Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers // Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers

Family Theater Productions Focuses on Families.

2012-02-03T11:00:00-05:00

Family Theater Productions, founded in 1947 by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., serves families using mass media to entertain, inspire, and educate families. Recently, the ministry announced that they are refocusing their resources to better position their mission in their service to families. The significant change in the organization’s mission will be the transitioning of the Angelus Student Film Festival to new sponsors.

“This has been a difficult decision as we’ve had great impact and success with Angelus,” said Rev. Willy Raymond, C.S.C., national director of Family Theater Productions. “We’re proud of the mission activities that have been accomplished with Angelus and hope we can transition Angelus to another organization that can serve young filmmakers as they begin their careers.”

Family Theater Productions is seeking an organization that will not only manage Angelus, but will have the resources to grow the festival.

“Angelus, an ancillary activity of our ministry, has grown so large that it’s taken up more and more of our financial and staffing resources. While in most cases that would be a benefit, it’s a challenge for us as it has taken resources away from our core mission activities directly serving families,” said Fr. Raymond.

Angelus was founded in 1996 by Family Theater Productions to honor and showcase future filmmakers as they create works that respect the dignity of the human person. Angelus winning films reflect themes such as redemption, dignity, equality, hope, triumph of the human spirit and spirituality. In 2010 the festival received 527 entries in drama, documentary and animation categories. The filmmakers represented 180 film schools in 30 countries.

Family Theater Productions, founded in 1947 by the late Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton, continues to produce award-winning, English- and Spanish-language radio and TV dramas and documentaries to entertain, inspire and educate families. Family Theater’s famous slogan, “The family that prays together stays together,” was written for its initial dramatic, network radio series in 1947. Family Theater Productions is a member of Holy Cross Family Ministries.

Holy Cross Family Ministries promotes and supports the spiritual well-being of families in 17 countries. Family Rosary encourages family prayer, especially the Rosary. Holy Cross Family Ministries is sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Conference offers contemporary stories of holiness

2012-02-03T11:00:00-05:00

A conference at the University of Notre Dame next week (Feb. 5 to 8) will bring together Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Buddhists for four days to tell the stories of particularly admirable men and women from their respective faiths and traditions.

“Stories of Practical Holiness: An Exercise in Interreligious Understanding,” convened by the Institute for Church Life (ICL), will include accounts of martyred Trappist monks; of the asceticism and enlightenment of Dharma masters, Buddhist nuns and Sikh luminaries; of reconciling Israeli Jews and dispossessed Palestinians; and of a contemporary Muslim religious healer.

John C. Cavadini, McGrath-Cavadini Director of the ICL, said that the conference will present concrete examples of holiness from diverse faith traditions not only as a means of deepening interreligious understanding, but also to provide examples of how religious faith drives palpable and conspicuous acts of love, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation in contemporary society.

“Admiration is itself a kind of pedagogy,” Cavadini said. “We can look at and admire the lives and witnesses of holy men and women from diverse religious faiths without inviting a sort of religious relativism.”

According to Cavadini, the interreligious dimension of the conference derives in large part from an insight expressed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), in which the pope praised the martyrs and saints of the Catholic Church for their “eloquent and attractive example of a life completely transfigured by the splendor of moral truth,” and added that “in this witness to the absoluteness of the moral good Christians are not alone: They are supported by the moral sense present in peoples and by the great religious and sapiential traditions of East and West, from which the interior and mysterious workings of God’s Spirit are not absent.”

Featured speakers at the conference include Dharma Master Hsin Tao; Bhai Sahib (Dr.) Bhai Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia; Rev. Armand Veilleux, O.C.S.O.; Abdolrahim Gavahi, Ph.D.; Dalia Landau; Khader Al-Kalak; and Yehezkel Landau. In addition to sharing stories at the conference, they will visit various Notre Dame theology classes and attend a prayer breakfast with religious leaders and members of the University community.

Conference events are free and open to the public.

“Stories of Practical Holiness” is sponsored by the ICL and the Fetzer Institute.

Contact: Jennifer Monahan, assistant director, Institute for Church Life, 574-631-9195, Monahan.27@nd.edu

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on February 01, 2012.

World Day for Consecrated Life

2012-02-02T12:00:00-05:00

The Catholic Church celebrates World Day for Consecrated Life on Thursday, February 2, and will also be observed on Sunday, February 5, 2012, in parishes in order to highlight the gift of consecrated persons for the whole Church.

Pope John Paul II called for a dedicated day of prayer for religious women and men in 1997. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord held on February 2nd. This Feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world, just as those who are called to consecrated life are called to reflect light of Jesus Christ to others. Therefore, Pope John Paul fittingly chose Candlemas Day as the World Day for Consecrated Life.

