On Sunday, April 25th, the Assumptionist Community celebrated the first in a series of year-long events commemorating the Bicentennial of the Birth of Venerable Emmanuel d'Alzon, founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption. Families, relatives and close friends gathered in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Assumption College in Worcester for  Mass, with Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A., Regional Superior, presiding.

Continuing the commitment of the Assumptionist Center's goal, in word and action, to be a place where, " we can learn together and discuss what it means to be Church," the final conversation for the academic year recently focused on the theme of "Today's Catholic Parish."

Our guest celebrant at Mass and presenter was Msgr. William Fay, our pastor at St. Columbkille's, neighbor and friend here in Brighton. Before returning to Boston his home diocese, Msgr. Fay was Secretary of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in Washington, DC. Coming home at a time of transition and transformation, Msgr. Fay requested to be assigned to a multi-cultural, diverse, urban parish with a school. St. Columbkille's fit the bill perfectly.

Article in El Mercurio (daily newspaper of Santiago, Chile) about our church,
March 28, 2010

SHRINE AND BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES
  The grotto, which was built in 1908, sustained severe damages. The upper part of the statue of the Blessed Virgin was partially destroyed. The bell-tower is detached from its base and leaning on its side. A number of alcoves with images of Our Lady's apparitions to Bernadette reveal serious cracks and defacement caused by the earthquake. In the Basilica, cracks in the dome and central nave are visible. The main cross atop the dome is now hanging to one side and presents a danger to passers-by on Santo Domingo Street. Large pieces of cement and brick in the residence of the priests and brothers have fallen to the ground. The alcove that enshrines the main statue of the Blessed Mother suffered major damage to several pillars. Several of the magnificent stained glass windows have fallen out and need to be restored by the workshop where they were originally made "Atelier Loire", in Chartres (France). The estimated cost of repairs: $350,000, not counting the costs to repair the stained glass windows.

*** Please Support Our Assumptionist Communites in Chile ***

On his recent three week visit to the U.S., shared an informative and inspiring power point presentation with the communities of the region about the congregation's presence in his country. There are now three communities with the hope of expansion in the near future. In addition, Fr. Peter reported on the Asian Forum gathering of Assumptionists which took place in Manila.

Graciously hosted by the community at Emmanuel House in Worcester, those in attendance heard Fr. Peter briefly mention that the primary objective of his visit was to explore ways in which the Assumptionists in Vietnam may one day collaborate with Assumption College in apostolic initiatives and exchange students with an eye toward establishing a university in the future.