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CENTRAL  AFRICA:  Fr. Aurelio Gazzera OCD nominated Co-Adjutor Bishop of Bangassou

On Friday 23 February 2024, Fr. Aurelio Gazzera was nominated Co-Adjutor Bishop of Bangasso, in the Central Africa Republic.

Fr. Aurelio was born 27 May 1964 in Cuneo (Italy) and entered the OCD Minor Seminary of Arenzano in 1974.  In 1979 he made his First Profession in our Genovese Province and then completed a year of formation in the Central Africa Republic Delegation.  He made his Solemn Profession on 11 October 1986 and was ordained priest 27 May 1989.

After serving for a period as a Formator in the Arenzano Minor Seminary he began his mission in the Central Africa Republic.  He served in the following roles there:  Assistant in the Minor Seminary of Yole (1992-1994); Director of the Primary Sector of the same Seminary (1994-2003); Parish Priest of St.-Michel in Bozoum (2003-2020); Superior of the Delegation of the Central Africa Republic (2014-2020).  Since 2003 he is responsible for Caritas in Bouar and since 2020 is responsible for Christians in the villages and Director of the School of Mechanics of Baoro.

 

INDIA:  Fr. Johannes Gorantla OCD nominated Bishop of Kurnool

On Tuesday 27 February 2024, Fr. Johannes Gorantla was nominated Bishop of Kurnool in India.

He was born on 27 February 1974.  He made his First Profession, 11 February 1994 and Solemn Profession 2 April 2000.  On 10 January 2002 he was ordained a priest.  He studied Theology at the Teresianum and was awarded a Licence in Sacred Scripture at the  Biblical Institute, both in Rome.  He got a Doctorate in Biblical Theology at the Gregorian University.  Before these Roman years of study, he had studied Philosophy at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India.

From 2008 to 2011, Fr. Johannes was Superior of the Andhra Pradesh Commissariat and was the first Provincial of the new Province for the triennium 2011 to 2014.  From July 2010 to July 2014 he was President of the Conference of Religious in Andhra Pradesh and an executive member of the National Conference of India.  He has served as Vice-President of Catholic Education and a member of the Biblical Commission and the Commission for Evangelization, all in Andhra Pradesh.  He was a Consultor of the Diocese of Khammam for 6 years and taught Sacred Scripture for 7 years in the “Jyothirbhavan” Institute of Theology and Spirituality.  He has translated the Book of St. Teresa’s Life into Telugu and has written 2 books, one on St. Teresa of Jesus and a second on St. Therese of Lisieux, plus writing numerous articles.

At the OCD General Chapter of 2015, held in Avila (Spain), Fr. Johannes was elected to the General Definitory and from 2021, he was Superior of the Missionary Seminary, the Specialization Community of the Teresianum.

 

 

The Carmelite Friars of Malawi have held their annual meeting. This is usually held at a Spirituality Centre in Salima, but this year it took place in our Community of Nyungwe, better known as the St. John of the Cross Spiritual Centre. It meant that some of our Religious had to travel a few more Kilometres (hundreds), but it was considered more convenient to hold the meeting here this year.

Here are some of the themes discussed during our meetings:

  • The community programme of each community, with particular attention to prayer, fraternal life and the apostolate.
  • Protection of minors and vulnerable persons.
  • An analysis of the present situation of every community.
  • A presentation of the situation in the Delegation by Fr. Bafuta, Regional Delegate and complemented by the experiences of other Religious.

 

On Friday 9 February, in Pabre (Ouagadougou), with a temperature of 35 degrees under a red sky full of sand from the harmattan wind, the foundation stone of the future Noviciate of the Edith Stein OCD Delegation of West Africa, was laid.

The Delegation has been in existence now for over 25 years. During this time, 35 vocations from this region have persevered and, having taken the place of the original missionaries, these have now assumed a great amount of our pastoral and social apostolate.

Thanks to these numbers, the Delegation is experiencing a period of notable expansion: older communities are being strengthened while new ones have been founded. Many new projects are envisaged and these should permit us, in the near future, to attain the necessary autonomy regarding personnel and finances, to advance these initiatives.

May Our Lady of Carmel continue to accompany us in this challenge.

 

On Tuesday 23 January 2024, we opened a Jubilee Year for the centenary of our Monastery and Church with the celebration of a Solemn Mass.

The first Carmelites actually arrived in Munich in 1629, 395 years ago. With the secularization of 1802, the Carmelites had to abandon their convent. Today, only the ex-Church of that convent is partially conserved and used by the Archdiocese. In 1922 the Carmelites returned to Munich. A convent was inaugurated on 23 January 1924 and its Church was consecrated on 14 December 1924.

To make the present occasion more special, the Prior invited all the Major Superiors now residing in Munich to the celebration. During his homily, the Capuchin friar, Fr. Jan Bern encouraged all of us to live in the presence of God and let our life of prayer be a witness for the world today.

This Jubilee Year will conclude on 14 December 2024 with a Mass presided over by the Cardinal of Munich, while in the meantime numerous activities are being organised: conferences, concerts, exhibitions etc.

