(From August 11 to 16 the 140th National Pilgrimage to Lourdes will take place organized by the Our Lady of Salvation Association and animated by the Assumptionists. For families this pilgrimage to the city of Mary is always a high-point.)

- Have you noticed an increased interest on the part of families to get involved in an experience of faith during the vacation period?

- Fr. Fabien Lejeusne : I have been the director of the Assumptionist-sponsored National Pilgrimage to Lourdes for the past two years. This event takes place around the feast of the Assumption in August. We have noticed that the participants are getting younger, especially as a result of many more families taking part. What we have seen is that different generations of a single family, living in different parts of the country, meet in Lourdes. Traditionally the families of the those (known as hospitallers) who care for our sick and handicapped pilgrims are accompanied by their families, including their children. For the latter we have set up a program beginning with children 6 months old; they are divided in various age groups. The program is adapted to their age so that they can fully experience the pilgrimage to Lourdes --- with games, skits, prayer, classes, and other events.

It’s 5 PM. Crowds are filling up St. Peter’s Square. Not a hint of a smile, but all eyes are fixed on the huge outdoor screens that have been installed on the square. Is the Pope dead ? No ! But he has stepped down as pope. He is leaving the Vatican because in three hours his renunciation of the Petrine ministry will take effect.

On the screen one can see Benedict XVI leaving and greeting those who have gathered in the Vatican courtyard. He is brought to a car with tinted windows. Three cars accompany him to a waiting helicopter. Smiling, but visibly worn out, he boards the helicopter. It is the end of his papacy at the Vatican.

Interviewer – Fr. Leo, would you share a bit about your background, family and early education?

Fr. Leo – My family came from Berlin, NH and was of French Canadian ancestry. I was one of five children, three boys and two girls. I have a brother in California, a sister in Indiana and another one in Connecticut. My other brother is deceased. We belonged to St. Joseph’s parish where my father, a grocer, was very active and supportive of the parish priests. We children attended the parish school. My mother had been a religious and remained close to the sisters after she left the community.

By Pat Haggerty

I have no sense of direction when it comes to driving.  It’s always been my downfall.  I can never figure out if I should go north or south or east or west.  I am a terrible map reader as well.  I think that had to have been a deficit in my education.  I don’t recall doing much with maps except for coloring them and making land forms with salt, water and flour.  That has been no help to me in my adulthood when looking for a specific route or exit.

With great hope, the Augustinians of the Assumption together with their lay associates in Chile are preparing for the canonical visit that Fr. Benoît Grière will begin on March 13.

Already the members of the Lay-Religious Alliance have held a meeting to organize their rendezvous with Fr. Benoît.

On this site you have read about the kidnapping of three Assumptionists priests, Jean-Pierre Mumbere Ndulani, 50, superior, Anselme Kakule Wasukundi, 41, pastor, and Edmond Bamtupe Kisughu, 53, pastoral associate, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, abducted from their rectory on October 19, 2012, nearly six months ago. No reliable contact has been made with their kidnapers since.

(This article first appeared in the April/May/June issue of the Assumptionist magazine, L’Assomption et ses oeuvres. Br. Gwenaël Petton spent forty years as a missionary in Brazil. He speaks here about “his” Brazil: the initial difficulties in learning Portuguese and adapting to a new culture and then his pastoral work in a favela, the experience of living through a military regime, and finally the renaissance of Assumptionists vocations in the 80s.)

I arrived in Rio on October 8, 1963, after a thirteen-day transatlantic voyage on the Louis Lumière of the Chargeurs Réunis line out of the port of Le Havre. Four religious were waiting for me on the dock. The welcome was warm and fraternal. I was only 29 years old and timidly began to know this community that awaited me.

Jesus’ contemporaries wondered: who is he? He himself also asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We may think this could be a good answer, but there are some more worthy to be considered. Nicodemus said, “You are a teacher come from God.” The Samaritans said, “This is indeed the Savior of the world.” This was also Martha’s faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.” Finally, perhaps Thomas gave the most meaningful response, “My Lord and my God!” Are these all faces of Jesus the Risen One, which we can find in the Scriptures and in the words of some of his disciples?

(Located in the northeast region of Brazil, the diocese of Juazeiro faces numerous socio-economic and pastoral issues. Its Assumptionist bishop, Most Rev. José Geraldo da Cruz, paints a realistic picture of the situation for us and demonstrates his determination for the future.   This article first appeared in the April/May/June 2013 issue of the Assumptionist magazine, L’Assomption et ses oeuvres.)

The diocese of Juazeiro is split in two by the São Francisco River in the northeast state of Bahia in the heart of caatinga* country. It is divided into nine townships covering 60,000 square kilometers (about 23,000 square miles). It has about 500,000 inhabitants. There are only 14 parishes, six of which are in the city of Juazeiro (pop. 260,000).