MAY- 2016 -1

Newsletter of the U.S. Province of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary ImmaculateOMI USAMAY 2016 Vol. 19, No. 3

The first of the three provincejubilee observances ofordinations and first vows

anniversaries began on April 5, at a Massin the Immaculate Conception MemorialChapel in San Antonio, TX, with Fr.

Charles Banks, OMI as maincelebrant and homilist.

Following the celebratory Mass,

The Regional Oblate Conference of Canada-United States (CROCUS), along with Gen-eral Councilor Fr. Warren Brown, held

its bi-annual meeting March 7-13 in Baja Califor-nia. Canon lawyer Fr. Frank Morrisey, OMI,presented on District communities and the role ofsuperiors, and Fr. Antonio Ponce reported onthe JPIC ministry in the Region. The last two daysof the meeting were spent in San Diego with trea-surers of the Region and the General Treasurer.

Photo, left: In the course of their de-liberations they took one day to travel toLa Morita in Tijuana, Mexico, to meet withprenovices and local Oblate Affiliates.

Jubilee celebrations begina warm reception was held at theWhitley Theological Center.

Present at the event celeb-rating first vows were: Frs. Francis

Montalbano, William Davis,

José Gago, Valmond LeClerc,

Mike Levy, James Miller, Galeb

Mokarzel, John Castro, Ruben

Elizondo, Tony Rigoli, Ron

Above, l-r: Frs. Bill Davis, Ed Hauf, JohnCastro, Charles Banks, Tony Rigoli, JoséGago, James Miller, Frank Santucci and

Raul Salas

Rolheiser, Richard Sudlik andRaul Salas.

Frs Francis Santucci,

Charles Banks, Edward Hauf andJosé Gago were marking theirordination anniversaries. See p. 11 for

determination of years.

OMI-USA - 2

The Way of the Cross service at El Barril

From

th

e P

rovi

nci

al“Be merciful as yourFather in heaven ismerciful.” (Lk. 6, 36)

During this season ofSpring and in the midst of theJubilee of Mercy, I hope thateach of us has been able toenjoy a gentle rainfall or twofollowed by the warm raysof the sun. These are bless-ings from above.

I grew up in a rainy partof the country, and when thesun shines through it is glori-ous. When I was a 20-year-old novice, my novice direc-

tor, Fr. Tom Hayes, reminded me dur-ing a celebration of the sacrament ofconfession that God’s mercy was likethe falling rain. That simple image hasremained with me.

I suppose the sun’s rays break-ing through the moisture-laden cloudsonly confirm the truth of God’s mercy,which, we are reminded by PopeFrancis, is “excessive.” If we do not

believe this, we may need to begin by

asking for the grace to be able to for-

give ourselves. The gift of receivingGod’s mercy will soften our own hearts,especially when we judge and size upof others.

Even so, for

those of us who profess

and teach the Gospel,

there is a surprising, con-

tradictory and very dis-

appointing tendency to

fall into hard-hearted

and judgmental think-

ing.

Now after threeyears of preaching a con-sistent message rooted inthe Gospel (which, pleasenote, cannot excludeJesus’ hard words di-rected to the scribes andPharisees), a comment Ihear is that Pope Francisis being “too soft, too merciful” and thusis inviting trouble.

I found it interesting to read afew words from Cardinal ChristophSchönborn of Vienna, Austria. “The

callousness of the disciples with Jesus

is probably the most terrible suffer-

ing for Jesus, not the hardening of the

hearts of enemies, but the hardening

of the hearts of the disciples.”

Perhaps we have become hard-ened by the way the world distributes“mercy.” Perhaps we have not stood inthe grace that rains down on us. Usu-

ally the greatestmercy the worldcan ever provide isthe fair and lenientapplication of justlaws. We areblessed by the ruleof law, and wethank God forGod’s law as wehave received it.But the law doesnot stop us fromextending a handor opening ourheart to one an-

other with mercy, clemency, healing,forgiveness and understanding.

Recently an Oblate canon law-yer, Fr. Frank Morrisey, spent sometime with us at our latest CROCUSmeeting. He has spent his Oblate lifeas a canon lawyer, and he makes

Church law a lamp for the path and

an uplifting pastoral word for the

followers of Jesus.

This pastoral application oflaw makes me think of a recent expe-rience during Holy Week.