In the Congregation of Holy Cross, the United States Province is a family of 400 priests and brothers, with more than 100 young men in formation in the United States and around the world. Holy Cross is an apostolic community of priests and brothers, who with zeal and a preferential option for the poor, work to make God known, loved and served in our education, parish, and mission communities across the United States, and around the world. Through the vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience, Holy Cross religious are committed to following Christ’s path of discipleship and drawing those they minister to in their education, parish, and mission settings closer to God.

Internally within Holy Cross, the Congregation is also celebrating consecrated life. "Year of the Brother," which runs Oct. 17, 2011 - Oct. 17, 2012, honors the important services given to the Church and the world through the brothers' vocation. The celebration begins and ends on the anniversary of the canonization of the order's first saint, St. André Bessette. In their religious consecration, brothers give their lives over to the Lord in service to all of God's people. During the "Year of the Brother," Holy Cross gives thanks for their service, compassion, and prayer they share with the world and with one another in community.

If you or someone you know is interested in pursuing a vocation as a priest or brother with Holy Cross, we invite you to read this recent reflection about discernment from our Associate Director of Vocations, Fr. Drew Gawrych, and then contact the Office of Vocations.

Prayers of the Faithful

Those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience seek to live their Baptismal promises more intensely. May the consecrated persons of this community of faith have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. We pray to the Lord …

We are thankful for all who have responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to be a consecrated person. May they experience the support of the Church as they continue their growth in holiness. We pray to the Lord …

From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website

Notre Dame reaches No. 10 on Peace Corps’ college rankings

2012-02-01T10:40:00-05:00

For the twelfth year in a row, the University of Notre Dame has placed on the Peace Corps’ list of top universities nationwide producing Peace Corps volunteers, and its rank is steadily rising.

This year, with 35 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, Notre Dame moves up to the No. 10 spot among medium-sized universities (with between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates), from last year’s No. 18 ranking with 25 volunteers in service. In 2011, Notre Dame moved up to No. 18 from the 2010 No. 23 spot. Since Peace Corps was founded in 1961, 858 Notre Dame alumni have served in Peace Corps.

“Colleges and universities prepare thousands of talented undergraduate and graduate alumni for Peace Corps service every year,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams (Dominican Republic, 1967-70). “These alumni go on to serve as Peace Corps volunteers, applying the skills and knowledge they acquired during their studies to promote world peace and friendship and improve the lives of people around the world. Every day, volunteers make countless contributions to projects in agriculture, education, the environment, health and HIV/AIDS education and prevention, small business development, and youth development.”

Michael Hebbeler, director of student leadership and senior transitions for Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, said, “We are extremely grateful for our continued partnership with the Peace Corps. This ranking reflects the formation of our undergraduate students as they learn and develop in a classroom that extends well into the community. These experiences often deepen their desire to serve the common good for justice, and the Peace Corps provides incredible opportunities for our students to live out the mission of our university beyond graduation and across the globe.”

This past fall, in commemoration of the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary, Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet visited campus to pay special tribute to Notre Dame and to University President Emeritus Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh. C.S.C., for his significant role in Peace Corps history. Father Hesburgh worked closely with President John F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps’ first director Sargent Shriver and associate director Harris Wofford in its development and invited the first Peace Corps volunteers to train on campus before traveling to assignments in Chile. He continued to mentor and advise these early volunteers throughout their service.

In 2010, Notre Dame introduced a new Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate program in the area of nonprofit administration within the Mendoza College of Business. This unique graduate program offers Peace Corps volunteers who have completed their service the opportunity to attend Notre Dame to earn an advanced degree (master of nonprofit administration), with financial assistance and the chance to use their knowledge and skills in community internships as part of the program’s requirements.

About the Peace Corps:
Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries. Today, 9,095 volunteers are working with local communities in 75 host countries. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age, but there is no upper age limit to serve. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment, including three months of comprehensive culture, language, program, and safety and security training. The agency’s mission is to promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. Visit www.peacecorps.gov for more information.

Contact: John M. Guimond, director, communications, Center for Social Concerns John.Guimond.2@nd.edu, 574-631-3209

Originally published by John Guimond at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 31, 2012.

Holy Cross Colleges & Universities Celebrate Moreau Day

2012-01-26T10:55:00-05:00

Friday, Jan. 20 was the annual celebration of the life of Congregation of Holy Cross founder, Blessed Basil Moreau.

United States Province's colleges and universities took time to mark this joyous occasion by holding Masses and recognizing their lay collaborators who work to uphold their institutions’ Catholic and Holy Cross traditions. All four schools used the opportunity to formally recognize the recipients of the Spirit of Holy Cross Award, which were announced back on Sept. 15, 2011 (Our Lady of Sorrows, the Feast Day of the Congregation's special patroness).

At Stonehill College (Easton, Mass.), Maura Tyrrell, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Rev. Francis J. Hurley, C.S.C. Endowed Chair, was honored.

Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C., Fourth Assistant Provincial, presided at Mass and presented Dr. Tyrrell with her award. Stonehill College President Rev. Mark T. Cregan, C.S.C., was also present and participated in the Mass and special recognition of Dr. Tyrrell.

