Author: SEED

With joyful and grateful hearts, the FSPs of Antananarive solemnized the Congregation’s Centenary of foundation with a beautiful Eucharistic Liturgy presided over by the national assistant for religious. Many priests, religious, relatives, friends and collaborators of the sisters participated in the Liturgy, which was enriched with the first profession of a novice and thanksgiving for the perpetual professions of 4 Malagasy sisters, who celebrated this event this past June in Italy before returning to Madagascar.

During his homily, the celebrant underscored that the Daughters of St. Paul have accomplished great good in the country in the 32 years of their presence there but that much still remains to be done. It is necessary to trust the Lord, he said, because the Lord trusts us. After the Mass, the assembly gathered for refreshments and a warm exchange of best wishes.

The FSPs of La Paz commemorated the Institute’s Centenary of foundation with a solemn Eucharistic Liturgy in which many employees, friends and book center clients participated. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Fernando Bascopé Mull, Bishop for the Bolivian Military. In his homily, the Bishop spoke of the meaning of a centenary and of the contribution the Pauline mission has made to the Church. He also thanked the Lord for the beauty of the Pauline charism, which proclaims the truth of the Gospel to everyone.

 

Afterward, Bishop Giambattista Diquattro, Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia, congratulated the FSPs for what the Institute has done in the country and throughout the world. The local media gave ample news coverage to this event and to other initiatives organized by our sisters to celebrate it. The media exposure triggered a flood of congratulations from people expressing their gratitude toward the Daughters of St. Paul and appreciation of their mission in Bolivia. Our sisters say this was a very meaningful experience for them and that it challenges them to make an even greater commitment to serving the flock entrusted to their care.

 

 

                        

 

 

Yearning to commemorate the Institute’s Centenary of foundation in a meaningful way, the FSPs of France arranged to have a Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated in Villeurbanne, a working-class zone not far from the large city of Lyons, where the first FSP pioneers arrived in 1935 to initiate the Pauline mission. The Mass was celebrated in the local parish church, where our sisters and the other parishioners were joined by friends, collaborators, book center clients and the FSPs of Lyons and Marseilles.

 

The event was characterized by a simple and joyful atmosphere of prayer and thanksgiving. In his homily, the Pastor, Fr. J.C. Servanton, who happily supported this initiative, drew parallels between the readings of the day and the mission of the Daughters of St. Paul, underscoring the connection between the FSP Centenary and the Year of Consecrated Life.

At the end of the Mass, copies of the book Venerable Thecla Merlo: A Thousand Lives for the Gospel by Gabriella Collesei, fsp, were distributed to all the participants. Fr. Gilles Collicelli, Regional Delegate of the Society of St. Paul, and Sr. Françoise Rives, Delegate Superior of the Pious Disciples, participated in the event as representatives of the other branches of the Pauline Family present in the country. The beautiful Liturgy, celebrated in a spirit of fraternity, reminded everyone of the significance of the Pauline vocation in the Church and world of today.

 

 

 

Our sisters of the Ivory Coast opened their celebration of the Institute’s Centenary of foundation with an hour of adoration in the Yopougon Cathedral on 18 June–a time of prayer and praise to God for the gift of 100 years at the service of the Gospel in the world of communications. On the following Sunday, 21 June, they participated in a solemn Eucharistic Celebration presided over by the Co-adjutor of the diocese, Bishop Lezoutié, assisted by Titular Bishop Mandjo and numerous diocesan and religious priests, all of whom joined our sisters, collaborators and friends in thanking God for this very meaningful congregational milestone. The two Catholic radio stations in the area and a national newspaper transmitted the event to the public.

 

A significant moment in the Eucharistic Celebration was the Offertory procession, during which the presentation of the bread and wine was accompanied by a lighted candle, symbolizing the light that every Daughter of St. Paul is called to radiate by means of her life and mission. Two baskets containing the books and audiovisuals produced by the sisters in 2014-2015 were also carried to the altar. Finally, the two bishops were offered a large Bible as a way of underscoring the Pauline mission and the continuity of the Congegation’s service of the Word in the Church. At the end of the Eucharist, all the participants gathered for a moment of joyful fraternity, accompanied by refreshments.

 

 

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On 28 June, the Daughters of St Paul in Mumbai celebrated the conclusion of their Centenary festivities with a solemn Eucharist presided over by His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai. The Liturgy was con-celebrated by a number of priests of the Society of St Paul and other priests.

 

Around 800 people participated in the event, including Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, Pauline co-operators and lay faithful of the parish.

The Eucharistic Liturgy was followed by a short, festive gathering for all the well-wishers and an agape meal for the sisters’ special guests.