A young man interested inbecoming an Oblate (Derrick Huestis)and I served during Holy Week in alittle village in Baja California. Thevillage of “El Barril” has a populationof around 100, and the vast majorityof the men are pescadores, that is,fishermen.

El Barril lies on the easternside of the Baja peninsula, on theshores of the Sea of Cortez. It takestwo days from San Diego/Tijuana toget there by vehicle, the last 5 hourson an isolated dirt road which windsthrough “forests” of many varieties of

Continued on page 3

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The cover story for the Spring issue of La

Fe, the magazine of the Catholic Dioceseof Laredo (TX), featured profiles of some of theReligious serving the diocese.

Oblate Frs. Jim Fee,Lawrence

Mariasoosai, and Richard Kulwiec arepictured on the cover itself. Full page profilesof them, along with Fr. P a u l

Dass Selvarai, OMI,

in English and Spanishare found on pp.10-13.

Also, the Spring issue of the Extension

Magazine featured on pp.22-25 a storyon Fr. Bill Davis, OMI and a group ofSamaritans he formed in Laredo to assist thesick, elderly and infirm. Photos used with permission.

Fr. Antone and Derrick (kneeling) after services at El Barril

Continued from page 1

From the Provincial

desert plants and cactus, including thegiant saguaro and the graceful cirio.There are no stores or gas stations in ElBarril and basic services of electricity,running water and sanitation in eachhome are not reliable, if they even exist.The families are all quite poor.

Two couples in the El Barril

would like to have their marriages“blessed.” Both are married by civil lawand have children. They are excitedabout living more fully their lives as

couples and as parents and are open toand hungry for “instructions” andcatechesis.

Naturally there are some offi-cial documents that need to be gath-ered as they prepare for the sacramentand there is an expected fee for theparish, which, given the poverty, is quitehigh.

Unfortunately, the paper workand fees required by the local parish towhich the village belongs have becomean obstacle for their moving forward. Ibelieve they will eventually succeed ingetting married in the Church.

Without downplaying the im-portance of such paperwork and sti-

pends, I feel God’s mercy could eas-ily rain down upon these people a littlemore freely and that a pastoral ac-companiment could take place inwhich the Church’s ministers wouldjoin in the journey down the dustyroad with these pescadores and theirwives and children.

I am confident these coupleswould join in the spiritual and sacra-mental journey and keep up with theirguides….perhaps even teach theirguides something of the Gospel. The

poor evangelize us.

El Barril’s Altar of Reposition

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and

flourish, so that it yields

seed for the sower and bread

for the eater, so is my word

that goes out from my

mouth: It will not return to

me empty, but will

accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for

which I sent it. (Is. 55, 10-13)

OMI-USA - 4

On March 2, Fr. Bill Antone,OMI, with the ProvinceAdministration employees and

391 Oblates joined the JPIC staff for afarewell party to celebrate theretirement, stewardship andcommitment of Mrs. Mary O’Herron

to the Missionary Oblates’ JPIC office.Mary’s work and contributions

to the Oblates will always be valued andremembered.

An appreciation booklet withpersonal messages from current andformer colleagues was prepared andpresented to Mary by Sr. Ann Diehl,

CSJ, for her 33 years of faithful service.

Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI, led aLenten Mission event fromMarch 13-19 at the Immaculate

Conception Cathedral, Brownsville,TX, of which Fr. Michael Amesse,

OMI, is rector.The days of reflection centered

on the theme, Lent, An Opportunity

to Learn, Reflect and Live the Year

of Mercy.

A highlight of the week was aconcluding procession led by BishopDaniel Flores through the Brownsvillestreets, carrying a statue of St. Josephthe Worker.

The event is part of an ongoingJPIC initiative to conduct outreach andanimation of Oblate parishes.

Bishop Flores (middle) and Fr. Ponce (far left) in procession down Brownsville’s

main street. Below, left: Fr. Amesse; right: preparing for procession.

Many attend Year of Mercy mission

Among those attending Mary’s farewell were, l-r: Sr. Ann Diehl, JaniceCook, George Ngolwe, Eva Marie McCrae, Meghan Gieske Garcia, MaryO’Herron, Fr. Ponce, Rowena Gono.

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A reception and conversation tocelebrate the recently releasedbook A Godly Humanism:

Clarifying the Hope that Lies Within

by the late Francis Cardinal George,

OMI, was held on the one-yearanniversary of his death atthe University Club ofChicago on April 19.

