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Special Commemorative Issue on the Canonization of St. Guido Maria Conforti with photos of the celebration in St. Peter's Square and the pilgrimage to Italy; commentaries on St. Guido's spirituality by Fr. Bob Maloney, SX and Father Guglielmo Camera, SX; and special pages just for kids.
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Commemorative IssueCommemorative IssueCommemorative Issue
XAVERIAN MISSION XXXAVERIANAVERIANAVERIAN MMMISSIONISSIONISSION
Make of the World One Fami ly
Volume 59—No 4 ● November 2011
Website: xaviermissionaries.org ● Mission Blog: xaverianmissionaries.blogspot.com
Saint Guido Maria ConfortiSaint Guido Maria ConfortiSaint Guido Maria Conforti
Canonized October 23, 2011Canonized October 23, 2011Canonized October 23, 2011
2
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Honoring Saint Guido Maria Conforti
Xaverian Missionaries
Provincial Headquarters 12 Helene Court Wayne, NJ 07470-2813 Tel.: (973) 942-2975 Fax: (973) 942-5012 Email: [email protected]
Xavier Knoll Mission Center
4500 Xavier Drive Franklin, WI 53132-9066 Tel.: (414) 421-0831 Fax: (414) 421-9108 Email: [email protected]
Mission Center & Fatima Shrine
101 Summer Street P.O. Box 5857 Holliston, MA 01746-5857 Tel.: (508) 429-2144 Fax: (508) 429-4793 Email: [email protected]
Xaverian Mission Newsletter
Official publication of the Xaverian Missionaries of the United States
Publisher Fr. Carl Chudy,SX
Editorial Team Fr. Tony Lalli, SX Fr. Joseph Matteucig, SX Fr. Alfredo Turco, SX
Editor
Mary Aktay
Printing AlphaGraphics, Totowa, NJ
Email & Web:
www.xaviermissionaries.org
http:xaviermissionaries.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/catholicmissionaries
http://www.twitter.com/worldcatholic
Donation: $5.00 per year
Dear Xaverian Family, As you can see, this is a very special issue of our quarterly news-letter commemorating the canonization of our founder, Saint Guido Maria Conforti. His name says it all: Comforting Guide, for he has in deed and in spirit comforted and guided his flock of mis-sionaries to the ends of the earth to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. A Bishop who went beyond the boundaries of his own dio-cese to embrace the whole world, Saint Guido continues this work to this day with Xaverians serving in nineteen countries world-wide. Our pilgrims to Italy for his canonization in Rome were comforted and guided by his spiritual presence as travelers became friends visiting his episcopates of Parma and Ravenna and touring the Motherhouse of the Xaverians. Saint Guido’s gentle hand directed our thoughts and prayers in Assisi and Padua, Florence and Venice as we participated in liturgies and shared meals and wonderful times together. We are called to continue his legacy and make his vision of the global mission of the Church and the world as one family become a reality by seeing Christ in all. May Saint Guido Maria Conforti continue to guide us in this effort and comfort us all the days of our lives.
In Christ, Father Carl Chudy, SX
Please Help the Global Mission of the Church. Contact:
Fr. Frank Grappoli, SX 12 Helene Court Wayne, NJ 07470 Tel: 973-942-2975
or visit: www.xaviermissionaries.org for online donations
3
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
E ven as a young seminarian, Saint Guido Conforti was captivated by Christ’s invitation to proclaim the good news to all nations. He cultivated in himself and his fellow seminarians a love of the mis-
sions and corresponded with missionaries who worked in China. He was greatly impressed with the life of St. Francis Xavier and his travels throughout Asia. The great missionary’s dream was to go on to China, but unfortunately he died on his way there on Shangchuan Island off the south-ern coast.
Guido Conforti wanted to be a missionary himself and follow in the foot-steps of Francis Xavier but health concerns prevented this. So he stayed in the diocesan seminary where he was ordained. An idea matured through dialogue with the bishop: “I cannot go myself; therefore I want to start a missionary congregation in the Church.” He established the St. Francis Xavier Society for the Foreign Missions also known as the Xaverian Mission-aries and he sent his first missionaries to China to continue the work of St. Francis Xavier. The Xaverians were there about fifty years until the Com-munist takeover in 1950.
