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THE SPIRITANS

SPIRITAN DIARY

PREFACE

“To walk humbly with our God” (cf. Micah 6:8)

The historical data and the texts that have been gathered together for this Diary are like footprints: they invite us to join our Spiritan ancestors in the long journey they made in the service of the Gospel.

What comes down to us is the witness of their lives which is their lasting homily. On each page of the Diary you will find historical events recorded followed by a text for our meditation. The very first page, January 1 st , sets the tone with the martyrdom at Kongolo of our 20 confreres from Belgium and Holland, a sign of love par excellence: “ They were willing to sacrifice their lives for the people whom they loved so much » . This was their contribution to a magnificent history, not a history of the powerful, the rich or the learned, but of the poor and humble who find their joy in meeting other poor people, to « serve and protect them » and to share their own life-giving faith with them.

In the great variety of styles to be found in religious families, we have our own particular charcteristics which must be preserved. Amongst the gifts which come from the meeting of the human heart with the mystery of the Spirit of God, Claude Poullart des Places, François Libermann, Jacques Laval, Daniel Brottier and our other great predecessors inherited a special trust in the poor, a corollary of their own confidence in a humble God who had put his trust in them from the beginning.

The Diary reminds us of this long and inspiring tradition; alongside this, our own personal experiences should teach us to be humble. The greatest threats to our mission are not our limitations or our faults and weaknesses, but a certain self-assurance which can make us difficult to live and work with and can cut us off from others. But we must not allow ourselves to be crushed by a conviction of our nothingness, of our lack of means or of the size of the obstacles that face us. We believe that in reaching out to others in difficult situations, our simple and fraternal approach will bring out the best in those we meet – the generosity and good will inherent in all the peoples of this earth. This is the spirit which should permeate our mission, our community life and our search for God.

In the framework of a calendar year, the Diary calls to mind events that took place in different continents over the last 300 years – a collection of anniversaries for each day that make up the shared memory of our Spiritan family and remind us of our identity and our mission.

This book can obviously give us no more than examples; there is so much that could be said – good and bad, sad and funny, successes and failures, what is genuine and what is fake. But it will help us to have a better understanding of our inheritance and remind us that our greatest riches are not to be found in our ideas, our fleeting emotions, our social accomplishments, but in the book of our lives, in the concrete choices that we make each day under the guidance of the Spirit.

Perhaps some of the pages of our own personal diary have been left blank, indicating “ nothing to report!” : the Spiritan Year in exposing us to the lives of our predecessors should help us to do better in the pages that we still have to write. Let it not be said of us, as it was of one Roman Emperor: “He died at the age of 60 without ever having really lived” ! It is good to return to our sources, not to start walking backwards but to press ahead, because our ancestors are very much with us in our daily endeavours. In our aggressive and competitive world, the Spirit breaths into us a desire to live lfe to the full in line with the spirit of our times but illuminated by the light of the Gospel and the charism of our founders (cf. SRL 10).

 

Pierre Schouver

l

 

SPIRITAN DIARY

JUNE 1

C.S.Sp. 01.06.1876: Pius IX signs the decree introducing the cause of François Libermann.

Portugal 01.06.1877: The house at Braga becomes a principal community.

United Kingdom 01.06.1904: Mgr Le Roy, Superior General, and Fr Larry Healy, Provincial of Ireland, agree to rent a property at Prior Park, near Bath. The noviciate for future Irish clerics and brothers opens there on 8 October 1904, with Fr. John T. Murphy as novice master, and continues until 1907.

Nigeria 01.06.1967: The beginning of the civil war in Nigeria. Subsequently, approximately 280 Irish confreres are displaced and later find work in other circumscriptions, including Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, PNG & Australia.

Rome 1923: In the wake of the communist revolution in Russia, the Congregation is asked by Pius XI, through Cardinal Gasparri, to open a seminary in Rome for the training of priests for Russia. Mgr. Le Roy is most reluctant, saying that our resources are already over-stretched. Finally, the Jesuits agree to take it on and they are running it to this day (B.G. 31, p. 189).

“From the beginning, our mission has favoured the poor. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to the poor…As for Justice and Peace, the members of the Chapter noted that an awareness of J & P issues has greatly increased in the Congregation but much remains to be done in clarifying the type of action to be undertaken. It is not just a question of denouncing abuses, but also of wise action and encouraging what is good. Each Spiritan will look for opportunities for action within his grasp in order to become the voice of the voiceless”. (Maynooth 2, 11-19).

 


JUNE 2

Rome 02.06.1951: Publication of the first missionary encyclical of Pius XII, “ Evangelii Praecones” . The Pope praises the work accomplished by missionaries and sets them new tasks. He talks of the place of lay people in the missionary apostolate.

