These past few days, we have been walking (it seems like climbing) the streets of Rome with the SOPHIA program students of Assumption College. We have visited various cultural and religious monuments and had a day at the beach as well. Despite these exhausting walks under the sun, there seems to be a good spirit of community in the group. There is so much to discover and Dr. Francesco Cesareo and his team of professors and guides  were very helpful in facilitating that among our students. Our group had the rare opportunity to visit the Secretariat of State near the Apostolic Palace. We also celebrated the Eucharist at the tomb of Saint Peter. We will have a few more activities in the coming days as the program winds up. On Wednesday, we are looking forward to see Pope Francis during the weekly Papal Audience.

June 11, 2018  Arusha, Tanzania

Letter from the Plenary General Council to all Assumptionist religious and lay members  of the Alliance

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Plenary General Council, gathered in Arusha (Tanzania), was pleased to validate the statutes of the future vice-province of East Africa. Three countries — Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania— will benefit from this new structure 30 years after the first community was established in Nairobi (Kenya), spearheaded by the Provinces of England and North America. The Assumption is developing in this part of the world and is assuming its part of the mission to hasten the coming of the Kingdom.

During this meeting, we also reflected on our older foundations, especially our fragile presence in the Near East (‘Mission d ‘Orient’) and, in particular, in Istanbul, Turkey. Will the long history of the Assumption on Turkish soil have a future? After departing from Ankara in 2000— with the transfer of our house to the Jesuits— the community of Istanbul is the last witness of our presence in Turkey. But the community is very fragile and beginning this coming autumn it risks being reduced to one active religious.

BY FATHER RICHARD E. LAMOUREUX, A.A., ’64 VICE PRESIDENT FOR MISSION

When they graduate, Assumption students have a number of possibilities open to them. Frank Bruno ’17, an English and mass communications major from Wethersfield, CT, has spent much of his time since graduation engaged in a year of service helping those in need in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

“I remember that week, I couldn’t help but admire the volunteers for their bravery in addition to the way in which they live, valuing simplicity, community, relationship, and faith,” reflected Bruno. “I will always give thanks to God for putting me on that trip to Ecuador junior year.”

There is no typical day for Bruno; each one is challenging and fulfilling in a different way. Bruno spends much of his time in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Monte Sinai. As a volunteer at an afterschool program, he tutors neighborhood children in English and helps them with their homework. Bruno also spends time in the homes of the families of Monte Sinai, listening to their life challenges but also learning from them.

Introduction

Carlos Antonio and Raúl Eduardo were two Assumptionists who disappeared on June 4, 1976 in La Manuelita (San Miguel, Buenos Aires), victims of the violence that devastated Argentina under the dictatorship of the National Reorganization Process (Roberto FAVRE, En memoria de ellos In Memory of Them, 5).

They knew that their vocation as religious was asking them for the riskiest of testimonies, and for that reason they also saw martyrdom coming:  “The glory of the Christian was never a success,” wrote Raul, “but for the Cross.” And he continued: “The Church bears fruit when it has martyrs. There are still martyrs today, not only by the shedding of blood, but in many different ways. And I believe that the Lord wants us so in love with Him that we do not care about the how or when of our Cross, but [want to give instead] an unconditional submission to his will "(02/26/76). And Carlos Antonio: "I am in constant fear, but at the same time, the Lord has provided me a blind hope and a faith that overtakes that fear. It is strange, because there is fear deep inside of me but I am not afraid. He (The Lord) is watching over me "(05/24/76). Eleven days later he would be kidnapped, along with Raúl, and never seen again.