Via Nazareth Rome, September 2013 Nr 23 A Witness of Faith and Hope 1 M. Jana Zawieja This is the name commonly given to the Servant of God, Cardinal Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan from Vietnam who died in Rome in 2002, in the odor of sanctity. In recent days, the diocesan stage of his beatification and canonization process ended (in the Diocese of Rome). I was fortunate and privileged to participate in these celebratory closing events. Therefore it is a good time to learn more about the figure of this Servant of God. It is to his intercession that we entrust our preparation for the opening of our Nazareth mission in Vietnam. Francis-Xavier was born on April 17, 1928, in Hue, Vietnam. He comes from a family in which many died as martyrs for the faith. Since childhood, he had felt a vocation in his heart and, following this calling, was ordained in 1953. He was sent to study for his doctorate in Canon Law in Rome and graduated in 1959. After returning to Vietnam, he was a lecturer and the rector of the seminary. In 1964, he was made Vicar General, and three years later named the Bishop of the Diocese of Nha Trang. In April 1975, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). A few months later, on August 15, he was arrested by the Communist authorities and imprisoned. In harsh prison conditions, amongst various trials and tribulations, and in isolation from the faithful, the Cardinal spent 13 long years. However, he never lost hope, never stopped smiling even often through his tears. His faith became even stronger, and his love for Christ and his Church became more beautiful each day. After thirteen years, he was released, but expelled from his beloved Vietnam. It was then that he came to Italy where the Pope appointed him to be the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. During the Great Jubilee Year 2000, at the request of Blessed John Paul II, he preached the Lenten retreat for the Pope and his collaborators. On February 21, 2001, he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal. After a long and difficult illness, he died in Rome on September 16, 2002. He is the author of many valuable books, including "Five Loaves and Two Fish. The diocesan stage of the beatification and canonization process was unusually quick and very intensive. Much evidence was collected, including the testimony of witnesses to the heroic life of the Cardinal.
On July 5, in the Basilica of St. Anthony in Rome, a large Vietnamese community gathered. Delegations came from Vietnam (along with the current Bishop of the Diocese of Nha Trang) as well as the diaspora (from the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, etc.). The main celebrant of the Mass was Cardinal Peter Turkson Kodwo Appiah (originally from Ghana), the current President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The mass was concelebrated by almost 70 priests, mostly Vietnamese. It is impossible to describe in words the beauty of the liturgy, especially the songs performed by the choir made up of Sisters and seminarians from Vietnam. In his homily, Cardinal Turkson recalled one of his meetings with Cardinal Van Thuan when he had come to Ghana to preach a retreat for the Bishops of Ghana. How strongly his heart was moved by Cardinal Van Thuan s words about adoration and how the formation of seminarians was to be first on their knees, before the tabernacle! In Cardinal Peters heart remained the memories of his smiles and the good humor of an indomitable Shepherd, full of love, peace, hope and faith. After the Mass, in a colorful procession, we went to the building of the Roman Curia in the Lateran Palace. Here was to take place the official session of the closing of the process and the transfer of documentation to the judges from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican. Interestingly, the process will be conducted on Fr. Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the former postulator for the process of Blessed Pope John Paul II. At the end of the session all those gathered were invited for refreshments in the courtyard of the palace. It was a good time to be able to exchange a few words with some familiar people, including Fr. Paul Phan, whom I had the opportunity to meet a couple of years ago. Fr. Paul, in his youth, knew the Cardinal and served with him in the last years of his life in Rome. Fr. Paul is one of the people who helped us to establish some good contacts in Vietnam. It was also a pleasant surprise to have the opportunity to talk with Cardinal Turkson, who showed much interest in our mission in Ghana. Let me just remind you Sisters that Cardinal Turkson was a guest at our generalate at the start of the last General Chapter. This full day finished with yet another session at the Pontifical University Antonianum, during which certain aspects from the pastoral letters of the Servant of God were presented. The words of Cardinal Law resounded especially strongly as he spoke with emotion about the Vietnamese Martyrs of the Church and the faith transmitted in families, such as that of Cardinal Van Thuan, for whom his first and best religion teacher was his mother. Today, beautiful fruits are visible not only in Vietnam but also in many places where the Vietnamese people were scattered due to persecution. In many local churches (such as in the U.S.), they give clear testimony of strong faith, lively hope and Christian charity. The last element of the day s meeting was a classical music concert. 2
