JULY 2019 -1

Newsletter of the U.S. Province of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

JULY 2019 Vol. 22, No. 4

OMI USA

Paul Wightman Nature Preserve Opens On May 18, 2019, some 110people gathered in a rural areaof Monroe County, IL to cel-

ebrate the work of Fr. Paul Wightman,OMI. for his secondary, 70-odd yearcareer as a spelunker, surveyor, andmapper of caves, most notably,Fogelpole Cave, the largest and mostbiologically diverse cave in Illinois.

It was back in 1949 whileFr.Wightman was still a student at the Ob-lates’ St. Henry’s Prep Seminary inBelleville, IL, that another student,Cletus Meier, mentioned that he knewof a cave on his uncle’s farm. The uncle,Joe Fogelpole, showed the boys theopening and, sticking his head into it,

Continued on page 11Fr. Wightman cuts the ribbon on the Nature Preserve dedicated in hishonor. Fr. Lou Studer, OMI observes, on the far left.

Pope Francis has named Fr.Sylvester David, OMI, Auxil-iary Bishop of the diocese of

Capetown, South Africa.The appointment of Durban-

born David as auxiliary bishop of CapeTown comes as a surprise. It was onlyin October of last year that the then vicargeneral of Durban was named the nextpresident of the Oblate School ofTheology (OST) in San Antonio,replacing Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI,who had led the school for the pastthirteen years.

“This is news of great joy for thediocese of Capetown, for the Church ofSouth Africa and for the universalChurch,” provincial Fr. Lou Studer re-marked,“ but a great loss to OST andto the U.S. Province. Fr. Sylvester is emi-

nently qualified to be OST’s nextPresident. Those same qualitieswill serve him well as Bishop.”

Fr. David has been inresidence in San Antonio, pre-paring to become president onAugust 1st. He was present forthe graduation services this pastMay 13. He plans to return toSouth Africa later this month. Hisepiscopal ordination is expectedto take place this coming August.

Born in Durban, SouthAfrica in 1953, he studiedpsychology at University of SouthAfrica, and did a postgraduatespecialization in CommunityPsychology at the Jesuits’ CreightonUniversity in the USA. His initialpriestly studies were at St. Joseph's

Bishop-elect David and Fr. Studer at OST’sgraduation ceremony this past May 13.

David named bishop in Cape Town SA

Theological Institute, Cedara,Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

Later he studied scripture inRome, where he completed his thesison the prologue in the Gospel of Johnfor his doctorate in Biblical Theology.

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Continued on page 3

Good Friday at theNational Shrine of Our

Lady of the SnowsOne of the best known

ministries of the Oblates inthe world is the NationalShrine of Our Lady of theSnows in Belleville, IL. Theshrine is popularly knownfor its ten devotional sites onover 200 acres of beautifullylandscaped land.

While the Shrine iswidely recognized for itsstunning display of lightseach Advent-Christmas

season, when over 300,000 pilgrimsvisit over a six-week period, the Shrineis also well known for the “live” Sta-tions of the Cross each year on GoodFriday. At each station, a live presentertells the story of that Station from oneperson’s viewpoint. At the fourth sta-tion, e.g., someone dressed as theBlessed Mother describes her pain andsorrow at seeing her Son endure agonyand torture as He journeys toward Cal-vary.

More than 1,000 pilgrims walkthese beautiful stations (recently reno-vated) each Good Friday afternoon,singing and praying as they listen to theaccount of the 14 witnesses, one at eachstation describing what they see, howthey felt, what role they played in thislive drama presentation.

The sunrise service at the beau-tiful Shrine amphitheater on Easter Sun-day morning is another event that is verypopular as well as the Easter Masseslater that morning at the amphitheater.Thousands of the faithful are in atten-dance at these Masses as well. A deli-cious buffet in the Shrine restaurant isavailable throughout the day.

Holy Week in Eagle PassThe Oblates minister at three

parishes and at three mission stations inEagle Pass, Texas, located on the Mexi-can border.

The feasts of Holy Thursday,Good Friday and Holy Saturday arefilled with a lot of pageantry and dramaas the parish communities recall the dra-matic events of our salvation.

Good Friday is celebrated byre-enacting the sorrowful passion anddeath of Jesus. Parishioners (mainlyyouth) each year present a live and col-orful passion play, ending with the cru-cifixion. Many in the crowd of hundredsof parishioners openly wept as theyprayed together and witnessed this liveevent.

Oblate Pastor, LawrenceMariasoosai, told me: “this event is oneof the most moving and powerful at Sa-cred Heart Parish in the entire year. Pa-rishioners are always anxious and ex-cited to participate in this dramatic pre-sentation. The actors are proud to takeany role for which they feel capable, sothe passion play can be presented well.The parishioners look forward to thisevent each year. Although it often bringsmany of them to tears, it also remindsthem in an inspiring, visible way what theirsins, and the sins of all people, havecaused.”

On Good Friday evening,there was the traditional Hispanic ren-dition of the seven Last Words ofJesus, with a meditation at each word.

The “Pesame”(Consolation) toMother Mary, with prayers, songs andritual, is the traditional way to try torelieve some of the pain and sorrowwhich she is suffering after witnessingthe crucifixion of her Son. At the endof this ceremony, each parishionerwas invited to come forward to speaksome personal consoling, comfortingwords to the Blessed Mother. This ten-der, heartfelt moment of a personalmessage to Mary, Good Fridayevening, has been a tradition in the His-panic community for centuries.