Martinique June, 1918: Père Janin takes over responsibility for the cathedral. Spiritans are running nearly all the urban parishes, plus a number of chaplaincies.

Madagascar June, 1930: Mgr. Pichot presides over the taking of the habit by the first 9 young girls to join the diocesan congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mahajanga.

U.S.A. June, 1960: One half of the confreres in the U.S.A. are engaged directly in mission work with African-Americans (90), Africans in Kilimanjaro (51) and Puerto Ricans (26); the others are in ethnic parishes, education and formation.

“I felt God's blessings visibly in my eagerness to approach the Blessed Sacrament. Although I was fortunate enough to receive communion frequently, I did not yet receive it as often as I would have liked. I desired it with such great love that when I went to communion, I could not hold back torrents of tears. It was through receiving the Body of Christ that I derived the detachment which made me despise the world and its ways. I cared very little for its esteem and sometimes, I even tried to displease it” (Poullart des Places, quoted by Pierre Thomas in his “ Mémoire sur la Vie de Claude Poullart des Places” ).


JUNE 3

Senegal 03.06.1882: Ordination of Père Simon Fall at Ngazobil by Mgr. Duboin. He is the first Spiritan from Senegal.

USA June, 1889: Spiritans take charge of the first black parish in Philadelphia; St. Peter Claver. Many more will be taken on subsequently.

Gabon 03.06.1892: Père Alexandre Le Roy is appointed Vicar Apostolic of Gabon. Ordained at Coutances in France on October 9 th he arrives in Gabon on 26.03.1893.

Guyane 03.06.1893: The Spiritans are expelled from the mission of Guyane.

“Sometimes we become almost drugged by our work, to the detriment of our openness, our relationships with others and our prayer life. We become so attached to our job that we identify ourselves with it and we cannot imagine us doing anything else. But there are frontiers to be crossed, moments of generosity to be lived, in which we are willing to leave our work and our position and admit that others can continue it and do so just as well as us” (EGC Dakar, 1995, 4.2.3).


JUNE 4

C.S.Sp. 04.06.1761: Père Louis Bouic buys a property in the rue des Postes, (30, rue Lhomond) Paris, for the Seminaire du Saint-Esprit. They move in on January 1 st , 1732.

Mauritius 04.06.1841: Jacques Laval leaves London for Mauritius on board the “Tangora”, in the company of Bishop Collier, Père Gilles O.S.B., Fr. Larkan (Irish) and L'Abbé Rovery (French).

Zambia 1980: The Spiritans take charge of the parish of Linda on the outskirts of Livingstone

Madagascar 04.06.1995: A Spiritan archive is opened on the feast of Pentecost at Maison Libermann in Antanimalandu (Majunga), centre of our operations in Madagascar. The diocese has its own separate archives elsewhere.

“This is the fruit of three years work: about 250 instructed and baptised, both Madagascans and Mozambicans, around 350 first communions – nearly all old people. Nearly all have persevered, apart from a few young men and women whom we had to stop going to the sacraments” ( Jacques Laval to Libermann, 1844. N.D.VI, 515-517).


JUNE 5

France June, 1930: Blessing of the new chapel at Chevilly on June 1 st . by Mgr. Louis Le Hunsec, Superior General.

Portugal June,1951: Death in Pittsburgh, USA, of P. Joaquim Alves Correia of the Portuguese Province. He had a great influence on the catholic renewal movement in Portugal during the time of the Salazar government.

TransCanada 05.06.1970: Two hospital chaplaincies are taken on: St. Joseph's, Hamilton, and St. Joseph's, Dundas.

Tanzania 05.06.1980: Fr. Bernard Ngaviliau is ordained as the first bishop of Zanzibar diocese.

“Stay quiet and allow God to do what he wants. Never seek to advance further than he wishes you to do. Be content to aim at a total self denial in all things and to have only one ambition: to live for God alone. Then simply wait for him to give you what he judges to be needful. Do not tell him what to do and do not prescribe anything for yourself.” (Libermann, to the Director of a Seminary. 01.01.1839. L.S.II, p. 392-393).


JUNE 6

Holy Heart of Mary 06.06.1840: François Libermann in Rome receives a favourable response from the Propaganda Fide to his Memoire submitted earlier. One condition: he must be ordained a priest. Eight days later, he pays a visit to Cardinal Fransoni at the Propaganda. Exactly one year later, he is ordained subdeacon by Mgr. Raess for the diocese of Port Louis, Mauritius.

Nigeria 06.06.1920: The Prefecture of Lower Niger is raised to a Vicariat and Joseph Shanahan is ordained its first bishop at Maynooth in Ireland.

Nigeria 06.06.1965: Ordination to the priesthood at Isienu of the first four Spiritans who are products of the Holy Ghost Juniorate, Ihiala, by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Superior General.

