No. 8 - MARCH 2000
| MEETING OF SUPERIORS GENERAL |
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At the beginning of February, a meeting with the theme "The Contribution
of Carmel in the Third Millennium" was held for the Superiors General of
all the Congregations affiliated to the Carmelite Order. This meeting took
place in Focene, at the retreat centre of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters
of St. Thérèse near Fiumicino airport in Rome. There
were about thirty participants who represented the Philippines, United
States, Venezuela, Trinidad, Brazil, Spain, United Kingdom as well as Italy.
To enlighten this week of study, Fr. Bruno Secondin, O.Carm., gave a talk entitled "The present understanding of the Carmelite Charism - How to place the charism at the service of the Church" and another by Mrs. Donna Orsuto, lecturer at the Gregorian University entitled "The renewal of the consecrated life: evaluation and prospects - New models of participation". The participants discussed, among other things, how they could work together as members of the Carmelite Family, to strengthen the bonds, which already exist. The group attended the jubilee Mass for consecrated life celebrated by the Pope in St. Peter’s Square on 2 February. That day the participants celebrated Evening Prayer at St. Albert's International Centre followed by dinner with the community. Later in the week, they visited the two communities in Florence and had the opportunity to meet many members of the Carmelite Family. For further information:
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The reward of years of preparation with Carmelite brothers from Burkina
Faso in the Betica Province came to fruition when on 17 January 2000 the
first Carmelite foundation of friars in that country was officially inaugurated
with a Eucharistic celebration and blessing by bishop Anselme Sanon of
Bobo Dioulasso. Present at this celebration, in the chapel of a house put
at our disposal by the Donum Dei Missionary Family, were
the four missionaries, Frs. Francisco Daza, Ubaldo Pani, Eugène
Kaboré and Désiré Kouakou, Fr. Rafael Leiva, Provincial
of Betica, Fr. Tomàs Léon, his secretary, Fr. Anthony Scerri,
on behalf of the General Council, and a few Missionary Workers.
Fr. Ubaldo Pani, Fr. Rafael Leiva, Provincial of Bética,
The previous day was also a memorable occasion when, in the Cathedral of Bobo Dioulasso, bishop Sanon welcomed and presented the Carmelite missionaries to the people and the clergy of the diocese. The Carmelites were welcomed warmly by all, bishop, clergy and people. The Carmelite Order is very grateful to the Missionary Workers for their support and preparations for the coming of the friars. Thanks to their zeal and effort, there are already nine young men who wish to enter the Order. For further information:
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Liberia: In January Fr. Anthony Scerri, Councillor General responsible
for Carmelite Missions, visited Liberia at the invitation of Bishop B.
Dotu Sekey of the diocese of Gbarnga. Before the civil war (1990-1997),
the Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters had a foundation in the diocese
of Cape Palmers, and thanks to them there are some young men interested
in the Order. Now that peace has been restored, the sisters hope to return
within the next couple of years. While in Gbarnga and in Accra (Ghana),
Fr. Scerri met three young men who are interested in the Carmelite Order.
There may be other interested young men in the diocese of Cape Palmers.
At present, together with the British Carmelite Province, Fr. Scerri is
exploring the possibility of either a foundation in Liberia or of taking
some candidates for formation.
Carmelite house in Mozambique
Mozambique: From 15-17 February Fr. Scerri visited the Carmelite brothers in Gorongosa, Mozambique. In his report he confirmed: "It is wonderful to see what these brothers have accomplished in the short fifteen months since the beginning of the foundation in Gorongosa. They are solicitous for the needs and welfare of the people who are very poor. They have also restored several of the buildings of the mission which were in utter ruin as a result of the civil war. Much remains to be done and they need every assistance we can give. The community is expecting a fourth member from Pernambuco Province who will probably join them in August of this year. The brothers are to be commended for their zeal and enthusiasm and congratulated for their achievements." Cameroon: Thanks to the good will of the Missionary Workers in M’Balmayo, there is a number of young men interested in the Carmelite Order in Cameroon. In July 1998, at a meeting with Fr. Carlo Cicconetti, Italian Provincial, Fr. Tiberio Scorrano, Procurator of the Italian Province, Fr. Jean-Marie D’Undji, Provincial Commissary of the Congo, and Fr. Scerri, Councillor General, it was agreed that formators from the Congo would go to Cameroon to spend some time with these young men and discern with them their vocation. In spite of the war in the Congo and the difficulty that this means for travelling, the formators from the Congo have carried out their promise and now there are three Cameroonese candidates in the Congo. In August 1999, in Bamberg (Germany), it was agreed that the Lower German Province would be co-responsible with the Province of Italy for the project. Any financial support towards these missions will be very appreciated. For further information:
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The General Council of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus held a meeting of the Councils of the Provinces and the Delegations at Santa Marinella (Rome) from 13 to 18 February 2000. The theme of the meeting was "Meaningful relations to bring about communion". Those present were the superiors of the Province of "Mary Mother of Carmel" (Italy-Malta), of the Province of "St. Thérèse of Lisieux" (Brazil), of the Delegation "St. Joseph" (Canada), of the Delegation "St. Teresina" (Tanzania) and of the Delegation "Father Lorenzo" (Philippines). Some significant moments of the meeting were:
For further information:
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On Sunday 30 January 2000, on the occasion of the 123rd Anniversary of the birth of Mother Crocifissa, the little town of Ispica (Italy) commemorated the foundress of the Congregation Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus with many activities.