The University of Portland (Portland, Ore.) celebrated Blessed Basil Moreau Day with the presentation of the Spirit of Holy Cross Award to long-time events director Bill Reed and the installation of Michael F. Andrews as the McNerney-Hanson Endowed Chair in Ethics.

The University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.) recognized Joseph A. Russo, Director of Student Financial Strategies during a Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus.

The Holy Cross Community at Kings College (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) also celebrated Moreau Day with a Mass and honored their Spirit of Holy Cross recipients, long time dining room assistants Marion Woods and Elizabeth Marley.

Father Jenkins and students, faculty and staff attend March for Life

2012-01-25T11:00:00-05:00

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, was among some 350 Notre Dame students, faculty and staff who traveled to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23 to take part in the March for Life.

The annual march, which marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, has drawn increasing numbers of people over the years, and this year, the 39th anniversary of the decision, tens of thousands of marchers braved raw temeratures and intermittent rain to participate.

The Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture Fund to Protect Human Life provided funds to defray the cost of the buses and to offer $250 travel grants to some of the students who made the 15-hour trip to the nation’s capital.

The Notre Dame Alumni Association and the Notre Dame Club of Washington, D.C., hosted a “Notre Dame Reception for Life” for the Notre Dame march participants at a Washington restaurant on Sunday evening.

On Monday morning at Saint Agnes Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va., Father Jenkins presided at a Mass for the Notre Dame contingent before joining them on the National Mall for a noon “Rally for Life,” followed by a march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court Building.

“Notre Dame assuredly has one of the largest contingents here from any college or university in the country,” according to Rev. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C., professor of history and president of Notre Dame’s chapter of University Faculty for Life. “This not only reflects the willingness of these faculty to demonstrate their own commitment to the cause of life but also indicates the desire of faculty and staff to march with and support our marvelous pro-life students. Together we are making clear Notre Dame’s commitment to defend human life at every stage and forcefully stating Notre Dame’s unambiguous position on the great civil rights issue of our time.”

The afternoon of the march on the Notre Dame campus, the Alumni Association hosted a “Sanctity for Life” prayer service in solidarity with the Notre Dame marchers. Some 50 students, faculty and staff members gathered for prayer in the Log Chapel followed by a procession to the Grotto, where they recited prayers for the protection of human life submitted by members of the extended Notre Dame family to the alumni association website at http://mynotredame.nd.edu/sanctityoflife.

You can view more pictures of the 2012 March for Life by visiting Photo.ND.edu.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 24, 2012.

Family Rosary Celebrates 70 Years

2012-01-17T15:55:00-05:00

As Holy Cross Family Ministries celebrates the anniversary of Servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton’s birthday, January 9, they also celebrate the beginning of a special year. Fr. Peyton, C.S.C., founded Family Rosary in 1942 to bring families together to pray the Rosary daily in their homes just as his family had done. Fr. Peyton knew the strength it gave his family and when he was miraculously healed of tuberculosis, he committed his priestly life to spread devotion to the family Rosary. Early on in his ministry Fr. Peyton realized through the use of media, at the time radio, he could reach many more families. It was then, in 1947, that he founded Family Theater Productions to use mass media and invite the stars of Hollywood to help him reach families.

Now 70 years later, Family Rosary, distributes 1.2 million Rosaries annually to 17 countries (on 5 continents), sponsors mission events worldwide, and even television and radio programming. It can all be traced back to the simplicity of Fr. Peyton’s father leading the family in the Rosary every evening in their home. Father Peyton’s vision that … the family that prays together stays together … and … a world at prayer is a world at peace … is as meaningful today as when he began this work 70 years ago.

For more information on the work of Holy Cross Family Ministries, visit www.familyrosary.org. To learn more about this inspiring Holy Cross priest, dubbed the "Rosary Priest" and follow his cause for sainthood, visit www.fatherpeyton.org. You can also learn more about the mass media organization he founded 65 years ago, Family Theater Productions, by visiting www.familytheater.org.

Vocations Awareness Week: It Takes the Church

2012-01-08T15:00:00-05:00

“It takes a village to raise a child.” That is the wisdom of an African proverb, and there is a great truth in it. I am willing to bet that most, if not all parents would say that they did not raise their children on their own. In fact, they could not raise them on their own. They needed the help of others so that their children could grow and mature into the people they have become today.

As the Roman Catholic Church celebrates Vocations Awareness Week January 9-16, I would like to propose a new, yet similar proverb about vocations to religious life and priesthood: “It takes the Church to raise a vocation.”

Certainly, in every vocation, there is an essential element that is intimately personal and even individual. After all, from the moment of our baptisms, God uniquely loves and calls each and every one of us by name.

That is why one of my favorite parts of the Rite of Baptism is when the priest or deacon asks the parents what name they give their child. In that simple, yet amazing moment we learn the name by and through which God will adopt and lead that child into becoming the saint that only he or she can be.

