May 16, 2019
Sincere congratulations to the Rev Fr Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC, who has been appointed by Pope Francis as bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Currently acting as superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, Bishop-Elect Toussaint is the first MSC African bishop.
The bishop-elect was born in Monieka, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), in November 1964, the seventh in a family of eleven children. He entered the novitiate of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and was ordained a priest in 1995, having professed his religious vows the previous year. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both philosophy and theology, and has served in a wide range of pastoral roles including 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.
In April, Rev Fr Toussaint was appointed fourth bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela. His ordination will take place on July 21st in Bokungo, by Bishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungo, Archbishop of Kinshasa and Apostolic Administrator of Mbandaka Bikoro.
We send our very best wishes to Bishop-Elect Toussaint
from the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart!
May 9, 2019
We are delighted to have received a letter from Br Jean Manga MSC with an update from our MSC community in Righini, Congo.
Earlier this year, we reached out to our mission friends to help the MSC community in Righini as part of our 2019 World Projects Appeal. 15 MSC pre-novitiate students live in the Formation House in Righini, along with their two formators. Here, they work, study, and pray together as they contemplate the missionary journey. The residents of the formation house live primarily on a grant provided by the MSC French African Union – a grant which allows each person a sum equivalent to €11 per day.
As part of their daily routine, the pre-novitiate students travel to the local university to attend classes. They also travel around the surrounding areas, visiting parishioners and undertaking parish ministry. An old minibus served as their only mode of transport, until it broke down beyond repair in April 2018.
For the past year, our MSC students and their formators have had no choice but to travel on public transport, which is unpredictable, undependable, and time-consuming. The community has been unable to travel together, and the lack of transport has made it very difficult for duties around the parish to be undertaken efficiently and effectively. It has also incurred great costs, with $10 per day spent on public transport as opposed to the cost of fuel for the minibus at $30 per week.
The support and generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province meant that we have been able to contribute to the cost of a new minibus, and Br Jean has sent a message of thanks from Righini.
“We thank the Lord for you and your great generosity,” he writes. “You have made it possible for our pre-novitiate students to have a brand new school bus. After many months of hope, the bus is now with us.”
“You have our sincere gratitude,” he continues. “God bless you fully!”
We would like to join with Br Jean in extending our heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to our ongoing 2019 World Projects Appeal. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us to change lives for the better across the world.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS
May 2, 2019
We have great joy in announcing that on Saturday, May 4th, Luis Gonzalez MSC will be ordained a Deacon in Caracas, Venezuela.
At a time when the country is going through such a difficult period politically, socially, and economically, it is a sign of great hope that a young man such as Luis commits himself to the service of the people of Venezuela with the deep desire to be for all a living, tangible presence of God’s heart for his people. We pray for Luis on this significant step in his vocational journey, that he may serve the Lord, the Church, and all of society with love and generosity. Congratulations to Luis, his brother MSCs in Venezuela, and his family.
As we keep Luis especially in our prayers these days, we also continue to pray for the whole country of Venezuela.
– Fr Carl Tranter MSC
Irish Provincial Leader
Find out more about our missionary outreach in Venezuela
Apr 25, 2019
Rita D. Grace Calvary is a student at Siwa Lima St Joseph’s Technical School in Langgur, Indonesia. Built in 1970, the school is run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart with the aim of educating young people in the region so “they can do something good for themselves and for their families”. In a region where poverty is a pressing issue, St Joseph’s provides the youth of the community with hope for the future. Here is Rita’s story:
“My name is Rita D. Grace Calvary. I am 15 years old.
My father is an employee in a private company. I wished to attend St Joseph’s Technical School as I have a great desire to become an architect. To help me along this career path, I chose to study technical drawing.
Through my studies in this area, I am learning how to master the basic skills of architecture. I wish to continue my studies at university, to further develop my ability and skills in architecture. This will be very useful to me as I try to find a job when I have finished studying.
I am very happy to be a student at St Joseph’s. I encourage my fellow students to be diligent, to work hard, to take responsibility, to have self-discipline, to have esteem for our teachers, and to love our school.
I am very grateful to all of my teachers and those who help me to develop my knowledge, skills, and abilities, especially in the architectural department. I believe that St Joseph’s is the best school in the Malucu Province. Viva my school, St Joseph’s!”
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN INDONESIA
Apr 20, 2019
Gospel Reflection
Reflection & Dialogue:
The Risen Christ Centre of Christian life. Christian witness.
The Gospel (John 20:1-9):
The Scriptures foretold that Jesus must rise from the dead.
The Gospel reading today is about the experience of the first believers on the first Easter morning, leading to faith in the almost incredible belief that Jesus had risen from the dead. These three, Mary of Magdala, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple, were passionate in their devotion to Jesus. The first missioner of the resurrection was the woman Mary of Magdala. From that day onwards, the mission of all believers, female and male, would be to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ and to the Christian life that inevitably followed from belief in his resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand from where he is still addressing his Church.
The message of today’s second reading is that all followers of Christ should be witnesses to the new life in Christ in a world that often has a contrary message. There is fruit for reflection in this for us today.
“Belief in the resurrection of Christ and of Christ at God’s right hand is, in a sense, revolutionary.”
Belief in the resurrection of Christ and of Christ at God’s right hand is, in a sense, revolutionary. It calls for Christian living and Christian witness in an indifferent or unbelieving world. By union with Christ in baptism, Christians in a sense have died to one form of living, and now have a new life – in the words of today’s reading, “hidden with Christ in God”. This is not a life of detachment from the world or human society, no more than Christ’s life in God is. As Pope Francis reminded us early in his pontificate, the centre of the Church is Christ, not the Pope. Without awareness of Christ as head and centre of the Church, Christian life is disoriented. The risen Christ, now in glory, is the same Christ who has given us the Beatitudes, and other teaching. He is the Christ who has sent his Spirit on the Church and has directed it confidently in the mission to pagans beyond Judaism, countering unacceptable pagan beliefs and practices.
The Church in Ireland is now at a turning point. There have been the clerical, and other, scandals, and independent of this a falling away from Church attendance, not necessarily a lack of faith. There is also a growing, and vocal, secularism and anti-clericalism. Believers need to put faith in the Risen Christ, as presented in today’s reading from Colossians, at the very centre of their religion. Presence at Easter ceremonies could be a call and a reminder from Christ that all who believe in him are his witnesses, witnesses to his passion and resurrection. Through his death and resurrection, Christ had conquered “the world”; that is, all forces trying to take believers away from him. And his followers would be witnesses to this new age.
Fr Martin McNamara MSC
