The Editor At the end of this month of November, when we celebrated the feast of Our Lady, we send you Nuntia. We ask God to allow us, like Mary, to be faithful to the vocation to which we have been called. Like her, may we proclaim God s marvels and pay God honor and glory, knowing God s glory is that human beings, especially the poor, have life. October Activities The Superior General On 6 October, together with the other members of the Curia, he made the retreat preparatory to Tempo Forte. In this day of reflection, they studied the section on the Identity and Vocation of the CM (articles from 1-9 of the Constitutions). The reflection was guided by Javier Álvarez, Vicar General. On 12 and 13 October, he travelled to Barcelona accompanied by Father Shijo, Postulator General, to take part in the Beatification of 522 martyrs. Among these were 14 confreres, 27 Daughters of Charity, and a Vincentian laywomen. From 16-20 October, the Curia community had its Spiritual Exercises. These took place in a house of the Daughters of Charity in Fasano (southern Italy). The topic of the retreat was: The mystery of the Incarnation in Vincentian Spirituality. It was animated by our confrere-bishop Luca Brandolini. After the retreat, the community visited the confreres who work in Lecce, saw the church where Justin De Jacobis was ordained, and, on returning to Rome, passed by San Fele, birthplace of Justin De Jacobis, where it celebrated Mass presided by Bishop Luca and with the participation of the local lay faithful. The confreres, who serve in Melfi, were also at this celebration. From 25-30 October, the Superior General, accompanied by the Visitor of Colombia, travelled to Alaska. There they are organizing the details of the new mission, where more than 30,000 Latin Americans, who are employed in this area, will be attended to pastorally. November Activities From 31 October to 3 November, together with Stanislav Zontak, Eli Chaves, and Juventino Castillero, he took part in the Meeting of MISEVI for Europe and the Middle East that was held in Slovakia.
November Activities On November 7, the Superior General traveled to Panama to make the canonical visitation of this new region of Panama, which is part of the USA Eastern Province. He visited all the houses where he had the opportunity to dialogue with confreres, visit the apostolates, and participate in various planned activities. During this time, he met with all the confreres of the region, where he had the opportunity to discuss his vision of the Congregation, and challenges we face for a better way to carry out the Mission. In addition to sharing these days with the confreres, the Superior General also spent time with other branches of the Vincentian Family in Panama. These events included typical Panamanian Masses, meetings, and time to interact. Near the end of the visit, he met with the International Council of Association of the Miraculous Medal, where, among other issues, they discussed plans for the first General Assembly in 2014. Upon returning to Rome on November 23, the Superior General spoke at a meeting for the Vincentian family in the Region of Lazio, Italy as they celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Ozanam. From November 25-6, he traveled to Genoa with Fr. Giuseppe Turati, the Secretary General to participate in a meeting of the Vincentian Family and to preside and preach at a Mass. Genoa is a historically important place, as it is where the first foundation of the Congregation of the Mission was established outside of France. From November 27-29, the Superior General participated in a meeting of the Union of Superiors General in Rome, the highlight of which was a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. In reflecting on this important occasion, he said, "Pope Francisco inspires me and challenges me to be in service of the Church and the Congregation.
Two Sister-Provinces Celebrating Their Centenaries Centenary of the Province of Colombia. (Taken from the Notice of Carlos Albeiro Velásquez, CM) The first French Lazaristes came to Colombian territory in 1870. They were sent to take on the work of the formation of the clergy in Popayán s vast diocese. The Province, which at the time was called Central American, was composed of the houses of Quito and Guayaquil (Ecuador), Popayán (New Granada [part of present-day Colombia]), Lima (Peru), and Guatemala. On 11 August 1913, Antoine Fiat erected the Province of Colombia with Juan Floro Bret as Visitor. The French origin of the first missionaries marked the life of the province and was determinant for its identity and dedication to the ministries proper to the Congregation. When the Province was erected, seven of the ten houses that existed in that of Central America were in Colombia: Cali, Nátaga, Santa Rosa, Tierradentro, Tunja and two in Popayán (major and minor seminaries). As for the personnel, 30 priests and nine brothers were the base on which the self-governing life was built. It is necessary to emphasize a series of characterizations of the province, which constitute its inheritance: attention to vocations, concern for the initial and ongoing formation of its members, fidelity to the charism expressed in the works, service to the Daughters of Charity and to lay Vincentians, openness to change, ecclesial projection, institutional representation, and service to other provinces. The centennial celebration intersects with that of the 50 years of Vatican II; that is to say that half of our history has been carried out at the rhythm of the conciliar renewal. It has been a century of presence in Colombian ecclesial life, contributing to evangelization from the charism. As Gustavo Foing also said in his first chronicle, this fatherland has been a land well constituted to receive the works of the Congregation; Saint Vincent, with all decision, wanted to take possession of this country. Different activities, which go from the academic area even to the festive, passing by the essential, including that of invigorating the spiritual life, encouraged by the missionary vocation and service to the poor, have been carried out in the context of 100 years. These celebrations reached their summit in September and were enriched by the presence of the Superior General from the 21 st to the 30 th. Centenary of the Province of Central America On 7 August 1913, the Superior General, Antoine Fiat, founded the Province of Central America. The first Visitor was Luis Durou Sure (1913-1928), who became Archbishop of Guatemala (1928-1938). That event was celebrated in the midst of the 2013 Provincial Assembly, which was held from 14-18 October of the present year in the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Retreat House situated in the Republic of Guatemala. The Eucharist was presided by Msgr. Rodolfo F. Bobadilla C.M., and concelebrated by the Visitor, Edilberto Lazo, with the confreres, seminarians, and representatives of the Vincentian Family present. Blessings and congratulations to these two provinces. May Jesus Christ, the evangelizer of the poor, continue to accompany them with his grace and raise up good and numerous vocations.