Moreover, we each have to give our own fiat or “yes” to God, giving the Holy Spirit permission to shape and mold us into the gifts that God created us in love to be. No one else – not our parents, godparents, siblings, friends, priests, teachers, fellow parishioners – can give that yes to God for us. We ourselves must give it, just as Mary – and no one else – could give her fiat to the Lord for her special calling.

And yet, Mary would never have been able to have given her yes to the Lord if she had not received before hand – and known she could have counted on later – all the support of those around her, including most of all her parents, Joachim and Ann, and her faithful husband-to-be, Joseph. Their witness, prayers, teachings, encouragement, and love were all essential in Mary being able to accept and live out the gift of her vocation from God. And so in a very real way, we can say that it took a community of faith to raise the Blessed Mother.

The same is true for all of us when it comes to accepting and living out our vocations, whatever they may be. It takes the Church to raise a vocation, because even though we must each give our own personal, individual yes, we can only do so when we have been blessed by the witness, prayers, teachings, encouragement, and love of the Church around us.

I know that is true of my own vocation. I know that I would not be living my life’s dream as a Holy Cross religious and priest if it were not for all those who helped raise up my vocation. Certainly, my family and especially my parents, Joan and George, stand at the front of that pack, but they certainly were not alone. Countless people come to mind from the faithful parishioners at St. Casimir Parish in Leavenworth to the humble Holy Cross brother who ran the orphanage in Chile to my friends in Campus Ministry at Notre Dame to even my Baptist roommate in college. And the list could go on and on and on. It took the Church to raise my vocation.

I know that it is true also of the vocations of many, if not all of the 50 young men we currently have in formation in the United States Province of Holy Cross. That is probably why one of the main pieces of advice our seminarians give to those discerning a vocation is to start talking to others about it. They know from the own personal, individual experience that they needed the rest of the Church to get them to the points they are at today in their vocations.

And so, in celebrating this Vocations Awareness Week, I encourage all young people who honestly want to discern God’s call in their lives to be aware that you need the support of the Church to do so. Do not try it alone, because you can’t. Reach out to others of faith around you, including faithful married couples, joyful priests, and engaging religious sisters and brothers. Seek their advice, their counsel, their support, their prayers.

And to the rest of the Church, I encourage you to be ready and willing to be aware of the need that young people in the Church around you have of you to be a part of the supporting cast in their vocations. Be ready and willing to witness to them in your own vocation. Be ready and willing to pray for them. Be ready and willing to offer them words of encouragement. Be ready and willing even to suggest to them in love, if the Spirit moves you, that God might be calling them to be a priest, a brother, or a sister.

After all, there is no vocation stork that delivers vocations to the Church. It takes the Church – the whole Church – to raise vocations.

Fr. Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C., is the Associate Director of the Office of Vocations for the United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He writes periodically for the Spes Unica Blog on issues of vocation and discernment. Contact the Office of Vocations to learn more about discerning a religious life with the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Record Numbers Attend St. André Healing Mass

2012-01-06T14:00:00-05:00

Easton, Mass. -- Nearly 100 people turned out for the Healing Mass on the Feast of St. André Bessette at The Father Peyton Center in North Easton, Mass., today.

Concelebrants, Father Leo Polselli, C.S.C., Chaplain of the Center, and Father John Phalen, C.S.C., President of Holy Cross Family Ministries, blessed those in attendance with a St. André relic and anointed them with St. Joseph oil from the Oratory in Montreal, Canada.

When St. André died in 1937, at the age of 91, he was known as a healer and the "Miracle Man of Montreal" where he founded the Oratory of Saint Joseph. One million people paid their respects at his death. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010, and is the first member of the Congregation of Holy Cross to be declared a saint.

Downtown Chapel Unveils New Name on St. André's Feast Day

2012-01-06T11:00:00-05:00

Today, in honor of and on the feast day of Holy Cross' first saint, Saint André Bessette, the Downtown Chapel unveils its new name and identity - Saint André

Bessette Catholic Church.

First known as the Downtown Chapel, it was founded in 1919 as an outreach to sailors returning from World War I. The Downtown Chapel became a Roman Catholic parish within the Archdiocese of Portland in 1943. At that time, the parish was named St. Vincent de Paul Parish, although Downtown Chapel remained its primary and common name.

In January 2011, the Archdiocese of Portland changed the official name of the parish to Saint André Bessette Church, in honor of Saint André’s canonization on Sunday, October 17, 2010. The parish continues to provide hospitality and basic needs to the most marginalized members of our community.

Saint André was a Holy Cross brother from Montreal, and the first member of the Congregation of Holy Cross to be canonized. His simple life as a porter and ministry of healing provides for our parish community a patron that lived a life identifying with suffering and poverty, with illness and homelessness. Pastor of Saint André Church Father Steve Newton, C.S.C., said, “He opened the doors to whomever came to them, and welcomed all as they truly were, regardless of status or dress or need—the beloved of God, in whom God was well pleased.”