The event wassponsored by the LumenChristi Institute forCatholic Thought, theArchdiocese of Chicago,Mundelein Seminary, theCatholic TheologicalUnion, and RelevantRadio.

Cardinal Georgewas the foundingEpiscopal Moderator for the LumenChristi Institute. He was integrallyinvolved in the life of the Institute, as aspeaker, mentor, and supporter of its

Special event marks anniversaryof Cardinal George’s death

mission to present Catholic thoughtwithin the academic culture of theUniversity of Chicago. In turn, theInstitute assisted him in special projects,including his participation in celebratingthe 50th anniversary of D-Day, hosting

conferences of economistsand bishops to discussCatholic Social Thought,and even organizing thepublication of his books.

R e m a r k swere presented by Gary A.Anderson (Notre Dame),Jean-Luc Marion(University of Chicago), &Moderator Anna BontaMoreland (VillanovaUniversity).

Finished by CardinalGeorge nine days before his death, AGodly Humanism offers an account ofthe Catholic intellectual life by one ofthe most gifted thinkers to serve as

bishop in the American Church. It drawson figures such as St. Augustine, St.Thomas Aquinas, St. John Paul II, andPope Benedict XVI to express a visionof the Church as a communion builtaround the relationship of God to humanbeings and of human beings to oneanother.

The book provides a startingpoint for the interpretation of “PopeFrancis’s Magisterium [as] evidence ofanother horizon having been openedmore clearly for believers.”

Francis Cardinal George, OMI

The Seattle-area Partners met for theirfourth annual meeting on April 2 at thehome of Jeff and Sue Adams in

Snohomish, WA.Missionary Oblate Partnership presi-

dent Artie Pingolt, Frs. Jesse Esqueda andBill Antone presented a report on the ac-tivities of the Partnership and in particular thework of the Oblates in San Eugenio parish inLa Morita, Tijuana, Baja California. The Se-attle Partners have been especially support-ive of the Oblate efforts in Tijuana.

(See p.9 for announcement of Part-

nership-sponsored visit to La Morita)

Right: After the meeting Artie Pingolttook a photo of the Seattle OblatePartners with Frs. Antone and Esqueda(kneeling, front).

OMI-USA - 6

Please remember in prayer

our recently departed

Eileen Erving, 73, mother of the late Fr. JimErving,OMI,died on Feb.17 in Timonium, MD.Fr. Augustin Petru, OMI, 87, died on Feb. 21 inMexico City, Mexico.Doris Poisson, HOMI, 94, died on Feb. 28 in Lowell,MA.Frank Carolan, 85, brother-in-law of Fr. GeorgeMcLean, OMI, died on March 8 in Lowell, MA.Mary Pfeifer Pawlik, 87, sister of the late Fr. JamesPfeifer, OMI; first cousin of Bishop Michael Pfeifer,OMI and Fr.Ted Pfeifer, OMI, died March 11 inMcAllen, TX.Fr. Lucien Sawyer, OMI, 91, died on March 18 atthe Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence, Tewksbury,MA.Carlos Garcia, 90, brother of the late Fr. PabloGarcia, OMI, died on March 18 in Brownsville, TX.Josephine Urban, 87, sister of the late Fr. JohnMaronic, OMI, died on April 2 in Duluth, MN.

The Provincial Council metat Holy Name Retreat Center in Hous-ton, Friday –Sunday, January 29-31, tovision and plan for the future of theprovince’s ministries. Jim Fee andFernando Velazquez led us in our delib-erations.

We recognized that first and fore-most we are missionaries: men who are sent; we don’t re-main in comfortable dwellings as Oblates of Mary Immacu-late.

We also affirmed that where we should minister issecondary to the issue of how we should minister.

Basic to the issue of how we should minister iswhether we wait for people to come to us, to our parishes,our retreat centers, our shrines or whether we are willing to goout to where they are, where they live and work and play.

We then looked at the values which should form thebasis of how we live in community with each other and howwe minister. After this, we attempted to prioritize the minis-tries of the province, which hopefully would give concreteexpression to those values. We will hear more about that ata later time.