Saint Guido was perhaps only slowed down by obedience. He was made Vicar General of the Diocese of Parma and then Pope Leo XIII made him Archbishop of Ravenna. Saint Guido begged not to have this responsibility because he was concerned about forming the new congregation. Pope Leo said, “Go where the Lord sends you. That’s your mission: Ravenna.” How-ever, because of health problems he had to renounce his position two years later. He returned to Parma hoping to devote himself totally to his new missionary foundation. But Pope Pius X made him Auxiliary Bishop of Parma with “the right to succeed” the Bishop. He was in tears in Rome before St. Pius X who told him that the Lord would provide for his obedi-ence and for his new missionary order. So, sooner than he thought, Saint Guido Maria Conforti became a shepherd of two flocks. He was Bishop of Parma and he had a connection with the Church’s global mission. This is what makes the Xaverians the spiritual sons of Bishop Conforti: that a bishop had this openness to the whole world. He took care of his diocese; and his concern was also for beyond the boundaries of the local Church.
Father Paolo Manna of the Pontifical Institute for the Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E) approached Bishop Conforti with an idea to mobilize priests and reawaken their awareness of having been ordained for the whole world. Together they founded the Missionary Union of the Clergy to create mis-sion awareness, the proper dimension of the Gospel. Bishop Conforti was glad to help promote this project and presented it to the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. Pope Benedict XV issued the great missionary Encycli-cal, "Maximum Illud” in 1919. In 1925 Pope Pius XI instituted the World Exposition on the Missions at the Vatican. This incorporated the idea that the entire Church is projected toward bringing the Gospel to the four cor-ners of the earth. Bishop Conforti was made the first president of the Missionary Union of the Clergy and he held the presidency until 1927, four years before he died.
Saint Guido Conforti’s legacy continues to create true mission awareness in the local Church. Christians are not limited to a certain location: we act locally but we think globally. We should be involved where we are but we should not lose sight of the true dimension of the Mission and the Mes-sage given by our Lord Jesus Christ: “Go into the whole world and pro-claim the Good News.”
Father Frank Grappoli, SX
Xaverian Missionaries in the World
Shepherd of Two Flocks
4
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Xaverian Missionaries in the World
You can help build churches
with a click!
Share in the Global Mission of the
Church and the legacy
of Saint Guido Conforti.
Visit: www.xaviermissionaries.org
We now accept PayPal and credit
card donations online.
A bell from the prestigious Pontifical Foundry in Agnone,
dedicated to Saint Guido Conforti, was placed in the
tower of the new church built in Bangladesh with the
help of benefactors and Italian American neighbors. The bell of
110 pounds is a gift from a benefactor, bestowed by a “strange
game of Providence.”
Under the relief of St. Conforti the inscription is written: "For
Saint Guido M. Conforti, Founder of the Xaverian Missionaries in
the year 2011 commemorating his canonization."
From Isernia, in the high Molise, the bell will ring for Christians of
Chuknagar. The new church is dedicated to Pronam Mary Dori-
droder Rani "Mary, Queen of the Poor."
Father Antonio Germano, SX
Chuknagar, Bangladesh
Ringing In the Canonization
Raising the bell of the new
church
Grateful worshipers gather for Mass in the
Church of Mary, Queen of the Poor.
5
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Xaverian Missionaries In the US
T he Berceto Foun-
dation was formed
in 1962 on the
occasion of a dinner held at
the home of attorney, Lino
Pietrantoni of Eastchester, NY
to host Fr. Bonardi who visited
the United states from July 31
through September of that
year. Father Bonardi was born
in Boston on February 2, 1881,
had returned to Italy in 1889
where he joined the Xaverian
Missionaries in 1898. He was a
close friend of and advisor to
Saint Guido Maria Conforti.
Father Bonardi was present for
the first profession of Fr. Tony
Lalli and at the blessing of the
Minor Seminary in Holliston by
Cardinal Richard Cushing on
September 9, 1962.
At this dinner Fr. Bonardi met
his brother Giuseppe who had
immigrated to this country
after Fr. Bonardi had gone to
China. The two brothers had
not seen each other since
1904. Mr. Pietrantoni, Esq.,
located Giuseppe Bonardi and
made it possible for the two
brothers to reunite.
Present at the dinner were a
number of descendants of peo-
ple who had lived in the
mountain villages outside of
Parma, They were called the
“Bercetesi.” Mr. Pietrantoni’s
family was from Pagazzano,
the same area of Parma where
Fr. Bonardi came from.
The friends present at the
reunion decided to form a
group to support the Xaverian
Missionaries. Some of these
same people had been con-
firmed by, or had remem-
brances of Saint Guido Con-
forti himself.
This group of friends has held
a banquet annually to benefit
the Xaverians from 1963 to
the present. They also ran
fund raising activities to ben-
efit the Casa del Riposo of
Berceto. Known as the
“Friends of the Xaverian Mis-
sionary Fathers, and later as
the Bercetesi Club. With all
the support they have given
the Xaverians, these friends
might even be called
“family.”