 

“In 1899, the Discalced Carmelites came to make a foundation in Argentina. Fr. Fernando of the Immaculate, Provincial f Castile, sent three of his religious: Frs. Agapito of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Eulogio of St. Teresa and Justo of the Virgin of Carmel. They disembarked in Buenos Aires 10 February 1899.

From the port we went to our Nuns’ Monastery of St. Joseph. The Sisters welcomed us with bells ringing and with their Church doors open for us. On entering the choir, Fr. Agapito intoned the Te Deum, accompanied by the Nuns with great solemnity and the church organ music.

For all of this, we thank the Lord and praise Him for His infinite mercies. May the Queen of Carmel continue to protect her sons, so that her promise that her Order would remain until the end of the world might be fulfilled. May our Blessed Mother (Teresa) who, like a Divine Cavaliere, never hesitated when it was a matter of installing a new tabernacle, have her sons continue to build tabernacles in the entire Argentine Republic, so that the sons of the Virgin may find a home in its numerous provinces and territories. May great missionaries arise from its youth who will carry the faith to the most remote corners of this Land of Fire.”

 History notes on the arrival of our first Fathers in the Argentine Republic

 

 

The annual meeting of OCD European Formators was held in CITeS from 29th January to 2 February 2024. About thirty Formators from all the European OCD Circumscriptions, as well as Fr. Roberto Maria Pirastu, Definitor General, were in attendance.

Fr. Carlos Martinez Oliveras, Claretian, presented the theme chosen for this year’s meeting: “The most important current guidelines of the Church’s Magisterium on the question of formation in consecrated life and priestly ministry. Guidelines for an understanding of the most important problems in the current context.”   One session was spent in discussion about the revision of our Ratio and on an auto-evaluation scheme prepared by one of the Formators.

Participants also had the opportunity of visiting some Carmelite places of interest: St. Teresa’s birth place and museum, St. Joseph’s monastery and the convent and tomb of St. John of the Cross in Segovia.

 

The Carmel of Our Lady of Consolation in Vilvoorde is the 4th and last foundation of Blessed John Soreth. It was canonically erected on 11 February 1469. The Sisters fled from Liege during the “Siege of Liege” in 1468. Their monastery was destroyed. Through the efforts of the then Prior-General of the Order, John Soreth, they found a new home in Vilvoorde.

In March 1966, the Carmel of Vilvoorde, after a period of discernment and preparation,  took an important step: the transition from the Ancient Observance (O.Carm.) to the Teresian Carmel (OCD). The Sisters were given the freedom to choose whether to join a calced Carmel in the Netherlands or to pronounce their profession as discalced Carmelites.

In May 7, 2006 the monastery church, because of its spiritual, historical, and cultural significance, was elevated to a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI, upon the recommendation of His Eminence Godfried Cardinal Danneels.

Since the 550-jubilee year was not yet so long ago, the community has decided not to celebrate publicly this year but rather sing with their hearts at prayer God’s praises and hymns of thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity and Our Blessed Mother.

 

From January 21 to 26, 2024 the Conference of OCD Superiors of French speaking Africa and Madagascar held its annual assembly at Kinshasa (RDC).  The two Definitors for Africa, Frs. Jean-Baptiste Pagabeleguem and Philbert Namphande, attended. The first official act of the Assembly was the election of a new President of the Conference, Fr. Judicael Rakotoarimanga, Superior of the Madagascar Commissariat. Afterwards the major part of proceedings was dedicated to the restructuring of our Order in Africa. We now face the reality of a strong increase of the Order that calls for the establishment of new Circumscriptions that one day could become new Provinces. These Assemblies are also important for their informal meetings, both among ourselves and with the Carmelite family in the host country, in this case the huge community of our brother Carmelites at the Theresianum Centre and the Nuns of the nearby monastery.

 

We are happy to announce that our Parish celebrates a special Jubilee this year, the 100th anniversary of the arrival here of the statue of St. Teresa of Jesus, Patron of our Parish. She is known here simply as “La Doctora”. The statue, originally from the monastery of Alba de Tormes in Spain, arrived in Nicaragua on Wednesday, 15 October 1924.

On Sunday 7 January 2024, our Jubilee Year started officially and the Patronal festivities commenced with the opening of the Holy Door, and the Blessing and solemn “Descent” of St. Teresa’s statue. More than a thousand of the faithful attended this manifestation of love for St. Teresa of Avila.

 

The Shrine of St. Teresa in Mahe is one of the most visited shrines in India. Situated in the Diocese of Calicut it has just recently been elevated to the dignity of a Minor Basilica, thus becoming the first Minor Basilica in North Kerala. The Papal Decree conferring this honour on the popular place of devotion in Pondicherry was announced at a press conference by Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal on December 19, 2023. A Mass of thanksgiving will be celebrated in Mahe at a later date.

