“Make of the world one family”

Xaverian Mission
Volume 66 - No. 2 | May 2018 Newsletter
www.worldcatholic.us• http://xaverianmissionaries.org/missionblog/

Provincial’s Message .................2

Looking Ahead ..............................3
Xaverians in Indonesia ...............4
Conversation on the Future .....5
The Cry of Christ ......................6-7
Missionary for the World..........9
World & US Province News..10-11

Children’s Mass in Mexico

Reflecting Christ

‘Someone Recommended’
Message from the US Provincial Superior
Xaverian Missionaries It was at the foot of the Cross that Mary said a new “yes”
Provincial Headquarters to God. (Jn 19:26-27) We may consider it the second
12 Helene Court
Wayne, NJ 07470-2813 most important “yes” in her life, after the one at the
Tel.: (973) 942-2975 Annunciation, even though all her existence was a “yes” to
Fax: (973) 942-5012 the will of God, moment by moment.
Email:
missionmedia@xaverianmissionaries. “She had totally centered her life on Jesus.” (Is our life
org centered on Jesus, as well?) Now he was departing. She stood
Xavier Knoll Mission Center motionless. Emptiness, silence, loneliness... What was she to do?
4500 Xavier Drive
Franklin, WI 53132-9066 “In the silence it became clear… ‘Woman, here is your son…’ (Jn 19:26) In other
Tel.: (414) 421-0831 words, Let him go.”She is asked to ‘lose,’ to ‘give back’ the one ‘treasure’ and ‘gift’
Fax: (414) 421-9108 she had received…” The Gospel says it, too: those who lose their life find it. ‘You
Email:
franklin@xaverianmissionaries.org
bring to heaven what you have lost in life,’ someone said before dying.
“Now search for John, the one ‘recommended’ and entrusted to her by her son. ‘And
Global Youth Mission Services (the
GYMs) from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.’ (Jn 19:27) Still today
Fatima Shrine Mary searches for each person as that ‘John’ recommended to her by her Son.
101 Summer Street
Holliston, MA 01746-2207 Losing one form of maternity to take up another: There is consolation in this
Tel.: (508) 429-2144 thought. We have a mother in heaven. But there is also a lesson. Mary in her
Fax: (508) 429-4793 desolation at the foot of the Cross is a model. I, too, can live like her: seeing
Email:
holliston@xaverianmissionaries.org
everyone as somebody ‘recommended,’ entrusted to me. And treat them
accordingly.” (Bishop B. Leahy, Going to God Together)
Xaverian Mission Newsletter
Official publication of the
It is our response to the Risen Lord’s invitation/command: “This is how all will
Xaverian Missionaries know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35) In
of the United States the words of St. Guido M. Conforti, our Founder, “We must love God above all else,
Publisher: Fr. Mark Marangone SX and foster a heartfelt love for ourselves and our brothers/sisters… I pray the Lord
Communications Board: to grant us that unity of mind and heart that the divine Master left as his final and
Fr. Carl Chudy SX treasured legacy to the apostles and those who would believe in him. May this unity
Fr. Alejandro Rodriguez Gómez reign among all…” (Testament Letter #9, July 2, 1921)
SX
Fr. Tony Lalli SX As we go beyond ourselves and reach out to the people we encounter, to brothers
Fr. Rocco Puopolo SX and sisters in need, who are different, let us look at them with new eyes, seeing
Fr. Aniello Salicone SX
everyone as somebody ‘recommended’ entrusted to me.
Editor
Mary Aktay Scripture tells us that we were created in God’s image and likeness (see Gn 1,27),
Printing male and female. God never thought of creating ‘enemies.’ We do that each time
AlphaGraphics, Totowa, NJ we close in on ourselves, out of fear or whatever it may be… and exclude… while
Email & Web: God taught us to include, to open ourselves and our horizons, to see each person as
missionmedia@xaverianmissionaries.org somebody ‘recommended,’ entrusted to me… And treat them accordingly.
Website: www.worldcatholic.us With deep gratitude for your faithful and generous support for our Mission and
Donation: $5.00 per year Missions, choicest blessings, much peace, and ever united in Jesus in the Eucharist,

