VIA LATINA 22

# 296 - January 2021

News from the General Administration - Society of Mary

Visit to Malawi

From November 27 to December 8, the General Assistants for Education and

Religious Life (Bro. Maximin Magnan, SM and Fr. Pablo Rambaud, SM), visited the

communities and works of the Society of Mary in Malawi. The visit was scheduled for

October, along with the rest of the Region of Eastern Africa, but the restrictions of the

government of Malawi prevented it from taking place at that time.

The two members of the General Council visited the communities located in

Malawi: Karonga and Lilongwe. The trip between both places is long (about 9 hours),

allowing them the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this country..

Bro. Maximin Magnan, SM and Fr. Pablo Rambaud, SM visit Chaminade Marianist

Secondary School in Lilongwe

Our Marianist presence in Karonga has a long tradition and is currently linked to the

technical institute MIRACLE(Marianist Institute of Rural Artisans for Christian Life

Education), www.miracletech.ac.mw. A community of four religious works there at

different levels of responsibility and ministry. For a few years now, the Marianist

Sisters (FMI) have also had a community in Karonga, which has made it possible to

have several joint meetings of both communities.

The Lilongwe community is much newer, barely a year old, and is linked to the new

Chaminade Secondary School. At the moment, there are only 80 first-year students,

but admissions for next year are already complete... and there are more than 500

applications for each year! This community, made up of five brothers, has the great

challenge of setting up a new work, and, at the same time, doing this in the midst of a

pandemic.

At the end of this visit, the members of the General Council had a meeting with Fr.

Gabriel Kirangah, SM, Superior of the Region, and Bro. Innocent Chikwanda, SM,

Assistant for Temporalities, to present the report of this part of the visit to the Region.

We thank the two communities in Malawi for their welcome and especially Fr. Steve

Mburu Wanyoike, SM for all his assistance. We promise to keep them in our prayers.

New look for Marianist.org

The international website for the Society of Mary, which is also the home of

the World Council of the Marianist Family, has been completely revised! It is still

full of information about the SM, as well as the World Council and the other branches

of the Marianist Family. But now it is presented in a completely new design. Other

new features include:

Easier navigation

A searchable database of past issues of Via Latina 22 and SM 3 Offices

A searchable database of the SM Necrology

A special SM Members-Only “portal” for additional information not open to the

public. Click on “Password Help” for access.

Updated links to Marianist resources in various languages, especially useful

for research and reference regarding the Marianist Charism

Interactive maps

While the site has already “gone live” with its basic components, it is still in

development, so more will be added gradually. We invite you to

visit www.marianist.org and take a look. Comments may be sent

to webmaster@marianist.org .

Relic of the Blessed Gapp in the cathedral of

Graz

The Diocese of Graz (Austria) is renovating the interior of the diocesan cathedral.

Once they completed the work on the presbytery, the President of the Cathedral

Chapter, Fr Heinrich Schnuderl, consecrated the altar on December 13.

In the new and beautiful gray-black basalt altar, he placed the relics of two witnesses

to the faith, who had a relationship with Graz, St. Johannes Sarkander and Blessed

Jakob Gapp, SM. Sarkander studied theology at the Jesuit University of Graz; he was

ordained a priest and sent to Moravia, where the Protestants martyred him in 1620 in

Olomuc. Father Gapp was a teacher from 1934 to 1938 at the Marian-Institute run by

the Society of Mary.

During his homily, Father Schnuderl explained that the altar is a visible sign of God's

proximity and communion with us. He said of the two martyrs: "your witness of faith

obliges and encourages us to offer ourselves with Christ to God in every Eucharist

and in our daily lives.”

Adèle and Chaminade, our "Holy Founders!"

On January 10 and 22 the Marianist Family will celebrate the anniversaries of the

ascension to heaven of its Blessed Founders, Adele (1828) and Chaminade

(1850). Throughout their entire lives, they had holiness as their goal.

Adele and Chaminade aimed for holiness with all their strength and sought to lead

their disciples to this same holiness. "Come on, cheer up!” Adele told her sisters. "We

are in the quest to become Saints, let us not abandon the sacred banners of the

Cross! "

“The dear Community of Agen” wrote Chaminade in 1824, "I love it in Our Lord Jesus

Christ, and ardently desire to see all its members raised to holiness. - With the help of

the saints, we will reach our goal! "

More than ever, our world today needs these two witnesses who were eager to serve.

Let us offer both examples to the people of the modern world.

