m a omi usa m a missionar oblates f mar mmaculate 2020 omi usa.pdf · ceived papal approbation of...

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Newsletter of the U.S. Province of theMissionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

MAY/July 2020 Vol. 23, No. 3/4

OMI USA

The Esquiline signsletter of intent tojoin Benedictine

Oblate Life and COVID-19

Only a couple days afterinstructions were given forsome to self-isolate, to

quarantine, to prevent the virus fromspreading, Bro. Pat McGee, OMI,Director of Novices, told me, “We’vebeen doing that all year. That’s whatthe Novitiate is all about.”

The Novitiate year, a time ofrather intense personal reflection,prayer, spiritual direction, is indeedmeant for the novice to step back fromthe world, from a lot of activity andbusyness, to carefully discern what Godis asking of him, and allowing him thetime, and energy, to discover hisvocation, his calling.

Many Oblates would affirm thattheir novitiate year was the one in which

On March 2, 2020, Fr.Louis Studer, OMI, USprovincial, announced thatthe Missionary Oblates ofMary Immaculate are signinga letter of intent for TheEsquiline, a life plancommunity for seniors, tojoin Benedictine, a leadingfaith-based provider ofsenior care and livingservices in the Midwest.

The Oblates founded andsponsored The Esquiline (formerlyknown as The Apartment Community)at the National Shrine of Our Lady of

the Snows in Belleville, IL, in 1966.Mr. Jerry Carley, CEO of

Benedictine Health Systems, joinedFrs. Studer, Art Flores and Jim Brobst

Far l, Frs Art Flores and Jim Brobst, J. Carley and Fr. Studer (far r),announces to employees at the Esquiline the transfer of ownership.

Briefly avoiding social distancing, Provincial house communitymembers Frs. Tom Coughlin, Leo Perez, Lou Studer and Jim

Chambers display Oblate Partner Renee Benson’s contribution toour well-being: face masks (see p. 7). Following is a reflection fromFr. Studer, sent out in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

at a meeting with the employees at theEsquiline to explain some of the detailsof the transfer of ownership.

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Continued from page 1From the Provincial

Fr. Louis Studer, OMI, announces to employees at the Esquiline thetransfer of ownership to Benedictine Health System. Plans are for thetransfer are scheduled to be completed by late Summer, 2020.

Desiring to sustain their missionat The Esquiline into the future, theOblates sought an organization thatshared their Catholic mission and values,and that would provide for growth andsustainability, facilitate access to capital,provide proven leadership in senior careand commit to the continuation of theirministry.

The Oblates have transferredfacilities to Benedictine in the past, andbased on these positive experiences theychose it as their preferred partner forensuring a strategic expertise in acompetitive market and continuing theirministry at The Esquiline.

With the signing of the letter ofintent, a period of due diligence is un-derway. Following site visits and the re-view of documentation, final approvalto proceed with the transaction will beneeded from both organizations’ boardsof directors.

If the transaction proceeds asplanned, it would likely be completedthis year. Following the transaction, TheEsquiline would be a member organi-zation (or subsidiary) of Benedictineand the Benedictine Sisters of St.Scholastica Monastery would be thefacility’s Catholic Sponsor.

Belleville Oblates celebrateOblate Day

Thirty six Oblates gathered to-gether on Oblate Day, February 17, atMadonna Residence in San Antonio togive thanks for 194 years since we re-ceived papal approbation of our Con-stitutions and Rules by Pope Leo XII in1826.

Fr. Charles Banks, OMI, Su-perior at Madonna Residence presidedand preached at the morning Eucharist.In his homily, he recounted some of themany places U.S. Oblates have served

and vividly described some of the hard-ships they had to endure to bring thegood news of Jesus Christ to remoteareas of the world.

Some special guests presentfor the celebration were OblatesArchbishop Jabulani Nxumalo, Ordi-nary of the diocese of Bloemfontein,South Africa, Bishop Mike Pfeifer,Emeritus of the diocese of San Angelo,TX, and Fr. Thomas Klosterkamp,Visiting Professor at Oblate School ofTheology.

All the Oblates renewed theirvows of poverty, chastity, obedience,and perseverance.

Afterwards, a festive lunch wasserved by the Staff at Madonna, in grati-tude to the Oblates for their lives of min-istry and service.

Oblate School of TheologyBoard Meeting

The Oblate School of TheologyBoard officially named Mr. ScottWoodward, presently the AcademicDean, to be the President of the schoolfor a five-year term. Scott expressed hiswillingness to do so.

The Board expressed theirgratitude to Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI,President, for the past dozen years. Ron

will take a sabbatical in January 2021and afterwards return as Professor toOST. Scott becomes President in Janu-ary, 2021.

Oblate Vocation, FormationPrograms: An UpdateThe meeting of our Vocation

and Formation Directors of theCanada-U.S. region, scheduled totake place Monday – Thursday,March 16-19 at King’s House of Re-treats in Belleville, IL, was cancelleddue to the corona virus. Instead, themeeting took place by electronicmeans.

Reports from our Voca-tion Directors was quite en-couraging. Richard Hall, OMI, co-ordinator of the four Vocation Direc-tors, reported that “during my fouryears as Vocation Director, I have beenquite fortunate to have a steady flowof candidates to the pre-novitiate.”