Fr. Mark Marangone SX and the Xaverian Missionaries

Help the Xaverian Missionaries “reach out to brothers and In

yo cre
ave f . sisters in need.” I f y u r im a s e
Le cy o e St n o ur pac
g a t h i g Contact: Fr. Mark Marangone, SX h
e e
a l clud For nc.
e Gif as a “ emplo t!
r
In vie ty, I 12 Helene Court t” M y
e! a & con Prog atchi er
lov cis X Socie Will Wayne, NJ 07470 t r i b ra m n g
a n n
Fr issio r La ent s t . be utio , you
Tel: 973-942-2975 d ou n c r
M you tam ble an
in Tes Or visit: www.xaverianmissionaries.org for online donations
d.

2 Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018

 Xaverian Missionaries in the World

Looking Ahead: 2018–2021

(Taipei, February 8, 2018) Inspired by the vision of the
Founder and accepting the directives of the XVII General
Chapter, the Asian Delegation, answering to the need of
renewal, restructuring, and repositioning, gathered to make
a plan for the next three years.
Pastoral
Parish work remains an ideal place of evangelization. At the
same time, new challenges and opportunities arise from work-
ing with migrants and displaced people, cooperation and con-
tacts with the local Church, and activities with lay people and
the youth.
Social
We have gathered a rich experience in the field of human pro-
motion. Despite the difficulties, it remains an effective
approach which requires qualification and endurance.
Academic
Experience demonstrates that work in academic field (teaching
and research) quite easily provides a way of being present as
missionaries. This involvement requires commitment and stabil-
ity.
Charismatic family
As we strive to pass on our Xaverian missionary spirit 神恩中国
特色 to others, we become aware of their potential to receive,
verbalize and live the charism. Fostering a closer relationship
with “our” sisters of St. Joseph, our friends and following pos-
sible vocation prospects guarantees a future to our missionary
presence. In view of deepening their sense of belonging to the
Xaverians, it was suggested to start a school of spirituality and
plan pilgrimages to other Xaverian regions.
Interreligious Dialogue
Answering to the Church invitation and the Xaverian vision of
mission, inter-religious dialogue has been a privileged mission-
ary approach in our Delegation. We continue to develop an
attitude of openness. Dialogue requires us to study, keep our-
selves informed, reach out to those within the Catholic commu-
nity as well as with those without. Within the Xaverian family,
we encourage organizing continental meetings of people work-
ing or interested in interreligious dialogue. The Delegation
remains open to requests of collaboration from non-Christian
organizations.
Above: Xaverian Missionaries’ Asian Formators
Middle: Parish Music Ministry, Bottom: Parish Youth Ministry
Translation of the graphic below: Xaverian Missionary Charism using Chinese characters

Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018 3

Xaverian Missionaries in the World

Xaverian Charism in Indonesia

I
ndonesia is a country blessed with a diversity of
cultures and religions that have long coexisted
harmoniously together to make up what consti-
tutes the Indonesian identity carved in the country’s
motto, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” Unity in Diversity.
This diversity becomes an opportunity for us to bear
witness to our charism through our work and pres-
ence as a multicultural and international Congregation.
This requires the study and deepening of the local lan-
guages and cultures while maintaining a good relation-
ship in dialogue with the other religions around us.
The future of our Congregation in Indonesia heavily
depends on the ability of our generation to deal posi-
tively with the diversity of cultures and religions that
we encounter here. It is precisely in the midst of
diversity and plurality that our identity and charism
should become more alive because it provides us with
the opportunity to encounter the “other” while allow-
ing the Holy Spirit who searches the hearts to open
them to the Gospel.
~ Fr. Shukuru Valentin SX


