English - Adorers of the Blood of Christ

Rome, ASC General Administration, May/June 2003
New Wine in New Wineskins (cf Mt 9:17)
“We move forward into the new millennium as pilgrims,
searching and discerning, focusing on what is essential.”
(Acts GA ’99)
Dear friends,
The exhilarating experiences related to the Canonization of Maria De Mattias, tell us
that the seed, fallen onto the good soil of the heart of every Adorer, has born fruit in a
renewed enthusiasm for the preciousness of the charism received, for belonging to this
Congregation, for having the Crucified and Risen Jesus and his saving mission at the center of
our life.
The incredible participation of the laity, their faith and solidarity. is a hymn of praise
to the Lord and arouses sentiments of appreciation and gratitude in me for each of you, for
your being significant among the people. And while we continue to celebrate St. Maria De
Mattias in the various parts of the world, I am with you with joy and great affection
Superiora Generale
Pg. 2
I N THIS ISSUE: CANONIZATION S P E C I A L
Introduction TRIDUUM
Pg. ¾
VIGIL
Pg. 4 /7
SAINT!
Pg. 8 /9
PERFORMANCE
Pg. 9 /11
Mass of thanksgiving and
Papal audience
Pg. 12/13
µετα C I S
Calendar and donations
for canonization
ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 1

INTRODUCTION
id Maria De Mattias perhaps smile happily as she watched from
D above the many preparations for celebrating the recognition of her
holiness in the universal Church But can we add or subtract anything
from the fullness of joy that the Saints experience in the contemplation of
the Beloved! One thing is certain. The feast of Maria De Mattias’
canonization made her daughters, her devotees and friends happier, seeing
her offered as a current model of holiness for all the world.
In recounting the following events, with the addition of some items of
curiosity, we want to relive the intense days of preparation and festivities
that cost a certain amount of fatigue and insomnia.
In recalling them, we bring back many emotions and interior joys that no
commentary can report, but which filter out from descriptions, necessarily
brief, and which are understood by looking beyond the numbers.
… four days before
T
CHRONICLES OF A FEAST
he Canonization of Maria De Mattias, on May 18, 2003, was preceded by
three very intense days of spiritual preparation in the parish of the
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to which the international community belongs.
The picture of Maria De Mattias and a large reliquary were exposed to the
attention of the faithful and devotees who came for the occasion. On each of
the three days, there was a rotation not only of celebrants and animators,
but also of the faithful:
Wednesday, May 14: the Pastor, Fr. Pietro Sigurani presided and the
catechumenate group, present in large numbers, led the music;
Thursday, May 15: Archbishop Francesco Marinelli of Urbino
presided, and the chorus of the ASC international community led the
music; many religious of the parochial area participated;
Friday, May 16: the vice-regent of Rome, Bishop Cesare Nosiglia,
presided at the Eucharist concelebrated by pastors of the deanery.
The parochial choir sang. The first Adorers arriving from Croatia,
Brazil, the U.S. and Bari (IT) were present.
At the conclusion of the Triduum the pastor invited Bishop Nosiglia, other
celebrants, the deacons with their families, and the representatives of the
religious congregations to supper at a local restaurant. Eating together
created another possibility to be together in friendship and joy.
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… the vigil SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2003
SOLEMN VIGIL OF PRAYER
BASILICA OF ST. JOHN LATERAN
desire to encounter the early pilgrims arriving in Rome, already on the
A
vigil, was satisfied by seeing them enter the Basilica of St. John Lateran in
groups. There were many of them, coming from various parts of Italy, from
Poland, Croatia, the United States, Latin America, India, Tanzania and
Australia. The fear of seeing the Basilica half-empty fled immediately; all took
places and the basilica quickly was crowded. A sense of expectation was in
the air. With the solemn prayer vigil the official celebrations for Maria De
Mattias’ canonization would begin; hearts were full of hope that the beginning
would fully satisfy expectations. And that they would not be disappointed. The
participation was great and heart-felt; a climate of festive joy was created,
readying spirits for the next day’s great excitement for the proclamation of
Maria De Mattias’ sainthood, in St. Peter’s Square. Bishop Lorenzo Loppa of
Anagni-Alatri presided at the prayer vigil. The music was provided by a thirtymember
orchestra and chorus under the direction of Maurizio Sparagna. The
vigil concluded with a dance, characterized by internationality, and a floral
offering to Maria De Mattias who “lives and will live forever on the altars of
the Church”.. (G. Merlini, funeral homily, August 1866).