On July 6, in the afternoon, Pope Francis received us for a private audience in the Apostolic Palace. It was a great joy and a great privilege. The Holy Father did not hide his joy at the occasion of this meeting. He also encouraged all those present to draw from the luminous example of faith of the Servant of God. We all met up again at 4:30 pm, this time in Trastevere, in the church of Santa Maria della Scala, where now lie the relics of the Servant of God (in the right side altar of the church). The Mass was also attended by Sisters Helen, Angela Marie and Beata. We wanted to pray together for the intentions of Sr. Angela s soon departure (July 9) for Vietnam (about which Sister herself will write more). Once again, a beautiful Mass - this time all in Vietnamese. Fortunately, from time to time someone translated into Italian. Although, the lack of understanding of the words did not really get in the way of our being connected in our hearts to what was being celebrated, especially through the beautiful and moving songs. We prayed also by the relics of the Servant of God, asking for his intercession in our undertakings. Let me now finish with my personal reflection.looking at the young faces of the sisters and priests, seeing their enthusiasm, hearing their prayer and singing, I certainly realized once again that if the Lord makes the way for us to carry our charism to Vietnam, then we ourselves will have the opportunity to be enriched by the spirit, the breath of faith, hope, joy and vitality of the Church of Vietnam, a Church made fruitful a hundredfold through the blood of martyrs. Sisters, understanding that we sometimes question our missionary role, I would like to share the words of the Servant of God Cardinal Van Thuan: "The Christian spirit and the missionary spirit are one. It would be worthwhile for us to reflect on this. Translated by: Sr. Angela Marie Mazzeo Another step toward Vietnam 3 Sr. Angela Marie Mazzeo As I prepared to leave for Vietnam, I really didn t know what to expect. Only that it would, of course, be something new. On July 10, 2013, after a long plane ride with a stopover in Singapore, I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as Saigon) where I was met by Sr. Julianna Tran from Holy Family Province, and a priest from the Xuan Loc Seminary where Sr. Julianna assists with the English language program run by Holy Family University.
Later that day, we were joined by Sr. Maria Fe, the Provincial Superior from the Philippines, and then began our trip to Xuan Loc. It was already dark, so there wasn t a chance to see much of the country. That would come later as we crisscrossed the Ho Chi Minh and Xuan Loc dioceses for different events and meetings. After we arrived and I got to my room, I found everything that I would need waiting for me, including mosquito netting. This was my first experience with this netting. I quickly attached it to my bed. Somehow having it up made me feel more comfortable. No surprise, since I really dislike mosquitos! The next morning, we were warmly welcomed by the priests who make up the faculty at the seminary. The seminarians also did their best to make us feel welcomed. This seminary serves over 400 seminarians from 5 dioceses. A number of them were very happy to engage us in conversation in English (which I must say they did quite well). Another seminarian tried to greet and speak with me in Italian, assuming that since I lived in Rome, that I would know Italian well (very logical, but unfortunately, not true). Fortunately, he spoke very simply and slowly enough that I could understand and respond with simple answers. I thought this was very kind, considerate, and brave. That same day we were able to briefly meet with Bishop Joseph Dao, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Xuan Loc Diocese and Rector of the Seminary, to discuss more about the purpose of our trip which included working on the next steps in preparation for service in Vietnam, and exploring future ministry possibilities. With the assistance of Bishop Joseph, we were able to accomplish these goals, and learn so much more! S. Maria Fe and I were in Vietnam approximately a week and spent a lot of time on the road. One of the thing that immediately strikes you is the number of motorcycles. At least 80% of the vehicles on the road are motorcycles which seem to be moving in a pattern of organized chaos. The Sisters use these motorcycles too, some even for taking students to and from school from their boarding houses. During the week, we visited and talked to Sisters from 11 congregations located in either the Ho Chi Minh or Xuan Loc Dioceses. Some of these were congregations that were Vietnamese in origin and had been established prior to the fall of Saigon in 1975. Others were newer to Vietnam, most often new missions or provinces of foreign congregations. This gave us the opportunity to discuss a number of topics including the requirements for establishing a mission here, the political situation in the country, the different formation practices of the congregations, their ministries, etc. One thing that was common amongst all of them was their ministry in pre-schools. Some congregations were solely focused on education, while others ran at least one pre-school in addition to other ministries. (In Vietnam, congregations cannot run an elementary or high school. The government will only allow them to run pre-schools.) 4