You can help the future of the Xaverian Missionaries in Indonesia. Either clip this paper and send it to the
address below or help the environment by donating online at http://www.xaverianmissionaries.org/support/
Name: Donation Amount:
Address: City: State: Zip
Email: Phone: Xaverian House Supported:
Mail to: Fr. Mark Marangone SX, 12 Helene Ct., Wayne, NJ 07470 □Xaverian Knoll, Franklin WI; □Fatima Shrine
Holliston, MA; □Provincial House Wayne, NJ

4 Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018

 Xaverian Missionaries in the USA

A Conversation about the Future

O
n January 16, 2018 I participated in a national conversation on religion and disaffiliation in America at a con-
ference near Washington DC. As a missionary, our work lies beyond the walls of our churches, transcending
not only the Catholic Church, but Christianity, and even religion itself. We seek the Lord of hosts present in
unseen and discoverable ways outside of the walls of our churches and institutions. The first place we go to seek his
face is in the lives and stories of these young people, disenchanted with institutional religion. We go to listen, and
learn.
That mission of Jesus who called the disciples to “go to all of the nations” has taken on very new orientations in a
post-Christian and post-secular society, where religiosity and secularity live side by side. Fewer young Americans
identify as religious or attend regular services than members of any other living generation. People in their 20s and
early 30s account for more than a third of the country’s “nones,” and “dones,” a nickname for the religiously disaf-
filiated.
The Catholic bleed looks at the disenchantment of our young people with their inclusion in the Church and the
meaning and inspiration we wish to provide, but in many cases, do not. One way to make a snap shot of this bleed
is to say this: For every Catholic convert in the US, six Catholics leave the Church. There are more than 30 million
Americans who see themselves as “ex-Catholics.” Finally, our young people are disengaging themselves in droves.
The number of those who left the Catholic Church has risen around 30 percent since 2007, and the number grows.
Many young people are finding a sense of community, if only tentatively tethered to faith, elsewhere. The Interfaith
Youth Core provides resources and places to share for young people of all faiths. One of the largest group among
them are unaffiliated young people who anchor their search for meaning, direction, and hope outside of religious
institutions of any kind. This is not merely a Catholic issue, it affects all faiths, both Christian, and non-Christian.
In my work of dialogue with atheists and humanists, I find this group to be quite diverse. Their common
dissatisfaction or all out distaste for religious groups is within the context of a wide variety of experiences that
disavow God all together, to a stance of openness to the
possibility of God, to defining themselves with a personalized
spirituality that brings together religious
ritual and belief with secular groundings.
Religious choices are proliferating as conscious
choices. Even as they create some of the most
intense and hate-filled conflicts in American
politics, they’re also a source of creativity;
these choices help people shape
their identities and form a sense
of self. Some face the dilemma
of staying in a religion that
upholds tenets with which
they disagree, or leaving a
religion they love.
Share your own
reflections on this
with us, whether you
consider yourself
unaffiliated or not.
Let us begin a fascinat-
ing conversation in
something that is
important to us all.
~ Fr. Carl Chudy SX

Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018 5

No Human Need is Alien to us!
By Fr. JESÚS ROMERO SX

T
he Works of Mercy instruct us to shelter the homeless;
give lodging to the pilgrim. We are invited to open our
eyes and our hearts to those who do not have a roof
to shelter themselves and to understand and act on the
need for hospitality, a challenge that today takes universal
dimensions. They are called migrants, immigrants, refugees,
displaced, foreigners, strangers, abandoned, orphans, wid-
ows, old people, street people. They are our brothers and
sisters in Christ Jesus.

Every pilgrim and migrant has rights. In all cultures this

has been the most common praxis, and the oldest codes
confirm respect for foreigners with the proscription to give
shelter to those who need it and to see and treat those who
travel with eyes of mercy. Attitudes of oppression, exploita-
tion and vexation of the stranger are prohibited.

Respond to any need of “the other.” Consider it a

call for you, a vocation to which you must respond.

