Journeying together in the Way of the Heart: Our Superior General concludes his visit to the Irish Province

The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has bid farewell to MSC Superior General Fr Absalón Alvarado, following a three-week visit throughout April and May. Spending a great amount of time travelling around mission projects and ministries across Ireland and the UK, Fr Absalón met with MSC members across the Province and gained a true sense of the challenges and triumphs of mission and ministry here.

Arriving in Ireland from Rome on Easter Monday, Fr Absalón enjoyed a fruitful visit that took in trips to MSC communities in Cork, Dublin, and Galway, visits to schools and nursing homes, a four-day stay with MSC communities in Kirkby and Princethorpe in England, and meetings with the Irish Provincial Council in Dublin.

Speaking during Fr Absalón’s trip, MSC Missions Office Director Fr John Fitzgerald said, “Our Superior General is here on a visit; firstly, to meet all the members individually, to experience all our ministries, here, there, and yonder, and he’s also conveying an awful lot to us about the rest of the provinces throughout the world.”

“When Fr Absalón says he wants to meet everybody in the Province, he actually means everybody!” continued Fr John. “He goes into every street alley, every foundation… Anything at all that happens, this man calls to see the place, he knows what it’s about, and he makes sure that the job is done.”

         

  Fr Absalón enjoyed the Irish sunshine with Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter (left),
and with MSC Missions Office Director Fr John Fitzgerald (right).

Making life possible

One highlight of our Superior General’s visit was a beautiful ceremony at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, where Fr Absalón concelebrated Mass with his MSC brothers Fr John Fitzgerald and Fr John Finn on Sunday, April 24^th. Over 700 people tuned into the live stream of the ceremony, joining the parishioners and mission friends who filled the church in Cork City.

In his sermon, Fr Absalón expressed his gratitude to the mission friends and benefactors in the Irish Province who make it possible for our MSCs to do the work they do, at home and abroad. “I am originally from Guatemala, in Central America,” said Fr Absalón. “Through my service as Superior General, I have had the opportunity to visit many projects throughout the world, where you, and the Mission Office of Ireland, have made life possible. All of you have made it possible.”

“Thank you so much for being with us, for being part of our history, for being part of our lives,” he said. “You are the reason for us to be MSC, you give sense to our consecration as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Thank you so much for that.”

         

Our Superior General also spent some time in England, meeting with MSC members in
Kirkby and Princethorpe.

Building hope together

Fr Absalón also acknowledged his MSC confrères in the Irish Province for their “testimony of missionary life”.

“May we continue to build together hope for today’s world, convinced that the Risen One walks the path with us,” he prayed.

We are very grateful to Fr Absalón for his time, his enthusiasm, and his dedication, and we wish him every blessing as he leaves our shores having brought these great gifts to the members of our Province, as we continue to journey together in the Way of the Heart.

MSC Superior General Fr Absalón Alvarado meets with the members of the Irish Provincial Council.

Please click here to watch a recording of Mass concelebrated by our MSC Superior General.
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MSC Superior General concelebrates Mass in the Sacred Heart Church, Cork

On Sunday, April 24^th, we were blessed to have our 10.00am Mass in the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, concelebrated by MSC Superior General Fr Absalón Alvarado, along with MSCs Fr John Fitzgerald (Director of the MSC Missions Office) and Fr John Finn. The Sacred Heart Church was filled with local mission friends and parishioners, while over 700 people tuned in to pray with us via our live stream on the morning of the Mass.

Fr Absalón, who is originally from Guatemala, is currently on a three-week visit to the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, where he is travelling around Ireland and England, meeting MSC members and witnessing various projects and ministries that are currently underway around the Province.

Bringing his vast experience and a great sense of understanding to Sunday’s celebration, Fr Absalón invited all present, in person and online, to reflect “on a culture of encounter, on a culture of mission”. Emphasising the value of togetherness and unity, a particularly important point in the wake of the enforced isolation and separation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Fr Absalón noted, “Once we are far from the community, from the family, we start feeling that our faith is weak, and sometimes we lose our hope as well.”

Following from this, our Superior General encouraged us all “to be workers of peace, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation,” especially at a time such as now, when the world is racked by war and violence. “In a general atmosphere of tension and exclusion, it is urgent that the Church, the community of disciples today, be a promoter of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, starting from ourselves, our families, our communities, our Church, and it can spread through all the world,” he said.

