Residents in front of their current home, with Br. Jean-Baptiste

(In the bustling and sprawling metropolis of Saigon, the Assumptionists run an orphanage that resembles a big family. The experience has been so positive and the needs are so great that the Congregation is considering building a new house as soon as possible, larger, more functional, and more welcoming.)

It's early morning in Saigon. Frosted light with bluish tints rises over this southern city, re-baptized Hô Chi Minh City since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. An overwhelming swarm of motorbikes fills the maze of the city's by-ways. Only a few narrow back streets, still asleep, escape this deafening invasion.

Peter Li Inc. of Dayton was recently acquired by Bayard Inc., a Catholic media company owned by the Augustinians of the Assumption/Assumptionist. Founded in 1971, Peter Li Inc. serves the K-12 market. Its two divisions include the Peter Li Education Group, publisher of Catechist and Today’s Catholic Teacher magazines, and the Pflaum Publishing Group, publisher of Catholic religious education programs and supplemental materials. Bayard’s periodicals in North America include Catholic Digest, Living with Christ, Today's Parish, Exploring the Sunday's Readings, and children's magazines, Owl, Chirp and Chickadee. Bayard, Inc. also owns the Novalis and Twenty-Third Publications trademarks.

WORD OF SUPPORT AND REASSURANCE FROM THE PLENARY GENERAL COUNCIL TO THE RAVAGED POPULATION OF BENI AND BUTEMBO IN NORTH KIVU/ DR CONGO

To Bishop Paluku Sikuli Melchisedech
To the Assumption Family 
To the Entire Population of the Diocese of Butembo-Beni (DR Congo)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace be with you!

The Superior General of the Assumptionists and his Plenary General Council met in Rome from December 1-10, 2014. All of its work took place under the cloud of the daily massacres that are rocking your region, especially the territory of Beni. Every day we prayed for all the families put to the trial by these events and for the entire Church in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni.

On Friday, December 5, 2014, in the magnificent Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome, the home of the French embassy to the Vatican, an all-day colloquium was held to honor a unique Assumptionist priest on the occasion of a recently published biography by French historian, Ms. Françoise Paoli, who had also become a friend of Fr. Wenger in his later years. The colloquium, co-sponsored by the French embassy, where Fr. Wenger served as a cultural attaché, and by the Assumptionists, brought together an array of scholars, journalists, diplomats, and fellow religious.