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terfaith dialogue occur in each cir-
cumscription. As you know we have
been experimenting with possibili-
ties in the region rich with opportu-
nities for dialogue. The assignment
of Fr. Davitti is also a step in that
direction as well. Interfaith dialogue
as a mission animation project is an
opportunity to witness the missio ad
gentes for the local
church and to en-
courage the local
church to be more
involved in this im-
portant commitment
which belongs to
them. We hope to
talk with the local
bishop in Wayne
about this more and
to explore with him
how we could pro-
ceed.
Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of Balti-
more will be taking over the Com-
mittee of Interreligious dialogue for
the USCCB in November of this
year and has already voiced the pos-
sibility of our region being a re-
source for him in this.
The General Direction also is en-
couraging dialogue with humanism
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
2014
MAY
16—Birthday of Fr.
Joe Matteucig
18 † Fr. Peter Calza
22—† Birthday of
Fr. Gerard Furlan
† Fr. Vasco Milani
31—Birthday of Fr.
Larry Crosara
JUNE
† Fr. Alphonse
Begheldo
† Bishop Angelo
Frosi
ISSUE 139
APRIL 2014
TTTHEHEHE XXXAVERIANAVERIANAVERIAN MMMISSIONARIESISSIONARIESISSIONARIES USAUSAUSA
R ecently the General Direction
sent the first of three letters
they plan on sharing with us
as aids to reflecting on the last General
Chapter and its implication in the jour-
neys of each region and delegation. It
directs our attention with laser focus
on the First Proclamation and our ca-
pacity to inspire the local church to
commit to this crucial
call and responsibility.
Even in our small prov-
ince this responsibility
needs to shape the ebb
and flow of our lives.
The General Direction
states that this not
merely a series of activ-
ities, it is a “point of
reference...for our en-
tire life. (XVI GC 53).
It must shape our con-
versations, our prayer, our ongoing
study, the lens by which we open our
hearts to the Word of God and in our
preaching. It must also be the guide
for our formation for our benefactors
and our use of the media.
There are five areas specifically in the
General Direction’s first letter that
directly affects our province. The first
is the insistence that some kind of in-
SSSHARINGHARINGHARING INININ CCCONFORTIONFORTIONFORTI’’’SSS DREAMDREAMDREAM: : : TTTHEHEHE FFFIRSTIRSTIRST PPPROCLAMATIONROCLAMATIONROCLAMATION CALLSCALLSCALLS UUUSSS TOTOTO AAA NNNEWEWEW BBBEGINNINGEGINNINGEGINNING (XVI CG 57)(XVI CG 57)(XVI CG 57)
2
ISSUE 139 P AGE 2
and atheism in response to the
work we have been doing in this
area along with the Province of
the United Kingdom. Lately in
the region, we began a local
New Jersey/New York dialogue
group between religious believ-
ers and atheists and the group of
21 members is beginning to
muster enthusiasm. More recent-
ly, we are in touch with the
American Humanism Associa-
tion and they are very willing to
work with us in order to create a
similar dialogue conference ex-
perience as we did in Scotland.
We will be meeting the Execu-
tive Director in May and are pro-
jecting a possible time for this
conference in the fall of 2015 in
New Jersey, possibly at Rutgers
University.
Another issue that the General
Direction brings up is the con-
cern of the General Chapter to
create a “social communications
office or team”. We have been
consulting the General Direction
on this issue and it may be very
likely that our region could be
involved in some way. The con-
cern is to use media more affec-
tively for mission animation and
congregational concerns.
In the last General Chapter there
was more discussion about a
European Study Center similar
those already set up in Asia, Af-
rica and Latin America. We in-
sisted that the USA should be
part of this European project
since our regions have the same
scope of work and our cultures
are similar. As the letter states,
we have yet to come together on
a common project. The example
our collaboration with the Re-
gion of the United Kingdom of-
fers some interesting possibili-
ties in the future. One way
through this is to wait until after
the Chapter of the UK Region is
completed, which begins after
Easter, and see what they may
say about this issue. We could
join them and invite Italy and
Spain to begin a dialogue to-
ward a common project that
could bring the European/USA
Study Center closer to a reality.
Finally, the General Direction is
inviting our province to look
more closely at how we can col-
laborate with lay people more
effectively, as well as other or-
ganizations and institutes. This
seems a very good topic for our
study days as well as our up-
coming provincial chapter. The
motivation is not to make up for
diminishing numbers of con-
freres on our part, although it
has some influence. But it is
how we can involve the local
church more effectively in the
few goals we carry out. CC
A Retreat with
Pope Francis
Xaverian Missionaries
Provincial Retreat
June 5—11, 2014
St. Joseph Retreat Center
Cohasset, Massachusetts
DVD Presentations of
Fr. Anthony Ciorro, Ph.D.
Explore scripture through
the Pope’s writings, life
stories, and personal
example.
YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE 2015
Cardinal Braz de Aviz said, “The
first objective of the Year of
Consecrated Life would be to
“make a grateful remembrance of
the recent past.” With this posi-
tive outlook on the past, he con-
tinued, “we want to ‘embrace the
future with hope’— the second
objective. "This hope, though,
he said, cannot keep us from
“living the present with passion”
— and this is the third objective
of the coming Year. This pas-
sion, the Cardinal said, speaks of
“being in love, of true friendship,
of profound communion.” This is
“the true beauty of the life of so
many women who profess the
evangelical counsels and follow
Christ ‘more closely’ in this state
of life.” In this regard, he said,
the Year of Consecrated Life will
have an evangelical focus, help-
ing people to realize “the beauty
of following Christ” in the vari-
ous types of religious vocations.”
