It's been a while since we have posted news from the community in Plovdiv but we are doing quite well and energetically trying to answer any number of challenges.

The first challenge deals with our presence and contribution to the Near Eastern Mission ('Mission d'Orient'). At the time of the canonical visit of the Superior General, Fr. Benoit Griere, and one of his assistants, Fr. Marcelo Marciel, from March 30 to April 3, it become clear to us that in the near future we cannot count on, as we had hoped for, the presence of another Assumptionist.

Our other wish, which we have proposed over and over again, was that the community might be recognized as a formation center in the Byzantine rite and in Eastern spirituality.

By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput 
Philadelphia, June 18, 2015 (ZENIT.org)

The First World War lingers in the memory as humanity's first encounter with industrialized killing on a mass scale. New weapons of the machine age obliterated forests, villages and fields - an entire way of life. This new type of war also deeply shaped the thinking of men who experienced it firsthand. Among them were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two of the greatest Christian writers of the last century.

Generations have delighted in Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings,and Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Space Trilogy. But what people often miss in the work of both men is their profound - and deeply Christian - love of nature and its creatures, and their equally deep distrust of man's temptation to dominate and abuse; to treat creation as dead matter available for exploitation.

That word "creation" is a key to understanding both writers. For both Tolkien and Lewis, all life and all creation are gifts of a loving God. Neither man disputed the good in modern technology, but they saw clearly that the world is a kind of sacrament, alive with a beauty that points to its Creator. We don't "own" the earth or its creatures. We have dominion over the world only as its stewards, not as its sovereigns. And as stewards, we have the duty to respect the created order and husband it for the common good.

Earlier today, June 18, 2015, Pope Francis released his latest encyclical, Laudato Si (in English, "Praise be to you, Lord"). By its nature, Laudato Si is a serious teaching document, not a form of story-telling. But its purpose is rooted in the same concerns shared by the two great authors. Both writers would know that the title is taken from Francis of Assisi's great prayer, "Canticle of the Sun."

June 11, 2015 Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rev. Thierry Kahongya, the vicar provincial of Africa, officially inaugurated the first building of the Mirador campus of ISEAB, Institut Supérieur Emmanuel d'Alzon de Butembo (Emmanuel d'Alzon Institute of Higher Education). Remember that the first stone was laid on September 14, 2012 by Br. Didier Remiot, the general treasurer. Today we are reaping what we sowed. You may be aware that this endeavor represents the work of many parties; even the school's students contributed to its completion by their volunteer manual labor, especially at the time that concrete had to be poured in March 2014. This is rarely, if ever, seen at other institutions of higher education and shows that ISEAB is not only an academic institution but it's also a spirit that has taken root in our students who have fully identified with 'their' school. As Fr. d'Alzon desired, we are educating the whole person in our students who know how to give of themselves for the good of their fellow men by contributing to a work that extends the Kingdom of God.

MBA ECT- Assumption Program
THIRD ANNUAL 3-WEEK STUDY TRIP TO ITALY (Rome, Florence & Milan/Como)

MBA 727 – Doing Business in Europe & Italy (3 credits)

Interviewer – Would you share with us a bit about your background: family, childhood, early education etc.?

Fr. Alex – I was born in 1971 in Manila, Philippines to Teodoro and Juanita Castro and have a half - sister. My father was a blacksmith. I attended San Vicente Central School, graduating in 1984 and Assumpta Technical High School in 1988, both s schools in Pampanga. My college education focused on secondary education and Filipino and Philippine History, graduating in 1993.

– Where did your Assumptionist roots begin? Did anyone in particular have a significant impact on your life?

– My Assumption roots go back to the influence of the Religious of the Assumption sisters in high school, especially through Sr. Mary Ann, as teacher and later as administrator. I am happy and proud to say that I was a “purple blooded A.A. through high school.” Altogether, I worked with the community for 15 years of my life. I did graduate work at Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines where I received a MA in Religious Education in 2006. Later I did my theological studies at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA and Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, graduating in 2009.

Posted By The Catholic Free Press June 12, 2015

By Tanya Connor

Assumption College students will face a little dilemma with a deep meaning behind it upon their return to campus next fall. They have to decide what to call the campus minister they knew as “Bro Ro.”