Jesse Esqueda, OMI, Vo-cation Director in Tijuana, re-ported that there are presently 14 Af-filiates (young men discerning a voca-tion to Oblate Religious Life) in South-ern California and 25 Affiliates in

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From the ProvincialContinued from page 2

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Tijuana. Fr. Jesse commented, “on av-erage, the Affiliates meet once a monthfor an informal discussion and ministryprojects, retreats and Masses to ensureregular contact with Oblates at the par-ishes Oblates serve in San Fernando,CA and Tijuana, Mexico.

The Pre-Novitiate in Tijuana issending a graduating senior to the No-vitiate in Guatemala in August to con-tinue his journey with the Oblates. It willlikely host 6 or 7 young men in theirprogram in August.

The Pre-Novitiate in Buf-falo, NY is sending two graduating se-niors to the Novitiate in Godfrey, IL.Moving to Belleville in August, it planson six novices beginning the programof studies and formation as it re-locatesstudies to St. Louis University fromD’Youville College.

Oblate Formation Directorsand their Associates reported on eachof the regional programs, preparing menconsidering the Oblate way of life.

At the post-novitiate pro-gram in San Antonio, Director An-tonio Ponce, OMI, reported that thereare 14 students in first vows in the pro-gram. Four students are in Oblate par-ishes in full-time ministry, supervised bya staff member from Oblate School ofTheology where they spend four yearsin theology studies. Each student mustalso spend a year in full-time Oblateministry during this time.

One of the students professedperpetual vows in February and will beordained to the diaconate April 25th inSan Antonio.

Pat McGee, OMI, Direc-tor of the Novitiate program inGodfrey, IL, spoke about “the goodspirit among the Novices as well as agood team balance among the Oblate

formators.” He also further explainedbriefly the Novitiate program -

“Ministry is limited for the Nov-ices in the first seven months of the pro-gram. The first seven months, which isa kind of quarantine in and of itself, in-cludes desert days, spiritual direction,formation direction and focuses on thespiritual growth and vocational discern-ment of the Novice.”

Ministry, though limited, in-cludes visiting the local jail, taking Com-munion to the homebound. Time spentin ministry will increase after the firstmonths and after the Novice has hadample time to discern God’s calling inhis life.

Major renovations to the No-vitiate building begins shortly after theNovices make their first temporaryvows as Oblates of Mary Immaculate,August 1. Renovations are scheduledto be completed for the Novice class

of 2021 to begin their Novitiate back inGodfrey.

The Novitiate class which willbegin August 17, 2020, will re-locateto the top floor of the Guest House atthe Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows inBelleville, IL.

The plan and purpose of eachof the Canada-U.S. region Oblate for-mation programs can be briefly summa-rized with the following:

The Pre-Novitiate inTijuana, Mexico and Buffalo, NYemphasize human growth and maturedevelopment of the pre-novices. Theirability to appreciate the value of com-munity life, learn the basics of daily liv-ing of Religious life, successfully com-plete Philosophy studies and learn moreabout their perceived calling to the Ob-lates and the gift of the Oblate charismto the Church.

At the Oblate School of Theology Board meeting on Saturday, March21, the Board unanimously recommended to the U.S. Provincial andCouncil that they confirm Mr. Scott Woodward, current Academic

Dean, to serve as President for a five year term beginning January 1, 2021.The Provincial and Council confirmed this recommendation at the council

meeting Tuesday, March 24. Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, current President,will continue to servethrough the end of the cur-rent calendar year.

Fr. Ken Hannon,OMI, Theology Professorat OST for the past 43years, will serve as Aca-demic Dean, replacing Mr.Woodward. Fr. Ken willcontinue to teach part-time.

Graduation andCommencement, scheduledfor early May, has been can-celled due to the corona vi-rus. Meanwhile, classes con-

Woodward confirmed as OST president

tinue electronically. Fr. Lou Studer with Mr. Scott Woodward

NY

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Continued from page 3The Novitiate in Godfrey, IL,

complements what has begun in the pre-novitiate. Guided by a spiritual directorand a formation director, the novice isable to share where he sees the Lordleading him.

Part-time ministry enables himto further discern if he can live and com-municate the Oblate charism to others.

The Novice takes first vows atthe completion of the year long Novi-tiate, officially entering Religious Life asa vowed member.

The five years at theBlessed Mario Borzaga Communityin San Antonio, TX, continues the for-

From the Provincial mation process for Oblate Brothers andpriesthood candidates. Though the pro-gram for each of these vocations var-ies, both candidates for Brotherhoodand Priesthood study theology, both fortheir own growth but also so they cancommunicate theological truths in theirministry.

A full year of pastoral ministryin an Oblate setting, required during thistime, provides the student of theologya practical experience of preaching,teaching the word of God while beingsupervised in his pastoral approach bya staff member from the school. Thestudent further learns how to commu-nicate what he is learning in class in asupervised pastoral setting.

The candidate continues to beprovided ample opportunity to give himtime and space to further discern thegifts and talents he is able to bring toOblate life and community. His abilityto live in Oblate community is also akey factor in his discernment as well asa genuine appreciation of the gift of theOblate charism to the wider church.

