On Friday, February 25, 2015, five young Brazilians began their year of postulancy in Campinas, a university city about an hour west of the metropolis of Sao Paulo. The occasion took place during the visit of Fr. Benoit Griere, superior general, from February 18 to March 4. The five postulants all come from Assumptionist parishes in this largest Catholic country in the world, some 130 million.
Assumptionists arrived from Holland and France in the 1930s and established communities in different parts of this vast country. In the 1970s as more and more vocations arrived, the two groups joined forces to form the newly arrived Brazilians and eventually became a single vice-province and then a province.
The Assumptionists serve 5 parishes, a house of formation, and two retreat centers.
RE: DISTRESS CALL FROM MEMBERS OF GENERAL COUNCILS OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE FACE OF THE BARBARIC MASSACRES TAKING PLACE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC), ESPECIALLY IN THE DIOCESE OF BENI-BUTEMBO
1. Introduction
We, the members of the general councils of various orders and congregations present in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been informed of recent unrest and massacres in the region of the dioceses of Butembo-Beni, Bunia and Goma. We were shocked to learn of the dreadful slaughter of unarmed civilians.
Dear sisters and brothers, we address this message to all men and women of good-will in the name of this suffering people so that you might make your own our cry.
2. The dignity of the human person finds its source in God and is inalienable.
We denounce and condemn the cruelty and brutality of these killings – of adults and children alike – in the regions of the Diocese of Butembo-Beni. We are writing this communiqué in the light of our faith. Each person is created in the image of God (Gn 1:27). The massacres besetting the region of Mbau in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni are clearly a crime against humanity.
The Congregation of the Oblates of the Assumption was founded on May 24, 1865 at Rochebelle (Nîmes-France) by Venerable Emmanuel d’ALZON, with the assistance of Mother Emmanuel-Marie CORRENSON, with a view to working for Church unity, particularly the union of the Eastern Churches, and doing so in close collaboration with the Augustinians of the Assumption.
In 1868, the first Sisters left for Bulgaria. By means of education and medical assistance, these Oblates placed themselves at the service of the neediest and the most disadvantaged, whether they were Catholic, Orthodox, Greek, Armenian, or Jewish --- in Bulgaria, Turkey, and ex-Yugoslavia. Later, with communities in Jerusalem, Romania, and Russia ---- all of these countries where the Oblates and the Assumptionists work for Church unity and inter-religious dialogue came to be known as the « La Mission d’Orient » (“The Near Eastern Mission”). To this day we have communities who live and work within both rites, Eastern and Latin.
On Friday, March 13, 2015, religious superiors in Rome who have communities in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (specifically the province of North Kivu) gathered at the general house of the Augustinians of the Assumption to discuss the deteriorating state of affairs in this area of the country. The country has been suffering from civil conflict for almost 20 years and the United Nations has estimated that more than 5 million people have died in the RDC during this time directly from the violence or indirectly from malnutrition and disease occasioned by it.
Since this past October a new series of atrocities has occurred in the diocese of Beni-Butembo. Hundreds of inhabitants of the region have been brutally slaughtered either in night-time raids or while they are working in their fields. Theories concerning the identity of the assassins abound but no one has been able to positively identify them because they wear stolen uniforms from the national army and leave no survivors. What makes the situation even worse in the minds of these victims is that, given crises in other parts of the world (Middle east, Nigeria), the world press has taken little notice of what is happening in the Congo at the moment. These people feel that they have been forgotten and abandoned.
Brothers from the Taize community in France are visiting Massachusetts.
- On Friday, April 10, Brothers John and Emile will give a brief talk about Taize at 7pm at the Testa Science Building at Assumption College in Worcester, followed by a 7:30pm prayer in the college chapel.
- On Sunday, April 12, we are very pleased that Brother John will be our guest for a Sunday conversation at the Assumptionist Center (330 Market St, Brighton). We will have mass at 11am and then speak with Brother John about his life at Taize. The conversation will conclude with brunch.
- On Monday, April 13, there will be a Taize prayer at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill at 7:30pm, followed by a discussion with the brothers and a light reception.
CONVERSATIONS AT THE CENTER on SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015
Taizé: A New Form of Consecrated Life
In honor of the Year of Consecrated Life, the Assumptionist Center is hosting conversations this semester around the distinct forms and traditions of consecrated life in the Catholic Church.
At this conversation, we are delighted to welcome Brother John of Taizé, who will visit us from France to talk about the life and mission of his world-famous ecumenical community well known for its music and outreach to young people.
All are welcome. Come, listen, and share!
Sunday Eucharist at 11:00 am, followed by Conversation and Brunch
O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light, of life. (Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord - Collect)
Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed in him the name which is above every other name. (Philippians 2:8-9)
(Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord - Verse Before the Gospel)