Germany 06.06.1995: Centenary of the re-foundation of the Province of Germany and the foundation of the junior seminary at Knechtsteden (25.06).

“Tell Jesus something like this: ‘Dear Jesus, you know very well that I'm nothing, that I'm worth nothing and that I can do nothing. But here I am, a poor man; please take me in your great kindness. I want to give myself entirely to you and I want nothing more than that. Watch over me, Jesus. I want you, not me, to want things for myself. Act within me, turn me this way or that way as you please. If I sometimes try to resist, don't take any notice”. ( (Libermann, to the Director of a Seminary. 01.01.1839. L.S.II, p. 392-393).


JUNE 7

Congo Kinshasa 07.06.1909: Foundation of the mission of the Holy Heart of Mary at Kongolo (Pères Villetaz and Brangers and Frère Euloge).

TransCanada June, 1975: A Caribbean Centre (Cari-To) is opened in Toronto.

West African Foundation April, 1984: The West African Superiors meet in Dakar with a representative of the General Council: the WAF and the Nigerian Province will have a common theologate in Enugu, Nigeria, projected to open in 1986; the noviciate will open in Ghana in 1986; philosophy will be done at Isienu in Nigeria until the WAF philosophicum is ready in Ghana.

Spain 07.06.1992: On the feast of Pentecost, 3 collaborators at the Centre for Missionary Animation in Madrid make a public promise of closer union with the Congregation.

“ Above all, the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in a simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine. Here we have an initial act of evangelisation” . (Pope Paul VI: Evangelii Nuntiandi , 21).


JUNE 8

Ireland 08.06.1862: Père Frédéric Le Vavasseur, Provincial of France, comes to Ireland for the first official visitation. He approves of the Congregation taking charge of St Vincent's Orphanage, Glasnevin, Dublin, built by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. This is officially confirmed on June 8 th , 1862. To the great disappointment of the Mother House, the project is abandoned after one year.

C.S.Sp. 08.06.1886 : The Congregation buys a property at Grignon, near Orly, for the noviciate. For years, it was the only noviciate for the whole Congregation. It was closed in 1939.

Pakistan June, 1988 : First all-day co-operative meeting in Ryk; it involves 150 members and is followed by an all-night Bhagti.

Madagascar 08.06.1991: L'Abbé Ernest Ramiaramanisa dies in hospital at Rova. Ordained in 1943 at Mahabibo, he is the first local priest from the diocese of Mahajanga.

“ Preaching is always indispensable. We are well aware that modern man is sated by talk. The fatigue produced these days by so much empty talk and the relevance of many other forms of communication must not however diminish the permanent power of the word, or cause a loss of confidence in it. The word remains ever relevant, especially when it is the bearer of the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 2: 1-5). This is why Saint Paul's axiom, "Faith comes from what is heard" (cf. Rom 10: 17) , also retains its relevance: it is the Word that is heard which leads to belief”. (Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi , n°42)


JUNE 9

Libermann 09.06.1827: Less than six months after his baptism, François Libermann receives the tonsure in the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris as a cleric for the diocese of Strasbourg.

Portugal 09.06.1987: The death of P. Francisco Nogueira da Rocha. He was General Bursar from 1962 to 1974.

Netherlands June, 1990: The first lay associate signs a contract with the Congregation on leaving for Tanzania. Another follows shortly afterwards.

Ethiopia June, 1993: Two students of the East African Province come for a year of Spiritan and Pastoral experience. It is repeated for the next three years. Out of the first two to come one is appointed to join the group after his ordination but unfortunately he dies shortly afterwards.

“They (the products of the Seminaire du Saint-Esprit) consecrate themselves preferably to missionary activity both foreign and domestic, offering to go and stay in the poorest and most abandoned places for which it is especially difficult to find candidates. Whether it is a question of being exiled into the remote countryside or buried in the caverns of a hospital, teaching in a college, lecturing in a seminary, directing a poor community, travelling to the farthest corners of the Kingdom of France or staying there in an austere post, whether it is a question even of crossing the seas and going to the very ends of the earth to gain a soul for Christ – their motto is ‘Behold, we are ready to do your will: Ecce ego, mitte me'” (Charles Besnard: Vie de Grignon de Montfort ).

 


JUNE 10

Reunion 10.06.1842: Frédéric Le Vavasseur, co-founder of the Holy Heart of Mary, starts the second mission of the young congregation in the island of Bourbon and leads it for the next eight years.

C.S.Sp. 10.06.1848: On the eve of Pentecost, 1848, after a few days of discussion, the representatives of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary agree unanimously to a union of the two religious families.

East Africa 10.06.1871: Bishop Maupoint (of Saint-Denis, Reunion) gives up his jurisdiction over East Africa, thereby allowing the Apostolic Prefecture of Zanzibar to be confided to the Spiritans.