The first value we mentioned was the importance ofenhancing the quality of our life together in community. Manypeople to whom we minister value very much our vocationas religious; they respect our generosity in accepting ourvocation from God; they ask us to pray for their needs. Weasked if we as Oblates value our own calling enough, whetherwe respect sufficiently that calling and even whether we areoften grateful to God for this calling.

Ministry to youth was seen as a priority. Encourag-ing young men to join our ranks is important but also wefaced the realization that many of our youth are living, it seems,without meaning in their lives nor are they expressing openlyany faith. In terms of giving meaning or focus to their lives,they could be described as “lost”.

An Oblate who would devote much of his time toyouth ministry in each of our mission centers would be aworthwhile first step toward concretely addressing this value.

Bringing the gospel to the unchurched was recog-nized as an important value as well. Most Oblates have un-churched in their own families. Many of our parishioners,retreatants, employees have family members, friends, neigh-bors who are unchurched.

We underlined the value of inviting our church at-tendees to encourage those whom they know who are notpracticing the faith to “come home” to the faith.

An essential component of the gospel message isfor us as religious to invite “the churched” to continue theministry of Jesus in the world. We Oblates cannot do thisourselves; we must invite our leaders in our ministry sitesto help us in our ministry as missionaries of Jesus Christ.With fewer vocations to religious life, this becomes moreimportant. But not simply because of fewer vocations toreligious life. This is the vocation of our leaders and wecan help them embrace their calling as lay leaders.

The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation min-istry in the province is presently engaging Oblates in theirlocal ministries in regard to issues of poverty , ecology,immigration, as well as macro JPIC concerns of world fi-nance, mining, ethical investing, ecumenism, among others.

Collaboration of the province with other agen-cies who also work in these areas helps ensure thatprogress will continue to be made in these vital areas.

Finally, the importance of making ourselves avail-able as missionaries was seen as a key value in defining

Continued on page 7

MAY- 2016 -7

who we are as Oblates. Availability tolearn a new skill, engage in a new min-istry, offer a new response, risk a newventure, on both the individual and com-munal level was seen as a significant

valueto give a vital future to our prov-ince.

Rather than merely disengagingfrom many of our ministries because ofdiminishing personnel, we again under-lined the importance of considering howwe minister. We asked ourselveswhether we are open to learn new skills,

Continued from page 6

Ministry Values

Fr. Waclaw Hryniewicz, OMI,

has stated that the Joint Decla-ration of Pope Francis and Pa-

triarch Kirill, issued at their meeting inCuba, Feb. 11, 2016, “is an historicaldeclaration, long and detailed.”

Fr. Hryniewicz, who served formany years (1980-2005) on the Inter-national Roman Catholic-OrthodoxCommission for the Theological Dia-logue, also helped us understand thestartling significance of the Polish-Rus-sian Reconciliation Statement of Aug.17, 2012, which Kirill also signed(www.omiusa.org, Sept. 19, 2012;)

www.harrywinter.org, Eastern Christianity page

for photos).

Fr. Hryniewicz observed thatthe Declaration “emphasizes three timesthe Tradition and the shared heritage ofthe Church of the first millennium (#’s4,7, 24). This is an important reminderfor the official theological dialogue. Ref-

erence to the Trinity as the model forthe life of the Church is quite traditional,especially for the Orthodox side. But itshould not lead to an anachronistic un-derstanding of the historical develop-ment of such church doctrines as forexample primacy and synodality.”

He then was both positive andcautious: “The encounter on Cuba isindeed a sign of hope (#’s 6, 25, 27,30). I very much appreciate the fact ofrecovering ‘a particular sense of ur-gency’ (#3). Now everything dependson the implementation of the declara-tion. Let it not remain only in the sphereof promising words.”

My gratitude to Fr. Hryniewiczfor these insights. I conclude with threeobservations:First, the startling emphasis on the NewWorld (#’s 2,3).Second, the way this short declarationincludes Evangelization, Justice/Peace/

Polish Oblate Comments on CubanDeclaration Of Pope and Patriarch

Integrity of Creation, Ecumenism, Dia-logue and Spirituality.Third, the litmus test for its implemen-tation will be the readiness of Ortho-dox clergy especially in Russia andGreece to admit Latin rite Catholics orEasterners in Communion with Rome,to receive Communion at their DivineLiturgy.