Do not call me a foreigner, or think about where I come from;

better to know where we are going, where the time is taking us.
Do not call me a foreigner, because your bread and your fire
calm my hunger and my cold, under the shelter of your roof.
 The Cry of Christ in the Voice of the Migrant
Moves Us
Excerpts from the Statement of the Bishops of the Border
between Texas and Northern Mexico
Over the years we have seen firsthand the suffering that is
brought about by a broken immigration system caused by
political structures and economic conditions that result in
threats, deportations, impunity, and extreme violence. This
situation occurs in relation to immigration both between Central
America and Mexico and between Mexico and the United States.
We have seen the pain, the fear, and the anguish suffered by the
persons who have come to us and who have to live among us in the
shadows of our society. Many have been exploited in their workplace,
have lived under the constant threat of deportation, and have
suffered the fear of possible separation from their families and friends.
This reality is made evident today as we consider the measures
taken by civil authorities. We can sense the pain of the separation
of families, loss of employment, persecutions, discrimination,
expressions of racism, and unnecessary deportations that
paralyze the development of persons in our societies and the
development of our nations, leaving them empty and without hope
Immigration is a global phenomenon arising from economic and social
conditions of poverty and insecurity. It directly displaces entire
populations causing families to feel that migration is the only way
to survive. The migrant has a right to be respected by international
law and national law as he/she faces the violence, criminality, and
inhuman policies of governments as well as the world’s indifference.
As a Church, we reiterate our commitment to care for pilgrims,
strangers, exiles, and migrants, affirming that all persons have a right
to live in conditions worthy of human life. If these are not given, they
have a right to migrate (Pope Pius XII), and we pledge ourselves as
bishops, members of two different Episcopal Conferences, to walk
with and care for the suffering of our migrant brothers and sisters.
“The cry of migrants is our cry. Their pain is our pain! For each
immigrant wounded in their dignity and rights, Jesus Christ is
crucified again!”
The Xaverian Missionaries established the first school
in Mazatlan in 1951, a school that propagated the spirit
and life of Saint Guido Maria Conforti. The first Mexican
students joined the Xaverian family soon after. There are
about 14 mission centers and parishes dedicated to serving
the Mexican people.
St. Guido Maria Conforti

8 Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018

 Missionary for the World

I
n the early 20th Century from various parts of Italy, attention was being drawn upon the initiatives of the
bishop of Parma. What was most striking was his ability to combine his full service to his local Church with
his missionary zeal for the universal Church. Bishop Conforti was convinced that the Church needed to re-
new itself in order to respond more and more to the new tasks of its mission in the world. For this reason, he
did not hesitate to write to Pope Pius XI and ask him to call a Council.
Among the motivations listed by him, there are some that reveal a prophetic interpretation of the signs of the
times: “The new moral, social and international questions that call for a solution; the trust that believers and
non-believers now have in the Pope who, with wisdom and fortitude, guides the destiny of the Catholic world;
the current condition of the dissident Oriental Churches, which seem to want to return to the center of Catho-
lic unity; the holy enthusiasm that has been rekindled everywhere in the clergy and the laity for the spreading
of the Gospel.”
The bishop of Parma was something of a magnet for those who felt the urgent need of the missionary forma-
tion of the people of God. The apostolic heart of Fr. Manna, a PIME missionary, had realized that only by get-
ting the priests and the bishops involved in the Church’s universal mission would they be able to hope in a new
launching of the missions. At the time, Asia, Africa and the Islands of the Pacific were especially calling for new
apostles. Bishop Conforti not only supported the Missionary Union of the Clergy, he also became its first zeal-
ous president.
A young priest, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (the future Pope, now Saint, John XXIII) was also looking for him:
“Bishop Guido Maria Conforti is the most distinguished episcopal expression in Italy of the blessed missionary
movement that was born of the encyclical letter “Maximum Illud” by Pope Benedict XV. I see him as the repre-
sentative of the fullness of the sacred ministry to souls which combines the Bishop and the Missionary: Bishop
of Parma, Missionary for the World.”
Although he was the founder of a missionary institute, St. Guido Conforti always looked upon himself as a
servant. Inspired by his passionate love for the crucified Christ, he had made a fundamental choice of faith
to love, suffer and work with Christ and for Christ. His Xaverian Institute was to be a living monument to
Christ the Redeemer and, as such, remind all Christians of their own
missionary duty.