Present were: S. Vittoria Tomarelli, general superior, the members of the
general administration: S. Johanna Rubin, S. Ivana Paialunga, S. Mariamma
Kunnakal and S. Ana Marija Antolović (councilors); S. Antonietta Vinci,
secretary, Sr. Adelfe Cristofano, treasurer; the ASC provincial superiors, the
CPPS general moderator Fr. Barry Fischer, with his councilors, the CPPS
provincial director of Rome, Fr. Giovanni Francilia, with his councilors, and
numerous other Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, from Italy, and from
the provinces, foundations and delegations abroad. Also the guests invited by
the general administration to stay in the Generalate, including:
S. Giuseppina Fragasso and S. Caterina Ronci (ex-general superiors); S. Alma Pia
Spieler, S. Loretta Gegen, S. Angelita Myerscough, S. Maria Iommetti, S. Angela Di
Spirito, S. Gabrielle Rowe, S. Esmeralda Do Vale and S. Meg Kopish (ex- general
councilors); S. Bruna Ziotti, S. Alessandra Ortolani, S. Agata Resta (ex-general
secretaries and treasurers); S. Assunga Spigno (Acuto), S. Lucia Resta (Bari,) S. Bruna
Menichelli (Florence), S. Alessandra Paolacci (Rome) S. Bernarda Krištić (Zagreb), S.
Lisbeth Reichlin (Schaan), S. Barbara Jean Franklin (USA), S. Lucja Lis (Wrocław) and S.
Sônia P. de Matos (Manaus) with five sisters and two laywomen, (the nine provincial
superiors); S. Marisa Nardoni (Tanzania), S. Cosimina Resta (Argentina) and S. Elsy
Palatty (India), (delegates of the foundations); S. Bozena Matomisz (ex-provincial of
Wrocław); S. Susan Borgel, CPPS, (general superior of O’Fallon and a councilor; S.
Maryann Bremke, CPPS, general superior of Dayton) S. Virginia Buchholz, (general
superior of the Sisters of Charity of Rolling Hills-Los Angeles) with S. Tracey Scharp
(secretary); other guests in the Generalate, and representatives of religious
congregations.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 3

There were also six sisters and a priest of the Community of the Crucified and
Risen Love, from Holland, guests at the Rome ASC Provincial House.
…DETAILS FOR THE CURIOUS…
☺ Pilgrims who came to Rome for the 6:00 p.m. solemn prayer vigil Saturday, May
17, numbered 1900 c., of which about 300 were Adorers of the Blood of Christ.
☺ The climactic conclusion of the prayer vigil, an offering to Maria De Mattias by the
international congregation, consisted in a dance, directed by
choreographer and teacher Lina Sparagna of Acuto. Five sisterdancers,
dressed in typical costumes, symbolized all Adorers
scattered on the five continents: for Europe, Cleopatra Subiaco,
(Italy), for Asia, Jenny Fe Macasaol (Philippines), for Africa, Eulalia
Canfòm (postulant of Guinea Bissau), for the Americas, Elvira
Riveros (Argentina), for Oceania, Matija Pavić (of Croatia with a
mission in Australia)
☺ The bouquet offered in homage to Maria De Mattias consisted of
fifty-three red roses: one rose for each year that has passed
since her Beatification!
