AN URGENT PLEA FROM OUR OBLATE SISTERS OF THE ASSUMPTION IN IVORY COAST
by Sr. Isabelle Yeodetessinga , O.A

We are happy to resume contact with you after several months of silence, a silence, I am sure you have heard over the airwaves, that is due to the post-electoral crisis we have been experiencing in Ivory Coast. In fact, what happened was that the day after this election  both of the remaining candidates claimed victory. Both formed governments challenging the other. The international community, represented by the United Nations and a number of regional organizations, sponsored a series of negotiation sessions intended to bring about a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Four months went by without any success. During this time, the common people paid the heaviest price: thousands dead and more than a million forced to flee their homes to other parts of the country or to neighboring nations.

Assumptionists Organize groups to Attend Beatification Ceremonies for Servant of God Pope John Paul II

At the end of April, 2011 the Assumptionists and other members of the Assumption Family in France will be leading various groups to the beatification celebration of Pope John Paul II. It is their hope, in a special way, to attract large groups of students and young professionals. "The beatification is an event that will be recorded in the annals of history" observed group leader, Fr. Vincent Cabanac, AA. The actual ceremony will take place on May 1, 2011 the Sunday after Easter.

Assumptionists Present at Conference on St. Augustine's Confessions
by Prof. Glenn Arbery

On April 8 and 9, 2011, the d’Alzon Chair of Liberal Education and the Ecumenical Institute co-sponsored “St. Augustine’s Confessions and Its Influences,” a well-attended conference featuring Assumption College faculty and administrators.

Vietnamese Assumptionist ordained to priesthood
By Tanya Connor from Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – People from around the nation – and world – filled Assumption College’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit Saturday for the priestly ordination of Brother Dinh G. Vo Tran, a Vietnamese Augustinian of the Assumption who came here from the Philippines.

Fr. Dinh has something in common with the figure of David in this morning’s first reading:  Dinh is the last to be ordained from his ordination class in the diocese of Dalat in Vietnam, and he is the youngest of his class – we won’t make so much of the description of David as “a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance,”  lest we flatter Dinh’s vanity.

On Sunday, April 3, 2011, the last session for the semester of “Conversation at the Center” took place at the Assumptionist Center in Brighton, MA. The topic “From Lutheran to Roman Catholic” was the focus of Erik Hesla’s presentation in which he shared his personal story and journey from Lutheranism to Catholicism. Erik, a graduate student at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, is a second year resident at the Center. He and his siblings, a brother and a sister, were born and baptized into a Lutheran family and church. Some years ago now, Erik’s family chose to enter into full communion with the Church.

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF ASSUMPTIONIST PRESENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DELEGATION'S SUPERIOR, REV. BERNARD HOLZER, A.A.

Question 1: Fr. Bernard, you recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Assumptionists' presence in the Philippines. Could you tell us a little about the celebration?

It was a really quite a simple celebration. We invited the entire Assumption Family present in Manila and Antipolo: the Religious of the Assumption who welcomed us here 5 years ago and whose help in getting us settled has been inestimable, sending us our first vocations, young men teaching in their schools…

A letter from the Vatican in which Archbishop Fernando Filoni extends greetings from his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI on Catholic Digest’s 75th Anniversary this year.

During the Papal audience on Wednesday April 6, 2011, a large delegation from Bayard Press, the Assumptionist-owned publication house,  lead by Father  André Antoni, A.A., a member of the Board of Directors, came to Rome to present to the Pope a publication of Bayard called “Fiches Croire," a real tool for the new evangelization that is so close to the heart of the current Holy Father.

In the United States "Fiches Croire" are called "Faith Matters" and are published by Bayard, Inc. Currently there 12 versions available: "The Bible: A treasure trove waiting to be discovers;" "Why should I go to confessions?" "Depression... How can I overcome it?" "Divorced: How do you rebuild your life?" "The Eucharist: A great mystery!" "I've lost my faith..." "How do you read the gospels?" " Living through the ordeal of illness;" "Face to face with suicide;" "Who is Jesus?" "Why do evil and suffering Exist?" "When we're shaken by death."

We asked Father André to talk to us about the project and its implementation.