“Bro Ro” was their nickname for Brother Ronald Sibugan. But that’s not who he is anymore. Shortly before summer break – May 2 to be exact – Bishop McManus ordained him a priest.

He’s still an Augustinian of the Assumption, but now he’s a religious priest instead of a religious brother. The two vocations – religious life and priesthood – which have now converged, help him do his ministry.

He’s an Assumptionist first. Some brothers go on to priesthood, if they and their community discern that’s God’s call. Father Ronald, 36, says he thinks the Assumptionists need a young priest here.

 A religious priest is different than a diocesan priest in that he is supported by his community and is to live out the congregation’s charisms, Father Ronald says.

“The friendship with Jesus – to be with him and to be sent out are inseparable,” he says. “We … live in apostolic community. … The community is part of our apostolic work. … The community life is a sign of God’s presence and action in the world. …
“Our charism is to bring the Kingdom of God in us and around us and one way of doing it is being a campus minister. … I represent not only campus ministry, but a religious person in the Church.” That helps him correct students’ misconceptions about religious (like “They pray all day”) and the Church (like “It’s only focus is on what you should not do”).

Every year Assumption students like Molly Sweeney '16 travel across the country, and overseas, to lend a helping hand through the College's SEND Service Immersion trips. Last winter Molly traveled to Guayaquil, Ecuador, a region marked by extreme strife and poverty, where she and 11 other students assisted at worksites ranging from a Catholic school to a women's shelter to an after school program run by the Rostro de Cristo foundation. Everywhere they went they made a difference and learned about the importance of faith, service and compassion.

"I thought that I would be going to Ecuador to help change the lives of others, but it was the people of Guayaquil who changed my life and made me appreciate all of my blessings," Molly remembers. She also remembers the simple joy and profound sense of accomplishment she felt serving those in need-and how it has inspired her to keep on helping

Position Endowed by Donald ’64 and Michele D’Amour

Professor J. Brian Benestad, Ph.D., was formally installed May 1, 2015, as Assumption College’s inaugural D’Amour Chair in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The Chair affirms the College’s commitment to its mission as an institution of higher education that is enlivened by the Catholic affirmation of the harmony of faith and reason that aims, by the pursuit of the truth, to transform the minds and hearts of students.

The ceremony was held in La Maison Française Salon and remarks were given by Assumption College President Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D., Interim Provost Louise Carroll Keeley, Ph.D., and the chair’s benefactor, Donald D’Amour ’64.

In 2008, Donald D’Amour and his wife Michele made a historic $4.2 million gift to the College—the largest in Assumption’s 111-year history. More than half of this generous contribution was used to establish the Donald and Michele D'Amour Chair in the Catholic intellectual Tradition. As the D’Amour Chair, Professor Benestad’s responsibilities include teaching one or two courses per semester in his field of specialization and leading a faculty workshop or seminar on the Catholic intellectual tradition as part of on-going faculty development efforts.

(As we recall the end of World War II and the incredible stories emanating from the German Nazi concentration camps, the following story recently appeared in a local French newspaper about Fr. Delory and his own experience.)

Liberation from Dachau. "I am at Dachau and in fairly good shape. It was Sunday, April 29 at 5:30 PM that American soldiers liberated us. As you can imagine, it was with absolute delirium that they were welcomed by the 30,000 plus prisoners who were awaiting them! Before they even entered the camp, they saw piles of dead bodies, fellow prisoners that our S.S. guards had executed --- a horror --- a total breach of all international guidelines of accountability. When our liberators did enter the camp and saw with their own eyes scenes that outsiders could hardly believe, they better understood our enthusiasm, our emotion, and our gratitude. All of us appeared before them. Thank God that seeing what was happening within the camp, they stopped to liberate us before marching on to Munich. I am lucky to be counted those in fairly good shape. There are thousands in poor shape, others who are totally exhausted, especially survivors from the last trains that arrived. How many victims and in what terrible condition! Tomorrow we will have a ceremony of thanksgiving as well as a Mass for the dead on the site where roll-call took place every day and where an altar has been set up ... ". Fr. Delory May 2, 1945.

Biography of Fr. Delory, A.A, a member of the Province of Paris.