Instead of visiting the beaches of Florida or the Caribbean, nearly 80 Assumption College students have opted to volunteer during their upcoming spring breaks by performing acts of community service in cities and towns up and down the eastern seaboard.
This year, 2014, the Assumptionists of the Province of Africa have accepted responsibility for the administration of three parishes in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Assuming responsibility for the two parishes in Tanzania, Murugunturu in the diocese of Bunda, and Digodigo, in the archdiocese of Arusha, came in conjunction with the silver jubilee of the Assumptionist presence in East Africa and as a sign of the Congregation's commitment to serve the Church throughout the area. The first Assumptionist community was founded in Nairobi in 1988, a joint effort of three provinces of the time, the Congo (now part of the Province of Africa), England, and North America.
For our first ‘Conversations at the Center’ this semester, we were privileged to hear of three conversion stories of young men who live in the house here in Brighton. Sharing their faith journeys were Ian Parelius, a lay resident, Bro. Jonathan Adams, A.A., an Assumptionist novice studying at BC and recently professed Bro. Ryan Carlsen, A.A., also a student at BC.
(East London is a melting-pot of individuals from the four corners of the world. At the center of the Bethnal Green neighborhood is located the Assumptionist parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, which has been at the forefront of an effort to create a welcoming climate for all, no matter one’s religion, race, ethnic origin, economic status, or level of education. It has been and continues to be a long-term project.)
As he arrives at St. Elizabeth Elementary School, Fr. Tom O’Brien sets his umbrella down and begins to shake hands with the parents of some of the students, with teachers, and with members of the staff. Then he’s off at a brisk pace to the school’s gymnasium. On this gray Thursday afternoon, the Assumptionist pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Bethnal Green will spend two hours with the school’s 300 students.….. some blonds, some brunettes, a few redheads; some Caucasian, some African, some Asian. Even a few veils can be seen. They are all waiting for Fr. Tom to celebrate Mass at the end of one hundred days of prayer for peace.
The Church of Saint Monica, Nairobi, rocked to typical African liturgical music with songs sung by a choir of over 70 people wearing red anniversary shirts, dancing as they sang. This was but one sign of the abundant joy that marked the celebration of the Assumptionists’ 25 year presence in East Africa. The archbishop of Nairobi, Cardinal John Njue, accompanied by some 20 priests led the overflowing congre-gation of over 800 worshippers to mark this anniversary but also to witness the diaconal ordination of two young brothers: Jacob Barasa of Kenya and Jean-Marie Mutulirano of DR Congo. The A.A.’s were joined by many sisters of the A.A. family: Oblates, Orantes, Religious and several lay assumptionists were also on hand.
To Our Fellow Religious in the Congregation and Friends of the Assumption
Dear Friends,
The Assumption in Madagascar became a province at the recent vice-provincial chapter presided by the provincial, Fr. Etienne Ratalata Rafanambinantsoa, and honored by the presence of the superior general, Fr. Benoît Grière. We wish to give thanks to the Lord for the existence of the Assumption and for having placed in the hearts of so many missionaries the desire to implant the Assumptionist charism in Malagasy soil.
From November 19 to 21, in the city of Riobamba, high in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, the Assumptionist community, lay and religious, welcomed the leadership team/tandem appointed to form lay Assumptionist groups across Latin America: Mrs. Victoria Prada from Bogotá, Colombia (who came with her husband, Orlando) and Fr. Luis-Ramón Rendón from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In the late afternoon of November 17, 2013, after the usual line-up of Sunday masses, the last one having been in Lithuanian, St. Louis des Français parish filled with a wide assortment of international visitors --- from Vietnam, France, Russia, Africa, Italy, etc.. You could hear just about every language being spoken and even used during the ordination ceremony of Pierre Tran Duc Long. It was a wonderful and joyous occasion to celebrate his priestly ordination in the very place where his vocational journey with the Assumptionists had begun in 2004. Most Rev. Paolo Pezzi, archbishop of the diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, presided at the celebration and was surrounded by a number of priests including three Assumptionists, (Celeste Pianezze and Slava Gorokhov of the Moscow community and Vincent Cabanac, representing the provincial, Fr. Benoît Gschwind). Two other Assumptionists were there, Brothers Pavel et Viktors, as well as two of Pierre's blood brothers from Viêtnam: one who is a Cistercian monk stationed in Dalat and the other, the Benjamin of the family, who works in Hué.
Interviewer – Fr. Jerome, would you share with us a bit about your background: family, childhood, early education etc.?
Fr. Jerome – I am from Heath, MA and one of eight children. My family’s strong Catholic roots stemmed from their English and French Canadian background. My father was a dairy farmer. Growing up we belonged to St. Joseph’s Parish in Shelburne Falls, MA where I attended CCD during my formative years. I have an uncle, Fr. Joseph Lively who is a diocesan priest in Vermont and an aunt who was a Sister of Mercy. Both parents have since died.
WHAT’S NEW
For our first ‘Conversations at the Center’ this semester, we were privileged to hear of three conversion stories of young men who live in the house here in Brighton. Sharing their faith journeys were Ian Parelius, a lay resident, Bro. Jonathan Adams, A.A., an Assumptionist novice studying at BC and recently professed Bro. Ryan Carlsen, A.A., also a student at BC.