St. Teresa’s shrine of Mahe is one of the oldest shrines of India and probably the oldest in Malabar. In his historical document dated 2 July 1757 and entitled “De Missione Mahinensi in Malabaribus Commentarius”, Father Ignatius of St. Hippolitus OCD relates how an Italian, Father Domenico of St. John of the Cross OCD, arrived in Mahe and founded a Mission there in 1723, during the reign of King Bayanor, the Raja of Kadathanad. A small Christian community grew up there and the Shrine of St. Teresa of Avila was built in 1736.

 

The celebration of the Province Day at Sadbhavana on December 13, 2023, was a joyous occasion that coincided with the Silver Jubilee of the Religious Profession of Frs. Jeevan Tauro, Alphonse Britto, Rovel D’Souza, Ajith Rodrigues and Canute Tauro. The last two were abroad for studies. It was graced by the presence of all the superiors of the Province and the friars from the Bengaluru region. Notably, Fr Rudolf V. D’Souza from Canada was also in attendance, accenting the international solidarity within the fraternity.

The heart of the celebration was the Eucharistic banquet, officiated by the Provincial. Following the mass, a felicitation ceremony was organized in the quadrangle of Sadbhavana. The festivities included spot games, a prayer song by Fr Praveen D’Souza and group; and a wishing song by Fr Wilfred Frank and group. To conclude the memorable day, a sumptuous dinner was served, symbolizing communal joy and fellowship.

 

The Semi-OCD Province of Naples concluded festivities for the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese with a solemn celebration. Fr. Luigi Gaetani presided and was accompanied by the Bari OCD community and our students in formation. The themes for the homily reflection were trust and ‘the little way’ as outlined in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis “C’est la confiance”.

During 2023 the Bari community organized a special programme of studies and reflection on the life and writings of the Saint of Abandonment. This included a Spirituality Week on the theme “A completely new Little Way” with conferences by Frs. Luigi Gaetani and Pablo Rodriguez’. There were also special “a shower of roses” evenings with processions through the streets of the parish (Therese is the co-Patron of the parish). A Reliquiary was prepared and this provided the opportunity of bringing the relics of the Saint to some surrounding communities. A pilgrimage was also made to the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Gallipoli . It was here that St. Therese appeared in 1910 to Mother Carmela, giving her a sum of money and confirming how she had lived her life and taught her sisters: “My life is secure and I am not mistaken”.

 

On 16 January 2024, the Fundacion Mision Teresiana was stablished under the auspices of the two OCD Provinces of Spain and the OCD Province of Portugal.

The first reunion took place with the attendance of the following:- the Provincial of the Iberian Province, Fr. Francisco Sanchez Oreja; the Provincial of the San Joaquin Province of Navarre, Fr. Jon Korta; Fr. Jerome Paluku, Secretary for Missionary Cooperation in the General Curia and representing the Portuguese Province of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Sister Gema Juan, representative of the Federations of Carmelite Nuns; Mr. Jon Andoni, Provincial Bursar of the Navarre Province and Fr. Joao Rego, Responsible for Missions in Portugal.

The aim of the new Foundation, apart from its being a stimulus for co-ordination and co-operation among the charitable institutions of the 3 Carmelite Provinces, will also be to promote and increase sensitive activity in relation to poverty in developing Nations and in regions particularly marginalised by society, as well as stimulating solidarity and collaboration for development generally. Another important objective of the Foundation will be to promote voluntary social schemes in aid of development and to sensitize citizens of the “North” to the situations of more deprived populations of the world.

 

The Carmelite Nuns of Ronda are celebrating a Jubilee Year from 21 January to 23 November 2024. The Bishop of Malaga, Monsignor Jesus Catala, petitioned this from the Holy See to honour the centenary of their foundation. The opening of the Jubilee took place during a Eucharistic celebration on Sunday 21 January, during a Novena in honour of the Patron of Ronda, the Madonna of Peace.

The present monastery of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus was founded on 15 October 1924. The only remaining features of the original building, dating back to 1585, are the church and garden. A relic of the hand of St. Teresa of Jesus is preserved in the monastery today.

 

 

In a Decree signed on 14 December 2023, Pope Francis approved of a miracle attributed to Sister Anne of Jesus, the spiritual daughter of St. Teresa of Avila and friend of St. John of the Cross. This decision opens the pathway towards the Beatification of Sister Anne (Ana de Lobera y Torres, 1545-1621).

Orphaned at the age of 9, Anne met St. Teresa in Toledo in 1569. Teresa recognized Anne’s virtues and invited her to enter Carmel. Later, St. Teresa would call Anne “the lady-captain of Prioresses”. Anne had a very strong personality and great discernment and was renowned for her charity. Following the death of Mother Teresa, she collected all the writings of the Saint and had them published. She developed St. Teresa’s heritage by founding monasteries in France: (Paris 1604; Pontoise 1605; Dijon 105; and in Belgium: (Brussels 1607); Louvain and Mons (1608). She encouraged a foundation in Cracow (Poland) in 1612, as well as another monastery of English emigrants in Anvers (Belgium) in 1619. Throughout all these years devoted to founding monasteries, Anne of Jesus excelled in unconditional fidelity to the spirit and work of St. Teresa of Avila.