A brief reflection after the canonical visitation of the Saint Justin De Jacobis Province (30 October to 14 November 2013) Zeracristos Yosief, Assistant General Eritrea: half a century of agony Introduction: On 3 September 2013, through television channels around the world, we were witnesses to horrible scenes: the death of 366 Eritreans in the sea of Lampedusa. As we all recall from the televised transmission, there were more deaths, but the majority of the 530 unfortunate passengers, including 155 survivors, were Eritreans. In the bellies of the fish in the Mediterranean Sea, these last lifeless bodies are not the only ones. In fact, in the last decade many, many unknown Eritreans were the guests of honor of the Mediterranean Sea s fish. The world was silent as long as it could be, until finally, when the waves of the Mediterranean Sea brought to the Lampedusan coast the great quantity of lifeless bodies, the world became alarmed. Better late than never, but this story of the loss of Eritreans at sea, is a story that goes back years. Often, seeing the young Eritreans in agony and drowning in the sea, many maintained silence, as if nothing had happened. They kept their eyes and mouths closed. How right was Martin Luther King when he said: I am not worried about the intentions of the wicked and of ill-intentioned people, but of the silence of the majority, and especially of persons who are considered wise. All these bodies that we have seen in countless boxes, bodies that have floated in Lampedusa s sea, belong to persons who had a dream: to come to the promised land, Europe (not only to Italy, their dream was to go to Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway). And they did it: they were buried in Agrigento, Europe! After the bad news that the waves of the Mediterranean have brought to Lampedusa s coasts, is it right to wonder: what is happening in Eritrea? Why is there this massive exodus of young Eritreans? What is behind this massive exodus? These waves that carried the corpses, also brought their bags, photos of families lost in nothingness, and at least some identification cards. They were placed on Lampedusa s beach. The most curious thing is that this death is extremely costly: all those young Eritreans, whose bodies were brought by Lampedusa s waves, must have made many sacrifices. They must have paid a lot of money to cross the borders of Eritrea to Sudan or into Ethiopia. Then they crossed the Libyan desert with a second very costly payment. The third payment, not at all low, was to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The fourth, that unknown, was the way of going from Italy to Scandinavia (Sweden or Norway, since Switzerland decided not to take any more immigrants). And everything is very expensive. All this effort, on weary feet, or by camel, was only to end in nothing. In short, we live sick, to die healthy. Ironic is it not? While waiting, because hope is the last thing that is lost, that one day the fish of the Mediterranean Sea will come out of the water to bear witness to life and start counting the fatigue, the suffering of these flowers dry before time and in their youth, ask yourself what are the roots of this evil. Why are all these young people leaving their homes, their dear ones, their country? Why are they getting lost in the Sahara Desert before and later in the Mediterranean Sea?