Towards the end of his time atthe Blessed Mario Borzaga Commu-nity he is invited to make perpetualvows of chastity, poverty, obedienceand perseverance. Priesthood candi-dates are then ordained to the diaconateand priesthood while Brother candi-dates begin full-time ministry after per-petual vows. -Fr. Lou Studer, OMI

they came to the decision and finalizedthe discernment of their vocation,whether to the Missionary Oblates orelsewhere. The relative isolation, thequiet, the time away from much of theactivity of the world was part and parcelof the decision they were able to make.

Many of us are now living in anew way, forced to do so by COVID-19. Perhaps we have been affordedsome extra quiet time, no longer ableto work at our usual job, isolating forlong periods of time, given greateropportunity, more time, to pray, toreflect, to ponder our place in the world,God’s purpose and plan for us.

Are we able to see with the eyesof faith, the grace of what we are beingoffered? So often we don’t make time

for those reflective, prayerful, quietmoments with God to consider anewwhat God wants to tell us, how tightlyGod wishes to embrace us, whisper tous how much God loves us.

Recently I came across anarticle by theologian Meghan McKennain which she imagines a conversationbetween Jesus and God the Fathersoon after Jesus had risen. God theFather profusely thanked Jesus forredeeming humanity through his sufferingand death and then asked Jesus, “Ofall the agony you endured, the sufferingyou were subjected to, being nailed tothe cross and hanging there in horriblepain, what was the worst, what was thehardest for you to endure?

Jesus answered, “The kiss, thekiss was the most difficult of all.”

My own reflection during thesehours, days, now turning into months,has often focused on Fr. David Power,OMI, and eminent theologian.

David lived in our communityin Washington D.C. for a couple yearsin his semi-retirement. He wasdiagnosed with cancer about a year

after he arrived. He asked for ourprayers, used the time to care forhimself as best he could, but it was soonclear his diagnosis was quicklybecoming more serious.

One day at table I asked himwhat he was finding most difficult abouthis diagnosis, realizing that David waswell aware his days were quite likelynumbered. I expected a rathertheologically astute response, knowingDavid’s academic acumen.

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Fr. David Power, OMI

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David’s response was simpleand straight forward, “I linger longer atthe table.”

I hope each of you are able totake the opportunity to linger a bit longerat the table during this pandemic withyour families, your loved ones.

Several friends have beentelling me about their discovery of St.Corona and their delight in theirawareness that this saint from the 10th

century, whose intercession was soughtduring a pandemic in Europe, might bean advocate for us now. Little is knownabout her, but, yes, she is a saint of thechurch. These friends are quite takenwith the irony of a canonized saint whobears the same name as the virus. Ofcourse, while prayers to any saint arealways beneficial, she is also known tobe the saint for treasure seekers, sowhether you’re praying for an end tothe pandemic or out looking for gold,while practicing social distancing ofcourse, you can’t go wrong with St.Corona!

The saint who is nearer anddearer to my heart is the Founder ofthe Missionary Oblates of MaryImmaculate: St. Eugene de Mazenod.

St. Eugene’s life literally wentfrom royalty to political refugee duringthe French Revolution.

As a young priest, Eugene deMazenod ministered to prisoners of warin southern France. In 1814, as he wasministering to these prisoners, typhoidfever broke out among the prisonersand Fr. Eugene became deathly ill.

Part of his ministry as a youngpriest was also ministering with youth.These young people had become awareof Fr. Eugene’s illness, and theyorganized prayers to be said around theclock before the statue of theImmaculate Conception. To the

complete dismay of his doctors, whohad expressed certainty that he woulddie, the young priest fully recovered.

Fr. Eugene always attributed hismiraculous healing to the prayers ofthese youth and to the intercession ofMary Immaculate.

If Eugene had died, his ministrywould have died with him.

Just a couple years later, Fr.Eugene began the process of foundinga religious community to care for thepoor and abandoned. He insisted onthe name for the religious community:Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

It was the Blessed Mother’sintercession that made his survival fromtyphoid fever possible. It would alsobe she who would intercede inguaranteeing the growth and goodwork of these Oblates, now ministeringin almost 70 countries of the world.

Whenever I make a retreat,whether for eight days or only a coupledays, one of my goals is always toreview where I have been spending mytime.

Oblate Life and COVID-19Continued from page 4

Trying to look at a “normal”day, I look at how many hours are givento work, to study, to sleep, to play, topray. Most often I find an imbalancebetween where I am and where I wantto be. I usually find that there is moretime spent in play, such as idleness ortelevision or reading novels, than inprayer or sleep.

While I’m not currently onretreat, I find myself engaging in thatsame re-focusing. With more time forwalking, spiritual reading, reflection andprayer, the re-focusing has, in manypractical ways, taken care of itself, asthough I am on retreat.

Our biggest challenge duringthis time of COVID-19, it seems to me,is in struggling to stay positive, hopeful,patient. Those are the qualities I sawin Fr. David Power, OMI, as he facedhis cancer diagnosis and becameaccustomed to a life that quickly turnedvery strange and different for him.

It seemed he was able to facethe cancer head-on and accept it as partof life by living those qualities, thosevirtues. Living those virtues each dayand lingering a bit longer at the tableprepared him well, it seemed, for thelife we believe he now enjoys. Maythis time of COVID-19, with theopportunities it presents to all of us, helpus all in that same way.