For further information:
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Fifty years ago, on 11 February 1950, Fr. Marcel Roussel Galle started the Missionary Workers with 8 young Parisian girls. Full of missionary zeal, through virgins wholly dedicated to God, Fr. Marcel wanted to evangelise the crowds who were far from the divine love. Heeding the call of Pius XII in the Encyclical Fidei Donum, the family founded by him soon became missionary and went out to the five continents (in 1958 in Africa, in 1960 in Asia and Latin America, in 1965 in Oceania). They started their apostolic endeavours in rather difficult environments: factories, bars, hospitals, schools, with prostitutes. Fr. Marcel was greatly moved by the fourth chapter of St. John’s Gospel and thus he started restaurants called l’Eau Vive, as places of evangelisation. In 1981, because of the crisis which hit families hard, the Founder understood that evangelisation had to begin with the family: a mother must become the apostle of her family, must seek to involve her husband, her children, so that her whole family might become missionary in the environment where they live and work. Soon these and other families formed the second branch of the Missionary Family, which then definitively acquired the name of Missionary Family "Donum Dei". On the night of 15-16 February 1984, the Founder received the inspiration
of affiliating his spiritual Family to the Order of Carmel and to base
its whole mission on the spirit of Little Thérèse and Carmel.
Three years later, on 22 February 1987, Fr. John Malley, the then Prior
General, signed the decree recognising the Missionary Family "Donum
Dei" as member of the Carmelite Lay Third Order.
together with the bishop from Burkina Faso To celebrate these fifty years of blessings, on 13 February 2000, Fr. Redemptus Valabek, O.Carm., celebrated a solemn Mass at St. Albert’s International Centre (Rome). A bishop from Burkina Faso as well as many priests concelebrated the Mass. Those present were Miss Marie-Joseph Perriot Comte, the General Responsible, the General Councillors, many members and sympathisers of the Missionary Family "Donum Dei". To conclude the celebration, refreshments were served accompanied by songs, dances and performances. For further information: |
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Books: 50 Años de fundación - Familia Misionera Donum Dei,L'Eau Vive del Peru, Lima, 2000, pp. 16. ALBERTAZZI, Alessandro, Il cominciare ed il finire sarà tutto suo, Suore carmelitane delle Grazie, Bologna, 1999, pp. 128. GROSSO, Giovanni, Il Carmelo, un cammino . . . una meta, Centro
Stampa Carmelitano, Roma, 2000, pp. 32
LÓPEZ-MELÚS, Rafael Maria, carmelita, ¡Madre, María! Así fue tu vida, AMACAR, Onda, [2000], pp. 238. Una Iglesia en marcha con el pueblo - Prelatura de Sicuani: 40 años 1959-1999, (Coordinador: Franz Riedel), Centro de Estudios y Publicaciones (CEP), Lima, 1999, pp. 314. Vida de Unión con María,Por los venerables carmelitas del siglo XVII: Miguel de San Agustín - Maria de Santa Teresa Petyt, AMACAR, Onda, [2000], pp. 231. Video cassette: Courage to Build Anew - The Return of the Carmelites to Aylesford, Pilgrim Productions Canterbury Ltd., United Kingdom, 2000. This thirty-minute-long video celebrates the 50th anniversary of the return of the Carmelites to Aylesford and presents their work today and their hopes for the future. Brothers of the British Province who take part in this documentary are Joseph Chalmers, Wilfrid McGreal, John Berridge and Laurence Frost. For further information:
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Saturday and Sunday, 5-6 February 2000, a meeting on the figure of the Prophet Elijah took place in the church of the Sandro Pertini Hospital (Rome), patron of the Hospital. The programme for Saturday included a conference "Elijah Prophet: the man of God, of the people, of dialogue", a painting and art exhibition, the handing of awards of merit to volunteers and a closing cocktail party. The activities continued on Sunday with a solemn Eucharistic celebration presided by Cardinal Tonini, the blessing of the statue of the Prophet Elijah, the entrusting of the Hospital and all the hospital family to the Prophet Elijah. The programme was organised in collaboration with Fr. Carmelo Vitrugno, O.Carm., chaplain of the Hospital, Fr. Stanislaus Wisocki and the Volunteers of Elijah.
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