Jul 3, 2024
The month of June saw great celebrations in the MSC Missions Office in Cork, as we marked the outstanding dedication and loyalty of our Missions Office team with long-service awards for six of our staff members.
Fr John Fitzgerald and Fr Joe McGee celebrate the long-service awards of Anne, Patricia, Mary, Fiona, and Ann – not forgetting Maura, who wasn’t able to be with us on the day.
Our Missions Office on the Western Road, Cork, is manned by a small but mighty team of long-serving staff members whose commitment and enthusiasm is second to none, and has only grown stronger throughout the years. Patricia and Ann both celebrated 45 years of working with our MSC Missions, Mary and Fiona each hit the 35-year milestone, and Maura and Anne marked 10 years of service each – a combined total of 180 years!
Irish Provincial Leader Fr Joe McGee and Missions Office Director Fr John Fitzgerald were on hand to lead the celebrations, and to present each of the team with a token of appreciation to commemorate their outstanding contribution throughout the years. We often speak of our extended Sacred Heart family, which is made up of our religious members and lay friends alike; it is only with our combined efforts that we have the power to generate positive change, and it is in unity that we have strength. Our six long-standing ladies have each played an invaluable role during their time to date with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and we would like to thank them sincerely for their hard work, their unwavering reliability, and their positive energy as they keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. We look forward many more years on our shared journey as we work together to bring the love of the Sacred Heart to life across the world.
Sincere congratulations and a heartfelt thank you
to Patricia, Ann, Mary, Fiona, Maura, and Anne!
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Jul 17, 2020
Here we want to share with you our story since we moved to Ireland to our wedding: it is the story of two young lovers who, thanks the tireless guidance and help of God, are building up the foundations of their family.
We were both at the final year of our degree when we first met. We were going to spend a weekend with some friends in Bagolino, a place in the mountain in the province of Brescia, Italy. It was immediately clear to both of us that we were done one for the other. After that weekend, we decided to know each other a bit better after that weekend, and we ended up spending the last six months of our degrees more or less always together. It has been such a beautiful and intense period!
Since that time, God has started building up the pieces of our relationships.
Immediately after the graduation none of us had a job. As a nurse, Paola was highly requested all over the world, whereas for Luca, a philosopher, things were a bit more complicated. The most obvious choice for his was to look for a PhD and this is what he ended up doing. Luca was offered a position at University College Dublin: he accepted and Paola decided to follow him. It was not an easy choice for Paola: it would have been definitely easier to find a job in Italy, to stay close to her family and friends instead of following a guy after only six months of relationship. She decided to do so anyway, and so we moved to Dublin in January 2017.
The first months were really hard for both of us: Luca had no scholarship and Paola had no job. She eventually found one in June and Luca took up a part-time job in UCD, while doing his research, to finance his studies. After some time, our professional lives became easier: after one year and a half Luca got a generous scholarship, and Paola secured a permanent job at St Michael’s Hospital in Dun Laoghaire. We took this as a sign: God was giving us some economic stability, even if just for a limited amount of time, to plan to bring our relationship at a further level and to start thinking about us as a family. Or at least, this is how we read this sign. We started thinking about getting married, and we seemed both ready and willing to take this choice. But we were still unsure that the sign we got was really indicating God’s way.
So, here is what happened. In August 2018, Pope Francis came do Dublin for the World Congress of Family. We were willing to go to the Holy Mass in Phoenix Park, but we couldn’t get a ticket. We were keep thinking that God was asking us to build up a family, and what a better opportunity that to hear what Pope Francis, in person, has to say about Family. We made every effort, but it seemed impossible to get two tickets. The night before the event, a colleague of Paola texted her that she had two spare tickets for the Mass. What a miracle!
Receiving the sacrament together: The best day of our lives.
The day of the Holy Mass in Phoenix Park was rainy, windy and cold: but how such warmness in our hearts! That was the definite sign that God was speaking to us as a family and, therefore, that He was telling us to marry. And so, Luca decided to make the proposal. It was the 6th of October 2018 when in the wild, colourful and amazing Dingle peninsula, Luca asked Paola to marry her! From this moment onwards, all our energies were directed towards the wedding. However, there was a “little” obstacle: Paola did not have any Sacrament. And here is another immense help from God: at that time, the Catholic Italian Community had Fr Fintan Gavin, now Bishop of Cork, as a chaplain and he was organizing a wedding preparation course for the community. Together with the wedding preparation, Fr Fintan set up a personal course for Paola to get all the Sacraments. Fr Fintan guided us into the mystery of the Sacraments, he prepared us to enjoy their spiritual benefits and he literally brought us to the altar.
On the 21st September 2019, Fr Fintan married us: from that day, our family has begun to exist, thanks be to God!
Luca & Paola
Oct 17, 2019
August saw great celebrations for our MSC community in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when four MSC novices came to the end of the novitiate journey and made their First Professions.