We wish to express our sin-
cere gratitude to our devoted
“Berceto family.” We cherish
your commitment to the Xa-
verian Missionaries.
Father Bob Maloney, SX
Foundation in Faith...
Elsa and Hugo Bacchioni, members of the Berceto Foundation were confirmed by Saint
Guido Conforti in 1930.
Fr. Frank Grappoli, SX speaks at the
Berceto Gala.
Foundation Members
6 Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011 Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Pilgrimage for
the proclamation of a Saint
From top left: Fr. Alfiero Ceresoli, SX, presents relics of St. Guido with miracle recipient, little Thiago Joào, and his mother. Xaverians from all over the world join the Mass of the People in the Cathedral of the Diocese of Parma. Chinese worshipers pray during the Mass in St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. Fr. Alfredo Turco SX (in white) guides pilgrims in the Shrine of St. Guido Conforti at the Motherhouse in Parma. Pilgrims participate at Mass in the Cathedral in Ravenna.
7 Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011 Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Pilgrimage for
the proclamation of a Saint
From top right: His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, blesses 50,000 pilgrims at the canonization Mass. Fr. Carl Chudy, SX reads the First Reading at the Mass of the canonization. New Xaverians profess their final vows during the international liturgy in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Xaverian Missionaries surround the altar at the Mass of the People in Parma. Pilgrims pray under the crucifix which inspired St. Guido Conforti.
8
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
The Spirituality of Saint Guido Maria Conforti
G uido Conforti, as a child and throughout
his lifetime, often queried about him-
self with the Lord. There was a large crucifix
in a chapel along his way to school, where he
would often visit. In later life, his self-
questioning and his visits to the Crucified
Christ would almost merge together and pro-
vide answers to his queries about the plight of
peoples of his day. These were a profound
concern to his mind and heart and absorbed
his priestly and pastoral attention throughout
his life. The stark crucifix, which he visited,
represented the life of Christ, His death, and
the measure of His love for all—and it beck-
oned: “come, see, reach out, respond”—
“Love one another.”
In Omnibus Christus! “Christ In All!” was his
motto when he was called to be Archbishop of
Ravenna. Caritas Christi urget nos! “The love
of Christ impels us!” was the calling card
which he passed to his Xaverian family.
The Crucifix, before which he paused, gazed
and wondered, “seemed to call him by name”
and “attract his attention.” Christ was central
to his life. Christ gave him his vocational call.
Christ invited him and enabled him to contem-
plate his lifetime as he worked in the semi-
nary of Parma, and when Christ was heard as
a constant cry from the “fields afar” in distant
China.
Our times are challenging and varied. The
world is one and diverse. Our points of refer-
ence are varied and changing. The Founder’s
statement: “He told me so many things.” pro-
vides us with fundamental and basic insights.
The Lord had told him many things and contin-
ued to guide his life: For him, Christ was ever
and always in charge, until the Lord called
him home in 1931.
Caritas Christi remains a refrain, a challenge.
It helps us to better understand who we are,
to whom we have been sent, and what truths have been imparted anew to enable us to be-
come a single family of Xaverians the world over and to share our lives, love, gifts to those
who also look to the Crucifix and listen.
Father Bob Maloney, SX
I Looked at Him. He Looked at Me. It Seemed that He Told Me
So Many Things!
9
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
The Spirituality of Saint Guido Maria Conforti
The Eucharist Calls Us to Make of Humanity a Single Family
F or Conforti,
participation in
the Eucharistic banquet
was the most authentic
motive for looking upon
humanity as a family
made up of brothers and
sisters, all with the same
dignity, independently of
race, religion and social
condition:
“At the Eucharistic ban-
quet we should experi-
ence more intensely than
usual the sentiment of
the universal brother-
hood, which is an indis-
pensable duty for every
Christian; we should also
experience a profound
sadness when we think of
the many brothers and
sisters who do not have
the good fortune to par-
ticipate with
us at the
table of the
Angels, and
to taste the
same de-
lights as we
do…
Christ instituted the Eu-
charist to bring about an
intimate union with him
and between us and our
brothers and sisters. Just
as the wine is pressed
from many grapes, and
the bread is made up of
many types of wheat, so
too we, after taking part
in the divine mysteries,
form one single body,
which is made up of dif-
ferent members, but who
are all connected by very
close bonds. It is in this
sacrament that all sit down
at the same table and feel
that they are truly brothers.