 

 

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Milan. On 30 May, the FSP Book Publishing Sector in Milan organized a pilgrimage to Alba, focusing special attention on the birthplace of Sr. Thecla Merlo in Castagnito and that of Fr. James Alberione in San Lorenzo di Fossano. Participants in the initiative included the staff of the publishing house (the sisters and their employees, together with their families) and a number of authors and illustrators whose works are published by the FSPs. All our collaborators expressed their gratitude for this chance to enrich themselves on the spiritual and human levels, get to better know the charism of the Institute, and discover aspects of the Pauline apostolate that were previously unknown to them.

 

                            

 

Como. On Sunday, 14 June, many priests, relatives, friends and collaborators of the Daughters of St. Paul gathered in the Como Cathedral to participate in a Eucharistic Liturgy celebrating the Centenary of foundation of the Daughters of St. Paul. In his homily, the Bishop of the diocese, Diego Coletti, said that when he is having a hard day he goes to the FSP Book Center because it is a place overflowing with religious content and proposals, but above all with hospitality, cordiality and friendship. “All this warms the heart,” he declared. He also said that while reading the book, Mi Protendo in Avanti, he was struck by Fr. Alberione’s yearning to reach everyone who did not know Jesus Christ, and he urged our sisters to continually look ahead, seeking to use every instrument possible to “offer everyone the charity of the truth.”

 

Ferrara. “At the service of a culture born of faith…” This is how Archbishop Luigi Negri described the mission of the FSPs in his sermon during a solemn Eucharistic Celebration in the Cathedral of Ferrara on 14 June to commemorate our Institute’s Centenary of foundation and 75 years of presence in his diocese. In her brief introduction to the Liturgy, Sr. Daniela Cau, superior of the FSP community, stressed that the Pauline mission is to communicate the beauty of the Gospel. The service was enlivened by the beautiful voices of the Communion and Liberation Choir and refreshments were available during the fraternal gathering that followed the Mass. The joy of the participants, united in prayer to the Lord, and the best wishes of the Archbishop, marked the opening of a new stage of the Pauline journey in Ferrara and prompted our sisters to renew their commitment to the communications apostolate in order to promote a fresh flowering of faith among the People of God.

 

Messina. A festive Eucharistic Celebration, presided over by Archbishop Calogero La Piana in the Church of Santa Maria del Graffeo, brought to conclusion a series of 13 initiatives launched by the FSPs of Messina in May 2014 to commemorate the Institute’s Centenary of foundation. Participating in the joyous Liturgy were many FSPs of the Reggio Calabria region, together with other members of the Pauline Family and many collaborators and friends, all of whom flocked to the beautiful Byzantine church to help our sisters commemorate this special event. The different initiatives programmed throughout the past year were organized by our sisters and carried out in close collaboration with various diocesan offices. In his homily, the Archbishop reminded the assembly that Fr. Alberione gave the FSPs the mandate to offer the charity of the truth to everyone and he urged our sisters to commit themselves wholeheartedly to this apostolate so that many more people will come to know Christ, the sole Way, Truth and Life of humanity.

 

Udine. On 15 June, the FSP community of Udine threw wide its doors to other members of the Pauline Family, friends, collaborators and their families so as to spend an afternoon celebrating together the FSP Centenary of foundation. Fr. Ampelio Crema, ssp, opened the event with a brief power point introduction on the significance of a Centenary and the beauty of being a single Family with many different faces. This was followed by a Eucharistic Celebration of thanksgiving in which everyone participated enthusiastically. The gathering concluded with a fraternal and festive supper.

 

 

The Daughters of St. Paul of the Philippines joined the Institute’s worldwide thanksgiving for its 100 years of foundation by means of a Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Most Rev. Jose Palma, Archbishop of Cebu, on 14 June 2015 in the Queen of Apostles Sanctuary in Pasay.

 

The centennial celebration coincided with the silver jubilees of eight sisters: Sr. Corazon Mercurio, Sr. Alicia Candido, Sr. Carmen Billones, Sr. Proserfina Foronda, Sr. Mildred Chan, Sr. Nema Sun, Sr. Christine Henry Sundin and Sr. Bibianah Densia, who renewed their vows in the presence of their families, friends, benefactors and the people of God.

In his homily, the Archbishop thanked the Daughters of St. Paul for their invaluable contribution in the dioceses where they are present, saying that the Congregation’s unique ministry is very relevant and much needed in the Church, especially today. He encouraged our sisters to continue using the media for evangelization and to help to form pastoral workers in the field of communications.

 

 

 

                                    

 

 

Our Centenary of foundation, celebrated in the heart of the year the Pope has dedicated to the consecrated life, prompted the FSPs of Treviso to ask all the feminine religious Institutes of the diocese to join them in praising and thanking God for the Pauline vocation and mission. To favor this, each religious community was given a copy of the DVD, Thecla: A Life for the Gospel–a small gift that helped to reinforce the bonds of communion between our Congregation and the other Institutes present in the area.

May the Divine Master see to it that our sisters’ efforts to spread the Word of God through the many languages of communication bear abundant fruit.