Germany June, 1995: The Provincialate of the German Province moves back from Cologne to Knechtsteden.

“For missionaries to succeed in such an admirable mission, they have to adopt a life-style that is poorer and more mortified than the local people to whom they are sent; as long as these poor people see a life that is easier than theirs, they will not be impressed; this is why Our Lord was born in a stable and died on a cross – so as to gave him the right to preach poverty and mortification to others” (Le Vavasseur to M. Galais, June 1939).


JUNE 11

C.S.Sp. 11.06.1737: The Major Seminary of Meaux (France) is confided to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit; they direct it until its suppression at the French revolution.

Canada 11.06.1905: Foundation of the community of Saint-Alexandre by Mgr. Le Roy. The future school of agriculture is constructed over the next two years.

Canada 11.06.1929: Three young confreres make their consecration to the apostolate in the chapel of Saint-Alexandre; seven took the habit the previous month. The first Canadian postulant for the Spiritan sisters, Sister Marie-Leon, leaves for France in 1930.

Ethiopia 11.06.1993: Pope John Paul II, who has already received the patriarch of Ethiopia, Abuna Tekle-Haymanot, (17 October 1981), welcomes in Rome H.H. Abuna Paulos, the present patriarch, and confirms that their two Churches possess the same apostolic tradition, faith in Christ and ministry, and should collaborate. He praises the values of the Ethiopian tradition, e.g. inculturation, liturgy, monasticism.

“It fills me with joy to hear of all the wonders that the Heart of Mary is doing in Paris and in the Seminary. Our poor little Congregation rejoices over this in a special way, since we have been consecrated the heart of Mary since we started, and her feast is the one that we celebrate with greatest solemnity. I pray that the heart of Mary, which is so dear to all her children, will be your refuge and your hope amidst your sufferings” (Libermann to M. Telles L.S.II, p. 260).


JUNE 12

Guyane 12.06.1709: Arrival of the Jesuits. They are responsible for all the missionary work in the country up to their suppression in 1784. The work is then continued by the Spiritans.

East Africa 12.06.1878: The first caravan of White Fathers to the interior is organised by Fr. Baur and Br. Oskar (Spiritans) On 11.06.1878, it sets out from Bagamoyo with 300 porters to the great lakes in Central Africa. Three other caravans, organised in the same way, follow in 1879, 1883 and 1887.

Senegal 12.06.1947: Mgr. Marcel Lefebvre is appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakar. He invites many congregations to join in the work: White Fathers, Marists, Sacred Heart of Issoudun, Maronites, Presentation Sisters, Carmelites etc. There is a great increase in parishes both at Dakar and in the interior.

Canada 12.06.1958: The General Council erects the new community of the Holy Spirit in the place of the community of Daulac. The senior scholasticate moves there with a team of four fathers. The community closes in 1979.

“I am very annoyed that you are not in charge of the mission in Senegal. I am very anxious to hear that a seminary will be established by your congregation at Gorée or Saint-Louis. In the government school at Saint-Louis there are several young men who want to be priests. They study Latin along with other subjects. Please try to do something soon with M. Cabeuil of Gorée” (Bishop Barron to Libermann, 08.04.1845. N.D.5, p. 78).


JUNE 13

C.S.Sp. 13.06.1850: Frédéric Le Vavasseur is recalled from Bourbon by Père Libermann to assist him in his task as superior of the Congregation. Le Vavasseur is appointed General Councillor of the Congregation.

Belgium 1919: The school at Lierre is taken up again as well as the senior scholasticate at Leuven. The novices go to Orly. The French Spiritans leave Gentinnes which then becomes a junior seminary for francophone Belgian students. Leuven is also the residence of the Provincial and the mission Procure.

Portugal 13.06.1948: Land is bought at Quinta da Torre d'Aguilha for the building of a theology house for Portuguese Spiritans. The first Mass is celebrated there on the first Sunday of Advent.

Sierra Leone 1950: The Holy Year. Many West Africans go on pilgrimage to Rome. Pope Pius XII announces the creation of the hierarchy of West Africa. Sierra Leone is made into a diocese, subject to the Holy See.

“At the Itaici Chapter, it was said that ‘our mission is a spirituality before it is a strategy, that we are being evangelised at the same time as we evangelise'. It is in our mission that, like St. Paul, we discover Christ and his Spirit. Like him, we need time to interpret our apostolic experience in prayer, to discern what is cause for praise, for supplication or for asking pardon. In fact, what gives life and joy to Spiritans is their pastoral and missionary relationships. Initial and on-going formation must teach us to purify them and to make them a source for our prayers” (EGC Dakar, 1995. 4.4.4).


JUNE 14

Nigeria 1951: The first two Nigerians make their profession in Ireland as Spiritans: Frs. Godfrey Okoye and Anthony Nwedo.

