreignintheChurch,theStates,thefamiliesandthecommunities;thatCatholicsbeofoneheartandonespirit,suchisourprayer.DeignpresentittoyourSon,thePrinceofPeaceanditwillbeheard!

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but by Christian refugees that Giovanni Castriote accompa-nied in their exile. But does not the Bible tell us that without knowing it, people practicing hospitality, welcomed angels? (Heb. 13, 2)

The Protector of AlbaniaJohn Paul II visited the shrine on April 22, 1993 before go-ing to Scutari Albania on April 25, 1993, to bless the corner-stone for the reconstruction of the Our Lady of Good Counsel shrine, Protector of Albania. Even at his first general audi-ence, on October 25, 1978, he asked what a Pope should do if not place himself under the

protection of the “Mother of Good Counsel,”2 an invocation that he renewed at the open-ing of the Synod on the voca-tion and the mission of the la-ity in the Church, on October 1, 19873. Let us recall that this title is found in the Litany of the Virgin, added by Leo XIII in 1903 and that it is mentioned in the document on Mary by the Dombes4 group.

The wedding counselorThe title of “Good Counsel” given to the Virgin refers to the passage of the Gospel of John relating the Wedding at Cana in which Mary tells the servants: “Do everything he tells you” (Jo. 2, 5) As Bishop Domenico Sigalini, the local bishop, re-called during the anniversary Mass for the arrival of the icon, Mary is the one through whom the feast between God and hu-manity becomes possible, the one who leads the new Israel (symbolized by the servants) to Jesus, the one by whom od was given to the world and who submits herself to the son be-cause she recognizes in Him the mystery of God. The counsel of Mary retains all its value today and renews its effect in each person’s life. It invites to an al-ways greater confidence when it is difficult to understand the the meaning and the useful-ness of what Christ demands. Mary, Mother of Christ, des-ignated by the prophet Isaiah as the “marvelous Counselor” (Is. 9, 5) acts under the action of the “Spirit of counsel and of strength” (2 Tim. 1, 7) that al-lows her to recapitulate every-thing in her heart (Lk. 2, 19).In honoring the Mother of Good Counsel, we ask Mary to let us know what is pleasing to

ing the Christian inhabitants the choice between slavery and exile. Don Giovanni Castriote, son of Scanderbed, Janissary raised in the court of the Sultan Amurath II, accompanied the exiles in their crossing of the Adriatic. This maritime route is still used today by many seek-ing asylum. It is in this context that, on April 25, 1467, the im-age of the Virgin of Scutari, the Mother of Good Counsel, disappeared from the church and reappeared in the church under construction of the Au-gustinians in Genezzano, near Rome. Some considered this coming as a miracle, but it is more likely that the image was transported, not by angels,

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her Son and to help us in the dif-ficulties we face in life.In a homily he gave in 1875, Fa-ther d’Alzon remarks: “Mary, in her actions in Cana, is for me the best guide to learn to profit from the Eucharist. Mary tells Jesus of the lack of wine. Jesus answers in an apparently rude way. Mary is not discouraged; she turns to those who are serv-ing and says: “Do what he tells you.” Admirable confidence that does not allow itself to be dis-couraged. Jesus does not seem to want to discourage me either by the humble appearances un-der which he presents to me his body and blood? What profit will I have, says nature, for the

good of the soul, from this piece of bread from this little bit of wine that I am presented? That’s what the servants muttered while pouring the water into the urns. What can come out of it except water? They probably said. But no, to the amazement of the head waiter, an excellent wine came of it. Ah! I must have confidence and do what I am asked by Je-sus. I will receive communion and find an altogether particu-lar strength in the participation in the body and blood of the Sav-ior.”5 Such is the counsel that is given to us and that largely justi-fies the presence of this feast in the proper of our liturgical cal-endar. n

>> A memorable place

1) See Portraits assomption-nistes byPolyeucteGuis-sard,no.79,p.265-274.2) La documentation Catholique ofDecember3,1978,no.1753,p.10123) La documentation Catholique ofNovember1,1987,no.1949,p.1006.4) Marie dans le dessein de Dieu et la communion des saints, 1.Dansl<histoireetl’Ecriture,BayardEditions/Centurion,1997,p.47,no.72.5) Méditations sur la Perfec-tion Religieuse pour les Augustins de l’Assomption, Paris,1925,1,p.72-74.

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Listen to the voice of AugustineA book to foster an increase of humanity

“Each true word is born from listening,” affirms Jean-Louis Chrétien1, inspired by Saint Augustine who wrote to read better

and who spoke to listen better. It is in the wake of the philosopher that Fr. Jean-François Pe-tit places the reflection of his latest book.2 Its subject is the presentation of a phenomenol-ogy of the word of Saint Augustine, of what the illustrious Father of the Church calls “the word of the heart and of the spirit.” The great luminary of the West, as Newman called him, is this person who without ceasing, seeks to attain us in what there is the most human in us. And the whole of his work has as its only aim to help us to deepen our reflection on all that constitutes us as human beings and have us “arrive at a comprehension of the basic facts of human existence.” The path he proposes to us is to ever reinforce our capacities to live our humanity more intensely. For Jean-François Petit this obligatory passage through such an adventure is revealed to be Augustine of Hip-po. His invitation to return to the eternal wis-dom had no other aim but to obtain an increase of humanity. In the school of Augustine, the work tries to address the great stages of all hu-man existence.Jean-Louis Chrétien had proposed 23 verbs dear to Augustine; the present work proposes only 2 among which three are found in the first list: question, listen, promise. The twelve chapters of independent readings is presented as the elements of the same reredos. The first aspect is about the quest for interiority. It is about the work that each person is called to do in himself to arrive where God can speak to us through listening in the deepest part of ourselves, in the most intimate, where life and Scripture are interwoven like latticework. The questioning seen in the second chapter opens on the amazement that creation and its spiri-tual source, that is, the creator himself pro-duces in Augustine. This question exposes the wounded human nature, subject to inevitable error, to the action of Christ the only healer and invites us to question our hearts in the light of Scripture. The third chapter is con-