“First Profession takes place at the conclusion of the Novitiate, which is a one-year period of intense spiritual preparation for young men who wish to become Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. From this point on, they are now members of the Society, with temporary status, and they will continue their studies in preparation for the day when they will make their Final Profession as full members of the Society.” (Fr Joseph McGee MSC)
The ceremony took place in Kimwenza, outside the city of Kinshasa. The three-hour Eucharistic celebration was led by the Regional Superior of the Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fr Dieudonné Kenda MSC, and was a powerful and joyful celebration for all involved. There were approximately 130 priests and members of the religious community in attendance, along with family and friends of the newly professed MSC brothers, and members of the local congregation who all wanted to celebrated the beginning of a new chapter for these four young men.
The newly professed MSC members will now continue with their studies, while also engaging in different types of ministry and pastoral experiences as part of the MSC community. We wish them all the very best on the beginning of this new leg of their journey, and our prayers are with them all.
Congratulations and blessings to the newly professed Br Roland Kaboré MSC, Br Sylvain Mingou MSC, Br Alfred Gomis MSC, and Br Brinda Nguele MSC!
Images via @AmeturMSC on Facebook.
Sep 26, 2019
On August 12th, the Indonesian Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart officially welcomed 25 young men to their Postulancy Programme in a beautiful Eucharistic celebration, held at the MSC Skolastikat Pineleng Chapel in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Ametur MSC Facebook page shared photos of the event, noting that the homily was celebrated by Fr Hubert Berry MSC, who spoke inspiring words of motivation and encouragement to the young postulants. “Surely, there will be many challenges and struggles,” he said, “but don’t worry – you are not alone.”
“Be confident, and rely on Him,” continued Fr Hubert, “for He will never leave you.”
Last year, Indonesia fell victim to the devastating effects of a series of natural disasters, with over 2.4 million people affected in all.
In late September 2018, an earthquake and tsunami killed almost 2,300 people across the regions of Palu, Sigi, and Donggala. A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the Sulawesi province, which in turn generated a deadly tsunami with waves measuring up to 10 feet high. Just a few days later, in early October, a volcano erupted in North Sulawesi, spewing lava and ash 19,600 feet into the air. Floods, landslides, and mudslides destroyed homes, buildings, vehicles roads, and bridges. Children were separated from their parents and families were torn apart. Over 220,000 people were displaced from their homes, and over 1,300 people were reported missing.
A short time later, in late December, a ruinous tsunami swept along the Sunda Strait, injuring over 14,000 people, and causing further catastrophic damage to homes, businesses, and the local landscape.
MSCs in Indonesia provided emergency response throughout this terrible time, and are continuing their work as they help devastated families as they rebuild their lives and livelihoods following this series of disasters. The official acceptance of 25 young men to this year’s Postulancy Programme is testament to the wonderful work done by the Indonesian Province of the MSC, and we keep these young men and their leaders in our prayers as they embark on this new and exciting journey.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN INDONESIA
Sep 5, 2019
At the end of July, the Philippine Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart unveiled their newly renovated MSC house in Surigao City, which now takes the form of the new MSC College Formation House.
The launch of the new MSC Formation House also saw the formal acceptance of seven new formands to the college formation programme.
At the Eucharistic celebration, Fr Cabrera, the Provincial Superior of the Philippines, addressed the new formands as they embarked upon this new and exciting stage of their missionary journey. “You are MSC formands because we hope that you imbibe the MSC Spirituality and charism in your initial formation years,” he said, encouraging and motivating the seven new formands for the journey ahead.
The following week also saw great excitement for the Philippine Province, as their Profession Day was held on August 6th, the Feast of Our Lord’s Transfiguration. Two novices, Frt Franz Kim Pelare and Frt Diomuel Carpenteros, made their first profession of vows, while five confreres made their perpetual profession: Frt Ace Yu, Frt Julieto Amaneo, Jr., Frt Ronie Botona, Frt Chris John Awa, and Frt Michael Angelo Dacalos. In addition, three MSCs, Frt Janray, Bro Florris, and Frt Jyrnell, renewed their religious vows at the ceremony.
It was a wonderful day for all involved – and as the Facebook page for the MSC Scholasticate Community in the Philippines noted, “If their sweet smiles imply anything, it might just be, in the words of Fr Provincial, that they did it in joy, in freedom, and in love.”
Our prayers are with each of these men in our MSC family, on the different stages of the missionary journey.
Keep up to date with the MSC Missions Office Philippines on Facebook.
Visit the new website for the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines.
Jul 25, 2019
Congratulations and very best wishes to Bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC, who was ordained bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 21st.
His ordination took place in Bokungo, celebrated by Bishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungo, Archbishop of Kinshasa and Apostolic Administrator of Mbandaka Bikoro.
We are delighted to share the first official photograph of Bishop Toussaint, whose ministry in his new diocese has now begun.
Previously named superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, Bishop Toussaint is the first MSC African bishop. He was appointed fourth bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela by Pope Francis in April, following a rich and varied missionary journey since his ordination as a priest in 1995. Some of his previous roles include parish priest, vice rector, bursar, and later superior and director of formation of the MSC School in Yaoundé, teacher of philosophy and theology, vice president of the Association of Major Superiors of the ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro, assistant to the secretariat general of the General Chapter of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Rome, and moderator of the General Conference of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Yaoundé.
Please join us in sending well wishes to Bishop Toussaint, and we keep him in our prayers as he embarks on his new ministry.