Sierra Leone 1951: Bishop Ambrose Kelly welcomes the Xaverian Fathers from Italy into his diocese; they are given the care of the Northern Province, centered on Makeni.

Mauritania 1951: The only priests in the country are military chaplains. The Church of Rosso is built by Émile Salomon (Spiritan) but it is not occupied until 1958.

Congo Brazzaville 14.06.1971: Death of Mgr. Théophile Mbemba, the first local Archbishop of Brazzaville. He is succeeded by his coadjutor, Mgr. Biayenda.

“ Excessive economic, social and cultural inequalities among peoples arouse tensions and conflicts, and are a danger to peace. As we said to the Fathers of the Council when we returned from our journey of peace to the United Nations: "The condition of the peoples in process of development ought to be the object of our consideration; or better: our charity for the poor in the world (and there are multitudes of them) must become more considerate, more active, more generous". To wage war on misery and to struggle against injustice is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity. Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men” (Paul VI: “Populorum Progressio”).


JUNE 15

France 15.06.1835: Jacques Laval, a medical doctor, enters the seminary of Saint-Sulpice to study theology; a few miles away, François Libermann is studying philosophy at Issy.

Kenya 1953: The hierarchy is established in Kenya.

Bagamoyo 1954: Bishop Herman van Elswijk resigns and is succeeded by the first African bishop in the diocese. There are 87 priests, 19 brothers and 168,000 Catholics in the diocese.

Gabon 15.06.1969: Inauguration of Maison Libermann as the residence of the Principal Superior in Gabon. During his time as Superior General, Mgr. Lefebvre urges all Districts to have a house that belongs to the Congregation.

“You always deal kindly with me as if you were in need of me. It is as if you glory in subjugating a heart as insensitive as mine. You seem to delight in this conquest…In acknowledging your power, I also acknowledge your love. I know that your tenderness is infinite because it is not exhausted by my innumerable past ingratitudes. For a long time you have desired to speak to my heart but I have refused to listen. You try to convince me that you want to use me but I try not to believe you... Now I am ready to listen to the commands of your divine providence” (Claude Poullart des Places: “Reflections of the Truths of Religion”).

 


JUNE 16

East Africa 16.06.1863: Père Horner lands in Zanzibar with Père Baur and two brothers. Nearly all the first converts are freed slaves. The idea of Fr. Horner is to put these converts in villages, where they can be taught religion, agriculture and a trade. Fr Horner surveys the mainland coast and decides that Bagamoyo is the most suitable for his purpose.

Guyane 16.06.1876: Père Emonet, Prefect Apostolic and future Superior General, consecrates Guyane to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Guadeloupe 1939: There are 61 priests in the diocese: 22 seculars and 39 Spiritans.

Mauritania 16.06.1965: Accidental death of Mgr. Joseph Landreau (Spiritan), the first Prefect Apostolic of Mauritania. The military plane in which he was travelling crashed at Zouerate and he was buried there.

“In the summer of 1837, M . Libermann left Saint-Sulpice for Rennes where he joined M. Louis, the superior of the Eudistes, hoping to do some good in that congregation for the salvation of souls. M. Louis had been very insistent that he should follow him and after two months in the house he was appointed novice master. But despite the fervour of the superior, Libermann found the place to be in great disorder and he was heart-broken to see that all his efforts to improve things met with failure” (Memoire of Eugène Tisserant).


JUNE 17

Cameroon 1954: At Bafia, Mgr. Loucheur opens a professional school and a leprosium (at Nyamsong).

United Kingdom 1956: The first Spiritan house in Scotland is opened at Uddingston in Glasgow. It thus becomes the most northerly house in the whole of the Congregation.

C.S.Sp. 17.06.1991: The first world-wide meeting of Spiritan Lay Associates is held at Bethel Park, Pittsburgh.

Gabon 17.06.1999: The 50 th anniversary of the foundation of Collège Bessieux. The ceremony is presided over by Mgr. Basile Mvé Engone, Archbishop of Libreville, and the Prime Minister, Jean-François N'toutoume Emane. Both are past students of the college.

“ In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one's personal experience of faith? It must not happen that the pressing need to proclaim the Good News to the multitudes should cause us to forget this form of proclamation, whereby an individual's personal conscience is reached and touched by an entirely unique word that he receives from someone else” (Paul VI: “Evangelii Nuntiandi”, n°46).


JUNE 18

Senegambia 18.06.1846: Père Gravière, the new Prefect Apostolic, lands at Gorée. A junior seminary is opened, following the instructions of Père Libermann. (The first Prefect was Père Tisserant, shipwrecked on 07.12.1845).

Mauritius 18.06.1848: Blessing of the foundation stone of the church of Sainte Croix. Bishop Collier is met at the chapel by all the missionaries and the men of the locality, carrying their work tools. Jacques Laval is subsequently buried in this church.

