A "Postcard" from Tuchów, Poland...

The Provincial wrote to the Province and all our friends from the 3rd Phase of the XXVI General Chapter...

"This email is more like a postcard from Poland! 

The Mass at 7.30am with organ and full singing! 

 The beautiful icon, where I spoke to Our Lady about you! 

Progress Report Tuchów September 2023...

The meeting of the European 3rd phase of the XXVI Redemptorist General Chapter continues in Tuchów, Poland

Forty redemptorists and lay people meet these days in Tuchów, Poland, for the deliberations of the third, European phase of the XXVI General Chapter of the Redemptorist Congregation.

The second, canonical phase of the General Chapter for the entire Congregation, which concluded a year ago, made decisions in the areas of understanding Redemptorist identity, Redemptorist mission,consecrated life, formation and governance. The task of the third phase, which takes place on each continent in so-called conferences, is to translate the decisions into concrete terms and prepare implementation in the lives of Redemptorists and lay co-workers in mission.

The first few days of the meeting in Tuchów were devoted to deepening the methodology of the work and the decisions taken, as well as plenary and group discussions on how to put them into practice. This is also done partly using the synodal method - with an adequate time to listen in silence to the Holy Spirit in God's Word and how it is understood and received by the other members of each group.

The fruit of the work so far is a draft of the Action Plan for the Conference of Redemptorists in Europe for the next six years (2023-2028), which will be discussed and clarified in the next days of the meeting.

The chapter deliberations will conclude probably on Tuesday, while Wednesday and Thursday will be devoted to the Assembly of the Conference, which will deal with, among other things, reports on the past years of its work and the election of candidates for its coordinator, who will be presented for appointment to the General Government.

A nice break in the proceedings was a Sunday whole day trip to Krakow with a tour of the Wawel Royal Castle and the Old Town. And earlier that morning, we prayed together with the faithful at the Shrine of Our Lady of Tuchów, entrusting to her also, according to the local tradition, the matter of priestly and religious vocations to our Congregation.

Fr. Mariusz Mazurkiewicz CSsR, Tuchów

CRE 3rd Phase of XXVI CSsR General Chapter…

The London contingent,

the Provincial Superior, Fr Richard Reid CSsR, 

Fr Maurice O’Mahony CSsR, Vocal

and

Br Michael Duxbury CSsR, representing our Brothers,

here photographed with all

the Provincials and Vocals of Europe

as they gather for the

(European) 3rd Phase of the General Chapter

in our Monastery and Shrine in Tuchów, Poland 🇵🇱.

Present:- 

Fr Rogério Gomes CSsR - General Superior,

Fr Zdzisłak Stanula CSsR, Vicar General,

Fr Edward Chacón Diaz CSsR, General Secretary

Read more: CRE 3rd Phase of XXVI CSsR General Chapter…

St Pope John Paul and Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa OSsR...

On 11^th September was the Memorial of the Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa O.Ss.R., we present an article on the Blessed from the a12.com portal where Saint John Paul II bequeathed to the Redemptorist Nuns an affectionate message on the life of Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa.

On that occasion, 31 October 1996, the third centenary of the birth of the nun, founder of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer (1696 – 1996), was celebrated. Until then the nun had not been beatified and who would have ever imagined that the Pope would become a saint for the Church.

In his speech, Saint John Paul II left seven messages for religious women, which can also be useful for Christian life. In some of them, the holy Pope indicates characteristics of the blessed’s spirituality, which he has carefully removed from his writings. Here are the messages:

CHRIST AT THE CENTRE

The spiritual proposal of Mother Celeste is profoundly Christocentric.

«It is articulated around the mystery of the incarnate Word that the Spirit incessantly actualizes in us, transforming our life into his: Christ can thus be reborn in the world in the souls of his loved ones» (see Autobiography).

TRANSFORMATION IN THE EUCHARIST

He constantly refers to the Eucharist as a source of transfiguration.