“You have made life possible.”

Fr Absalón placed particular emphasis on his gratitude, and the gratitude of MSCs all over the world, to our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province.

“Each of you, who are watching us on the live stream of this Mass, each of you who is present here in the church, have shared and collaborated for many years in the development of this culture of mission around the world,” he said. “I am a missionary from Latin America; I am originally from Guatemala, in Central America. Through my service at the moment, as a Superior General, as a leader of the Congregation, I have had the opportunity to visit many projects throughout the world, where you, and the Mission Office of Ireland, have made life possible. All of you have made it possible.”

“As you know, we are a missionary Congregation, present in 50 countries on five continents. Each one of you, with your financial contributions and your prayers, makes it possible for the Risen One to be hope and life for so many suffering people in the world, in different parts of the world. Please, do not feel alone. You are part of this great family, of this great network of mission, of the MSC mission through our world. On behalf of the entire MSC Congregation, I thank God for the life of each of you, and I thank you all, parishioners, friends, and benefactors, as well as the people who work and have worked in the Mission Office next door [to the church] here; thank you very much for your generosity and support. I pray to the risen Lord that God may multiply abundant blessings in your lives and in your families.”

“May we continue to build together hope for today’s world.”

Our Superior General also gave his thanks for our missionary communities of MSC members across the Irish Province, who have worked and continue to work at home and abroad in our shared mission of making the Sacred Heart of Jesus known and loved everywhere. “I thank God for those who are here in this community of Cork,” Fr Absalón reflected. “They are living missionary witnesses who have spent their lives for the good of so many human beings, in Ireland, in England, in South Africa, in Texas, in Russia, and in Venezuela. Thank you very much, my confreres, for your ministry, for your testimony of missionary life.”

“So, brothers and sisters, let us ask as well to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, that we may all continue to go and build the project of life that the Risen One invites us to realise in this uncertain world, full of wars and injustices, that we face today. May we continue to build together hope for today’s world, convinced that the Risen One walks the path with us.”

As he concluded his sermon, Fr Absalón reiterated his appreciation to the friends and benefactors that make our work possible. “I say it again – thank you for your generosity. We have been praying for all of you, for all the people that have been following us through the internet, and for those here in the church. Let’s continue praying for our mission. We pray for you, and you pray for us, for all the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart throughout the world. Thank you so much for being with us, for being part of our history, for being part of our lives. You are the reason for us to be MSC, you give sense to our consecration as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Thank you so much for that.”

It was our privilege to have Fr Absalón lead us and join us in prayer here in the Sacred Heart Church in Cork, and we wish him well as he continues on his journey around the Irish Province in the coming days and weeks.

Please click here to watch a recording of Mass concelebrated by our MSC Superior General.
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MSC Superior General visits the Irish Province

On Easter Monday, Fr Absalón Alvarado MSC, our Superior General, will arrive in Ireland to spend three weeks visiting our MSC members in England and Ireland.  It has been 14 years since the last visit of our Superior General, then Fr Mark McDonald, in 2008.

On Sunday, April 24^th, Fr Absalón will be the main celebrant at Mass in the Sacred Heart Parish on the Western Road, Cork. This Mass will be live-streamed at 10.00am, and all are welcome to participate.

In the course of his trip, Fr Absalón wants to get to know the members of the Irish Province; to understand our reality, listen to our hopes and dreams, share in our struggles and disappointments, and confirm us in our mission to be God’s heart on earth. He will certainly want to encourage our MSCs, but in the first place, he comes to listen and walk with us for three weeks.

Journeying together in the Way of the Heart

Originally from Guatemala, Fr Absalón was elected Superior General for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart at the General Chapter in Rome, in September 2017. Fr Absalón was in the role of Provincial Leader of the Central American Province prior to his election, and is the first MSC Superior General from the Global South.

With a Masters in Theology and a PhD in Psychotherapy, Fr Absalón has also ministered as a Vocations Director and Formator, as well as spending some time working in parishes in Nicaragua.

During his time in the Irish Province, Fr Absalón will travel to several MSC communities around Ireland and England, as well as visiting various projects and ministries that are currently underway. We look forward to following his journey, and we would be delighted to welcome mission friends from the Irish Province and beyond to join us in prayer via our live stream for our special Mass on Sunday, April 24^th.

Please click here to watch a recording of Mass celebrated by
our MSC Superior General on Sunday, April 24^th.