Passionist International Bulletin

Passionist LifeBrother Marcelino Díez (FAM) returns to the “Father’s House”During the past year the community of the Generalate has experienced the loss oftwo of its Spanish brothers who served it for many years. First, Brother JavierAldaya, following a long, painful illness, died on April 25 th . At the same time,Brother Marcelino had become ill and five months later, on Sunday, 28 September,he died in the nearby Hospital of San Giovanni, where he had been brought threedays prior in a comatose state. The rapid development of his illness was surprisingsince it appeared that, despite the gravity of the diagnosis, he was recuperatingwell. His funeral was celebrated in the Basilica of Sts. John and Paul and Fr. LuisAlberto Cano, First Consultor, was the principal concelebrant. The homily waspreached by the provincial of Sagrada Familia Province (FAM), Fr. Fernando Rabanal.Brother Marcelino was a native of the city of Villanueva de la Peña, Palencia (Spain).He was born in 1926, and was a Passionist since 1944. He was a member of theGeneralate Community on two occasions, totally 29 years. During that time he assumedvarious ministries: the kitchen, the cantina and receptionist/ telephone operator, in additionto other ministries. With so many religious to attend to in the GeneralateCommunity, we recall his loquaciousness, his interest in keeping himself and othersinformed about events in the community and his philatelic hobby, the latter ofwhich he actively pursued even in his final days.May this good Brother rest in peace and with his prayers may hewelcome us one day at the door of the “Father’s House”!SPIR Provincial ChapterThe 25 th Provincial Chapter of Holy Spirit Province washeld in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday 19 to Saturday 25October 2003. The Provincial, Fr Denis Travers, was re-elected.The council members in order are, Kevin Hennessy, ChristopherMonaghan, Brian Traynor, and Ramon Sanchez. One participant said, “Itwas a most blessed time of renewal, prayer and fraternity, solidarity and trust. Itwas an experience of our deep unity and our mutual interdependence. Together we havedetermined the way forward over these next four years and as the Chapter decrees andrecords show it is a most challenging and exciting course!”The Chapter was organized around ten strategic directions: 1) Community Life and theLiving Memory of the Passion. 2) Formation at the centre of our Life and Mission. 3) LayPassionists. 4) Equitable Distribution of Resources within the Province. 5) Consolidating aViable Financial Base. 6) Youth and Young Adult Ministries. 7) Caring for Senior, Frail andInfirm Members. 8) Involvement in Papua New Guinea. 9) Involvement in the Asia PacificRegion. 10) JPIC Awareness.The new Provincial Curia of SPIRwith Fr. General; (from left toright) the Provincial, Fr. DenisTravers, and the Consultors, Frs.Kevin Hennessey, Brian Traynor,José Ramón Sánchez andChristopher Monaghan.28S.T.D. Awarded to Fr. Jerome Vereb, C.P.In record-breaking temperatures on July 1st, 2003, atthe Angelicum Pontifical University, Jerome Vereb wasawarded the S.T.D., Maximum Cum Laude, an almostunheard of distinction for Rome. The title of his thesiswas: “The Ecumenical Endeavor of Cardinal Bea”. Thedefense was attended by about sixty persons and wasfilmed by NBC Television as part of a film documentaryon the Vatican to be aired later this year. The thesisdefense was also widely reported by the German press.Present were Cardinals Mejia, Silvestrini andCacciavillan as well as Archbishop Renato Martino of thePontifical Commission for Justice and Peace. Importantguests also included the Ambassadors to the Holy Seefrom Israel, Germany, the Netherlands and the UnitedStates.Calling Jerome’s research “innovative”, the judgmentof the Board was: “Fr. Vereb’s work is outstanding and alandmark in the on-going ecumenical debate. It is thoroughlyresearched and original in its conclusions andshows breadth of vision, profound reflection and insight.”