Trinidad 1957: Appointment of Father Pedro Valdez as Principal of St Mary's College, the first past-student and Trinidadian to hold this post.

Ireland 18.06.1961: The Patrician Congress, commemorating the 1,500 th anniversary of the death of St Patrick is celebrated in Ireland with Cardinal Agagianian as Papal Legate. Among the highlights is a Missionary Exhibition mounted with the collaboration of all the missionary congregations. A garden party, organised by the hierarchy, is held in Blackrock College (21 June, 1961).

“ And if ever I have done any good for my God whom I love, I beg him to grant me that I may shed my blood with those exiles and captives for his name, even though I should be denied a grave, or my body be woefully torn to pieces limb by limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air devour it. I am firmly convinced that if this should happen to me, I would have gained my soul together with my body, because on that day without doubt we shall rise in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as sons of the living God and joint heirs with Christ, to be made conformable to his image; for of him, and by him, and in him we shall reign” (Confessions of St. Patrick).


JUNE 19

Reunion 19.06.1847: Père Alexandre Monnet, of the 2 nd order of Spiritans, returns to Bourbon. He is met by violent demonstrations because of his stand against slavery. He is expelled by the governor shortly after his arrival. He is subsequently elected the 10 th Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit.

Gabon 19.06.1871: The birth at Libreville of Ignace Raponda Walker, the first priest from Gabon (ordained 21.07.1899) and a great expert on the history and culture of his people.

Switzerland 19.06.1906: A new house is opened in Fribourg at 18, rue du Botzet. It will be an international student community for Spiritans attending the university.

Rome 19.06.1910: Pius X declares the heroicity of virtues of François Libermann. Henceforth, he will have the title of “Venerable”.

“I must not miss this opportunity to say a couple of words about the immense love that Jesus has for us. You can see it clearly in the Blessed Sacrament. His love is so great that he wants to transform and change us in his love; he wants to make us one with him in his Father. The Father is in him and he comes into us so that we will be consumed in him and in his Father who are one” (Libermann to Leray, 24.07.1834. L.S.1, p. 51-52).


JUNE 20

Deux Guinées 20.06.1848: Père Bessieux is appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Deux Guinées. Mgr. Kobès, aged 28, is named as his auxiliary on 22.09.1848 and is ordained at Strasbourg on 30.11.1848.

Angola 20.06.1977: Foundation of the Province of Angola. The first Provincial is P. Bernardo Bongo.

Spain 20.06.1986: At the request of his family, the body of Padre José Maria Felgueiras is taken to Portugal for burial in the family grave at Taipas. A huge crowd of Spiritans, family and friends are there to pay honour to this “martyr of charity”, killed by a train while trying to save a young boy in Spain.

Province of Central Africa 20.06.1999: First Chapter of the new Province at Libreville in Gabon. Père Ferdinand Azegue is elected Provincial.

“Jesus took steps to ensure that we could always be in perfect union with him by giving us the Holy Spirit who is the consummator of all sanctity. But in the Blessed Sacrament, he gives us such a fullness of the Holy Spirit, such a gift of love and union, that we would surely die if we could see clearly what was happening. This is why Our Lord hides himself in the Blessed Sacrament; if he showed himself as he really is, there would be no way in which we could go on living after receiving him” (Libermann to Leray, 24.07.1834. L.S.1, p.51-52).


JUNE 21

C.S.Sp. 21.06.1757: Death of Père Pierre Caris. He was the bursar of the Seminaire du Saint-Esprit for 45 years: “This poor priest of outstanding virtue and regarded by all as a saint” made it possible for the seminary to continue by begging each day in the streets of Paris.

Portugal 21.06.1877: After three years in the Seminary of the Congo at Santarem and two years at St Bernard's College at Gibraltar (1870-1872) the Congregation finds a permanent home at Braga where the foundation stone was blessed on this day.

Puerto Rico 1956: The mission of Puerto Rico becomes a District. The central house is at Dorado and the first superior if Fr. R. Eberhard.

Guadeloupe 1959: A delegation goes to Rome for the beatification of Mère Anne-Marie Javouhey, the founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. Her first missionaries arrived in Guadeloupe in 1822 and she visited the island in 1828 and 1833.

“The mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption is thus described as a total self-emptying which leads Christ to experience fully the human condition and to accept totally the Father's plan. This is an emptying of self which is permeated by love and expresses love. The mission follows this same path and leads to the foot of the cross. The missionary is required to "renounce himself and everything that up to this point he considered as his own, and to make himself everything to everyone”. This he does by a poverty which sets him free for the Gospel, overcoming attachment to the people and things about him, so that he may become a brother to those to whom he is sent and thus bring them Christ the Saviour. This is the goal of missionary spirituality: "To the weak I became weak… I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor 9:22-23)” (John Paul II: “Redemptoris Missio” , no. 88).