“Oblates have served in thisborder town of Eagle Pass over 130years,” Oblate Pastor, Jim Fee, ofOur Lady of Refuge Parish, told me.They serve in several border towns inTexas and have been instrumental inhelping refugees who come to the U.S.seeking work and looking for a betterlife for themselves and their families.

New Parish in Fairmont City, IL

Located about a 15-minutedrive from the National Shrine of Our

Oblates gathered for Holy Thursday lunch. in Eagle Pass, TX (L-R): Frs.Stan Zowada, Jerry Orsino, Richard Kulwiec, Provincial Lou Studer, LawrenceMariasoosai, Jim Fee, Schol. Bro. Herat Mondol.

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Lady of the Snows in Belleville is HolyRosary Parish in Fairmont City, IL.

Founded in 1922, the parishhas been served by the diocese ofBelleville these many years. Fr. DavidWilke has been pastor here the past 23years. Now 77 years of age, he is retir-ing.

Fr. Harold Fisher, OMI, willbecome the new pastor in July. Fr.Harold had been ministering as Voca-tion Director, living at the Shrine, thepast nine years. During that time, hehas regularly assisted with the ministryto Hispanics who come to the Shrine.“This seems like a natural change forme,” Fr. Harold said.

With Fr. Wilke’s retirement,there is no priest in the diocese ofBelleville who speaks Spanish. BesidesFr. Harold, several other Oblates havebeen ministering to the large Hispanicpopulation living in the Southern Illinoisvicinity.

Oblate Frs. Chava Gonzales,

at King’s House, Belleville, JimAllen at St. Henry’s Residence,Juan Gaspar at the Shrine, allregularly help with Masses at vari-ous parishes, most of them usingtheir facility in Spanish to help outthe diocese. Newly arrived OblateFr. Paul Dass Selvaraj, VocationDirector, living at the Shrine, haslearned Spanish and ministers oftenat the Mass in Spanish on Sundayafternoons.

With Fr. Fisher as pastor ofabout 550 families at Holy RosaryParish, some of the programs pre-viously offered at the Shrine, especiallysacramental preparation classes, willnow be offered at this Oblate parish.Fr. Harold will live in Oblate commu-nity at the Shrine.

The Novitiate in Godfrey, IL andVictorious Missionaries

While in the St. Louis metroarea, I stopped by the Novitiate whereOblates Bro. Pat McGee and Fr.Frank Kuczera (Lacombe Province inCanada) are the formation staff. The

novices were gone, helping the Victori-ous Missionaries (VM) as they gatherfor their bi-annual weekend retreat atthe Shrine. (see p. 7)

I “caught up” with the novicesafter they returned from their ministryat the Shrine, helping them get fromhotel to restaurant to church. Celebrat-ing Eucharist with them, I enjoyed theZambian music and drumming.

The novices will make their firstcommitment as Oblates of Mary Im-maculate on August 1. After that, allthree will begin their studies in theologyat Oblate School of Theology in SanAntonio.

New Superior/Director of Scholas-tics in San Antonio

Oblate Fr. Raul Salas is com-pleting 12 years as Superior and Di-rector of the international, multi-culturalOblate student community in San An-tonio. Assigned to the George SextonHouse of Studies in 2007, Fr. Raulmoved, along with the formation teamand students, to the newly built BlessedMario Borzaga Community, locatedright across the street from OblateSchool of Theology, where the studentsattend theology classes.

Continued from page 2

From the Provincial

L-r: Frs. Salas, Poncé, Studer at Fr. Poncé’s installation

Fr. Studer welcomes Fr. Fisher as pastorin Fairmont City, IL.

Continued on page 4

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Fr. Raul is completing the min-istry as leader of this formation team.

Currently there are twelveScholastics and two Brother candidatesin their final years of first formation, pre-paring to make final profession as Mis-sionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate inthe next few years.

On Tuesday, May 7th, OblateFr. Antonio Ponce was installed as thenew Superior/Director of the commu-nity during Evening Prayer. On the teamwith him are Oblate Frs. RaymondMwangala (from Zambia), RonLaframboise and David Ullrich.

Fr. Raul will be taking a well-deserved sabbatical. Fr. Antonio re-cently completed the year long forma-tion preparatory program at CatholicTheological Union in Chicago. Fr.Ponce told me: “the program was anexcellent preparation in teaching me es-pecially about interculturality, cultural di-versity, multi-faceted ways of life andhow these students from other culturesview religious life and the vows.”

Currently men from Zambia,India, Mexico, Haiti, Lesotho,

Botswana, and the U. S. make up thisdiverse community of Oblate students.A festive meal was served afterwards,with a mariachi band.

Graduation at OST, San Antonio

Oblate School of Theology suc-cessfully completed another academicyear with a number of graduation cer-emonies, including granting of certifi-cates, diplomas, commencement din-ners and speeches throughout the weekof May 5.

Five students received doctoraldegrees in the areas of Spirituality andMinistry; thirteen received Masters ofArt degrees; seven Masters of Divinitydegrees were granted and 68 studentswere awarded certificates of comple-tion in theology studies. This last groupwill become leaders in parish faith for-mation, retreat and prayer centers, ecu-menical groups, leaders in the Catholiccommunity and parish administrators.