Speaking of the faith of Father Chaminade, Fr. André-Joseph Fétis said:

"Contemplating our Founder as a man of faith is of great benefit to us and is a deep

source of inspiration. May we follow such an example and adapt it to our present

circumstances! (Circular No. 1 of March 25, 2020).

The official recognition by the Church of the holiness of Adele and Chaminade comes

through our ardor to pray through their intercession so that God Himself may make

them Saints.

The Year of Saint Joseph

We are delighted to hear about the year of St. Joseph chosen by the Pope

(December 8, 2020 - December 8, 2021). The reading of the Apostolic

Letter Patris Corde (With a Father's Heart) offers us the opportunity to

meditate on the role of St. Joseph in our lives. We know the great importance

that he occupies in our tradition, under the inspiration of our Founder.

"I can hardly express the sentiment of happiness and confidence I had in ...

earnestly recommending [our beautiful Society] to St. Joseph. It is your family, I

said to him with great effusion of heart. ... Great Saint, provide for all our

needs with an altogether paternal solicitude! Our needs are great ... : but all is

being confided you." (G.-Joseph Chaminade, Circular of March 21, 1841).

To read Patris Corde:

EN ES FR

Necrology 2020

# Name Date Place Age Prof. Unit

1 Arturo Pérez Cidad Jan. 8 Buenos Aires 87 68 AR

2 *Francisco de Luna Aguado Jan. 13 Madrid 84 66 ES

3 *Bernard Lee Jan. 26 San Antonio 87 64 US

4 *David Arnold Fleming Mar. 12 Dayton 80 63 US

5 *Francisco de Lora Soria Mar. 23 Ciudad Real 86 68 ES

6 Remo Franch Apr. 6 Verbania Pallanza 94 76 IT

7 Felipe Campo Sedano Apr. 12 Madrid 88 70 ES

8 *Ignacio Prado García Apr. 16 Madrid 88 70 ES

9 Isidoro Pérez Castro Apr. 17 Madrid 87 69 ES

10 Hubert Margrève Apr. 21 Grigny 90 70 FR

11 *Ernest Peter Lorfanfant May 19 New York 82 63 ME

12 *Lawrence Bernard Doersching May 27 San Antonio 74 55 US

13 Raymond Michael Kane (US) May 27 Little Neck 81 62 US

14 *Okouin Pierre N'dja Jun. 2 Abidjan 58 23 IV

15 Hugh Charlson Jun. 25 San Antonio 86 67 US

16 *Miguel Ángel Ferrando Palacios Jun. 28 Santiago de Chile 89 71 CH

17 Agustín Pujana Uría Jul. 5 Madrid 82 63 ES

18 Hugh William Bihl Jul. 27 San Antonio 89 67 US

19 *Julio Nieto San José Jul. 30 Madrid 76 57 ES

20 *Jacques Breton Aug. 26 St-Raphaël 91 74 CA

21 *Paul Theodor Schenker Aug. 27 Hägendorf 76 56 SU

22 Lawrence John Cada Aug. 27 Dayton 82 63 US

23 *Norbert Clifford Burns Aug. 28 Dayton 96 77 US

24 Juan Lecue Echevarría Sep. 3 Vitoria-Gasteiz 98 78 ES

25 *Juan Ramón Urquía Barroso Sep. 7 Madrid 93 74 ES

26 *James Francis Kunes Sep. 12 Dayton 89 71 US

27 Luciano Levri Sep. 13 Roma 75 58 IT

28 *John Manahan Sep. 16 San Antonio 87 66 US

29 *Rudy Vela Sep. 29 San Antonio 68 48 US

30 Michael Murphy Oct. 18 Cupertino 81 58 US

31 Wilbert Leonard Hamm Oct. 20 Dayton 97 78 US

32 Karl Greiner Oct. 25 Sion 94 70 SU

33 *Mario Lago Oct. 31 Roma 82 65 IT

34 *José López Fernández de Luco Nov. 8 Zaragoza 87 71 ES

35 Victor Michael Forlani Dec. 2 Dayton 77 58 US

36 Edward James Unferdorfer Dec. 7 Dayton 95 77 US

37 Robert Nelson Wiethorn Dec. 10 Dayton 79 60 US

38 James Facette Dec. 17 Dayton 86 67 US

39 *Yukinori François-X. Matsumoto Dec. 20 Tokyo 66 42 JA

40 Marc Turcotte Dec. 20 Lévis 90 73 CA

41 Donald Raymond Geiger Dec. 29 Dayton 87 68 US

Jubilarians 2021

January 23

(50° ordination)

*Ley, Theodore (US)

February 11

(60° profession)

Bruner, David Lawrence (ME)