If Eugene had died, hisministry would have died

with him

Fr. David Power, OMI


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Tomasina Labrousse, 98, sister of Fr. Louis Villarreal, OMI,died on Feb. 11 in South Jersey, NJ.Mary Grace Oswald, 83, sister of the late Fr. Ray Wilhelm,OMI, died on Feb. 12, in Pasadena, TX.John Feit, 87, former Oblate, died in Huntsville, TX, on Feb.13.John Rush, 67, brother of Fr. Tom Rush, OMI, died on Feb.25 in Yakima WA.Edith Marie Hickl, 95, mother of Fr. Bob Hickl, OMI, diedon March 6, in Palacios, TX.Fr. Richrd Sheehan, OMI, 85, died in San Antonio, TX onMarch 13.Carol Nourie, 84,sister-in-law of Fr. Paul Nourie, OMI, diedof Covid-19 on April 6.Fr. Roger Cyr, OMI, 86, died on April 9, in Tewksbury, MA.Delfin Valbuena, brother of Fr. Luis Valbuena, OMI, diedon April 11 in Posuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.Dennis Cooney, 71, former Oblate died on April 13 in LehighAcres, FL.Fr. Gerald Flater, OMI, 89, died on April 23, in Tewksbury,MA.Therese Lewis, 94, sister of the late Fr. Robert Paradis, OMI,died April 24, in Lowell, MA.Kimberly Silva, 61, sister of Fr. Bryan Silva, OMI, died onMay 26 in Pinole, CA.

The Provincial and Councilin its March meeting has for-mally endorsed the establish-ment of an Eldercare Superin-tendent. This new ministry willaddress many issues in the waywe deliver health care to ourprovince membership.

Health care is not simply having a placewhere elderly Oblates can go to retire. A moreholistic approach needs to include a strategyto address the many realities we face as wegrow older.

We spend many years in formation prepar-ing for a lifetime of ministry; part of our ongoing for-mation needs to attend to preparation for that timein our lives when active ministry is nuanced and wefind ourselves needing to adapt and change our cur-rent state of mind and body. The Eldercare Super-intendent will plan and direct efforts to enhance thequality of life of all members of the province.

An in-depth look at our current retirementcenters is currently being done, with the help of theNational Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) of theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Ourcurrent retirement facilities do not operate with thesame philosophy, policies, or procedures. Levelsof care, and how that is interpreted, is different foreach of our facilities. The Superintendent will assistthe Province in developing, implementing, and moni-toring a consistent strategy.

Eldercare is changing rapidly due to ourcountry’s increasing aging population. The Super-intendent will look to new trends and benefits as-sured to our elders that can make an impact on ourOblate life.

Lastly, the Superintendent will strategizewith the men of the Province to help us understandand prepare for entering that time in our lives whenactive ministry must change. Many times, we stepin only when a serious health issue arises. It will bepart of the Superintendent’s ministry to educate theProvince on the importance of being proactive to-wards health, which ultimately will enhance our qual-ity of life.

A more detailed explanation of this ministrywill be presented in the Fall Area Meetings.

-by Fr. Art Flores, OMI

Foreground, l-r: Oblate Nov. Henry Zayamoe, Bro. TomRuhmann, Jack Weck, HOMI, Nov. Mateusz Garstecki, and Fr.Clarence Zachman celebrated Oblate Day at the Esquiline withthe Belleville Oblate communities & Associates.

Please remember in prayerour recently departed

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Ordinarily, an ordination of anOblate to the Diaconate or tothe Priesthood is a gala event

attended by hundreds of familymembers, friends, well-wishers andOblates, but in the time of Covid-19,everything changes and ordinations are

Bro. Eugene Mule Ordained to DiaconatePhotos, text by Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI

no exception. It is nevertheless, anoccasion for joy and gratitude. A small,but “mighty” celebration took place onSaturday April 25, 2020 when Bro.Eugene Mwape Mule, OMI wasordained to the Diaconate at BorzagaFormation Community.

Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI,Superior of the Community explained“We had planned a public celebration,but because of the COVID-19 situation,we ended up having the ordination at aprivate celebration in the chapel of theformation house. Only ordainingBishop Michael Pfeifer OMI, Vicarprovincial, Fr. Art Flores, and Fr. BillyMorell joined the Bl. Mario Borzagacommunity.”

A native of Zambia, Bro.Eugene’s priestly ordination is expectedto take place in his home country at alater date.

L-to-r: Frs. Art Flores, Raymond Mwangala, Ron LaFramboise, AntonioPonce, Bro Eugene, Bishop Michael Pfeifer, Frs. David Ullrich, HectorKalaluka, Bill Morell

This is a time when most of us arefeeling closed in, a bit trapped,and mostly powerless as we

hunker down and attempt to “ride out”the storm of COVID-19. ForMissionary Oblate Partnership Co-founder Renee Benson, it was a callto action.

For several years, operating outof her business in Blanco, Texas, Renee

and several other women who arehandy with a sewing machines havebeen making blankets for variouscharities in Texas. With the onset ofshortages of protective garments and

facemasks, Renee and her gang aimedtheir sewing machines at the problemand have been sewing masks andproviding them to local hospitals.

Renee says she’s learned twothings so far: “It takes a half a yard ofcloth to make 3 masks. And the nursesprefer that we make them with strings,not elastic: the elastic hurts the earsmore!”

She went on to downplay theheroism of her work saying that she haslearned that folks all over the countryare responding with their sewingmachines and 5-6 different patterns formaking masks are available over theinternet.