Of particular significance thisyear is that Oblate Fr. Ron Rolheiser,(Lacombe Province -Canada) havingserved at Oblate School of Theologythe past 14 years as President, will con-tinue teaching, writing and retreatpreaching, living at OST. Oblate Fr.David Kalert, having served as VicePresident for 12 years, will move toBelleville and minister at the NationalShrine of Our Lady of the Snows.

The faculty, staff and studentsthanked both Ron and David for theirtireless, excellent service to OST thesemany years.

Oblate Fr. Sylvester Davidwho recently served as President of St.

Continued from page 3

From the Provincial

Borzaga faculty with provincial council, l-r: Oblate Frs. Jim Brobst, ArtFlores, Lou Studer, Jim Chambers, Antonio Ponce, David Ullrich, Raul Salas,Raymond Mwangala, Ron LaFramboise

(Front, l-r: Oblates Frs. Louis Studer, Bright Phiri, Bishop Valentine Kalumba,Fr. Jim Chambers prior to a special celebration at the new Oblate ParishChurch of St. Paul’s in Livingstone, Zambia.

Continued on page 5

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Joseph Institute of Theology in Cedara,South Africa, moved to San Antonio inFebruary to begin a five year term asPresident of OST on August 1.

Each year OST honors some-one who has shown exceptional dedi-cation and commitment to the school’sphilosophy and mission.

This year, OST honoredBishop Gerald Barnes, Ordinary ofthe San Bernardino, CA, diocese andFr. David Garcia, pastor of the OldSpanish Missions in San Antonio withhonorary doctorates. Sr. TheresaO’Toole, SHSp, who served at Ob-late Renewal Center for 20 years, re-ceived the school’s Medal of Honor forher ministry. Bishop Barnes is ChiefShepherd of one of the fastest growingdioceses in the country with over 1.7million Catholics. His seminarians studyat OST. Fr. Garcia is responsible forthe restoration of the Old Spanish Mis-sions in San Antonio.

There are 41 seminarians fromnine dioceses studying at Oblate Schoolof Theology and 38 religious from sevenreligious communities studying there aswell.

After two years of the existenceof the Kusenberger Chair of OblateStudies, history was made with Fr.David Muñoz, OMI, being the firstever to receive the degree of M.A.Spirituality (Oblate Studies). His thesiswas ““A Charism Within a Family: TheMazenodian Charism Shared by LayAssociations of the Oblates in the U.S.Province.”

Visit to Zambia

Oblate Frs. Jim Brobst, Vicarfor Mission and Ministry, Jim Cham-bers, Treasurer, and I visited Zambiain late May. We met with the leader-ship team there and visited several of

the Oblate ministry sites in Lusaka,Zambia’s capital city.

There are over 60 Oblates min-istering in Zambia, but Zambian Ob-lates also minister or study in Italy,Kenya, Mexico and South Africa, notincluding nine others ministering andstudying in the U.S. Oblates are nowthe largest male religious community inZambia.

The Southern U.S. Provinceestablished the mission there in 1984with five American Oblates being sent.Numerous U.S. Oblates have followedthem the past 36 years, particularly inthe areas of leadership and first forma-tion, getting the mission established.Now only one American Oblate, Fr. PatGizen, stationed at the pre-novitiate,remains there. That fact alone is cleartestimony that the Zambian Oblatesthemselves have already assumed theleadership for this delegation of the U.S.Province.

There continue to be manyhopeful signs, again witnessed by theU.S. leadership team, that Zambia willbecome a province in the not too dis-tant future.

The delegation has recentlytaken on the responsibility for provid-

Continued from page 4From the Provincial

Zambia and U.S..Leadership Team: Back, L-R: Pius Musilizo, Nebby Mutale, Jim Cham-bers, Vincent Sakala, Jim Brobst.Front L-R: Michael Musaba, Barnabas Simatende, LouisStuder (Provincial), Chibesa Chishimba, Lewis Sauti. Missing: Art Flores.

ing chaplains at all the country’s pris-ons. Radio Liseli provides daily broad-casts to the country about relevant is-sues of justice and peace as well as cur-rent information about the politicalscene. Radio Liseli also broadcastsfaith-based programs and informationabout current issues facing Catholicismand the Church.

Mary Immaculate Parish inLusaka, founded by the Oblates, pro-vides many needed services for thepoor of the area, social programs forfamilies and helps fund several of theministries of the Oblates in Zambia.

With a large number of religiousvocations in Zambia to the Oblates,there are plans to build a Shrine in thediocese of Livingston where OblateBishop Valentine Kalumba is theOrdinary, and also to expand some ofthe social and religious programming inthe diocese of Mongu where OblateBishop Evans Chinyemba is the Or-dinary. “The Zambian Oblates are alsolooking to establish a parish in the bor-der country of Malawi,” DelegationSuperior Fr. Vincent Sakala told meduring our visit there. -by Fr. LouStuder, OMI

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Please remember in prayer

our recently departed

Gregory Tesch, 75, brother-in-law of Fr. HankLemocelli, OMI, died on Wednesday, May 15...

During a visitation to Zam-bia for an annual meeting with thatdelegation’s council and leaders of theU.S. province, a gathering was held atour pre-novitiate house for two localgroups of Oblate Associates. LouisStuder, USP Provincial, presided andpreached on the importance of the Ob-

late Charism and the Mazenodian Family. Before and afterthe following supper, I had the opportunity to meet withdifferent groups of Oblate Associates to hear their per-ceptions of what they found distinguishing about the Ob-lates, compared with other clergy and religious. I askedpeople to share what attracted them to the Oblates, andto offer any challenges they thought we should hear.