We had the chance to visit a few of these pre-schools and daycares. We received a wonderful welcome from the children complete with singing, clapping and even some dancing. But a couple of times, I realized that to them I look very different. At one point, I had to laugh because I had a group gathered around me and even touching my face trying to see if I felt the same as them. One of the last Congregations that we visited were the Salesian Sisters who have been in Vietnam since 1961. Soon after we arrived we were invited for an afternoon snack which was a healthy choice of exotic fruits, at least they were exotic for me. I was particularly curious about the very colorful dragon fruit which turned out to be very tasty. During our time with them, the Sisters shared about their experience of the communist takeover in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, about how some had been imprisoned and how they had lost buildings to the government. Eventually some of the buildings were returned to them, but in terrible condition. My first thought was how similar their history is to that of our Sisters in Poland. While there, we were also invited to pray evening prayer with them in Vietnamese (although they were kind enough to give me an English breviary to follow along). After evening prayer, I was asked to talk about our Charism and Mother Foundress. After sharing with them, especially about the beginnings of our congregation and some of the struggles encountered by Mother Foundress, I asked their novices to pray that we would have the courage to continue to respond to the needs in the same way as our Foundress, especially in Vietnam if this is where God is leading us. In addition to meeting with the different congregations, we were invited to attend two confirmations with the Bishop in order to give us a better sense of parish life and get a small glimpse into the needs that exist. These experiences were very valuable for me, especially when we travelled to a poorer and more rural area where many ethnic migrants from the mountain area in North Vietnam are living. One of the priests who was actually ministering in a nearby parish took great effort to share with us in English about the lack of accessibility to education for his people and how few Sisters were to serve in this area of the diocese. I was very touched by what he shared and only wished we had been able to understand each other better so that I could have learned more. Besides meeting with different Sisters, we were also fortunate enough to have a number of opportunities to speak with the Bishops. We had one meeting with both Bishop Dominique Nguyen and Bishop Joseph Dao. During this meeting, Bishop Dominique shared with us some of his vision for the future and his plans for creating a family center. We had two additional meetings with Bishop Joseph in which he stressed that our charism is very much needed there. In our conversations throughout the week, the bishop offered different pieces of advice and wisdom. But I was most struck by his statement, that coming to serve in Vietnam will require trusting in God s Providence. 5
As I mentioned in the beginning, I did not know what to expect before I arrived in this new place. Indeed, I found many things that were new-- new foods, a different language, a different political environment, some different ways of living, etc. But I also found many things that reminded me of the Philippines, while some of the stories that were shared reminded me of the history in Poland or the realities in the Ukraine and other places. All throughout this trip I prayed, asking God to show me what He wanted of us, if and how He wanted us to serve His children in this land. Throughout the week, I had more questions than answers, sometimes feeling discouraged, while other times feeling very hopeful. Oddly, it was during my time waiting in the airport, when I had a great sense of clarity, a deep sense of God wanting us to be courageous and to serve in this place despite the obvious challenges. So now, we can only take the first steps and leave it all in His Hands. International Planning Meeting in Lourdes - Pilgrimage of Faith 6 Sr. Halina Dołęga The report from the International Planning Meeting has probably already reached all our local communities. It describes the topics of our meeting, the reports, discussions and mutual sharing that took place. The selection of the location for the meeting suggests another dimension the dimension of faith which is more difficult for me to describe. Lourdes is in fact proof of an invisible reality, here you can feel God who is love and identifies with that which is fragile, weak and helpless. The International Planning Meeting this year was held at the Polish Catholic Mission home, Bellevue, in Lourdes. While walking in the garden, we could admire the Pyrenees Mountains. Above the city, we saw another peak in the valley, the tower of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, built at the site of the apparitions. Thus, even while we were at home, we were able to turn our eyes to the grotto at Massabielle. Each evening at 9 pm, the echo of the songs being sung during the rosary procession rose up to the house. Today, the whole world sings of what took place in Lourdes in 1858. Pilgrims coming to Lourdes carry rosaries in their hands and pray asking for Mary s intercession. Ave Maria or Hail Mary is repeated thousands of times each day in communal and personal prayer. The sanctuary of Lourdes is the most visited shrine in Europe. We met groups of pilgrims as well as individual pilgrims everywhere. Here one can find peace and quiet but not a place of solitude. Prayerful reflection is seen on the faces of the pilgrims, and the grotto of the apparitions, with its statue of the Immaculate Conception, gives one the sense of the sacred, of holy ground and radiates to all the places of pilgrimage. Perhaps the most astonishing sight in Lourdes is that of the hundreds or rather thousands of sick persons in wheelchairs. They take part in all the services and have their special place in the shrine. Here, the sick can truly feel at home. The number of volunteers that minister to the sick both directly and in various services is amazing.