The Christian life, nourished
and strengthened by the
Eucharist, is a light that
must not be restricted to
the family. It is a powerful
force that looks for a wider
field: from the family it
must reach out to society,
to assert itself there and to
conquer and sanctify socie-
ty. This life is light … there-
fore it must shine in the
holiness of our exam-
ple.” (Palermo, 6 Sep-
tember 1924).
Father Guglielmo
Camera, SX
Christ instituted the
Eucharist to bring about
an intimate union with
him and between us and
our brothers and sisters.
10
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Saint Guido’s Kids’ Korner
How the Xaverians Came to Be Written by Oliviero Ferro,
Drawings by Fabrizio Zugani
Translated by Mattia Sallemi
Can you tell us about the special thing that happened to
Guido Conforti, Angelica?
There he would stop to pray in front of a big
crucifix
When Guido was a boy he went to the Church of Peace and Glory before school each day.
When He finished elementary school, Guido told his dad that he
wanted to be a priest.
His dad got angry… “I need you to take care of our fields!”
But his father had a big heart and he let him go. So Guido
started his new life.
In the seminary Guido studied and worked hard. But during the winter he suffered from
the cold.
One day a friend gave him a book about Saint Francis Xavier.
I want to be a missionary like
him!
When he was 18 years-old he became very sick. He fainted and fell to the ground.
Doctors didn’t know what was wrong. The bishop said,
But the Blessed Mother helped him to recover. So at 23 years old, on September 22, 1888 he
became Father Guido Conforti. “You are ill! I can’t
ordain you a priest!”
I was looking at the crucifix and He was looking at me. He seemed to say many things. It’s because of Him that I
have my vocation.
A Saint For a Friend!
Word Search Puzzle
Find the following hidden words: GUIDO, CONFORTI, SAINT, BISHOP, PARMA,
CHINA, XAVERIAN, MISSIONARIES, FRANCIS, XAVIER, CANONIZED, ITALY
D E S S P O E H C X F A D O I
S A N S A I N T N A S E A V W
E A V A M I M E G V Z D A Y M
L N C O N F O R T I O S L N D
P X A V E R I A N E P A R M A
A K A G U I D O H R T V I O U
M I S S I O N A R I E S R R T
C C H I N A I A E E M E E S E
F R A N C I S H Q R Z Y L W H
11
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011
Saint Guido’s Kids’ Korner
Andre, Do you know how the Xaverians got their name?
After he read the life of Saint Francis Xavier, Guido wanted to go to China. Guido prayed in front of the crucifix:
“Jesus, what do you want me to do?”
But Bishop Francesco Magagni needed him in Diocese of Parma and He appointed him Vicar General.
But I’m only 30 years old!.
I know you are young but I need your help.
Sure!
I won’t lose heart, because this is God’s will. It’s a big sacrifice but I trust Jesus, who
suffered for all people.
So Guido wrote to Rome to the Cardinal in charge of missions. So Saint Guido started the Congregation of Xaverian Missionaries in 1895.
Conforti’s missionaries are called Xaverians because their model is Saint Francis Xavier, the great missionary to Asia.
Father Guido welcomed his first missionaries to his house in Parma; on the wall he wrote the words of Saint Paul: “The Love of Christ Impels Us.”
Dear Cardinal,
I have always had the desire
to go to the missions. Since
I can’t go I want to found a
congregation of missionar-
ies. I’ll call it the Saint
Francis Xavier Foreign
Mission Society.
Parma, March 9th
1894 Rome, April 24th 1894
Dear Fr. Conforti, I applaud your desire and I encourage you to make your dream a permanent reality.
This house is like an eagles’ nest: from here they will fly all around the world to let people know of the love of God.
Andre, do you remember the exact date they started?
On December 3, 1895 the new institute was inaugurated. The bishop was there, and it was put under the protection of Saint Francis Xavier. Fourteen men became Xaverians.
It’s true: but then more young men came and on April 24, 1900 new headquarters were established in Campo di Marte, the Xaverians’ current “Mother house.”
Help the Xaverian Missionaries Get to China
Start at the Mother house in Parma.
End in
China.
The Xaverian Missionaries serve in:
Bangladesh
Indonesia
Xaverian Mission Newsletter ▪ November 2011 XAVERIAN MISSIONARIES
12 Helene Court
Wayne, NJ 07470-2813
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID Permit #52
Wayne, NJ 07470
Return Service Requested
A new HD DVD on the life of the founder has been produced with the
help of Cadge Productions. You can see it on our website and
YouTube and Odyssey Networks. Call our Wayne office to obtain a
copy. 973-942-2975
What will your life story be? Explore a vocation
with the Xaverian Missionaries.
Contact: Father Rocco Puopolo, SX
Father Adolph Menéndez, SX
508-429-2144