… the great day! SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2003
CANONIZATION OF BLESSED MARIA DE MATTIAS
ST. PETER’S SQUARE
“Y
ou are worth the blood of Christ’. This joyful truth opened the
pilgrimage of the many faithful accompanied by the enthusiastic
Adorers journeying together toward Rome. They came from Italy, Spain,
Poland, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Albania, Tanzania, India, the United States, Bolivia, Argentina
and Australia. Some Italian pilgrims traveled all night in order to have front
seats. They impatiently waited for the gates to open in order to enter the
Square. Finally, at 7:45 admission started at the various entry points in the
colonnade. The waiting lines were long; they would seem to shorten, but
suddenly they would lengthen by the arrival of other pilgrims lining up behind
the earlier ones.
By 9:00 a.m, St. Peter’s Square was full of festive pilgrims who had come for
the canonization of four Blessed persons: the Polish, Józef Sebastian Pelczar
and Urzula Ledóchowska, and the Italians Maria De Mattias and Virginia
Centurione Bracelli.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 4

Red caps identified the pilgrims who came for Maria De Mattias. At 10:00,
after the presentation of the four new saints and greetings for the birthday of
the Pope expressed by Cardinal Ratzinger, the solemn celebration of
canonization began, with His Holiness John Paul II presiding. Up on the porch
of the basilica two choirs were arranged: one the Sistine Chapel choir
conducted by Msgr. Liberti, and the other, which would lead the faithful,
formed of choir members from the respective religious families whose
founders were being canonized. Among them were 100 members of the Acuto
and Vallecorsa choir.
…DETAILS FOR THE CURIOUS
☺ Readers for the preparation of the solemn celebration were: Mirijam Kuštreba
(Croatian), Bertha Fischer (English) and Johanna Rubin (German), Adorers of the
Blood of Christ; Antonio Grassi (Italian) and Andrzej Chodyra (Polish).
☺ Celebrating with the Pope: Camillo Card. Ruini, Bishops: Lorenzo Loppa of
Anagni-Alatri, Salvatore Boccaccio of Frosinone, Francesco Marinelli of Urbino and
Erwin Kraütler, CPPS, of Altamira (Parà-Brazil); Ivan Prenda of Zadar (Croatia);
CPPS Missionari: Fr. Barry Fischer, General Moderator, Fr. Giovanni Francilia,
Director of the Italian province and Fr. Michele Colagiovanni, Director of
“Primavera Missionaria”; pastors: Fr. Pietro Sigurani of the Nativity of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, Fr. Elvidio Nardoni and Fr. Stefano Giardino of Vallecorsa.
☺ Sixty priests invited by ASCs helped distribute communion, along with others.
There were three (sanctuary) ministers from the major seminary of the
Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood.
☺ Carrying gifts to the altar were: ASCs Elsy Palatty (crystal cruet with wine) and
Martha Joseph (wooden sculpture from Tanzania); a representative from the city
of Acuto (crystal cruet with water) and a representative from Vallecorsa (a
wooden chalice).
☺ Participants in the relics procession: S. Vittoria Tomarelli, general superior, carrying
the relic of St. Maria De Mattias, accompanied by Krešimir Zorica, the young man
miraculously healed, and S. Maria del Transito (Spain) with flowers. The
reliquary was of a gold-plated structure surmounted by the Lamb in metallic
alloy, a figure similar to the Congregation’s logo. The enclosed relic of St. Maria
De Mattias was taken from a bone of the foot, to signify her being a messenger
of reconciliation and peace, fearless apostle of the Precious Blood of Christ, and
to highlight Maria’s always being in a hurry.
☺ The pilgrims carried a sack with the inscription “You are worth the Blood of Christ”
(in 15 languages) and “Maria De Mattias”. Inside was a biography of Maria, the
red booklet of Precious Blood prayers, a prayer card and a red cap. The cap had
the same sentence as the sack, in Italian and English, and the date: May 18,
2003 – Canonization of Maria De Mattias. The short biography, Feast for Life –
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 5

St. Maria De Mattias was translated into eight languages: by Bertha Fischer,
ASC, in English; by Alma Pia Spieler, ASC, in German; by Marija Vukelic’ in
Croatian; by Zofia Zawadska, ASC, in Polish; by Maria Melih, in Russian; by
Dorotéa Barone Mar and Alessandra Soares Pereira, ASC in Portuguese; by
Miriam Ortiz, ASC in Spanish; by Onesphory Kayomba, CPPS in Swahili; by Guak
Soung Ryong in Korean. The languages were paired in each book: Italian-English,
German-Croatian, Portuguese-Spanish, Polish-Russian, English-Swahili, English
Korean. The printing was coordinated by S. Antonietta Vinci. Fifty thousand copies
were printed, some of which were given to pilgrims who came t Rome and others
shipped to different areas of the Congregation for the local celebrations in honor
of St. Maria De Mattias.