“Changing our name allows us to more clearly communicate our identity and mission,” said Associate Pastor Father Ronald Raab, C.S.C. “Though historic, the name Downtown Chapel didn’t communicate our identity as a Roman Catholic parish. Our new name establishes one name that appropriately communicates all facets of our identity.”

“As a parish administered by the Congregation of Holy Cross, changing our identity, our name, is significant for our parish and serves as a sign of the commitment of the Congregation of Holy Cross to the ministry of people living in poverty and surviving homelessness, mental illness and addictions. The presence of Holy Cross also makes the commitment of education and formation for people serving other people in the issues of social justice and nonviolence.”

At planning meetings over the summer, the parish community decided to honor the Downtown Chapel name by adopting the tagline, “Portland’s downtown chapel since 1919.” The cross and anchors in the new logo are an adaptation of the cross and anchors representing the Congregation of Holy Cross. Beginning today, the new name, logo and tagline will be used in all communications.

For more information on Saint André Bessette Catholic Church's community programs, and liturgy please visit: www.saintandrechurch.org.

You can also read Fr. Ron Raab's blog which reflects on Saint André and the events leading to the name change.

Family Rosary – Philippines Reaches Out to New Areas

2012-01-05T16:00:00-05:00

In 2011, Family Rosary Philippines celebrated their 60^th Anniversary.

Part of the celebration was establishing new Family Rosary Crusase Units. A Crusade Unit is a local group that support our ministry and bring families together to pray the Rosary. The groundwork for the establishment of a new unit began on December 9, 2011.

Family Rosary is a ministry of Holy Cross Family Ministries. For more information Family Rosary and its mission to join the world together in thoughtful prayer and peace through the mysteries of the rosary, please visit their website.

Rev. Gerard Olinger, C.S.C., promoted to VP for Student Affairs

2012-01-05T16:00:00-05:00

Rev. Gerard J. Olinger, C.S.C., has been appointed Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Portland, effective January 1, 2012. The appointment was made by University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C.

In his new role, Fr. Olinger will oversee the Offices of Residence Life, Public Safety, Student Activities, Career Services, and International Student Services, as well as the University’s Health Center and Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.

Read more by visiting the Uinversity of Portland's website.

District of East Africa Elects a New Superior & Councilors

2012-01-01T14:00:00-05:00

Kampala, Uganda -- At its most recent District Chapter on Dec. 31, 2011, the District of East Africa elected a Superior and District Councilors.

Provincial Superior Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C., of the United States Province was there to welcome Rev. Patrick Neary, C.S.C., as the new Superior. A native of LaPorte, Ind., Fr. Pat has served most recently as director of McCauley Formation House in Nairobi. Rev. Aristedes Massawe, C.S.C. of the U.S. Province, and Br. Evarest Neema, C.S.C. of the Moreau Province of Brothers, were also elected as District Councilors.

The previous District Superior was Rev. James Burasa, C.S.C., who has served as District Superior for the past nine years. The Congregation wishes Fr. Burasa many blessings during his coming sabbatical and in the years ahead.

During this District Chapter, the life and work of the first African-native Holy Cross priest, Rev. Fulgens Katende, C.S.C., was celebrated. Fr. Katende celebrated 25 years in religious life.

Holy Cross established a presence in East Africa in response to an invitation given through Propaganda Fide by Bishop Ogez of the Mbarara Diocese. The first group of Holy Cross priests to arrive was led by longtime missionary Father Vincent J. McCauley, who later became the first Bishop of Fort Portal Diocese. He was accompanied by Fathers Francis Zagorc, Burton Smith, and Robert Hesse. These four intrepid missionaries landed on Ugandan soil on November 4, 1958.

Read more information about the District of East Africa or watch a video about Holy Cross' international ministries.

Brothers Happy in Service

2012-01-01T14:00:00-05:00

Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., Provost at the University of Portland, was recently featured in an article in the Catholic Sentinel on the vocation of the brother. The Congregation of Holy Cross is celebrating the Year of the Brother through October 2012 to recognize the vocation to religious life and the contributions the brothers make not only to Holy Cross, but also to the greater Catholic community.

If you or someone you know is interested in exploring a vocation in the priesthood or religious life, you can learn more about a life in Holy Cross by visiting this section of our website and visiting the Office of Vocations website.

Amazement at the Grotto

2011-12-22T14:00:00-05:00

It appears early each Advent season, the massive crèche mounted on a platform of hay bales at the western edge of Notre Dame’s Grotto. Vibrantly colored, oversized figures of Mary, Joseph, an adoring shepherd, the oncoming Magi, some eerily well-groomed livestock and a girlish angel overhead, all symmetrically arranged around an empty patch of stable floor. All the figures, even the animals, have credulous and startled faces. The Baby is not yet where their apprehensive gazes fall.