The responses weren’t that different from those I’veheard from people in the U.S. That ought not surprise toomuch, since the Zambian delegation was founded and formedlargely by U.S. Oblates! Consistently, they were attractedto Oblates because we are consistently close to those whomwe serve. We stand with and serve the poorest of the poor,in one of the poorest nations on earth, in Zambia’s case. Ouravailability to people in their times of need stood out in howquickly they could contact and meet an Oblate when theyneeded to. So, in addition to being close to people, we areexperienced as being readily available. A challenge in thiscloseness and availability is that some saw us, at first, as“laissez-faire” sometimes. But those who mentioned thissaid that once they got to know us over time, they under-stood why we do so – to eliminate barriers that some otherlocal clerics put between themselves and parishioners.

There was another “commendation/challenge” theymentioned: the quality of our community life with one an-other as Oblates. Our own witness as a brotherhood ofdisciples was noticeable to parishioners, and very much ap-preciated. The other side also shows more than we maythink – when we have difficulties with one another and itbecomes apparent to the communities we serve. This per-spective underscores the insights of “Witnessing as Apos-tolic Community” from the Oblate Chapter of 1992. It isnot only the services we provide or the words we preachthat give witness to Jesus. It is also the way we asOblates treat one another and witness (or not) to theJoy of the Gospel.

A last challenge was to encourage us not simply to becontent to do ministries we have always done, but to pushourselves to move beyond the known and comfortable. Imust admit that this one surprised me considering the Zam-

bian missions I’ve visited over many years! The commentcame from some younger OMI Associates who were re-ferring to moving beyond the nation of Zambia. It’s inter-esting that this burgeoning delegation is the fruit of asignificant push from the General Leadership to theformer Southern Province when they (and other U.S.Provinces) felt constrained finding personnel to main-tain ministries they had already developed.

Perhaps the Zambian apple hasn’t fallen very far fromthe American tree! And most of that is a very good thing,in my opinion. The affirmations and challenges ZambianOblate Associates offered were very similar to those wereceive in the U.S. Regardless of location, it’s still up to allof us to rise to these challenges together. Do you care tostep up to the plate, again?

Fr. Henri DeLisle, OMI, 88, died on June 8, inTewksbury, MA.

L-r: Oblate Frs. Jim Brobst, Vincent Sakala, Jim Cham-bers, Lou Studer, Mr. Albert Nalishua (delegation fi-nance office), Oblate Frs. Lewis Sauti, Nebby Chanda.

These office buildings are part of a financial sustainabilityplan for the Zambian delegation. Photo was taken at the the

2019 leadership meeting. The buildings are now rented to auniversity and filled with students. A continuing part of thisplan is the construction of several apartment buildings.

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Provincial Team visits Livingstone, Zambia

Back, l-r: Oblate Frs. Bright Phiri, Jim Brobst, Lou Studer; front, l-r: OblateFrs. Barnabas Simatende, Jim Chambers, Bishop Valentine Kalumba, Fr.Vincent Sakala (Zambia Delegation superior)

Bishop Valentine Kalumba, OMI confirms five parishioners.

The congregation prepares for Mass in the nearly-finished church.

Thanks to the generosity of theU.S. Oblate Partnership, a newparish has been established in

the diocese of Livingstone, serving theneeds of over 500 parishioners whowere worshipping in a run-down build-ing previously.

While visiting the diocese ofLivingstone, we joined Bishop Valen-tine Kalumba, OMI, as well as OblateFrs. Barnabas Simatende, pastor, andBright Phiri, associate pastor, as theycelebrated the first anniversary of thefounding of the Church of St. Paul.

Previous to the new churchstructure, the faithful had been worship-ping in a run-down, small building,hardly adequate for the 500 regularworshippers in this community. Thebuilding is nearly complete, with finish-ing work remaining on walls and floors,etc. A generous donor from the UnitedStates made possible the constructionof this beautiful church building.

At the Eucharistic celebrationSunday, May 26th, Bishop Kalumbaconferred the Sacrament of Confirma-tion on five young parishioners.

The celebration of the Eucha-rist included lively, traditional music,dancing and even the gift of a live goatand chicken, gifts presented to BishopKalumba at the Offertory procession.This was their thanks to him for presid-ing and preaching and confirming theyoung persons.

A simple but wholesome lunchwas served after Mass, followed bymore music, dancing and thanks to allwho had prepared this anniversary cel-ebration.

The pride and gratitude of theparishioners was clearly evident in thenew worship space which is now theirsto enjoy! --Story by Fr. Lou Studer; pho-tos by Fr. Jim Brobst.

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Coming from as far away as WestVirginia, New York andTexas. The Victorious Mission-

aries (VM) celebrated their 55thFounding Anniversary at the annual con-ference on May 3-5 at the NationalShrine of Our Lady of the Snows.

Prior to his main presentation,If God calls us to holiness – God

gives us the tools to achieve this mis-sion, the featured speaker, Fr. SalGonzalez, OMI, celebrated Mass forthe group.

Provincial, Fr. Louis Studer,OMI and Shrine Director, Fr. AndyKnop, OMI, concelebrated the finalMass, at which Bro. Thomas S.Ruhmann, OMI, VM National Direc-

tor, presented the John MaronicAchievement Award.