☺ The pilgrim groups were organized by the ASCs of local committees who had
assigned reference persons for the areas of their province. The pilgrims, for the
most part, traveled in tour buses and, since there were a great many, we will
indicate some numbers. There were also pilgrims who came to Rome from other
parts of Italy and Europe by car.
☺ The pilgrim group from Zagreb was large and included the young man who had
received the miracle through Maria’s intercession, along with some family
members, the Adorers, the members of the medical commission which studied the
miracle, priests, many laity, and friends of the extensive territory of the province.
…details for
the curious…
A FEW NUMBERS…
Zagreb (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina): 260 laypersons, 74
ASCs, 4 novices, 2 archbishops, of Beograd and Zadar, 2 episcopal
vicars, 8 priests;
Acuto: 4,000 laypersons; 60 ASCs, 2 bishops, 10 priests, 4 mayors,
(78 buses);
Tanzania: 9 ASCs and 3 lay persons;
Bari: 3,000 laypersons, 150 ASCs, 6 bishops, 40 priests, 13 mayors,
10 other members of civic authority, (54 buses);
Albania: 10 laypersons and 2 ASCs;
Argentina: 4 laypersons and 4 ASCs;
Florence: 920 laypersons, 46 ASCs, 2 bishops, 11 priests, 8
members of civic authority;
Roma: 2,690 laypersons,170 ASCs, 7 bishops, 37 priests, 18
mayors (46 buses);
Spain: 46 laypersons, 6 ASCs, (1 bus);
Bolivia: 2 ASCs; Australia: 2 ASCs; India: 15 ASCs;
Wrocław (Poland – Belarus – Ukraine –Siberia) 311 laypersons,
57 ASCs, 12 bishops, 16 priests, 9 CPPS Missionaries, 1 mayor, (8
buses), 9 Missionary Sisters of the Blood of Christ;
Schaan: 53 lay persons, 10 ASCs, 4 CPPS Missionaries;
USA: 65 including ASCs, associates, group from Newman University and friends;
Holland: 7 members of the Community of the Crucified and Risen Love (1 priest).
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 6

☺ Other friends and devotees of Maria De Mattias shared the celebrations, but did
not join organized groups. Among these, we must remember the Vallecorsans
and Acutans who live in Rome, the faithful of the Generalate neighborhood, and
of the parish of the Nativity of O.L.J.C. and the Precious Blood Church, where St.
Maria De Mattias’ sacred remains are kept, the alumni, the parishioners of the
Body and Blood of Christ and St. Gaspar’s parishes served by CPPS Missionaries,
and the thousand "faceless" people who picked up a sack at St. Peter’s Square
that morning. Considering all these, the number of pilgrims could be estimated at
16,000-17,000.
☺ Besides those present at St. Peter’s other fortunate people were able to follow
the celebration broadcast directly by Vatican Television Center (CTV) and
Telepace. The commentary was done live by S. Caterina Ronci, ASC, in Italian,
and S. Angelita Myerscough, ASC in English.
… and more
☺ A special place was occupied at St. Peter’s by: 50 First Communicants dressed in
white, with their parents, from the parish of S.
Domenico di Rutigliano (Bari); 37 infirm and
handicapped persons: 25 from Benevento, 1 from
Portici (Naples), 8 Adorers and 3 elderly
women(Rome).
☺ Two band groups of the twinned towns of
Vallecorsa (FR) and Vicenza played hymns in honor
of Maria De Mattias in the Square.