While it is unlikely to be mistaken for a great work of art, this Grotto nativity scene is nevertheless irresistible, and not just for those small children whose parents bring them there to marvel and gawk and wonder where the Baby is. Naivete is commendable in this season.

Early in the 13th century, after constructing a manger scene which was probably very much like the one in the Grotto, Saint Francis of Assisi choked up a bit. His contemporary biographer, Saint Bonaventure, reported how Francis “preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of his love, he called Him the Babe of Bethlehem.”

At a Christmas Mass three years before he came to Notre Dame to receive the 1989 Laetare Medal, the novelist Walker Percy experienced something very similar and reported it in a letter to his friend Robert Coles. The Mass had begun and an unremarkable homily had been preached when, according to Percy, “a not-so-good choir of young rock musicians got going on ‘Joy to the World,’ the vocals not so good, but enthusiastic. Then it hit me: what if it should be the case that the entire cosmos had a Creator, and what if he decided for reasons of his own to show up as a little baby conceived and born under suspicious circumstances? Well, Bob, you can lay it to Alzheimers or hangover, or whatever, but—it hit me—I had to pretend I had an allergy attack so I could take out my handkerchief.”

It seems appropriate that the astonishment of the Incarnation, of God showing up as an inconvenient baby, can erupt even from banal art and sentimental gesture, from the music of a not-so-good choir, from the words of a dull homily. The doctrine celebrated in the feast of Christmas is an unwieldy one, even faintly preposterous.

At about the same time the Baby is placed in the Grotto crèche, the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-25) will be read at the Christmas vigil Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Those attending Mass may be forgiven for drowsing as that long list of occasionally unpronounceable names is read, but even in that monotonous litany, as Dominican theologian Father Herbert McCabe once noted, an arresting truth is glimpsed.

“The thing to notice,” Father McCabe said, “is that God’s plan is worked out not in pious people, people with religious experiences, but in a set of crude, passionate and thoroughly disreputable people. [Jesus] belonged to a family of murderers, cheats, cowards, adulterers and liars—he belonged to us and came to help us. No wonder he came to a bad end and gave us some hope.”

Even people who have strolled by and prayed at the Grotto crèche for many years find it difficult to remember exactly what the yet-to-arrive Baby looks like. Perhaps it will blend in perfectly with the other crèche figures. Perhaps not. We’ll have to wait and see. In amazement.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 22, 2011.

The Coming of the Great Light

2011-12-22T08:00:00-05:00

It’s amazing how my life has changed in the past year. Last Christmas, I was serving as the pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Arizona – about three hours north of the Mexican border. This Christmas, I am now serving as the pastor of our Holy Cross parish outside of Monterrey, Mexico, La Parroquia de Nuestra Madre Santisima de La Luz or Our Most Holy Mother of the Light Parish – about three hours south of the U.S. border. It was difficult leaving the people of St. John Vianney after nine years as their pastor, but thanks be to God, I’ve adjusted to life in a new and different world in Mexico.

Before I arrived here, many people expressed concern about my coming to Mexico in a time that has been marked by frequent drug violence, but I was at peace with coming here because I believed that this was God’s will for me and trusted in God’s providence. When I arrived, I was immediately moved by the warmth and the joy of the people as they welcomed me to their parish. I saw no initial signs of violence, although seeing frequent police patrols with officers carrying large automatic weapons in the back of police pickup trucks was a sobering sight for me! Life seemed to continue as normal for our people, who work hard to provide for their families and to get out of poverty.

Not long after I began serving here, several parishioners began to ask me to pray for family members who had been murdered or kidnapped. I also had the difficult task of celebrating some funerals for individuals who had been murdered. Beneath the joy and the warmth that characterize our people, I began seeing anxiety, fear, and a sense of helplessness.Our people clearly need the hope that our God and our faith offer us. The potential for violence touching families, as small as it might be, is a dark cloud that constantly hangs over our people.

As I reflect upon the reality of our people and the anxiety and uncertainty under which they live now here with the drug cartels of Mexico, I think of Mary and Joseph and the people of Israel living in anxiety and uncertainty under the presence of the Roman army in their land. The people of Israel had endured so many difficult times as they waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. Although the people’s lives necessarily continued on, they knew much darkness. They waited in hope for the coming of the Messiah, for the coming of the great light.

Jesus’ birth changed our world forever like nothing else before or since. Jesus taking on our human flesh in the Incarnation is an incredible mystery and the destiny-changing event in world history. Out of love for us, Jesus took on the limits, burdens, and pains that are a part of our lives. He did this to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life. Our faith tells us that all will be well because of this little child.

The people of Mexico need the light of Christ in their lives more than ever this Christmas. We all need Him, no matter which side of the border is our home. We know very clearly that He knows our pain, our fear, our anxiety. Most importantly, He is with us. May His light and His love touch our hearts this Christmas and help us to bring His light and love to a world in great need.