JUNE 22

Gambia 22.06.1924: The first Gambian priest, Fr. J. Mendy, is ordained at (Bathurst) Banjul by Mgr. Le Hunsec, Vicar Apostolic of Senegambia.

Mauritania 1959: Arrival of the first sisters in Mauritania, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. With the proclamation of an Islamic Republic in 1960, mission work becomes more difficult; the first pastoral meeting is called to review the situation.

Makurdi 1959: The Prefecture of Otukpo is raised to a Diocese with Bishop James Hagan in charge. He resides in Otukpo.

Sierra Leone 1961: As Sierra Leone gains Independence from the United Kingdom, Catholics are 1% of the population. Joseph Ganda is ordained a priest in Bo - the first Sierra Leonean to become a secular priest.

“ It is important that Muslims and Christians continue to explore philosophical and theological questions together, in order to come to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each other's religious beliefs. Better mutual understanding will surely lead, at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions not in opposition, as has happened too often in the past, but in partnership for the good of the human family” (Jean Paul II, at the Mosque of Omeyyades at Damascus, 06.05.2001),


JUNE 23

France 23.06.1863: Père Schwindenhammer, the Superior General, buys the property of Chevilly from Baron Schikler to replace Notre-Dame du Gard. During its long history, it has been many things: e.g. scholasticate, noviciate for clerics and brothers, retirement home, the site for all our General Chapters up until Itaici, etc. etc.

Trinidad 1963: Trinidad becomes a Vice-Province.

Guadeloupe 1963: Mgr. Gay organises an itinerant mission throughout the island that lasts for six months and involves 40 missionaries.

Nigeria 23.06.1984: At the West African Superiors' meeting at Dakar, the three circumscriptions in Nigeria (the Province, Makurdi and Kwara-Benue) resolve to co-operate more closely with each other.

“Abandonment is the perfection of patience. When one has reached this state, the person rests in God, gives himself up completely and no longer wants to act of himself. He allows himself to be totally directed by God, according to his wishes. It is a state of continuous availability” (Jean Gay: Libermann –quoting Le Vavasseur, p. 112).

 


JUNE 24

Belgium 1963: Building starts on the “Kongolo Memorial” at Gentinnes. It will be inaugurated five years later in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium. On the walls are commemorated the names of the 217 missionaries – catholic, protestant, religious and lay – who were killed during the political upheavals in Congo Zaire.

Tanzania 1964: The Prefecture of Same is separated from the Diocese of Moshi and confided to the Dutch Spiritans. The first Prefect if Mgr. Henry Winkelmolen.

Brazil 24.06.1964: Whilhelm Hansen becomes principal superior in the District of Brazil South and Heinrich Rüth superior in Alto Jurua. Both are from the German Province.

Tanzania 24.06.1976: Paul Chuwa is the first member of the East African Foundation to be ordained a priest: it takes place at Usa River in Arusha Diocese.

“ The supreme test is the giving of one's life, to the point of accepting death in order to bear witness to one's faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout Christian history, martyrs, that is, "witnesses”, have always been numerous and indispensable to the spread of the Gospel. In our own age, there are many: bishops, priests, men and women religious, lay people - often unknown heroes who give their lives to bear witness to the faith. They are par excellence the heralds and witnesses of the faith” (John Paul II: “Redemptoris Missio”, no. 45) .


JUNE 25

USA 1964: The Province of the United States is split into two, USA-East and USA-West, with the Mississippi river as their boundary, except that all of Louisiana belongs to USA-West.

Nigeria 1965: A Spiritan scholasticate is opened at Isienu in the Diocese of Enugu.

Congo Kinshasa 1966: Père Albert Onyembo (Spiritan) is appointed bishop of Kindu. A Procure is opened at Lubumbashi to supply the missions of North-Katanga.

Belgium 25.06.1977: Ordination of Père G. Connerotte. Since then, there have been no more ordinations for the Province.

“Some Provinces are becoming increasingly weak and lack the personnel to continue their commitments. They need the help of the Congregation. They could get this from the other older Provinces in their Region and likewise from the support of new Provinces and Foundations. In this way, even these older Provinces are becoming international” (General Chapter, Maynooth 7.2.2).


JUNE 26

C.S.Sp. 26.06.1918: Introduction of the cause of Père Jacques Laval.

Tanzania 1965: At the urging of five Tanzanian Spiritans, the District chapter of Kilimanjaro adopts the project of creating an East Africa Foundation, the first stage leading to our present Province of East Africa.

Nigeria 1965: Nigerian Spiritans, Frs. Denis Ononuju and Francis Okonkwo, are appointed to work in Sierra Leone - the first Nigerian Spiritans to do missionary work outside the country.