… more … tidbits … for the curious
☺ Up on the porch area in front of the Basilica was the Royal Family of Savoia, in
prayer: Vittorio Emanuele, his wife Marina Doria and their son Emanuele Filiberto,
who had come to Rome only a short time before as Italian citizens, after their
exile. Their discreet presence is documented by a fine photo of the Osservatore
Romano, official Vatican newspaper.
☺ The Italian civic institutions were represented by a financial officer of the Senate,
Mauro Cutrufo and by the President of the Lazio Region, Hon. Francesco Storace.
☺ After the canonization, persons invited by the General Administration met for
dinner at the Aurelia Convention Centre of the Domus Mariae, in Via Aurelia.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 7

... in the afternoon AT THE CORE OF A HOPE
Theatrical-musical work
Arteam Jobel Theatre Group
A
MARIA DE MATTIAS
THEATRE PERFORMANCE - PAUL VI HALL
t 5:00 p.m. the Jobel Theatre Group put Maria De Mattias on stage.
Months were required to study her person, complex and fascinating, in
order to put her history, charism and spirituality together. The language of the
one interpreting Maria was directly that of Maria, living, strong, penetrating
words. With her life, Maria De Mattias not only wrote a story to be told, but,
through the Jobel Theatre’s interpretation it seemed she had always lived in
an endless space and time. Therefore the Jobel Theatre’s work cannot be
described with the usual adjectives. It was simply and marvelously involving. It
was the narration of a passion experienced… At the core of a hope. The
blood of Christ is the source of salvation; it is the sign of infinite love, of
passion for every person. Maria De Mattias nourished and promoted this
passion to the point of overflowing like “a flooding river that reached the
ocean to donate its waters to all”…
In the work Adorers are described as “vestal virgins of a temple, custodians of
the Precious Blood, river of a new world”.
The Jobel Teatro, the Orchestra, the “Pro Arte” Chorus, the Soloist together
created the artistic spiritual event of the evening to narrate St. Maria De
Mattias’ passion for life, her works, and her charism. We can say that the one
hundred performers involved - actors, orchestra and chorus – executed an
integrated performance, “in a single breath of lights, voices and sounds,
images…”
Arteam Jobel Theatre
Among the young people of Arteam Jobel Teatro who performed At
the Core of a Hope – small in number, but able to put on a very
effective show and transmit emotion – we recall the names of Gabriele Tozzi,
organizer; Lorenzo Cognatti, director; Marinella Montanari, actress; and
Roberta Palombo, scriptwriter.
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The Orchestra and the “Pro Arte” Chorus
At the beginning of the performance, the hymn “A te sia lode” (text by S.
Assunta Spigno, ASC), composed and directed by Maestro Maurizio Sparagna
of Acuto for the canonization of Maria De Mattias, was sung by the Pro Arte
chorus, made up of the Acuto Chorale, the Hernica Saxa chorus of Collepardo
and Vico del Lazio, and by the chorus of the city of Anagni.
ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 8

The live interventions of the orchestra and chorus translated the narrative into
notes and songs, as though it was a musical.
… And one can fly
The ASC General Administration, which had already met the maestro Marcello
Marrocchi at the time of the Great Jubilee of 2000, when he composed
“Gethsemane” for the Adorers, sung by Manuela Villa in the Paul VI Hall on
July 1, Jubilee for Precious Blood families, decided to ask him again to
compose a song.
The result was as hoped for; the splendid, melodic song… And one can fly,
sung by soloist Francesca Favorini, captured the audience, concluding the
show.
The performance was filmed and broadcast directly by the cameras of
Telepace, thus becoming also a greeting offered to John Paul II, on the
coincidental occasion of his eighty-third birthday.
The Paul VI Hall was crowded with pilgrims. How many The equivalent of “Standing
room only”! As many as 8,000 participants enjoyed the fascinating show!