The evil that the Eritreans want to avoid The great misfortune of Eritrea is the loss of a national sense. In fact, Eritreans are known for their sense of national identity. I would say that it is a question of an exasperated fanaticism. Today, it goes in the opposite direction. From the second half of the 60s until the 80s of the last century, Eritreans, after finishing their studies abroad, with some of the best degrees from universities like Harvard (USA) or Oxford (United Kingdom), did not dream of living in the USA and much less in the United Kingdom. Many went to the Sahel region, to the headquarters of the guerrillas who fought for the independence of Eritrea, leaving behind even university professorships. Nowadays, the opposite happens. Why? It is true that the tree, from which fruit that is never bitter or inedible is gathered today, was planted and grew during the struggle for Eritrean independence from undeclared communism. Ninety-five percent of the young Eritreans since then have not had the opportunity to be educated. In the middle are the few educated and those who show power with a high level of manipulation under the appearance of nationalism. Among the abovementioned is and continues to be the current president, Isayas Afewerki, a man who has never shown any interest in the wellbeing of Eritrea: he lives for himself, maybe even with an undiscovered hidden agenda. His origins are still a subject of debate; the Eritrean roots are not deep. But this would be a minor evil. Isayas and his pals, from the 70s, especially from 1973, ended by dividing the people of Eritrea between Christians and Muslims; between the inhabitants of the highlands and the inhabitants of the valleys. But especially, among three provinces of the highlands, where the majority speak Tigrigna, he has managed to put one against the other, sowing discord that divides them. In short, he learned well the philosophy of colonization: divide and conquer, but without calculating the serious consequences. Thus, while genuinely an overwhelming majority of Eritreans fought the cause of their country, paying dearly with their lives, mutilation, family disintegration, and social imbalance in the country; Isayas Afewerki paved the way to gain power, sowing discord, learning both Arabic and English, the two national languages. Yes, he had his own plan and succeeded. But Eritreans were too naive and innocent to understand his hidden agenda. With independence, which took place on 24 May 1991, those who fought for the cause of Eritrea innocently, after the first two years of preparation, in 1993 again began to say We have done our duty to liberate Eritrea from foreign forces, now deliver the power to the people. To flesh out this idea they worked hard at preparing the ground: they began to prepare the Constitution, the document/standard for the multiparty system. All the commissions presented their finished work to the President and they were ready to be announced, but instead of the proclamation of the Constitution and Rules for the multiparty system, Eritrea declared war against Ethiopia in 1998. This killed more people than the Thirty Years War (1961-1991). Why? No one ever knew the reason. The Eritreans said the country was attacked by the Ethiopians, due to the poorly defined border at Badimé. Nobody knew where Badimé was. Decades later, we are now able to understand something: it was just an excuse. Isayas and his companions soon sought an outlet to escape from the trap in which Eritrean scholars put them: a life governed by the Constitution and avoiding the dictatorship of Isayas s single party. After the war, the second wave of the war with Ethiopia in 2000 AD, these Eritrean scholars resumed their project of delivery of power to the people, but this time they paid with their lives: one was killed in secret and others stuck in harsh and unknown prisons, including 11 former ministers. Faced with these facts, Eritreans began reading. This is the very unfortunate situation; they became divided rather than fighting against their common enemy, making senseless politics and war for the benefit of their common enemy. The big problem is that the political system has sown distrust and nobody trusts anybody. Two Eritreans can speak about politics without putting their lives at risk. If one dares to comment, the next day he disappears. Each one prefers doing his own chores, evidently escaping without sharing personally his project with anyone; maybe they can be seen in Shire s fields or in Sudan s Shegereab. It is sad. These problems mentioned previously are the roots of the evil in this people. A very worried and suffering people. The people of Eritrea, as a politically incipient people, is being administered by a few corrupt and malicious people with the high cost of the loss of their youth coming into being as dried flowers in the Sahara Desert or the guests of honor of the Mediterranean fish. Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of them about whom nobody has spoken until now. These 366 lifeless Eritrean bodies brought by Lampedusa s waves are only a small part of the many young persons who are losing their lives for nothing because their country is suffocating. The mountains and the valleys of Eritrea are not hospitable, the young Eritreans are seeking personal freedom, because they feel stifled, forced to hard labor, and without breath. This hard labor includes that done for their bosses personal matters. Briefly, a young Eritrean feels like a thing and not a human being. From 18 to 50 years old they are trapped into forced military service regardless of age, leaving behind elderly parents, children, and spouses. Bound to work for the interest of others, whether some military officers or the president himself, they prefer to deal with the risks of the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea. And this they do. As you can imagine this makes them fall into despair. As if all this were not enough, the Eritrean people also suffer from natural disasters. In fact, in a society that is based on agriculture and traditional grazing, the little that it is capable of producing would be drastically affected by the lack of rain. As a matter of fact, the previous rainy season, from April to September, has been very scanty, so that the harvest this year has been virtually zero. The alarm of hunger is visible in the streets of Asmara, where an enormous hungry multitude is encountered already. Drinking water is and always will be the most serious problem for life. I make this call to the entire Vincentian Family so that those who have the possibility of helping the Eritreans will do so, for the situation is very delicate and vulnerable. Because the Eritrean Government does not allow help, I ask that it be done silently and without making any noise. This is possible through the Congregation of the Mission or the Daughters of Charity, who already serve in Eritrea.
Nominationes / Confirmationes HAILE Tesfamariam 21/11/2013 Director DC Eritrea Necrologium Nomen Cond. Dies ob. Prov. Aet. Voc. CAWLEY Thomas F. Sac 18/10/2013 Occ 83 65 SEIDEL Aldo Sac 10/11/2013 Cur 59 38 SURLAS Mieczysław Sac 15/11/2013 Pol 82 61 DARRIELULAT Jean-Pierre Sac 29/11/2013 Tol 78 61