Fr. Silvano Garello SX

Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018 9

World Mission News
AMERICA/MEXICO
The Bishops address the citizens
of Mexico and United States “for
the dignity of migrants”
Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - “For the first
time in history, the Bishops address the citizens
of Mexico and the United States, regardless
of their religious convictions, because of
the deployment of the troops of the North
American National Guard on the border that
delimits our territories.” The statement by the
Bishops of Mexico’s northern border and the
Council of Presidency of the Mexican Bishops’
Conference signed on April 7, 2018, entitled,
For the Dignity of Migrants,” emphasized
that the Catholic Church “cannot ignore the
suffering of our migrant brothers and sisters
who seek better living conditions when they
cross the border to work and contribute to
the common good not only of their families,
but also of the brother country that receives
them.” In the awareness that “present and
future migratory flows require new regulation
by both nations.” The Bishops emphasize that
“not all rules, political or military decisions
are just and in conformity with human rights.”
They therefore observe that “the inalienable
dignity of the human person is the true source
of law, it is that the pain of the weakest
must be understood as the supreme norm and
fundamental criterion for the development of
peoples and for the construction of a peaceful
future.”
.The Mexican Bishops join the voice of the
Bishops of the United States to affirm with
determination that the border between
10 Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018
World Mission News
Mexico and the United States “is not a war zone”
.“On the contrary, this area is an example of
connection and co-responsibility. The only possible
future is built with bridges of trust and shared
development, not with walls of unworthiness and
violence”
ASIA/China
“24 Hours for the Lord”: Chinese Catho-
lics join the Pope and the universal
Church
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - Despite being a workday,
the parish of the Holy Trinity, in the city of Jiu
Jiang, Jiang Xi province, in mainland China, is
crowded with faithful of all ages, not only for
Mass, but also to celebrate the Way of the Cross,
for Confession and Eucharistic Adoration. The local
community participated in the ‘24 Hours for the
Lord’ initiative, in communion with the Pope and
the universal Church. The Catholic information
service of Faith of HeBei, reports that during the
solemn procession of the Via Crucis, led by local
parish priest Fr. Pang Rui, the faithful meditated
together inspired by Psalm 130. The community of
the baptized is offering prayers of Adoration, like
many other communities scattered in the nation.
The ‘24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative, launched
five years ago, has a special meaning for the
Chinese continental Catholic community who see
it as a way to spiritually join the Pope and the
universal Church. The faithful constantly follow the
Pope’s activity through new communication tech-
nology, Internet sites, social networks which allow
them to follow with full spiritual participation the
penitential celebration that Pope Francis presided
over in Saint Peter’s.
ASIA/INDONESIA
Student movements of all religions
committed to peace and coexistence ’
Amboina (Agenzia Fides) - Sixteen leaders of
student and youth organizations of different
religions and backgrounds proclaimed that
young Indonesians will not let themselves be
intimidated or provoked by those who want to
create new inter-religious clashes in the country.
Responding to a series of violent acts against
places of worship and religious communities
throughout Indonesia, youth leaders asked
everyone to not to give in to provocation and
to work in a shared way for harmony and
social coexistence. Students invite public officials,
religious leaders, community leaders, politicians
and leaders of social organizations “to act
responsibly and not to make provocative state-
ments.” Young people hope “that everyone will
play an active role in educating the population
to national harmony.”
The organizations that have signed the appeal
are: Union of Catholic University Students of the
Republic of Indonesia; Youth Muslim Indonesia;
Muslim Students’ Association; Hindu Dharma
Students Union of Indonesia; Muhammadiyah
Students Association; Islamic Unity Student Asso-
ciation; Union of Indonesian Moslem University’s
Students; Indonesian Muslim Students Movement;
National Front of Indonesian Muslim Students;
Union of Indonesian Buddhist Students; Indone-
sian National Student Movement; Al Washliyah
Students’ Association; Indonesian Islamic Youth
Movement; Indonesian Christian Students Move-
ment; Indonesian Chinese Youth Association.