This year’s 2018 Award wasgiven to Bro. Andrew Lawlor, OMI,and a second one went to SusanKrantz and Warren Clare.

The VMs, originally calledVictim Missionaries, began in in 1964when Fr. John Maronic, OMI, foundeda spiritual support group for people withdisabilities or who were chronically illto encourage them to reach out toothers with disabilities, sharing their giftsand spreading the Good News of theGospel. The name “VictimMissionaries” was changed in 1984 to“Victorious Missionaries,” to signifythe positive, active qualities membershave to offer.

Today, the VM is comprisedof laity and religious, women and men,the young and not so young. They havesix chapters throughout the UnitedStates, which meet regularly for spiritualgrowth, renewal, and fellowship. -condensed from article by Will Shaw andBette Meyer at www.OMIUSA.com, 5/7/2019.

Andy Lawlor, OMI receives Maronic Award

Bro. Andy (with plaque) poses with the VM group and Fr. Studer (far right.

For Jack and Sandy Weck, more than 50 yearsof work and service to the Missionary Ob-lates of Mary Immaculate was celebrated with

friends, family and Oblates on April 13, 2019 as theywere named Honorary Oblates of Mary Immaculate(HOMI) at the National Shrine of Our Lady of theSnows in Belleville, IL. The Shrine was the perfectspot for the occasion since Jack was hired in 1960 bythe Shrine’s Founder, the late Fr. Edwin Guild, OMI.

Retired since 2010, Jack began his career inthe production department where the fund-raising let-ters were printed and mailed. But he was soon re-assigned to take photographs for the various printedmaterials and press releases, which he did for the next35 years before moving into the acquisition of premi-ums and finally, charitable gifts. He and his wife, Sandy,

Jack, SandyWeck namedHonorary Oblates

were married in July 1963. Thereafter she was a full partner, whileJack lugged the tripod and shot the old, 4 x 5 film, she attended allthe services, managing the six younger members of the Weck fam-ily. “She was really involved in the ministry out there, just inanother way.” From an article by Will Shaw on www.omiusa, April 17, 2019

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On every Good Friday for thepast 10 years, Houston’s Im-maculate Conception Catholic

Church and neighboring Oblate parish,Immaculate Heart of Mary CatholicChurch, have collaborated in a LiveWay of the Cross procession. It beginsat Immaculate Heart of Mary and con-cludes at Immaculate Conception.

Beginning at 7:30 am familiesand representatives from parish minis-tries gathered in the chilly morning tobegin the process of designing theirsquare of the sawdust carpet. Partici-pants used chalk to draw their designwithin their square and begin filling itwith colors of their choice.

The carpet winds around I CChurch and ends at the back lawn/parking area. It includes at least 25, 10x 10 squares. The donated sawdustused to construct the carpet is sifted anddyed weeks before the construction.Volunteers apply the moistened saw-dust to their designs and keep it wetwith a water hose so it does not flyaway in the wind. With the carpetbeing hand-constructed with suchcare, parishioners are protective andhelp to maintain its splendor for Jesus’last step of the Way of the Cross.

It was the dream of Mary Cruzand Juan Oscorio, parishioners from ICCatholic Church, to bring this rich Gua-temalan tradition to the parish. In 2009,

Houston Oblate parishes create carpet forGood Friday Way of Cross procession

they met with Fr. Kevin Collins, OMI,and received permission to begin whathas become a cherished tradition.

Through their generous contri-butions and dedication to the project, ithas grown from 25 volunteers on thefirst year to about 300 today.

Over the years, the project hasbrought together all the generations ofthe parish. Volunteers not able to workon the carpet contribute by preparingand serving breakfast and lunch. Theparish youth group, ICC Life Teen,help by promoting the construction ofthe carpet and supporting the volun-teers with supplies. The DRE, TeresaMartinez, coordinates the RCIAfamilies for the cleanup of the carpeton Good Friday evening.

Story and photos by CarmenFranco, Youth Minister.

Left-r: Oblate Frs. Louis Lougen, Hank Lemoncelli, Fernando Velasquezand Warren Brown were among those at the Oblate General House com-munity in Rome celebrating Fr. Hank’s 40th anniversary of his ordinationto the priesthood on April 14. Invited guests to the thanksgiving Massincluded the members of the Piccole Figlie di San Giuseppe religious com-munity, where Fr. Hank has been ministering daily since coming to Rome in2000, while he serves on the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Con-secrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

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On April 30, 2019, the Mission-ary Oblates of San Antonioheld a Mass of Celebration for

those celebrating special anniversariesfor ordination and first profession. Atotal of 20 men were honored at theMass held at the Immaculate Concep-tion Memorial Chapel on the groundsof the Oblate School of Theology.

Fr. Louis Studer, OMI, wasthe celebrant for the Mass andJubilarian, Fr. Edward Hauf, OMI,was the homilist. A reception was heldat the Whitley Theological Center rightafter the Mass. (Full story on website)

(L-r) Frs. Luis Valbuena, Thomas Horan, Louis Studer, Edward Hauf, Jo-seph B. Aluthwatte, Patrick Guidon, OMI (behind), Robert Hickl (MexicoProvince ). (Photos and materials by Alejandro Calderon, with thanks to Irma Noyola)

More than 800 combined years ofministry were represented by the

Jubilarians present at IHM’s annualmass and banquet for those celebratingsignificant anniversaries of vows and/or

priestly ordination at IHM inTewksbury, MA on June 3.