And “sew” the story goes.Great work, Renee!

Arthur A. Pingolt, Jr.President


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Treasurers from the Canada-U.S.region joined Provincials, VicarProvincials and General Coun-

cilor Warren Brown, OMI, for theMarch 9-15, 2020 meeting. The Trea-surers updated CROCUS membershipon financial sustainability of each of thefour provinces of the region.

With “regionalizing” theministry of first formation, a planwas worked out for how each Cana-dian province would contribute tothe costs of first formation programslocated in the region.

Fr. Warren Brown presentedan initial plan for us regarding the up-coming General Chapter in Fall, 2022.We looked at possible topics andthemes for the General Chapter. War-ren also asked us to begin preparationfor the Joint Session of the Region withthe General Administration which willtake place June 20-27, 2021, at Queenof Apostles Retreat Center inMississauga, Canada.

Discussion also centeredaround a follow-up meeting with youngOblates of the region and a shared mis-

sion endeavor of young Oblates at a siteyet to be determined in the region.

After 10 years at the helmof Citizens for Public Justice, Mr.Joe Gunn, now heads up the new Ob-late Centre for issues of justice andpeace, at Saint Paul University inOttawa. He explained how all Ob-late ministries in the region should in-

clude an awareness and commitment tothese issues.

Fr. Dan Leblanc, OMI, Rep-resentative of the Oblates at the UN inNew York, helped us understand therole he and other Religious play in con-vincing Ambassadors from countries toadhere to principles of justice and peacein their programs and policies.

CROCUS Leadership enjoying maple syrup and other goodies. (L-R): Ob-lates Marcin Serwin, Alfred Grzempa, Luc Tardif, Louis Studer, WarrenBrown, Jim Brobst, Ken Thorson, Richard Beaudette, Raymond Carriere

Above: Learning how maple syrup is tapped and made. We found out what ittastes like as well!

CROCUS meets in Quebec City, Canadaby Fr. Lou Studer, OMI

Fr. Jim Brobst, OMI, left, listens toMr. Joe Gunn, JPIC Director of Cen-tre Oblat.

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Surrounded by family, friends andhis Oblate community, Fr.Cosmas Kithinji Kubai, OMI,

was ordained a priest in a joy-filledcelebration June 8, 2019 at the minorseminary in Nkubu, Kenya. The nextday he celebrated his first Mass at his

home parish in Kiirua, nearMount Kenya.

Méru Diocese Bp.Salesius Mogambi, a friend of theOblates, presided at the liturgyand ordained Fr. Cosmas. Closeto 2,000 people attended the cer-emony. In his homily, Bp.Mogambi encouraged Fr.Cosmas to lead a simple life, toserve God’s people, and to avoid get-ting drawn into the culture of accumu-lation.

The next day, at his home par-ish in Kiirua, Fr. Cosmas celebrated aMass of thanksgiving. Vested for Pen-tecost in a red chasuble, a gift fromfriends in San Antonio, TX, wherehe had completed his studies, Fr.

Kithinji Kubai ordained priest in KenyaCondensed from a story by Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, on https://omilacombe.ca

Cosmas presided and preached withconfidence, quite comfortable in hisnew r ole.

Father Cosmas spent sevenyears in the United States preparing forthe priesthood: one year at the OblateNovitiate in Godfrey, IL, and six yearsas a student at Oblate School of The-ology, San Antonio, TX.

Moved by the March for OurLives action, Fr. Scott Hill,OMI, joined with the local

Chapter of Mom’s Demand Actioncalling for sensible gun laws to pro-tect our neighborhood’s and youth.

He also joined the Chapteruniting with East Oakland Faith in Ac-tion at a Town Hall meeting address-ing gun violence in the community.

The Oblates in Haiti are following news of the Coronavirus in the U.S.A.closely. (As of early May, 209 cases of infection, 17 recoveries and 16deaths had been confirmed in Haiti.)This year has been the most extraordinary of my 49 years of missionary

work in Haiti. Only the private chapels with 10 people or less are able to havedaily Mass, as is the case here at the “Procure” Mission House.

We are going through tough times, and we need help badly. Food pricesare double what they are in the States, and there is usually very little left at the endof the month for our own bills. The Oblates are suffering quietly with the peoplewe serve.

However, with trust inDivine Providence, ourFraternity home for kids andFoyer St. Stephen, for theelderly poor, remain safehavens.

Please thank all ourmission benefactors in theStates for their dedication tothe Mission and especially foryour prayers in this time ofgreat need. Warm greetings toall.

Fr. Charpentier writes from Haiti

new role


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3-31-20--As Los Angles seems poisedto have more cases of Coronavirus, wecan only imagine that Tijuana will followsuit. However, Tijuana could be worseoff both medically and financially. Medi-cally because the healthcare systemwould quickly be overrun and financiallybecause layoffs would immediately cre-ate significant hardships.

As the Church we want to beready to help. We have had a couple ofplanning meetings, purchased some food,discontinued large group sessions, in-cluding SEARCH, Masses, and are do-ing a few other things related to socialdistancing and hygiene. ...But the ques-tion is, to what extent should we pre-pare for the worst?

We did buy $1000 worth offood staples and recruited tenyouths to help prepare 120despensas. It took us 5 hours torepack the bulk items into family sizeunits. That won’t go far, but it is astart.