Rev. John Herman, C.S.C., is the pastor of Parroquia Nuestra Madre Santísima de La Luz in Monterrey, Mexico.

Learn more about the mission of Holy Cross in Mexico, and read more homilies and reflections by Holy Cross religious. Learn more about how you can support the work and mission of Holy Cross.

Christmas 2011 Holy Cross Reflections

2011-12-22T08:00:00-05:00

Christmas is a time to give thanks and rejoice in the gift of Jesus Christ. It's a time of internal reflection as to how we can not only receive God's greatest gift into our hearts and lives, but more importantly how can we share it with others.

Holy Cross is working to share this gift around the globe.

In his Christmas reflection, hear how Fr. John Herman, C.S.C., pastor of Parroquia Nuestra Madre Santísima de La Luz in México, is fanning the flames of Christ's light so it will burn more brightly for those in perilous situations:

"As I reflect upon the reality of our people and the anxiety and uncertainty under which they live now here with the drug cartels of Mexico, I think of Mary and Joseph and the people of Israel living in anxiety and uncertainty under the presence of the Roman army in their land. The people of Israel had endured so many difficult times as they waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. Although the people’s lives necessarily continued on, they knew much darkness. They waited in hope for the coming of the Messiah, for the coming of the great light." Read more ...

Fr. Herb Yost, C.S.C., also reflects on how every day citizens of God are sharing God's gifts in the humblest of ways to making the greatest sacrifices ...

"Anonymous benefactors are going into K-Marts around the country and paying off lay-aways so families can have a Christmas. Jose Gutierrez, age 22, of Lomita, Calif. and David Hickman, age 23, of Greensboro N.C., the first and last soldiers to be killed in Iraq. Nathan Chapman, age 32, of San Antonio, the first soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. Greater love than this ..." Read more ...

The Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers prays that we all will recognize God's grace, peace, love and blessings in our lives not just at Christmas but all year long, and that we share those blessings with our fellow man.

Merry Christmas!

Learn more about how you can support the work and mission of Holy Cross.

Honoring our Latina mother

2011-12-13T11:00:00-05:00

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe falls on Monday (Dec. 12), agreeably apposite to recent activities of Notre Dame’s scholars and administrators.

The feast celebrates the 16th century apparition of the pregnant, Nahuatl-speaking Virgin Mary and the vibrant image she left behind.

Her image, enshrined at the site of the apparition in what is now Mexico City, is venerated particularly in Latin America, but ubiquitously in the western hemisphere, including in the western apsidal chapel of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where a rendition painted by Maria Tomasula, the Michael P. Grace Professor of Art, was installed three years ago.

The Hispanic and Latino Catholic bishops of the United States appealed to Our Lady of Guadalupe in a pastoral letter to the country’s undocumented immigrants issued last Friday (Dec. 9), urging them to remember that she “constantly repeats to us the words she spoke to St. Juan Diego, ‘Am I, who am your mother, not here?’”

The bishops’ letter, which insists that American laws “should include a program for worker visas that respects the immigrants’ human rights, provides for their basic needs and ensures that they enter our country and work in a safe and orderly manner,” cites and makes use of recent scholarship by Rev. Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C., associate professor of theology and director of the Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture at Notre Dame.

The letter urged that all consideration of immigration keep in mind the Gospel admonition of Jesus, that “I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was an alien and you took me into your house.”

This strikes Rev. Joseph V. Corpora, C.S.C., who served as a pastor for 19 years in Catholic parishes in Arizona and Oregon, as good advice. “In both parishes there were many undocumented people, and I think that I dealt with the question of undocumented people in one way or another every day of those 19 years. They are truly the poor among us. They hope that the Church will speak for them and be their advocate, like Our Lady of Guadalupe was for Juan Diego and continues to be today.”

At Notre Dame, Father Corpora directs the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Catholic School Advantage Campaign, an effort to increase the percentage of Latino children enrolled in Catholic schools. The campaign, whose consultants are now active in seven Catholic dioceses, hopes to double the percentage of Latino children enrolled in Catholic schools – from 3 to 6 percent – in the next 10 years, raising the number of Latino children enrolled in Catholic schools from 290,000 to 1 million by 2020.

In frequent addresses to Catholic pastors, teachers and school administrators nationwide, Father Corpora draws from his own extensive pastoral experience as he lists recommendations for increasing Latino enrollments. In addition to his noteworthy admonition to patronize Mexican restaurants and to “order tamales regularly,” these vary from learning Spanish, and including its use in liturgical celebrations to deeper engagement in Latino communities and the incorporation of Hispanic cultural events and feasts into school calendars. But invariably, Father Corpora advises that pastors “make a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. If we are successful in this effort, it will be due in large part to her guidance and intercession.”