«In fact, it indicates the full Eucharistic transformation as the point of arrival of every spiritual journey: ‘I approached Holy Communion and you changed me in youbecause I entered the humanity of your divine Word and I began to sacrifice myself for the Father for all” and to savor “merits and graces” which, through his passion, Christ has spread to “all the souls of the faithful”, uniting them and glorifying them in their “humanity united to the Word” (see Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa, Retention of the soul with the Groom Jesus [unpublished manuscript], 147).

LIKELINESS TO THE REDEEMER

Sister Celeste adds another equally important characteristic: living memory necessarily arises from imitation.

“The Redemptorists must impress upon themselves ‘the life and true likeness’ of the Redeemer, becoming ‘a living and lively portrait’ (see Spicilegium Historicum). It should never be forgotten, however, that it is a participatory imitation carried out by the Spirit, who never tires of tracing in us the fullness of the likeness of Christ”.

Read more: St Pope John Paul and Blessed M Celeste Crostarosa OSsR

Conf of Europe Phase III of XXVI General Chapter Day 1…

Yesterday, Tuesday, 12 September, the Redemptorists of the Conference of Europe began Phase III of the XXVI General Chapter in Tuchów (Poland). As the Superior General, Fr. Rogério Gomes reminded us in his first talk, it aims to implement the decisions taken in the Canonical Phase of the General Chapter.

In his opening remarks, Fr. General addressed the Assembly, encouraging everyone to be more available and fraternal. At the same time, he made us reflect on the doors that – as a Congregation – we have closed; the walls that we are called to break down and the fears that impede life and creativity in our units. At the same time, he reminded us of our missionary essence as congregants and the themes that were developed in the canonical phase of the General Chapter: identity, mission, formation, community life and leadership.

Afterwards, he invited us to prayer with a meditation centred on “hope” in four aspects: theological, anthropological, in the world and in the congregation. What is the meaning of being Redemptorists today if we do not live in the key of hope? Will we be able to communicate the charism received as an invitation of the Spirit? Will we be willing to take sometimes risky decisions inspired by evangelical choices? These were some of the questions he confronted us with before the time of silence.

Read more: Conf of Europe Phase III of XXVI General Chapter Day 1…

First Mass of our 3rd Phase of European General Chapter...

Fr General CSsR, Rogério Gomes CSsR led the celebration of our Mass as we committed ourselves and all our future business to the Lord. At the end of the Mass we turned to the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Succour, sang the Salve Regina and entrusted everything to her.

Fr General CSsR, Fr General SecretaryCSsR and Fr Vicar General

Fr Maurice O'Mahony CSsR (London Province)

Read more: Mass at the 3rd Phase of General Chapter

Third Phase of our 26th General Chapter…

Thirty six men have gathered from all over Europe to meet in our Monastery and Shrine in Tuchów, Poland for the 3rd Phase of our 26th General Chapter. This is an exciting time and we try and discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to us and where the Holy Spirit is trying lead us. Please keep us in your prayers. 

As you pray, pray the Spirit will

guide us, guard us and embolden us!  

Read more: European CSsR Third Phase of our 26th General Chapter…

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Pope Francis...

On the morning of 6 September, a private audience with the Holy Father Francis was held at the Vatican for the Bishops of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). In a frank conversation, the Hierarchs of the UGCC expressed the Ukrainian people’s pain, suffering, and a certain disappointment.

On Pope Francis’s initiative, the meeting started an hour earlier than scheduled “to have the opportunity to talk with the Ukrainian bishops for a longer time.” According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, “this meeting was a time of mutual listening and an opportunity for frank and sincere dialogue.”

The bishops of the UGCC asked Pope Francis to begin the meeting with a joint prayer for a just peace in Ukraine and for all those “who are dying in our country at this moment at the hands of the Russian aggressor.” The Holy Father thanked for the initiative and, together with the Ukrainian bishops, prayed the “Our Father” prayer for Ukraine and its “long-suffering people.”