We continue to visit families, butwe are trying to be careful with masks,gloves, and hand sanitizer. Some of thepeople we visit are especially vulnerable,since we focus on clientele that havemedical conditions.

Fr. Ray John Marek, OMI,our priest with chemistry knowledge,

Tijuana Oblate Youth continue ministryBy David Rizo and Rich Reader

helped us manufacture some handcleaner since we have not been able tobuy any.

5 - 4 - 2 0 - - O u rdespensas (care packages)program has ramped up evenfurther. An anonymous donorchanneled some grocery giftcards our way, which weimmediately begandistributing. We are carefullydocumenting our distributionprogram for him/her to review.

One of the blessings ofhaving more despensas todistribute is that we have visitedmore families and havebecome aware of more thathave special needs. Since ouryouth social ministry has hada focus in this area, we wereglad to befriend them.

A group calledMaximum Impact visited a few monthsago and toured many of our needyfamilies’ homes. They have a heart tohelp as many as possible. They have theidea that buying foam floor tiles thatpuzzle together might be a goodalternative to concrete, especially whereit is difficult to get concrete to thelocation. We are gearing up to trial thisidea.

In anothercase, they wantedto build anadditional roomfor a family witheleven children,who lost theirmother last year.With the olderchildren now intheir later teens, alittle more space is

most needed. So, we poured concreteusing a crew of 8 youths, the father ofthe children, and our contractor. Theoldest daughter made cervíche foreveryone, which was quite a treat andhungrily devoured. We got started on

the framing this week. Two CentralAmerican migrants are in the photo.

5-12-20--Our despensas (carepackage) program ramped up anothernotch this week. We received an-other 100 grocery gift cards froman anonymous donor, and we boughtenough bulk items to make another360 despensas.

Adding room to home to family of 13

Continued on page 11repacking items into family size units

MAY 2020 -11

Tijuana Youth-

Our army for distributingthese has also grown. There are theyouth social ministry, adult socialministry, the migrant group, thehome of the pre-novitiates, the nunsat Diviño Niño, and two Oblatepriests all making distributions.Some walk door-to-door and othersreceive people at one of the chapels orsimilarly known locations. And, we haveour faithful young adults who give upmost of a day to make up the despensas.It takes an army and a lot of good will.

We delivered to two orphan-ages, the HIV clinic, a senior carehome, and to a Haitian group livingin central Tijuana in addition to

Youth group with migrants

Continued from page 10scores of individual families. Onmultiple occasions we have beentaken to the home of a senior per-son or persons, who are not verymobile, so it really is a case of aperson looking after their neighbor.

The group, that was formedsome months ago to more formallyplan and execute a program to assistmigrants, has really been servinglarger and larger numbers of people.At first, they would visit shelters formigrants as their primary way ofreaching out to them. However, asword has gotten out, more and moremigrants seek out our parish.There are days where despensas andclothing are distributed. The migrantsmight be Mexicans that have traveled

The Missionary Oblates at our Tijuana MissionFr. Webert Merilan Fr. Lucio Castillo Fr. Marek Stroba Fr. Bill Antone Bro. Peter Vasquez Fr. Jesse EsquedaParish Pastor Special Needs School Parish Associate Formation House Formation House Mission Superior - Parish Associate Director Associate

from more southern states, people fromother countries, or people who havebeen deported from the US and needto get reestablished.

The migrant group is the ideaof Fr. Jesse Esqueda, OMI, ouryouth-focused priest, who challengesthe young adults in the program to findmore and more ways to serve. Adriana,one of your young adult leaders, cham-pions the group, and she has recruitedadults, some of the youth, and the mi-grants themselves to make up the coregroup.

Lucy, a young person whoconnected with our parish 5 yearsago, came for a visit bringing somedespensas. She just fills her car anddrives down from L.A. from time totime. One thinks of when Jesus toldhis disciples to feed the crowd them-selves and then through what theygave multiplied it a thousand-fold.

Other programs are also giv-ing despensas. People put a white flagor sign outside their house to helpdespensas-giving groups know thatthere is a family in need inside.

Newly ordained Fr.Eleazar Manuel

Lopez’ first assign-ment is to our

mission.

MAY 2020 -11

Tijuana Youth-

Our army for distributingthese has also grown. There are theyouth social ministry, adult socialministry, the migrant group, thehome of the pre-novitiates, the nunsat Diviño Niño, and two Oblatepriests all making distributions.Some walk door-to-door and othersreceive people at one of the chapels orsimilarly known locations. And, we haveour faithful young adults who give upmost of a day to make up the despensas.It takes an army and a lot of good will.

We delivered to two orphan-ages, the HIV clinic, a senior carehome, and to a Haitian group livingin central Tijuana in addition to

Youth group with migrants

Continued from page 10scores of individual families. Onmultiple occasions we have beentaken to the home of a senior per-son or persons, who are not verymobile, so it really is a case of aperson looking after their neighbor.

The group, that was formedsome months ago to more formallyplan and execute a program to assistmigrants, has really been servinglarger and larger numbers of people.At first, they would visit shelters formigrants as their primary way ofreaching out to them. However, asword has gotten out, more and moremigrants seek out our parish.There are days where despensas andclothing are distributed. The migrantsmight be Mexicans that have traveled

The Missionary Oblates at our Tijuana MissionFr. Webert Merilan Fr. Lucio Castillo Fr. Marek Stroba Fr. Bill Antone Bro. Peter Vasquez Fr. Jesse EsquedaParish Pastor Special Needs School Parish Associate Formation House Formation House Mission Superior - Parish Associate Director Associate

from more southern states, people fromother countries, or people who havebeen deported from the US and needto get reestablished.