Father Corpora believes that a successful outcome to the Catholic School Advantage Campaign would have numerous desirable outcomes for Latino children and families and for the nation’s academic and social future. A man whose conversation is composed in equal parts of affability and bluntness, he summarizes the campaign’s urgency: “Without Catholic schools, we will not have a Church. Without Latinos in our Catholic schools, we won’t have schools. So as the students say in the dorm (Dillon Hall) where I live, ‘Go figure.’ I’ve often thought that Latinos might even be God’s last-ditch effort to keep the American Catholic Church truly catholic, sacramental and diverse.”

In that effort, his mother, however named—Notre Dame, Our Lady, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe—will continue to have a large part.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 12, 2011.

New documentary explores “Compassion in Global Health”

2011-12-12T10:25:00-05:00

University of Notre Dame faculty and students joined colleagues at an inaugural symposium on Compassion in Global Health during the annual meeting of American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTHM) this week in Philadelphia. The symposium featured a distinguished panel of experienced global health professionals, some of whom celebrated Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Notre Dame president emeritus; and the late UNICEF President Jim Grant as among visionaries who have recognized the importance of linking compassion with global health and development.

The symposium featured the premiere of “Compassion in Global Health,” a new documentary by award-winning British filmmaker Richard Stanley. Highlighting the experiences of notable participants as shared in a unique meeting conducted last year at the Carter Center in Atlanta, the film includes perspectives from President Jimmy Carter, global health champion Paul Farmer, small pox eradication hero Bill Forge, Earth Institute founder Jeffrey Sachs, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, and Notre Dame theology professor Lawrence Sullivan, as well as other physicians, experts and patients from around the globe.

The symposium and a newly developed curriculum with an accompanying DVD were the brain child of David Addiss, now with the Task Force for Global Health. Addiss, a longtime collaborator in Notre Dame’s public health research work with the Haitian government, noted that “Although compassion is a core value and a fundamental source of inspiration and motivation for those working in the field, this is rarely acknowledged or discussed in global health organizations, training programs, or conferences.

“Consequently,” Addiss continued in his review of the film, “the potential of compassion in global health is limited.” The training materials address the role and impact of compassion in global health, and are destined for use in many settings around the globe, from universities to village clinics: “The film and study guide are offered in the belief that re-discovery of compassion can reinvigorate global health, provide a sense of meaning and connection for those who work in this field, and empower them to connect more deeply, at an intellectual and emotional level, with those they seek to serve,” Addiss said.

The film was developed by the Fetzer Institute of Kalamazoo, currently led by Sullivan, who is on leave from Notre Dame.

Along with colleagues at the Atlanta-based Task Force and the Templeton Foundation, a wide range of Notre Dame units are supporting the effort: Office of the President, Office of the Vice-President for Research, Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases, Eck Institute for Global Health, Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Haiti Program.

Contact: Sarah Craig, 574-631-3273, scraig@nd.edu

Notre Dame signs St. Francis Pledge

2011-12-09T10:50:00-05:00

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, has signed the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor , making Notre Dame a partner in a national movement to respond to Pope Benedict’s and the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ call for faithful action on climate change.

The St. Francis Pledge is the central outreach tool for the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, a membership organization drawing guidance and support from a growing list of national Catholic organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

The pledge asks Catholic individuals, parishes and institutions to pray and learn about climate change, to assess their own environmental impact, to act to reduce their impact, and to advocate for policies and initiatives that protect the environment and the world’s poor.

“The University of Notre Dame is seen not just as a top U.S. university, but as a Catholic institution in service to the world,” said Daniel Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. “By taking the St. Francis Pledge, the University will expand its commitment to mission-based sustainability in a way consistent with Catholic ideals and values: caring for God’s gift of Creation with a keen awareness that actions taken today impact people at home and abroad, especially the poor and vulnerable who suffer most from environmental degradation and climate change.”

Over the last several years, Notre Dame has made significant efforts to help the community of Catholic colleges and universities make progress in the area of sustainability. Most notably, Notre Dame hosted “Renewing the Campus: Sustainability and the Catholic University,” the first national conference of its kind. More than 200 faculty, administrators and students from 45 universities across the country participated.

More recently, Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability helped to craft “Sustainability and Catholic Higher Education: A Toolkit for Mission Integration,” which has been distributed to Catholic colleges and universities across the country.

“Making a commitment to be better stewards of God’s creation is not only a sign of hope, but a necessity,” said Tami Schmitz, assistant director of Campus Ministry. “The St. Francis Pledge provides an important framework for expanding collaboration between Campus Ministry and Sustainability and we are grateful to Father Jenkins for his leadership on this issue.”

Notre Dame has recently expanded its commitment to sustainability by announcing a comprehensive strategy that includes ambitious carbon and waste reduction goals. “We appreciate the opportunity to explicitly link our sustainability initiatives to our Catholic mission,” said Heather Christophersen, director of sustainability. “In order to accomplish our goals, we need the support of all members of the Notre Dame community. We encourage everyone to pledge their support by signing the St. Francis Pledge and by taking the 2030 Challenge."

Originally published by Rachel Novick at green.nd.edu on November 30, 2011.