… the day after MONDAY, MAY 19, 2003
SOLEMN THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
CHURCH OF ST. GREGORY VII
A
t 8:30 a.m., in the church of St. Gregory VII the procession of celebrants
(59 of them!) began to wind toward the presbytery. An imposing white
line of priests communicated mystery and solemnity at the moment celebrating
thanksgiving to the Lord for the long-awaited recognition of Maria De Mattias’
holiness. Bishop Erwin Kraütler, CPPS, of Altamira (Parà-Brazil) presided at the
celebration and gave the homily.
Among the celebrants we recall also those belonging to the delegation from
Zagreb: Archbishop Ivan Prenda of Zadar, Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar of
Beograd, Msgr.Vladimir Stanković, episcopal vicar and representative of the
Diocese of Zagreb, Msgr. Anto Orlovac, episcopal vicar of the diocese of Banja
Luka. The large group of Croatian pilgrims and celebrants present manifested
to God the grateful homage of their land, where the miracle worked by Maria
De Mattias in behalf of Krešimir Zorica took place.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 9

Also the chorus which sang the hymns was Croatian, while the other, which
accompanied the parts of the assembly was formed of 50 singers, from
Vallecorsa and Frosinone, directed by Andrejka Srdoč, organist at the
Generalate.
A copy of the picture of Maria De Mattias that we had admired in St. Peter’s
Square the day of the canonization, was enthroned adjacent to the sanctuary.
The text of the Mass Proper for the feast of St. Maria De Mattias was used for
this Eucharistic celebration. The motives for thanking God Father are
expressed in the preface:
A
…in your provident love you chose Saint Maria De Mattias and
adorned her with the gifts of the Spirit, so that she might be, in
the Church, a prophetic voice of the Word of light, a messenger of
reconciliation and peace, a fearless apostle of the Precious Blood
of Christ, and a witness of the salvific glory of the cross… Her
example encourages us to travel the highways of the world…
AUDIENCE WITH JOHN PAUL II
PAUL VI HALL – VATICAN CITY
fter the celebration, the participants at the Mass and the celebrants
streamed to the Paul VI Hall for the audience with the Holy Father,
reserved to pilgrims who came for Saint Maria De Mattias and St. Virginia
Centurione Bracelli. John Paul II did not make them wait. When he began
reading the text of his message, everyone listened.
The brief message was followed by the presentation of gifts: S. Vittoria
offered the project of sponsoring the meal in Bolivia and S. Ivana Paialunga, a
Missal cover decorated with medallions in ceramic and semiprecious colored
stones, in a protective case.
The nine ASC provincials greeted the Pope: Assunta Spigno (Acuto), Lucia
Resta (Bari), Bruna Menichelli (Florence), Sandra Paolacci (Rome), Bernarda
Krištić (Zagreb), Lucja Lis (Wrocław), Lisbeth Reichlin (Schaan), Barbara Jean
Franklin (USA) and Sônia Piño de Matos (Manaus, Brazil). Each one had the
opportunity to speak a word to the Pope and receive his blessing.
Among those who greeted the Holy Father there was also S. Rosaria Gargiulo,
ASC, carrying in her arms a little Tanzanian baby girl named Maria De Mattias;
Sister thanked His Holiness for the offering received to help the Village of
Hope, near Dodoma. The infant, left parentless due to their death from AIDS
and without other family members to take her in, has been adopted by the
ASCs.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 10

The project of the meal in Bolivia indicated the ASC commitment at the bottom:
To His Holiness John Paul II
Rome, May 18, 2003
We Adorers of the Blood of Christ, to commemorate the preferential love
that St. Maria De Mattias, our Foundress, had for the poor, commit
A
ourselves to the sponsorship of the daily meal for 200 children of the
Parish of St. Martin de Porres, situated in the poorest neighborhood of
Tarija, in Bolivia. The project costs 10,000 euros each year. The fund
already established by various donations is at 47,940 euros, with the
hope that new contributions will be able to increase it and help it last over
time.
Sr. Vittoria Tomarelli, General Superior
and the Adorers of the Blood of Christ
on the day of the Canonization
of their Foundress.
SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2003
MASS OF THANKSGIVING
IN HONOR OF SAINT MARIA DE MATTIAS
PARISH OF THE NATIVITY OF O. L.J.C.
t 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 15, the parish community of the Nativity
thanked the Lord for the canonization of St. Maria De Mattias, with a
Eucharistic celebration presided over by the pastor, Fr. Pietro Sigurani. The
priests of the parish and the pastors of the deanery who could accept the
invitation also celebrated.
The picture of St. Maria De Mattias was exposed in the sanctuary.
Following the Liturgy, the celebrants and deacons, with the families, were
offered dinner at the Generalate.
At 6:00 p.m. the Church of the Most Precious Blood was the scene of a concert
featuring some sacred masterpieces of Antonio Vivaldi. The “Symphonia”, a
polyphonic chorus of the Arts Academy, with an instrumental ensemble of the
Diapente Association were directed by Maestro Lucio Ivaldi.
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ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 11

… more
O
n May 8,2003, by decree of the Congregation of Worship and Discipline
of the Sacraments (Prot. 806/03/L) the formulary of the Proper Mass in
honor of Saint Maria De Mattias, virgin and foundress, was approved in Latin
and in Italian.
On May 27, 2003, the same Congregation, by decree (Prot. 1026/03/L)
approved the proper calendar of the Congregation of the Adorers of the
Blood of Christ. It is printed below:
4 February
24 May
01 July
15 September
21 October
Saint Maria De Mattias, virgin
Foundress of the Congregation
of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ
Solemnity
Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians
Memorial
Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Title of the Congregation
Solemnity
Mary Sorrowful Virgin
“Woman of the New Covenant”
Principal Patron of the Congregation
Solemnity
Saint Gaspar del Bufalo, priest
Founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the
Most Precious Blood and Inspirer of the Congregation of
the Adorers of the Blood of Christ
Feast
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03 December Saint Francis Xavier, priest
Secondary Patron of the Congregation
Memorial
ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 12

DONATIONS FOR CANONIZATION
OF MARIA DE MATTIAS (UP TO JUNE 15, 2003)
ASC: 89,952.00 € + 5,100.00 $
Others: 6,742.00 €
Reimbursement sacks 39,895.00 €
Support for the meal for children of Tarija (Bolivia)
ASC 39,901.00 €
Others 9,785.00 € + 2,530.00 $
Information regarding expenses incurred for the canonization of S. Maria De
Mattias will be made known when all of it is available.
On May 28, 2003, S. Vittoria Tomarelli, general superior, received the
following message of gratitude from the Secretary of State for the gifts
offered during the celebration of the 18 th and the audience on the 19 th of May.
With a delicate thought, and in the name of your sisters, you have wished
to express feelings of sincere gratitude to the Holy Father for having
added Blessed Maria De Mattias to the ranks of the Saints, uniting to it, as
a sign of respectful and filial devotion, a reliquary, a chalice of wood, a
gold missal cover with medallions, a picture with photos of Newman
University and a CD.
In addition you informed His Holiness about the initiative in behalf of
children of the parish of St. Martin de’ Porres of Tarija in Bolivia,
undertaken to recall the Saint’s preferential choice for the smallest. The
Supreme Pontiff, gratefully welcoming your gesture of respect and
affection and the sentiments that inspired it, willingly imparts to you, and
to all Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ, a special Apostolic Blessing,
pledge of peace and spiritual fervor.
Devotedly in the Lord,
Msgr.Leonardo Sandri
CANONIZATION
M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 0 3
The CHRONICLES of these festive days, rich with many details, stops here.
We leave to posterity the abundance of news gathered, not only in the general
archives, but also in the provincial and local archives. The Pope’s talks, the
celebrants’ homilies, the various interventions and other important news
regarding the Canonization of Maria De Mattias, including the festivities in
Acuto (place of foundation) and Vallecorsa (her native town) will be reported
in an illustrated SINGLE ISSUE which will be edited during the coming
months of February/March 2004.
ASC International Communications – May/June 2003 – Pg. 13