The migrant group is the ideaof Fr. Jesse Esqueda, OMI, ouryouth-focused priest, who challengesthe young adults in the program to findmore and more ways to serve. Adriana,one of your young adult leaders, cham-pions the group, and she has recruitedadults, some of the youth, and the mi-grants themselves to make up the coregroup.

Lucy, a young person whoconnected with our parish 5 yearsago, came for a visit bringing somedespensas. She just fills her car anddrives down from L.A. from time totime. One thinks of when Jesus toldhis disciples to feed the crowd them-selves and then through what theygave multiplied it a thousand-fold.

Other programs are also giv-ing despensas. People put a white flagor sign outside their house to helpdespensas-giving groups know thatthere is a family in need inside.

Newly ordained Fr.Eleazar Manuel

Lopez’ first assign-ment is to our

mission.

repacking items into family size units Youth group with migrants


OMI-USA - 12

Quarantined:Bro. Peter Vasquez, 5 Pre-

novices (Floriberto Gonzales, AarónCruz, José Hernández, VictorIzquierdo and Alvaro Zapata). andmyself began to quarantine on March23. It seems like the Pre-novitiate unex-pectedly became a sort of Novitiateexperience!

The parishes have suspendedpublic Masses and the diocesanseminary has suspended in-personclasses, the city of Tijuana has less thanhalf the traffic and half the businessesare closed; facemasks are the norm andthere is some enforcement by police,so we are forced to stay home unlesswe have some needed business to do.I seldom cross the border into the U.S.I suppose this experience, like in otherOblate communities, has brought uscloser together.

Unable to go to the Holy Weekmission in Oaxaca, as planned, ourHoly Week celebrations were just

among ourselves. Thankfully thestudents like basketball, volleyball,weight lifting and various calisthenics.We do our own cooking of the mainmeal: chicken in chipotle sauce, BLT

sandwiches, enchiladas, meatloaf, porkchops, leftovers, salads and desserts likeginger snaps and chocoflan. Not bad!

The students have lots ofhomework on-line. It seems theirprofessors are making sure they don’tlose ground academically. We also havemore English classes than usual and Iam the teacher. With some nice springdays our flower garden is green andblooming. On Saturdays we have foundsome rural corners and small mountains

Tijuana Prenovitiate meets Covid-19Text, photos by Fr. Bill Antone, OMI

Fr. Bill Antone, Víctor Izquierdo, Floriberto González, Bro. Peter Vasquez,Álvaro Zapata, Aarón Cruz, José Hernández

L-r: Pre-novices: Aarón Cruz, Álvaro Zapata, Floriberto González, VíctorIzquierdo, José Hernández (in front, kneeling)

continued on p. 13

MAY 2020 -13

Above: Prenovices and Associates heading out to the poor; below: someof the recipients display their supermarket cards.

Outreach to the poorMany people are out of work

and without income. For three weeksstraight one anonymous benefactor hasgiven us 100 supermarket cards worth1000 pesos each 50 dollars) to help usget food to them. Fr. Jesse and a team(Richard Reader and David Rizo)have been able to distribute them topoor families, some who have whiteflags in front of their houses as a signthat they do not have food.

Winter Mission in theValley of the Trinity

It was not long ago, in the coldof winter, that we spent about 12 daysduring Christmas and New Year southof here in the Valley of the Trinity, anagricultural, rural area in the middle ofthe Baja peninsula. This is where the

Tijuana PrenovitiateContinued from page 12

Oblates (Fr. Bob Callahan, Bro.Peter Vasquez, and others) were in the1980’s. Four of the 5 Pre-novices, 4Affiliates from Tijuana and myself spentsome very cold, icy and snowy, days inthe high desert of Baja California, visitinghomes, working with youth and

in the countryside outside of Tijuana forsome good 3-4 hour hikes.

We have had some limitedcontact with our Oblate brothers in thenewly established parish of MariaInmaculada. There you will find Frs.Jesse Esqueda, Webert Merilan,Marek Stroba, Eleazar Manuel-Lopez and Lucio Castillo, also stayingvery close to home.

children, and celebrating the Season’sliturgies in three of the communities. Wewere there to help the pastor, Fr.Conrado, a diocesan priest from thediocese of Ensenada

Gratitude: We are gratefulfor these experiences and glad to bealive. We are taking less for granted!


OMI-USA - 14

Some are doing kitchen duties (pictured JoeFerraioli & George Knab). Gerry Weber andMike Hussey are our two chefs when they are

needed. Very good, I might add. The picture of thecart is of Greg Cholewa and Gerry Weber hauling rock.Our cleaners are Allen Maes, Tom Killeen, RayPrybis

and Elmar Mauer. Of course, the barber is you knowwho. Mike Hussey is a much better barber than I.We share the task. No one has had to wear a capuntil their hair grows back…yet.

These are a few of the activities going on hereat St. Henry’s.