We might ask ourselves: doour parishioners know that we are en-couraged to welcome Orthodox whocannot find a parish of their own whenthey are traveling, to receive Com-munion at our Mass? (seewww.harrywinter.org, EucharisticHospitality page)

by Fr. Harrry Winter, OMI

prayerfully consider new possibilities,engage in our present ministries with anew creative spirit, and further, are wewilling to challenge our colleagues todo the same? This is a vital responsibil-ity in our role as leaders. That is whatour calling as Oblate missionaries is allabout!

Oblates minister with the pooras advocates to change systems whichcause poverty, as preachers to sensi-tize the wealthier to their responsibilityto help the poor, as ministers workingwith the poor. This is the ministry in ourprovince in many of the places wherewe currently serve. It is the call of JesusChrist to us Oblates of Mary Immacu-late in today’s world!

-Fr. Lou Studer, OMI

OMI-USA - 8

King’s House of Retreats, Belleville, IL participatedin the Empty Bowl Soup Luncheon sponsoredby St. Augustine Parish in Belleville on March 24,

held to benefit their parish food pantry. Also among the tencontributors were the The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snowsand Minds Eye.

The retreat house staff’s contribution was Chef ChrisSchumacher’s Chicken White Chili.

On another note altogether, each year, King’sHouse is happy to have the opportunity ofwelcoming more than 100 people for a Mardi

Gras celebration.Those invited are from our many partnered

groups, such as MAMI, the Shrine, Oblate Associ-ates, OMSI, The Apartment Community, St. Henry’s,etc. The atmosphere is certainly something to be ex-perienced!

Staff members gathered behind some of their offer-ings at the Luncheon, left to right: Richard Dahm (Busi-

ness Manager), Tammy Schoenbach (Housekeeping), TinaTurner (Housekeeping), Kelly Smith (Kitchen), SarahBiermann (Hospitality & Communications Coordinator),Carolyn Hofstetter (Housekeeping Supervisor), JustinShellenberg (Maintenance/Grounds Keeper)

King’s House reaches outto local Community

Clockwise: Bro. Bill Lundberg, OMI, (center); Bro. Pat

McGee, OMI, and Fr. Jim Allen, OMI; King of the Mardi

Gras, Richard Dahm; and obviously the Mardi Gras

prince, Madison

MAY- 2016 -9

I had the opportunity to ac-cept a three-week ministe-rial coverage in Alaska, serv-

ing in places I have helped at offand on over the past 12 years.

The weather was unsea-sonably warm, limiting customaryoutdoor adventures such as cross-country skiing or snow shoeing. Avery icy time with daily melts andnightly freezes, I found my feet upin the air and my head on a park-ing lot on my first Sunday there,resulting in a concussion which hadme laying even lower than usual duringmy time there.

Still, it was a good opportunityto do some specifically pastoral minis-try with known people and families, as

well as to meet with most of the Alas-kan Oblates, who send their greetings.

Coincidentally, all the bishopsand most of the clergy gathered nearbyin Anchorage for an annual convoca-

tion while I was there, and I enjoyedvisiting Frs. Tom Killeen, Pat Casey,

Andy Sensenig, Tom Rush, Jim

Loiacono and Archbishop Roger

Schwietz.

Partner & Child/Grandchild Fieldtrip:San Eugenio Mission-Tijuana, Mexico

June 24-25Our Goal :To provide a personal, informative and fun experience of an Oblate mission in a very poor

country - 5 Oblates serving 300,000 men, women and children- wow! Participants will not just see the

good being done, they will be a part of it!

Friday Night, June 24 Our group meets at the San Diego hotel where we stay. We have dinner with Fr. Jesse Esqueda,

OMI and talk about what to expect at San Eugenio, the Oblate mission “over the border” in Tijuana.

Saturday, June 25 Our group leaves around 8AM for a 1 hour drive over the border to San Eugenio. Highlights of

the day will include: *Welcome and Orientation with the Oblates of San Eugenio

*Tour of clinics, literacy project and special needs children

*Traveling to “out-station” chapels of the mission

*Distributing food and clothing to needy families

*Mass at San Eugenio HIV center

*Traditional dancing and homemade tamales

*Driving tour explaining “systemic” nature of poverty

Cost: $100/per person. Contact apingolt@oblatepartnership.org

Area counselor visitsOblates in Alaska

by Fr. Jim Brobst, OMI

Alaskan priests convocation: (I’m going to let you find the Oblates [includinghimself] mentioned in Fr. Brobst’s last paragraph.- ed.)