Fr. Jim Gibbons, OMI,preached the homily. His experience ofliving the beatitudes and his commit-ment to the poor were evident.

Fr. Mike O’Hara, OMI, 50th

jubilees of vows, presided with strength

Tewksbury, MA

by Fr. Jim Brobst, OMI

Oblate Jubilees held inSan Antonio,Tewksbury

and grace befitting a man with manyyears proclaiming Christ’s forgiving ac-ceptance in Federal Prison settings.They were accompanied by a host ofconcelebrants, fellow Oblates andguests in the main chapel.

Superior General LouisLougen, O.M.I. was celebrating 40years of ordination and sent well wishesto the jubilarians from Rome.

“I wish I could be with you forthe celebration” Fr. Lougen wrote, “andto share in the joy of being together onthis special day. Celebrating 40 yearsof priesthood brings back wonderfuland beautiful memories of the gift ofpriesthood lived out as an Oblate ofMary Immaculate and as a missionary.”

During his homily, Fr. Gibbons re-flected on his 50 years as an Oblatepriest, spending nearly all of his priest-hood as a missionary in Brazil. He cur-rently ministers at a pre-novitiate in Bra-zil. “It is hoped that the spirit of St.Eugene De Mazenod continues to bepassed on to these young men in for-mation, more by Oblates passing thatspirit on than by the books that areread,” Fr. Gibbons said.

-Story: Fr. Jim Brobst; Photo: Mike Viola

L-r: Front: Frs. Charles Heon, Roger Cyr, Raymond Steen , Myles Cyr; Middle:George Brown, William Hallahan, James Loiacono, Charles Breault; Back:James Gibbons, Michael O’Hara, Thomas Horan

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Wightman Nature Preserve

L-R, Frs. Jim Allen, Mark Dean, Sr. Maxine Pohlman, Bro. Tom Ruhmann, Don Ferguson

Wightman saw a crevice with a 15-foot drop. The two young men fash-ioned a rope ladder and climbed downinto what Wightman described as a tre-mendous cave with three different pas-sages all heading in different directions,Wightman was hooked for life.

It was later, after his ordina-tion in 1955, that Fr. Paul, along withsome of his students, would return toFogelpole Cave and begin the years-long process of mapping some 8 milesof passages in the system. The cave isnow part of a 27-acre nature preserveowned by the Illinois Department ofNatural Resources.

That preserve upon which theFogelpole Cave sits is now surrounded

by a larger, more visitor-friendly naturepreserve which has been named in honorof Fr. Paul’s legacy of exploration and

preservation of the caves of Mon-roe County: The Paul WightmanSubterranean Nature Preserve.

The new preserve is aproject of a local group of dedi-cated conservationists, the ClifftopAlliance (Conserving Lands InFarm, Forest, Talus, Or Prairie), agrassroots nonprofit, nonpartisanorganization founded in 2006 with

Continued from page 1

Fr. Paul showed one of the “tools of the trade,” a rope ladder, to the crowd.

the mission of: “…partner land-hold-ers, communities and other govern-mental and non-governmental orga-nizations to focus on conserving, pre-serving and protecting the Missis-sippi River Bluff lands of Monroe,Randolph and St. Clair Counties, Il-linois.”

The new Wightman Preservewas made possible through Clifftop’spurchase of the 535-acre Seibert Farmin 2014. The property encompasses theFogelpole Cave site and overtops muchof the cave’s groundwater-system. ThePaul Wightman Subterranean NaturePreserve features five hiking trails in-cluding one that is disability-accessiblealong with the William Zimmer FamilyPavilion for picnics, and restroom fa-cilities.

At age 90 Fr. Paul doesn’t ex-plore caves anymore, besides, he’s stillpretty busy serving five rural parishesin and near Ava, Missouri. Neverthe-less, thanks to the Clifftop Alliance, Fr.Paul’s legacy as a pioneer in the explo-ration and mapping of Illinois’ largestcave is assured with the opening of thePaul Wightman Subterranean NaturePreserve.

--Photos and Story by Will Shaw

OMI-USA - 12

An official physical meeting ofCROCUS’s Regional Young Ob-lates Committee was held at

the Queen of the Apostles RetreatHouse in Mississauga, ON. Presentwere the new representatives ofthe provinces of Notre Dame-du-Cap,Assumption, OMI Lacombe and US.This committee continues to carryout the efforts of discerning thefuture missionary presence of theOblates in the North American Re-gion. The meeting’s main focus in-cluded discussions on the impor-tance of interculturality, and theCongregation’s 36th General Chaptercall to reflect on regional mission tothe “new faces of the poor.”-by Fr.Juan Gaspar, OMI.

L to R: Gary Huelsmann, Victor Carmona, Oblate Frs. Daniel LeBlanc,Séamus Finn & Emmanuel Mulenga reflect on parish’s history.

From April 28 to 29 the OMI JPICCommittee gathered in New Or-leans, LA, at the historic St. Au-

gustine Catholic Church for their firstmeeting in the new year.

Discussions centered onJPIC’s core areas of work – efforts

nity initiatives like immigration andhuman trafficking. Discussions alsocentered on engagement and outreachto young adults and retired Oblates.

The group also took a breakto learn more about St. AugustineChurch, the oldest African-AmericanCatholic parish in the U.S., founded in1841 by free people of color ongrounds which were once part of a slaveplantation. Fr. Emmanuel MulengaOMI, pastor of St. Augustine, told thegroup about the history of the churchproperty and paid a visit to the Tombof the Unknown Slave.