Fachet, Robert Anthony (ME)

February 24

(25° profession)

*Kim, Il Young Francis (KO)

March 21

(50° profession)

*Magome, Shinkichi François-X. (JA)

March 25

(60° profession)

*Shimizu, Kazuo Louis-Ibaragi (JA)

March 27

(50° ordination)

*Colombo, Alberto (IT)

*Kitora, Yoshinobu Raphaël (JA)

*Sebastián de Erice, José Ramón (ES)

*Subero, Francisco Javier (ES)

April 12

(50° ordination)

*Süß, Josef (OE)

May 18

(25° ordination)

*Nartker, Michael (US)

May 19

(70° ordination)

*Ruiz, Feliciano (ES

June 11

(60° ordination)

*Boissonneault, François (CA)

*Cahill, Donald (US)

June 27

(50° ordination)

*Hirate, Katsuhiro François-X. (JA)

*Tsuboko, Masachika Jean de la Croix (JA)

June 30

(25° profession)

*Balana, Togaba Matthieu (TO)

July 16

(60° ordination)

*Collicelli, Antonio (IT)

*De Martini, Pierino (IT)

*Kerschbaummayr, Franz (OE)

*Uvietta, Joseph John (US)

*Vázquez, Fernando (ES)

July 24

(50° ordination)

*Blais, Gérard (CA)

*Gilbert, Paul-Arthur (CA)

August 1

(25° ordination)

*Maweni Malebi, Stanislas (FR)

August 12

(50° ordination)

*Karasuyama, Sukeo Pierre (JA)

*Shimizu, Kazuyuki Antoine (JA)

August 15

(25° profession)

García García, Fermín (US)

(50° profession)

Fournier, Louis (US)

*Kenney, Timothy Michael (US)

(60° profession)

*Colombo, Alberto (IT)

Galbersanini, Lucio (IT)

Pedrollo, Leonardo Renato (IT)

*Segalla, Remo (CE)

(70° profession)

*Hackel, Robert Edward (US)

Karpfinger, Norbert (US)

*Rasky, Joseph (US)

August 22

(60° profession)

*Bertoni, Albert Frank (ME)

Rech, Frederick Warren (US)

*Schroer, Thomas Anthony (US)

Silbereis, Frederick J. (US)

Zubek, Stanley John (US)

September 2

(60° profession)

*Müller, Leo (SU)

(70° profession)

Dreiling, Herbert (OE)

September 5

(60° profession)

*Hammel, Gerald (US)

Jaeckle, James (US)

Straubinger, Kenneth (US)

September 8

(70° profession)

Lemker, John Richard (US)

*Russell, James Aloysius (US)

September 12

(60° profession)

García, Leoncio (ES)

Pérez, Gregorio (ES)

(70° profession)

Ayuso, Juan (CH)

*Ayuso, Jesús (ES)

*Bielza, Enrique (CH)

*Bringas, Antonio (ES)

Cadas, Désiré (FR)

Fernández, José (ES)

Santidrián, Julio (ES)

Urizarna, Luciano (ES)

*Valmaseda, Martín (ES)

September 15

(25° profession)

*McDaid, Patrick Thomas (US)

September 18

(75° profession)

Ibabe, Segundo (ES)

*Lora, Cecilio de (CE)

Pedrosa, Máximo (ES)

October 2

(60° profession)

*Stoltz, Jacques (FR)

October 12

(70° profession)

*Collicelli, Antonio (IT)

November 2

(70° profession)

*Delgado, Rafael (ES)

November 5

(60° profession)

*Mensdorff-Pouilly, Eugen (OE)

November 21

(80° profession)

*Vial, Bernard (FR)

G.A. Communications recently sent

Death Notices: # 35-41 Dec. 1: Letter of request of information regarding the Directory of Marianist

Works of Education 2020-2021, in three languages, to all Assistants of

Education, from the General Assistant of Education, Bro. Maximin Magnan,

SM.

Dec. 17: Document on the Meeting of the Enlarged General Council

(November 19-20, 2020), in three languages, to the Presidents of Zonal

Conferences and Unit Superiors from the Superior General, P. André-Joseph

Fetís, SM.

Happy New Year 2021!

"Behold, I'm doing something new: it's already sprouting, can't

you see it? Yes, I am going to make a path through the desert,

rivers in dry places". (Is. 43,19).

The Via Latina communities wish all members of the Marianist

family a Merry Christmas and a Holy and Blessed New Year.

May the Lord bless us and through the intercession of the Virgin

Mary, Star of the Sea in the storm, may we find serenity in our

mission.