OMI-USA - 10

Like other pro-life advocatesaround the country, January22nd is an important date for Dr.

Carlos Hernandez, MD. This datemarks the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade,a U.S. Supreme Court ruling 43 years agothat legalizes abortion for any reasonthroughout all nine months of pregnancy.

For the last 20 years parishio-ners from three Oblate-led parisheswithin the Diocese of Laredo, TX – OurLady of Refuge, Sacred Heart and SaintJoseph’s — have actively participated ina local Walk For Life event to coincidewith events around the country.

Dr. Hernandez has been theevent’s organizer for the last six years,working with leadership councils fromthe three parishes and the local Knightsof Columbus.

About 200 people of all agesparticipated in this year’s Walk. Theyfirst gathered on Main Street in EaglePass, then proceeded to walk a mileand a half, praying the rosary along theway to their final destination at City Hall.

The elderly or those unable to walk thefull distance waited at City Hall. Whenthe walk concluded, a short programwas held and attended by the Vicar ofthe Diocese, the mayor and other cityofficials.

Nine days before the Walk for

Life event members from all three par-

3 TX parishes march to defend human life ishes joined in solidarity with otherCatholics around the country in a prayercampaign organized by the U.S. Bish-ops. The 9 Days for Life campaigncalled for Catholics to pray for victimsof abortion, violence and those suffer-ing from addiction in the nine days lead-ing up to January 22nd.

As Dr. Hernandez personallyreflected on the sanctity of life, heshared with JPIC staff a few local sto-ries and his perspective on the issuefrom the standpoint of a physician spe-cializing in obstetrics/gynecology. Hecommended local families who undervery difficult circumstances, commit tocaring for severely disabled children.

Dr. Hernandez remarked thatfor him, this exemplifies the core of pro-life philosophy that ‘every life is worthliving.’

Born in Colombia, South

America, Dr. Carlos Hernandez, MD stud-

ied in Baltimore, MD. He has directed awomen’s clinic in Eagle Pass, TX for thelast 18 years. He is also a parishionerand serves on the leadership council atthe Sacred Heart Parish.

-This article is excerpted from

an interview by the US Oblate JPIC

Left-r: Roberto Castro, P Jaime Fee, OMI, Jose Pena, Jose Rangel,Fr. PaulDass Selvaraj, OMI, Sylvia Rojales, Ruben Rodriguez, AnitaRodriguez.

On March 15, 2016, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, bestowedan the Doctorate Honoris Causa on the Oblate Superior General,

Fr. Louis Lougen (above), in the university’s DeMazenod Chapel.

MAY- 2016 -11

First Profession:

ORDINATION:

Oblates celebrate ordination, profession jubilees

The 2015 jubilee anniversaries of 41 Oblates noting first profession and of 32

observing ordination to the priesthood have been scheduled in three locations:

at the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX, on April 5; Immaculate

Heart of Mary Residence, Tewksbury, MA, on June 13; and Our Lady of the Snows

Shrine, Belleville, IL, on Sept. 12.

Besides the U.S. Areas, jubilarians minister in seven mission fields: Haiti, Ireland,

Japan, Philippines, Mexico, Canada, Scandinavia.

80th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Boniface Wittenbrink

75th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Patrick HealyRev. Francis Montalbano

70th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Andre HouleRev. William McSweeneyRev. John Morin

65th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Gerald BrunetRev. Andrew ChalkeyRev. William DavisBro. Valmond LeclercRev. Michael Levy

Rev. James MillerRev. Kevin O’Conor (Ireland)

Rev. James Taylor

60th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. John Castro Rev. Real Corriveau (Haiti)

Rev. Ruben Elizondo (Mexico)

Rev. James Flavin Rev. Wilfred Harvey

Rev. Carroll Parker (Scandinavia)

Rev. John St. Cyr

50th ANNIVERSARY:

Bro. Olof Åsblom (Scandinavia)

Bro. Charles Gilbert

Rev. William MasonRev. Ronald MeyerRev. William O’DonnellRev. Anthony Rigoli

Rev. Ronald Rolheiser (Lacombe)

Rev. Richard Sudlik

40th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Mark DeanRev. Raul Salas

25th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Piotr Dudek (Lacombe)