“In a conversation with the Holy Father, we expressed to the Pope everything that our faithful in Ukraine and throughout the world entrusted us to convey to His Holiness. Our bishops spoke in Ukrainian, English, Portuguese, and Italian,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized. The bishops said that certain statements and gestures of “the Holy See and Your Holiness are painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people, who are currently bleeding in the struggle for their dignity and independence.” Misunderstandings that have arisen between Ukraine and the Vatican since the beginning of the full-scale war, the bishops explained, are used by Russian propaganda to justify and support the murderous ideology of the “Russian World”, therefore “the faithful of our Church are sensitive to every word of Your Holiness as the universal voice of truth and justice.”

Referring to his own words and comparisons that he had addressed, in particular, to Russian youth, the Holy Father explained: “Returning from Mongolia, I stated that the real pain is when the cultural heritage of a people undergoes ‘dilution’ and is subjected to manipulations from the side of a certain state power, as a result of which it is transformed into an ideology that destroys and kills. It is a great tragedy when such an ideology intrudes into the Church and replaces the Gospel of Christ.”

The Holy Father also admitted that “the fact that you doubted whom the Pope is with was particularly painful for the Ukrainian people. I want to assure you of my solidarity with you and constant prayerful closeness. I am with the Ukrainian people.” As a special gesture and symbol of closeness to the Ukrainian people, Pope Francis brought with him an icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which he showed to the bishops of the UGCC. “This icon was given to me by His Beatitude Sviatoslav when he was a young bishop in Argentina. I pray for Ukraine every day in front of her.”

The bishops also thanked Pope Francis for his constant support of Ukraine at the international level, his humanitarian actions, his personal efforts to free prisoners, the peacekeeping mission of the special papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, etc. “Ukrainian youth were sincerely moved by the humility of your words in asking to forgive the fact that it was not possible to do more to end the war in Ukraine,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

Releasing Redemptorist priests

The Synodal Fathers asked the Holy Father to continue his efforts for the release of prisoners of war, in particular, they mentioned the Redemptorist priests, Fr. Ivan Levytskyi CSsR and Fr. Bohdan Haleta CSsR, who are still in Russian captivity.

At the conclusion of the audience, on behalf of the Bishops of the UGCC Synod, His Beatitude Sviatoslav presented the Pope with some of the captive Redemptorists’ personal belongings: a missionary cross, a prayer book, and a rosary. “These things, Your Holiness, testify to the suffering of our Church together with its people amid the horrors of the war caused by Russian aggression. As a priceless treasure, we hand them over to you with the hope that soon a just peace will come to Ukraine.” The Head of the UGCC also presented His Holiness with an icon of Jesus Christ, which had been saved from the church burned by the Russians in the village of Chervone in the Zaporizhia Region.

Among the personal belongings of the Ukrainian priests Fr. Ivan Levytsky CSsR and Fr. Bohdan Geleta CSsR arrested by the occupying Russian authorities in Berdiansk on November 16, 2022, are a missionary cross, a prayer book, and a rosary, as well as photographs of the clergy themselves.

Scala News

CSsR Perpetual Profession in the Roman Province...

Sunday, September 3, 2023 in our church of San Gioacchino in Rome, two of our confreres issued the Perpetual Profession of vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, together with the vow and oath of Perseverance: 

Fabrizio Podda CSsR and Gianluigi Colucci CSsR

Both prepared, together with three other confreres from other Units, for the profession with the month of spiritual renewal, which took place last July in Svatá Hora (Czech Republic).

The solemn celebration of the Profession was presided over by the Provincial Superior of Rome, Fr. Antonio Cirulli, and also attended the Vicar General Fr. François Stanula, the General Councillor Fr. Nicolas Ayouba and the Coordinator of the Conference of Europe Fr .Johannes Römelt.

Read more: CSsR Perpetual Profession in the Roman Province...

St Mary's CSsR Redemptorist Church Clapham SW4...

Have a look at this beautiful booklet,

highlighting some of the beauty of our stunning church.

Click here to see the booklet.