T he Covid-19 shut-down which has affected the entire country hits our religious communitiesin much the same way as it hits all other families. For many of us who went through juniorates,novitiates and scholasticates that demanded everyone pitch in to various manual labor tasks,

it’s a deja vu experience, calling forth skills that may have gone rusty in many. Fr. Dave Kalert, OMIsent in a few photos and text from St Henry’s community in Belleville, IL, which will be familiar tomany of us.

MAY 2020 -15

The Mongu diocese’s Bishop Evans Chinyama Chinyemba, OMI,presided at the installation of the new Zambia delegation leadership teamon February 17, 2020. Pictured with him, l-r: Frs. Sidney Musonda;

Nebby Chanda; Bishop Evans; Frs. Vincent Sakala (Superior); LewisChilembwe Sauti and Richard Mutale Chanda.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church/International Shrine of St. Judein New Orleans has had

many titles since it was built in 1823.One title has been the Official Chapelfor the Police and Fire Depart-ments. Fr. Peter Rogers, OMI,was certainly well-known as theirchaplain for many years.

Continuing with that legacy,every other weekend since the pan-demic, a number of members from theOrleans Parish Sheriff Officers (Spe-cial Reserve Deputies Unit) come tosanitize the Shrine. Chief CraigMcGehee from the Orleans ParishPrison and also a parishioner of OurLady of Guadalupe volunteered thegroup.

Carlos Ayesta organizes the vol-unteers and they bring all the equipmentto thoroughly sanitize the entire churchand grotto.We are blessed with so manywonderful acts of kindness.

Orleans Sheriff Officerssanitize Church/Shrine

by Fr. Tony Rigoli, OMI

Since the pandemic, our St.Jude Community Center, that feeds thehomeless for breakfast and lunch, hasjoined St. Joseph’s Center nearby toprovide the meals. We prepare themeals for over 250 homeless and theyserve it at their center which is muchlarger.

Frs. Don McMahon, BennyLipalata and I have started having

Mass daily at 7AM and also onSundays.We are limited to only 25%of the capacity and they must wearmasks as well as social distancing. It isworking out so far but people are still abit apprehensive on returning.

The French Quarter looks likea ghost town since there are no touristsor conventions. I sometimes feel that Iam in the country!!!!

As in other communities, Oblateshave been taking turns making

meals. Here Fr. Emmanuel Mulenga(pastor at St. Augustine parish) ison duty while Fr. Benny Lipalatalooks on.

That’s Fr. Tony Rigoli in the second row, second from right.


OMI-USA - 16

Saint Junipero Serra,missionary to many

American peoples withinthe Church, pray for us!

Fr. Louis Studer, OMI, who has servedas Provincial for the U.S. Province since 2017,was re-appointed to a second term on May 7,2020. Upon receiving the news, Fr. Studer said,“I am very grateful for the continued confidence andtrust my Superiors in Rome place in my leadershipand also very thankful for the support of the U.S.Oblates. There is much I hope to accomplish thesenext three years. My main priorities would be: continuing discernment of ourministry presence in the U.S.; renewal of our Oblate community life; furthercollaboration with the delegation of Zambia; greater outreach to the poor as

we continue to suffer from this pandemic; increasing vocations to our Oblate way of life.” Fr. Mike Amesse, OMI shared that over 10,000 people participatedby electronic means in Sunday Mass at the Cathedral in Brownsville. Folks asfar away as Peru joined in. That reminded me of a lengthy article in the interna-tional Oblate website reporting on the many initiatives being taken by Oblates world-wide to communicate with people during the covid-19 pandemic: https://www.omiworld.org/2020/05/12/lockdown-initiatives-1-social-media-and-communica-tions/ The Missionaries of Mercy in the USA just acquired a website to publi-cize its ministry https://missionariesofmercyusa.org. Among the 911 Missionariesdesignated worldwide, nine Oblates are listed. Of the 127 in the USA is oneOblate, Fr. George Knab, OMI. Due to the Coronovirus pandemic, many changes have taken place inscheduling meetings. The three Anniversary Jubilee Celebrtions are amongthem: Those celebrations are now scheduled for: September 14: Belleville, IL;September 29: Tewksbury, MA; October 12: San Antonio.

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Thanks to those who contributed to this COVID-19 issue ofOMIUSA: Oblate Frs. Lou Studer, Art Flores, Jim Brobst, Bill Antone,David Kalert, Ken Thorson, Mike Amesse, George Knab, Scott Hill,Messrs. Will Shaw, Art Pingolt, Rich Reader, David Rizo, -Editor

Remember to check outthe province’s website

for more informationand links to other

Oblate news items.:www.omiusa.org

MOVING? WANT TO CONTINUE RECEIVING OMIUSA?PLEASE SEND US YOUR NEW ADDRESS! Or, if you donot want to continue receiving it (whether you move or not),please let us know so we are not sending unwanted copies.Thank you.

OMI - USANewsletter of the U.S. Province of the Missionary Oblatesof Mary Immaculate.-391 Michigan Ave., NE Washington,DC 20017-1516President and Publisher: Very Rev. Louis Studer, OMIEditor: Fr. Charles Hurkes, OMIDirect all submissions, inquiries and comments toCharles Hurkes, OMI at the above address or Fax: 202-529-4572; Tel: 202-529-4505; email:[email protected] six times a year for Oblate personnel and theirfriends and supporters; distributed from the U.S. ProvincialOffices in Washington, DC.

OMI-USA - 16





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