Rev. Dwight HoeberechtsRev. Andrew Small

75th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Boniface Wittenbrink

65th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. John Morin

60th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Charles BeausoleilRev. Andrew ChalkeyRev. James TaylorRev. William Woestman

50th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Charles BanksRev. Raymond Bourgoin

(Japan)

Rev. Michael Bradley (Scandinavia)

Rev. Edward HaufRev. William Maher (Japan)

Rev. Jerry OrsinoRev. Richard Pommier (Philippines)

40th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. Normand Bonneau (Lacombe)

Rev. Gregory CholewaRev. Allen Courteau

(Scandinavia)

Rev. Séamus FinnRev. Michael O’HaraRev. Francis SantucciRev. Louis StuderRev. Rufus Whitley

25th ANNIVERSARY:

Rev. John-Raymond Lau

OMI-USA - 12

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Newsletter of the U.S. Province of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immacu-

late.-391 Michigan Ave., NE Washing-

ton, DC 20017-1516President and Publisher:Very Rev. Bill

Antone, OMI

Editor: Fr. Charles Hurkes, OMI

Direct all submissions, inquiries and

comments 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 websiteRemember to check out the province’s websiteRemember to check out the province’s websiteRemember to check out the province’s websiteRemember to check out the province’s websitefor more information and links to other Oblatefor more information and links to other Oblatefor more information and links to other Oblatefor more information and links to other Oblatefor more information and links to other Oblate

news items.: www.omiusa.orgnews items.: www.omiusa.orgnews items.: www.omiusa.orgnews items.: www.omiusa.orgnews items.: www.omiusa.org

√√√√√ Fr. Lawrence Mariasoosai, OMI and Fr. Peter Antonisamy,

OMI, have been given an obedience to the United States Province. Upuntil now, they have been on loan from the Indian Province, and theyboth requested this change of assignment. Fr. Lawrence is pastor ofSacred Heart parish in Eagle Pass, TX, and Fr. Peter is parochial vicarat Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville, TX

√√√√√ Laredo, TX has banned the use of plastic bags,after a nearly decade-long campaign by community basedenvironmental groups. Fr. Bill Davis, OMI, joined in aPSA video to alert people to the ban, which began onApril 30th. Bishop James Tamayo has nominated Fr. BillDavis of San Francisco Javier Church in Laredo, for the2016 Catholic Extension Society’s Lumen Christi Award.

√√√√√ From: Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI: On this special Oblate day Ihave been in Juarez Mexico with Pope Francis. I prayed for you and all of ourbrother Oblates during the papal mass. I had a visit with Pope Francis, remindinghim that I was a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate and that I had served inMexico. His face lit up and he said the Oblates are mar-velous missionaries. Then I reminded him that during ourvisit in Rome he had asked about my horse and I told himthat the horse is doing well. He seemed to remember, andbroke out in a big laugh.

A little history about this. When I was in Romefor the canonization of two Popes, after Mass, I ... had adelightful visit with Pope Francis. Speaking to him in Span-ish, I told him I was a bishop from Texas, and he began tolaugh and asked me –where is your horse? I replied, Holy Farther he is outside.He laughed again; then we had a delightful visit.√√√√√ St. Henry’s Alumni Association will be holding 2 events this Fall: On

Sept. 9 in Belleville, IL: Tours of the campus in early afternoon. Later, at theShrine: Social hours, Mass, hors d’oeuvres and cash bar, banquet, and party,plus memorabilia tables and continuous video presentationsSaturday, Sept. 10 in Caseyville, IL: Picnic in the Park, hosted by the Classof ’60; a potluck gathering en plein air.

√√√√√ Director Bro. Tom Ruhmann, OMI, has announced that the VictoriousMissionaries National Conference, celebrating its 52ndFounding Anniversary, will be held at the Shrine of Our Ladyof the Snows, Belleville, IL, from May 13-15. Pastor BobMolsberry from Belleville’s Peace United Church of Christhas been invited to present the main address based on thetheme: Forgiveness: A Challenging Path to Wholeness.

Blessed are youBlessed are youBlessed are youBlessed are youBlessed are youamong women,among women,among women,among women,among women,and blessed isand blessed isand blessed isand blessed isand blessed is

the fruit ofthe fruit ofthe fruit ofthe fruit ofthe fruit ofyour wombyour wombyour wombyour wombyour womb