News from our USA Communities
Sister M. Angela Bertelli MMX (center)
ministering in Thailand
Provincial House
Wayne NJ
Retreat
The Provincial Retreat will take place from April
29 through May 4, 2018. Sr. M. Angela Bertelli
MMX will lead the retreat and a few of the
Xaverian Sisters will attend.
Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary at 2015
Provincial Retreat
Parish Ministry
Frs. Mark Marangone SX. Michael Davitti SX and
Frank Grappoli SX have expanded outreach to
helping more parishes in the Diocese of Paterson
with giving retreats, assisting at Masses, Sacra-
ments and parish ministries.
Praesidium Accreditation™ publicly demonstrates that the Congregation of the Xaverian
Missionaries has achieved the highest industry standards in abuse prevention and response.
USA Communities News
Statue at Our Lady of Akita Shrine, Japan Prizes are stacking up for the Franklin
Mission Festival
Fatima Shrine Xavier knoll
Holliston MA Franklin WI
Fatima Days Mission Festival
The 13th of the Month Marian Devotions Save the date for the Xaverian Mission Festival,
held each year at Our Lady of Fatima June 23-24, 2018. A treat for the body, mind,
Shrine, Holliston will be celebrated with the and soul, with great food, games, rides,
theme, “Honoring Mary through the Cultures rummage sale, dancing and of course beautiful
and Continents of our World.” Each month’s liturgy!
devotion will be focused on an apparition of
Mary in various continents. On May 13th, Fr.
Adolph Menéndez, SX., will preside and present
an overall focus of these Marian Apparitions.
June, July, August and September will focus
on the Messages of Akita in Japan given to
Sr. Agnes Sasagawa, the Apparitions at Kibeho
in Rwanda, the Apparitions at San Nicolas
in Argentina and the Apparitions at Laus in
France. The final celebration in October will
Crowds queued up for the 2017 Festival
be presented by the Regional Bishop of Boston,
Most Rev. Robert Reed on this global theme.
Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with Songs Check out the Festival’s Facebook page for
updates and pictures. https://www.facebook.
of Praise, followed by Mass at 7:00 p.m. and
com/xmfestival/
candlelight procession and Rosary outdoors,
concluding with fellowship in the Hall.
We invite you to keep
Scripture Study
Beginning Saturday May 5th Fr. Adolph will up with all the news of
be offering a 6 week series Bible Study in the the Xaverian Missionaries
Upper Room above the community chapel at by visiting the individual
101 Summer Street, Holliston from 11 a.m. to houses on the “Contact Us”
noon. This first series will focus on Jesus and pages of worldcatholic.us
the Old Testament. All are welcome!.
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018 11
Xaverian Mission Newsletter • May 2018

Become a Missionary
Priest or Brother!
Contact:
frrocco@xaverianmissionaries.org
fralex@xaverianmissionaries.org

Xaverian Missionaries Serve In:

Bangladesh • Brazil • Burundi • Cameroon • Chad • Colombia • Democratic Republic of Congo • France
Indonesia • Italy • Japan • Mexico • Mozambique • Philippines • Sierra Leone • Spain • Taiwan • Thailand • UK • USA

Wayne, NJ 07470
Permit #1141
PAID Wayne, NJ 07470-2813
U.S. Postage 12 Helene Court
Non-Profit Org. Xaverian Missionaries
Return Service Requested