Lourdes illustrates that God chooses that which is small, unknown, cast aside. It shows that true greatness does not correspond to worldly opinions. The Grotto, where the Blessed Mother revealed herself to Saint Bernadette, then a poor illiterate fourteen year old girl, was called the swine pit by the local inhabitants. God, who is beauty, goodness and love, desires a close bond with mankind. Those who are experiencing their helplessness, powerlessness, limitations, failures and woundedness, illness of body or soul cling to the Giver of healing and of cleansing, to the one who is the Rock, the Light, the Way. This is perhaps the key to the popularity of the shrine. We realized that each particular act in Lourdes has a deep meaning. Together with the pilgrims we touched the rocks, drank the water from the spring, washed our faces with the water and some of us took advantage of bathing in the pools specially prepared for pilgrims, we lit candles Because we need a strong foundation on our journey of faith, we need the cleansing and fulfillment of our thirsts at the pure source; we need light so as not to lose our way and, but rather to journey in the right direction. The candles in Lourdes are white with a blue tip, reminding us that Christ is our light but that Mary leads us on the way to God. Prayers for and remembrance of loved ones is expressed through prayer as well as taking of water from the spring. Each time we were at the grotto there was a line at the water tap. The amount of water and the size of the containers are sometimes impressive! Since the International Planning Meeting lasted longer than a week it allowed us to combine our work with prayer. We participated in the services unique to the sanctuary; we had time for personal prayer. Together we walked in the footsteps of Saint Bernadette. We saw each of the basilicas: the oldest that is the crypt, the lower the Basilica of the Rosary and the upper the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. They harmonize with one another and blend into the mountainous landscape. We participated in the Eucharistic procession which begins at the Adoration pavilion, where there is daily exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and finishes with a special blessing at the underground basilica of Saint Pius X that can accommodate 25,000 pilgrims. Some of us took advantage of going to confession. The chapel of reconciliation is a separate single story building housing 48 confessionals where priests hear confessions in various languages. On September 7, in response to the appeal of Pope Francis, we prayed for peace in Syria and the Middle East, fasted and participated in the evening candlelight rosary procession. 7
On the day of our arrival a few of us took part in the rosary procession which turned out to be the 150 th anniversary of the first procession. On Sunday, September 8, we participated in the Mass celebrated at the grotto in the intentions of our Mother General, the administration and all the sisters of our congregation. On the other days, Mass was celebrated at our house in the intentions of each of the provinces. Thus in our prayer we remembered all of Nazareth in different ways and in different places. We thank Sister Teresita for hosting the meeting and the community at Lourdes for the possibility of being there. The place and its surroundings are truly beautiful as we convinced ourselves especially on September 4. On that day, the feast day of our Martyred Sisters, we were on an outing. At an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level, on the so called Petit train d Artouste, we rode on the highest railway route in Europe. The views were truly beautiful although for those of us who have a fear of heights it is not always possible to admire the view. At the end of the journey we reached the mountain peak situated among the lakes with crystal clear water. I believe that Lourdes in this Year of Faith, through the presence of representatives from each of the provinces in the person of the provincial superiors and the general administration has become a place of strengthening the faith of each of us. Translated by: Sr. Mercedes Maliszewski Conserving History 8 Sr. Beata Rudzińska The Sisters meeting concerning the Congregation s history and our archives, which took place in January this year in Rome, in addition to the specific decisions made regarding the writing of the history of the Congregation, bore another unexpected fruit. During January s deliberations, we were accompanied by Mother Foundress 'looking' at us from the large picture on the wall in the Generalate. However, someone was closely watching Mother Foundress too...
S. Elena Wróbel, Provincial Superior of Krakow and the Chair of the archivists meeting, said at one point: perhaps Sr. Salome could come to Rome and do some conservation work on this picture, because it could probably use it? M. Jana welcomed this proposal. S. Salomea Parzych joined the Congregation in 2000. As her "dowry" she brought with her, amongst other things, a talent for painting. In 2012, Sister finished her higher studies in the area of conservation and restoration of works of art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and started working as a restorer. It was necessary to wait for Sister to finish her previous work commitments before she would have a break and be able to come to Rome. Based on photos that were sent, S. Salome assessed the current state of our most valuable paintings to determine what needed to be done and purchased the necessary materials. With these, Sister came to the Generalate at the end of August. It is a mistake to think that the restoration of a painting involves only a little work with some paint and a brush. Led by curiosity and some strange scents, more than once we went to where Sister is doing her restoration work. Here we saw that the paintings were washed, ironed, darned, straightened, and only at the end painted in places where necessary and coated with a protective layer. This is, of course, our perception of reality and our terminology. Sr. Salomea, in a report prepared for each image documenting the conservation process, spoke of it more professionally, namely: surface cleaning, removal of the old varnish, gluing and mending tears, filling cavities in the canvas, replacing the internal frames, complementing the paint layer, removal of overpainting from earlier restoration efforts (interestingly the restoration work ages faster than the original image), painting, and varnishing. The following images have been restored: Images of our Foundress painted by M. Pawla Gażycz, Sr. Rosa Romanowicz, Franciscan, and Tadeusz Styka, Picture of Fr. Anthony Lechert painted by C. Bohūny, Painting of the Holy Family from the chapel of the Motherhouse on Machiavelli Icon of John the Baptist, donated to the Congregation at the time when we had a house in Syria. We are grateful to Sr. Elena and, of course, to Sr. Salome for this concrete contribution to the preservation of our congregational heritage. It is good that we could be at least repay Sister in a small way, by showing her some of the artistic and spiritual treasures around Rome. Translated by: Sr. Angela Marie Mazzeo 9