Switzerland 26.06.1968: The Vice-Province of Switzerland becomes an independent Province on its own. The first Provincial is Père Fernand Bussard.

“The older Provinces are realising that Spiritan mission is also in their own back yard, so, for example, they are taking on commitments in the service of immigrants, refugees and young people. They take part in action for the support and defence of the poor. These undertakings can show people what Spiritan mission is all about and attract vocations (professed and lay associates) more easily than stories about our work in far off lands” (General Chapter, Maynooth 7.2.2).


JUNE 27

Portugal 27.06.1980: The death at Torre d'Aguilha of Moisés Alves de Pinho, Archbishop emeritus of Luanda. As Provincial, he had done much to restore the Province before he was appointed Bishop of Angola and the Congo in 1932.

Canada 27.06.1980: An international noviciate is set up at Farnham.

Puerto Rico 27.06.1987: Luis Aponte, Archbishop of San Juan, presides at the mass when the first Group of the Foundation is being sent out to the mission in Brazil .

Central African Foundation 27.06.1989: The first general assembly of the FAC as an autonomous circumscription. It no longer depends on the superiors of the founding districts

“Our mission is always that of the Congregation, recognised as such through a process of discernment and accepted in obedience in accord with the Rule of Life... Whatever may be the work we are engaged in as priests or as brothers, we aim to bear witness to a kingdom of justice and peace by living together in community in genuine charity, in mutual forbearance, pardoning, sharing, ever hospitable and free from prejudice” (SRL : 22 & 24).


JUNE 28

Reunion 28.06.1817: L'Abbé Guilloteau, the new Apostolic Administrator of the island, arrives at St. Denis. He is the first Spiritan priest for Reunion, sent by M. Bertout, the superior of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.

Congo Brazzaville 1965: The Marxist government nationalises all private schools but permission is given to open the Seminary of St. John at Brazzaville.

TransCanada 1967: The Province sends missionaries to Brazil and to the native peoples of Alberta.

Trinidad 1967: The Spiritan mission to Paraguay is entrusted to the Province of Trinidad.

“For the good of your proposed work for the black people, I think it is almost indispensable that it be undertaken by a religious congregation. If it were something isolated from everything else, there would be no cohesion, individualism would soon threaten it and there would be a lack of stability. If the good Lord is pointing you in the direction of our Congregation, our spirit is totally apostolic and everything in our constitutions aims at producing missionaries who base themselves uniquely on the spirit of Jesus Christ and on nothing else” (Libermann to Le Vavasseur, commenting on his plans. 08.03.1839. NDI, p.639-640).


JUNE 29

C.S.Sp. 29.06.1908: As a result of the Constitution “Sapiens Consilio” of Pius X, the Congregation will depend henceforth on the Congregation for Religious for its religious life and on the Propaganda Fide for everything concerning its mission.

Canada 29.06.1917: The first successes in the baccalauréat. The Archbishop of Ottawa gives the tonsure to five scholastics.

Nigeria 29.06.1924: Bishop Shanahan founds the first Seminary in Southern Nigeria in the town of Igbarian. In 1951 this Seminary took the name of the Bigard Memorial Seminary after Jeanne Bigard and her mother, Stephanie, who together founded the society of St. Peter the Apostle. This Seminary will be run by Spiritans until 1970.

Angola 29.06.1977: The Angolan Province is created.

“Eighteen years ago I first came in contact with you. I had been in Africa for eighteen years before that, and now, at the close of my life I am returning. When I was working there as a young missionary, I thought Nigeria could not get on without me. God brought me home, and showed me that it could. I thought then that Killeshandra could not get on without me, but again, God showed me that it could” (Bishop Joseph Shanahan, 01.10.1938; his farewell message to the Holy Rosary Sisters. Letters I p.142).


JUNE 30

Trinidad 30.06.1966: On this day, Fr. Leonard Graf, aged 83, teaches his last day's class at St. Mary's College, Port of Spain. During his 60 years of teaching, he has missed only two days due to sickness.

Makurdi 1968: Fr. Donal Murray of the English Province takes over as Bishop of Makurdi. There are now 48 Spiritans working in the diocese.

Central African Foundation 1968: The General Chapter encourages the recruitment of Spiritan vocations in the dioceses of francophone Africa.

Switzerland 30.06.1987: The College at Bouveret is finally closed. It now becomes a centre for vocations and missionary awareness.

“Before his conversion, M. des Places found it impossible to live on the allowance he was given; after his conversion, he found it was enough not just for his own needs but for the needs of many more. When charity and mortification go hand in hand, it makes people ingenious in finding enough for themselves and the needs of the poor. Poullart hoped that one day, having given everything away, he would be forced to live on the handouts of others” (Pierre Thomas: Memoire sur la Vie de Poullart des Places ).

 

 

 

 
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