The US JPIC Advisory Com-mittee, Dr. Victor Carmona, GeorgeNgolwe, Gary Huelsmann, PattiRadle, Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND,Oblate Frs. Ray Cook, DanielLeBlanc, Séamus Finn, serve as asounding board for the JPIC Office.

Also in attendance wereRowena Gono (Communications –OMI JPIC) and Bayor Chantal (OfficeCoordinator) . (Full story found in theOMIUSAJPIC Blog for May 7, 2019.)

JPIC Committee meets in New Orleans

to combat opioid crisis; socially re-sponsible investing; integrity of cre-ation initiatives (Oblate EcologicalLearning Center; the CommunitySupported Garden in Godfrey, IL& Three Part Harmony Farm inWashington, DC); and human dig-

L-r: Lucio Castillo (U.S.), Paul Patrick (Assumption), Jim Brobst (CROCUS),Ali Nnaemeka (Notre Dame du Cap), Jarek Pachocki (Lacombe), JuanGaspar (US). Ken Thorson, (CROCUS) missing.

JULY 2019 -13

About 100 men and women,mostly young, some not soyoung, laypersons, pre-

novices, scholastics and a few Oblatepriests gathered in Mexico City onFriday, April 12, to be sent in variousdirections in order to serve numerouscommunities during Holy Week.

Among those missioned werethree Pre-novices and five Affiliates(young men discerning their vocation)from Tijuana, along with Fr. Bill Antone, OMI, director of thePrenovitiate in Tijuana.

Some went to the temperate mountains of Oaxaca toserve in indigenous communities, others to the more tropical,hot and humid communities in the states of Guerrero andTabasco, as well as to the nearby state of Morelos.

They traveled 12 hours by night on buses, arriving inthe morning hours of Saturday, and then were transportedby smaller vehicle to their final destinations.

The mission experience for all was an experience of en-counter and hospitality. The receiving communities welcomedthe Holy Week missionaries and then together experiencedthe great celebrations of Holy Week that anchor and enlightenus as followers of Jesus.

The group participated in the various processions andceremonies of Holy Week (Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday’sEucharist procession and Foot-washing, Good Friday’s ViaCrucis and Adoration of the Cross, and Holy Saturday’s pro-cession of Light and Renewal of Baptismal Vows).

They provided activities for children, youth and adults.

They lived with the families in small villages and towns,accepting their hospitality for their lodging and meals,learned a few phrases perhaps in Chontal or Mixteco, and,like all missionaries, left with hearts filled with gratitude forthe example of faith of many humble people and the newstrength, peace and hope given to us by the Risen Christ.

The Holy Week missioningevent is sponsored by the OblateProvince of Mexico and organizedby the Scholasticate Community inMexico City.At top: Fr. Antone (back) and five Affili-ates, with three Prenovices at the air-port ready to fly to Mexico City for HolyWeek apostolate on April 12.

Bottom: With children at San Gabriel inLas Palmas, Mexico.

Middle: Fr. Antone at the Good Fridaywashing of the feet service.

Prenovices, affiliatesminister at Holy Week

by Fr. Bill Antone, OMI

OMI-USA - 14

For the past six years, about 15persons in the Seattle area have cometogether in April for an annual Mission-ary Oblate Partnership gathering. Thisyear, instead of a meeting in the Seattlearea, members representing this groupvisited the Tijuana/Baja Mission in or-der to see firsthand the efforts they havebeen supporting through their donations.

On the last weekend ofApril, the Oblates in Tijuana welcomed5 persons: Sue, Jeff and Will Adamsand Tom and Monica Antone. Theybegan their day helping to build a roofon a very small one-room, dirt-floorhouse in which an elderly, blind fatherand his son live. The son works in alocal assembly plant (maquiladora) andmakes 80 dollars for a full week’s work.

The roof replacement began bytaking off the inadequate tarps that werekeeping the rain out. Fr. JesseEsqueda, OMI, has a small team of

cluded games, piñatas y hot dogs.They also met up with youth at theYouth Center and later in the eveningat the pre-novitiate.-photo below

At the pre-novitiate, they met fourof the young men who formed part ofthe famous 6000-strong “Caravan”from Central America, which arrived inTijuana in October, 2018.

Fr. Jesse and the Oblates are em-ploying the four men (2 Hondurans, aGuatemalan and a Salvadoran) in the

construction of a house for the Oblatesonce they move farther east later thissummer into what will be a new parish.

The young men from CentralAmerica were migrating north in theCaravan in order to avoid being pres-sured to join the criminal gangs or bekilled in their countries (they were notcriminals themselves!) The Seattle-areaPartners were especially impressed withthe commitment of the youth to theirChurch and community.

young men who lead this effort to pro-vide protection from the rains by build-ing new roofs.

Later that same day, they par-ticipated in a children’s party in an-ticipation of the annual April 30thMexican holiday of the “Day of theChild” (el Día del Niño) that in-

Fr. Antone (bot. l) at roof project

Far Left: Jeff, Sue and Will Adams and Monica and Tom Antone at achildren’s party in Tijuana.