secrated to the “unconditional” hospitality of Augustine that inspired many artists: Jaume Huguet (1463) of Schelte Adamsz Bolswert (1624) and that we find in a commentary of the oak of Mambre of Césaire of Arles, and on Martha and Mary and on the disciples of Em-maus. The fourth chapter is dedicated to listen-ing that is summarized in the movement from the exterior towards the interior, to get to the listening to the inte-rior master as in the example of Etty Hillesum. Chapter 5 is that of the choice that supposes dis-cernment defined by Augustine as the “Noverim me, noverim te” that consists in stopping, consid-ering the persons and the events and determining oneself. The 6th chapter is on the commitment of life and on the adventure that every promise constitutes. Ev-ery promise supposes fidelity. That is the object of the 7thg chapter entitled “To Persevere”. The 8th chapter is on work. Saint Augustine is fiercely opposed to all form of idleness. Chapter 9 is a commentary on the “Intellege ut credas, crede ut intellegas” (one must understand to believe; one must believe to understand). Finally the last three chapters form a kind of global Augustinian vision of the three theological virtues. The path that Jean-François Petit`s book is presented as a re-dis-covery of the essential facts the accompany all human life for which Augustine invites to an always more unshakable confidence in re-affirming every human being as a capax dei.

Bernard Le Léannec

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1) Saint Augustin et les actes de Parole, Presses universitaires deFrance,2002,p.8.2) Devenir plus humain avec Saint Augustin, Salvator, 2015, 183pages.Tobepublishedsoonbythesameauthor,Saint Augustin, notre contemporain. Lectures du XXe siècle, Bayard.

Our Deceased Brothers

BrotherBertusTENHOVEdied on April 28, 2015 at Boxtel (Netherlands).HisfuneralwascelebratedinSaturdayMay2inthechapelofMolenweide,Boxtel, (Netherlands) The burialtookplaceinthecommunitycemeteryatBostel.Hewas91.

FatherJeanDominiqueSTEINdiedonMay1,2015,atSongeons(60-France).HisfuneralwascelebratedonMay6,inthechapeloftheLittleSister of the Assumption at SongeonsandwasburiedonthesamedayatParisintheMontparnassecemeteryintheburialvaultoftheCongrega-tion of the Augustinians of the Assumption.

FatherEmmanuelBRAJONdied on June 4, 2015, at Albertville.HisfuneralwascelebratedonMondayJune 8, in the chapel of the AssumptionistcommunityNotre-DamedesVignesinAlbertville.TheburialwasintheburialvaultofthecommunityintheAlbertvillecemetery.Hewas90

FatherDavidLAuRENT died on June 24, 2015 at Layrac(47).HisfuneralwascelebratedonMonday,June29inthecommunitychapelofthePrieuréofLayrac.TheburialwasinthecommunityvaultintheLayraccemetery.Hewas90.

Inserts: Plenary General CounCIl, no. 8sIGns of God, no. 15

3 edItorIal

2 offICIal

4 aGenda, Calls, nomInatIons, ChanGes

6 formatIon

Toformonselfistolearntochangeone’svision7 In brIef

8 emmanuel d’alzon

Fatherd’AlzonandthebishopsofNîmes(3/4)14 GreeCe

OneofthemorelivelyparishesofGreece15 Jerusalem

The ascent of Zion16 bulGarIa

The return to a cradle17 asIa

Atransitionalstage18 sPIrItualIty

D’AlzonofNîmesandTheresaofAvila22 the oblate sIsters

ApolychromePentecost Sister Jozefa: An auto-portrait

24 the lIttle sIsters of the assumPtIon

Mission to the poorest27 the year of ConseCrated lIfe

ImitateChristandawakentheworld28 a memorable PlaCe

OurLadyofGoodCounselofGenazzano31 PublICatIons

Ecoutelavoixd’Augustin32 our deCeased brothers

Agostiniani dell’Assunzione - Via San Pio V, 55 - I - 00165 Roma Tel. : 06 66013727 - Fax : 06 6635924 - E-mail : [email protected]

[email protected]

So that AA Newscan “talk” about you,

please send information about the life

of the Assumption in your countries

to the General Secretariat

[email protected] before the end of each

General Council. Thanks especially

for sending photos and illustrations.

Translators:Eugene LaPlante, EnglishJosé Antònio Echaniz, Spanish

Mock-up and page design:

Loredana Giannetti

Composed on 06/30/15This no. 17 of AA-Newshas 220 copies:

160 in French30 in English30 in Spanish

And 350 electronic copies

Editor in chief

Bernard Le Léannec, General Secretary

editorial - assumptio.org · 2 june 2015 n no 17 father benoît grière, superior general, with his...

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