At the invitation of Fr. Dennis Gallagher, NA Provincial and on behalf of Fr. Richard Lamoureux, AA Superior General, a group of lay people gathered Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at the Assumptionist community residence in Worcester.

The gathering included friends of the Assumptionists through connections to the college, prep school, Cassadega, St. Anne’s Parish in Fiskdale, and Brighton communities. Fr. Lamoureux animated the discussion by citing the General Council’s commitment to developing bonds with the laity and citing Fr. D’Alzon’s intention from the beginning to involve the laity in the life and spirit of the Assumptionists. Several people expressed affection and gratitude for role the Assumptionists have played in their lives and a desire to work toward realizing the vision of the General Council.

“Can we continue to work as we have until now to spread far and wide the Catholic spirit, open to all people, to all rites, to all traditions? My father, I believe so, in spite of all the difficulties.” (Pavel Djidjov)

The feast of our three martyrs is approaching and once again we are called to reflect on the meaning of their witness, on the importance of this event, today, for the entire Assumption Family.
The road to holiness is not a solitary road, but rather it is written in a long history where God’s grace is revealed through our relationships, through places or people who prepare the ground for us, who show us the way.
One cannot understand the witness of faith of our three Bulgarian fathers, Kamen Vitchev, Pavel Djidjov, and Josaphat Chichkov, without recalling all the men and women religious who preceded them and who created the conditions that fostered the flourishing of their faith.
This feast of November 13 invites us to expand our horizons. It is necessary to acknowledge with gratitude that the “Mission d’Orient” (Mission in Eastern Europe) is the fruit of self-giving of numerous priests, brothers, and sisters (coming first of all from France and, then, particularly from the Province of Lyon, which extended well beyond the borders of France) and that this mission to Eastern Europe continues its history thanks to the generosity of the Province of France.

His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales among members of the Assumptionist Community in Brighton and their guests

The Assumptionist Center in Brighton opens its doors to many visitors. On Saturday afternoon and evening (September 30), we were happy to receive the visit of Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, the Archbishop of Manila, Philippines. The Cardinal was in the Boston area to visit and pray with his brothers and sisters in the Filipino-American community and to promote his Pondo ng Pinoy program to feed the poor and provide for the needs of the disadvantaged.

Brothers Eduardo Molina (Ed), Vo Tran Dinh (Dinh) and Carlos Melocoton

On August 28, the feast of St. Augustine, in the Chapel of the Holy Sprit, on the campus of Assumption College, in Worcester, Massachusetts, two young men made their first profession of vowsin the presence of Very Rev. Richard Lamoureux, A.A., superior general,who was home on holiday. As Father Richard said in his homily, "how unpredictable life is!" Ten years ago, Eduardo Molina (Ed), a Filipino, was working as a businessman in Bangkok, Thailand and Vo Tran Dinh (Dinh), a Vietnamese, who was suffering under the historical situation in his homeland as he began his theological studies.

Sr. Diana Wauters elected Superior General, July 24, 2006.

The General Chapter elected Sr. Diana Wauters as the new Superior General of the Religious of the Assumption. We rejoice and are glad!

Sr. Diana Wauters, A.A.

Sr. Diana is from our North American Province and is the Superior of the Chaparral community in New Mexico. She had just been named Provincial Superior and was due to begin her mandate on August 12th.

Cassadaga Reunion

On Sunday July 9, a large contingent of former staff and students of Our Lady of Lourdes High School Seminary (together with a good representation of spouses) attended the first ever reunion, held at St. Anne’s Shrine in Sturbridge, MA. Our Lady of Lourdes opened its doors in 1960 in the western New York village of Cassadaga, an hour’s drive southwest of Buffalo and remained open until 1967. This seminary continued a long tradition of Assumptionist minor seminaries throughout the world known as alumnates. Fr. d’Alzon himself, the founder of the Assumptionists, was responsible for the very first alumnate, not far from his hometown of Nîmes in southern France, Notre Dame des Châteaux. The originality of these alumnates consisted in several factors: that graduates were free to choose any diocese or any congregation they wished; that they welcomed teenagers with very modest means; that classes were kept quite small; that a strong classical curriculum was offered. In approximately the one hundred years of their existence these Assumptionist alumnates worldwide provided the Church with over 4,000 priests and religious, including more than a few bishops.

By Frances M. Tomczyk

On May 17, 2006, the parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe were reunited with their beloved Assumptionists at a special Mass and reception. Religious and faithful had not been together since 1998 when the Augustinians of the Assumption handed over the administration of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Archdiocese of New York.

Fr. Claude Grenache, A.A., Rev. Msgr. Kevin Nelan,
Fr. Peter Precourt, A.A.

In 2003, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was combined with St. Bernard's Church (both on 14^th Street in Manhattan) to form the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard's Parish. The merger worked out well for parishioners in both parishes. The former buildings of OLG are currently in use for meetings, classes in English and other subjects for immigrants, CCD, and a residence, as well as for gatherings of South Manhattan Pastors under the Vicar for the area, Monsignor Kevin Nelan, who is the present Pastor of OLG at St. Bernard's. The church at the new OLG at St. Bernard's is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for services and for the steady stream of visitors who come to pay homage to the Patroness of the Americas.

Mexico Mission

From May 15-25 Assumption College’s Campus Ministry department organized the 21st version of its perennially popular Mexico Mission. Under the leadership of Mr. John Fleming and Fr. John Franck, AA, twenty students, faculty, and friends of the College, who had prepared for the trip over the previous eight months, left for Mexico the Monday after graduation.

Confirmation at Assumption College

Worcester, MA - The Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, D.D., S.T.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, confirmed seven Assumption College students on the evening of Sunday, April 30, 2006 at the 7 p.m. mass held in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

The seven students confirmed were Kristen Berry ’09, Robert Doyle ’07, Melissa Nally ’09, Susan Palumbo ’06, Eileen Ransow ’08, Cecilia Santos ’09, and Ronald Sibugan.