“The Year of Consecrated Life is
expected to begin in October of
this year, coinciding with the
50th anniversary of the promul-
gation of Lumen gentium (the
Second Vatican Council’s consti-
tution on the Church), which has
a specific chapter dealing with
consecrated life. ” The GYM and
the Communications Board will
be looking how we can create a
special campaign during this spe-
cial time focusing on the gift of
missionary religious life to the
world today.
3
CROSSROADS P AGE 3
Fr. Carl Chudy, SX
Office of the Provincial
12 Helene Court
Wayne, New Jersey 08046
973-942-2975
Xaviermissionaries.org
English Language Students in the Region
June 5—11, 2014-
Provincial Retreat at St. Jo-
seph Retreat Center, Cohas-
set, Massachusetts
June 21—22, 2014-Mission
Festival in Franklin, Wis-
consin
June 30, 2014-
Communications Board
Meeting in Wayne.
June 30—July 1, 2014-
Provincial Council Meeting
in Wayne.
Sharing from the Provincial Council
We are pleased to welcome Father
Martin Ali Keke Ndemsou to the
region in order to study the Eng-
lish language. He is a Chadian
confrere ordained in 2013 and he
is preparing for the mission of
Sierra Leone. Martin will be re-
siding in the community of Hol-
liston and attend the English Lan-
guage Program at Framingham
State University. He just received
his visa to the USA and should
arrive in the middle of May in
order to commence his studies at
the end of May.
We are also pleased to welcome
Fr. Salvador Cruz Rojo from
Mexico. Salvador arrived in the
Wayne community in March to
begin his language study program
at Inlingua Language School in
Ridgewood, NJ. He has worked
for more than ten years in our
school at Arandas, Mexico. He
studied theology in Parma. He is
preparing for his final mission
destination in Indonesia. Salvador
should be with us at least until the
end of October this year.
The Council made the follow-
ing personnel decisions:
Fr. Michael Davitti was
assigned as the superior of
the Wayne community.
Fr. Alejandro Rodriquez
Gomez, newly assigned to
the region was assigned on
the Global Youth Mission
Team and will reside in
Franklin.
Fr. Mark Marangone will
be the treasurer of Franklin.
The Council is grateful for
the many years of service
Fr. Caldognetto gave to this
work. Fr. Dominic will con-
tinue to support the commu-
nity.
The Council is considering an
alternative form of membership
in some kind of associate pro-
gram to explore how we can
collaborate with lay people bet-
ter.
The Council approved a retire-
ment program we hope to offer
our full time employees through
Christian Brothers Services.
We discussed the work thus far
in the Global Youth Mission
program at our shrine in Hollis-
ton. Strategic planning for the
next few years will be done lat-
er in the year.
The Council is looking at revis-
ing our initial formation pro-
gram and to bring this and our
vocation discernment program
4
ISSUE 139 P AGE 4
Ground project in collaboration
with the UK Province. This jour-
nal which contains the talks of
the presenters and reflections
from some participants, will be
published both as an e-journal
available on the internet with its
own ISBN number. We will also
print about 250 copies for distri-
bution in the congregation and
local churches.
The Council approved financial
assistance to an ecumenical pro-
ject in Bangladesh with our con-
freres. Renaissance Outreach
Ministries is assisting in the
work of Catholic Schools in
Bangladesh.
It was reported that a new di-
rective from the General Direc-
tion states that the Declaration of
Personal Dispositions and Re-
sponsibility for new confreres
will now be done at the time of
first profession instead of final
profession.
The Council continued their dis-
cussion on changes in fundrais-
ing and how to plan into the fu-
ture based on the provincial
chapter document. This is seen
in two dimensions: province
wide fundraising with more cen-
tralized work and community
fundraising which is localized.
Some issues in this: Holliston is
looking into developing their
own lay advisory board; calling
in an expert from the NCDC to
help us assess our present reali-
ty; Frs. Chudy and Puopolo will
attend a couple of workshops of
the NCDC to gather insights;
capital campaign for the renova-
tion of the shrine or through a
loan from the Knights of Colum-
bus national office.
The Annual Len-
ten Soup & Mis-
sion Evening
took place on
Saturday March
15th at Xavier
Hall of Fatima
Shrine. This year
the featured
speaker was Fr.
Michael Davitti
SX, recently re-
turned Xaverian
Missionary from
the Philippines.
Fr. Michael shared many of his
learnings from his ministry there
as well as his new appreciation
for the Church in the Philippines,
especially as it communicates the
faith through Art. Soups and des-
serts were provided by our Xa-
verian League. Many thanks to all
who helped make this evening a
welcomed and learning experi-
ence for all who attended.
Check out the latest on our
new website and social media
network.
-
xaviermissionaries.org
facebook.com/catholicmissionaries
twitter.com/worldcatholic
We are pleased that the General Direction assigned Fr. Alex Rodri-
quez Gomez to the USA Region. He leaves behind him six years of
work in the Philippines. Prior to his work in the Philippines Alex
studied theology in Chicago.
Alex is assigned to youth mission animation and vocation work,
along with Frs. Pupolo and Menendez on our GYM Team. He will be
residing in our community in Franklin and should arrive sometime in
July 2014, depending on how fast the visa arrives.