Seattle Oblate Partnersexperience Tijuana

by Fr. Bill Antone, OMI

JULY 2019 -15

Oblates, Honorary Oblates and Associates celebrated the Feast of St. Eugene de Mazenod at the Esquiline Life Plan Community on thegrounds of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. The

Shrine Community hosted the event on May 19 in order to maximize participa-tion two days prior to the actual Feast Day of May 21st.

A prayer service prepared by Fr. Elvis Mwamba, OMI and GeriFurmanek was led by Fr. Jim Allen, OMI and included a one-year commit-ment ceremony for new Oblate Associates, and the re-commitment of currentAssociates.

Oblates, Associates Celebrate Feast Day

Above: The new Associates: (back) Mary Anne Willmore,Sandy Essien (Front) RoseMary Steuer, Maria Elena Niniz,Ana Arzola, Gonzalo EsquivelTop, Left: Gwen Stauder, Betty Rule with Fr. Allen Maes.Middle: Frs. James Allen and Elvis MwambaBottom: Frs. Joe Farraioli, Paul Wightman and Mark Dean.

OnMay 21st, the Oblate Associates at theShrine of St. Joseph the Worker,Lowell, MA, recommited themselves

for another year to follow in the footsteps of St.Eugene and the thousands of Oblates through-out the world who for over 200 years have car-ried forward the mission of evangelizing themarginalized among us.

Following the recommitment ceremony- incorporated into the Feastday Mass - a din-ner was served for the Associates. Some 20members of the local Oblate community joinedin the festivities in the Shrine Hall. Fr. SteveConserva, OMI, the Associates’ spiritualguide, presided at the Mass and largely pre-pared that evening’s celebratory meal as well.

L-r: Jim Savarese, Clayton Boutet, Paul Pearsall, Clayton Boutetwith Fr. Conserva. (Missing from photo: David Lazu and Don Desfosse)

In the Fall, Fr. Conserva will initiate a series of presentations onthe charism of St. Eugene and Oblate spirituality, inviting others in thelocal community to consider joining the Oblate Associates at the Shrine.

Lowell Associates recommit selveson feast day of St. Eugene

OMI-USA - 16

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OMI - USA

MOVING? WANT TO CONTINUE RE-CEIVING OMIUSA? PLEASE SEND USYOUR NEW ADDRESS! Or, if you do notwant to continue receiving it (whether youmove or not), please let us know so we arenot sending unwanted copies. Thank you.

Newsletter of the U.S. Province of theMissionary Oblates of Mary Immacu-late.-391 Michigan Ave., NE Washing-ton, DC 20017-1516President and Publisher: Very Rev.Louis Studer, OMIEditor: Fr. Charles Hurkes, OMIDirect all submissions, inquiries andcomments to Charles Hurkes, OMI at

the above address or Fax (202) 529-4572; Tel: (202) 529-4505 e-mail:chasomi@omiusa.orgPublished six times a year for Oblate per-sonnel and their friends and supporters;distributed from the U.S. Provincial Of-fices in Washington, DC.

Remember to check out the province’s websitefor more information and links to other Oblate

news items.: www.omiusa.org

God of our fathers,you gave Saints Anne and

Joachimthe privilege of being the

parents of Mary,the mother of your

incarnate Son.May their prayers help us to

attainthe salvation you havepromised to your people.

We ask this through Christour Lord. Amen

Collect from the Roman Missal

On Oct. 18, 2019 the Allied Women’s Center of San Antonio, TXwill honor Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI, BishopEmeritus of San Angelo, with the “Life Saver Award”at its Silver Jubilee Gala, at the Holy Trinity BanquetHall. Lila Rose will be the featured keynote speaker.

Bishop Pfeifer has gathered people to say the Ro-sary at the huge Planned Parenthood. A few yearsago he organized a huge rope Rosary that wrappedall around the block and each person held a rope“bead”. He is a good friend to the Pro-Life groups

in the entire area.

King’s House Retreat Center in Belleville IL welcomed for the third yearin a row a retreat weekend for Hispanic couples. This year the theme for theretreat was Couples With a Purpose from God. Many of the team couples andall of the participating couples came from Holy Rosary Parish in Fairmont City,IL, a parish located in an economically poor neighborhood where the majority ofthe residents are Hispanic. Fr. Salvador Gonzalez, OMI, from King’s Housewas part of the team. About their experienceat King’s House, Mr. Bibiano Calixto and hiswife Leonor Calixto (right) team leaders forthe weekend, said; “The name of the housesays it all, we felt like royalty; we were treatedas children of the King of Kings, we will al-ways pray for vocations to the Oblate way oflife, we need more of them.”

Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI, has been appointed Chair of theAdvisory Council of Australia’s Minderoo Foundation, by its founder, John AndrewForrest. In asking him to accept the position, Forrest wrote, “ Seamus, you havethe skill and knowledge that the world most urgently needs for the betterment ofhumanity, and we would be honored to work with you.” Founded 18 years agoby Forrest and his wife Nicola (both of whom have been awarded the prestitiousOffice of the Order of Australia), the Foundation is one of Asias’s largest

philanthropies, with AUD $1.5 billion invested into arange of global initiatives.

One of Australia’s wealthiest businessmen,Forrest followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footstepsin the mining and cattle indusry. In 2013, he and Nicolesaid, “We hope to help empower individuals and familiescurrently suffering the despair of poverty, slavery andthe lack of opportunity for themselves and their children.We feel that if we all do whatever we can with whateverwe have, large or small, then each of us will help make

our world a more equitable and positive environment for others to thrive in.”