Around the Provinces: Confrere News and Updates

Fr. Perry Henry, CM		Fr. Dave Nations, CM		Fr. John Clark, CM		Fr. Felipe Martinez, CM		Fr. Barry Moriarty , CM

Midwest Province

St. Mary’s of the Barrens, Perryville

We had numerous visitors join us for Easter. Family and friends visited several confreres in the house, and our lives were brightened by their visits. One of our “visitors” made a decision to live with us. Father Bob Lamy, CM, (Southern Province) has taken up residency at St. Mary’s of the Barrens. His easygoing style and wonderful sense of humor have brought additional joy to our lives.

Father Felipe Martinez, CM, has also taken up residency with us. While he remains the pastor at Christ Our Savior Church in Brewer, Missouri, he lives at The Barrens. His health has been waning and it is hoped that with three meals a day and a bit of assistance he may regain his strength. Please keep him and all our ailing confreres in your prayers.

While “The Barrens” is often viewed as a place of retirement, it is also a place of active evangelization. The Catholic Home Studies Services continues to educate people in the faith. It is receiving more and more e-mail correspondence as the regular mail declines. We are forever changing the way we communicate but the Word of God prevails.

The Association of the Miraculous Medal spent much time preparing for the May Procession. Once again people gathered and prayed the rosary as we processed to the Grotto. It is a beautiful way to honor Mary, our Mother and Queen.

Lazarist Residence, St. Louis

In March, members of the house participated in an “Afternoon of Prayer” with Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Confreres were invited to participate in the Triduum liturgies both at St. Catherine Labouré and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes.

Recently, Father John Clark, CM, traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to give a presentation at St. Louis Parish as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. Fr. Clark’s presentation was entitled, “Carrying Your Cross.” Fr. Clark also gave a mini-mission at St. Patrick’s Church in Osage City, Kansas.

Saint Lazare House, St. Louis

The confreres at St. Lazare welcomed several former Gateway Vincentian Volunteers as they gathered for a weekend of retreat April 13 – 15, 2007. They met to consider the importance of building community and how volunteers might foster it after experiencing the program. They planned to divide their time over the weekend between South City and the Hermitage Retreat Center in Pevely, Missouri.
During the last week of March, the National Association of Vincentian Vocation Directors held its annual meeting at St. Lazare. The provinces were represented by Fathers Bill Piletic, CM, Province of the West; Dan Borlik, CM, Southern Province; Eugeniuz Kotlinski, CM, New England Province; Kevin Creagh, CM, Eastern Province; and David Nations CM, Midwest Province. Their agenda included ideas about collaboration and some sharing of strategies and plans regarding vocations.

DePaul House, Denver

In March we remembered the one-year anniversary of the death of Father Bob Schwane, CM.  We invited a number of his friends for Mass and dinner.  It was a wonderful evening where we all shared memories of Fr. Schwane’s life and ministry. 

DePaul Vincentian Residence, Chicago

Fathers Barry Moriarty, Jerry Herff and John Rybolt, CM, members of the priesthood ordination class of 1967, celebrated their 40th anniversary at St. Vincent de Paul in Chicago on June 2.

DePaul Centre, Nairobi

An historic event took place in Kenya this past February: The African Commission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul met in Nairobi to address the pressing needs of the poor in the various African countries where the Society is located, and to identify specific resources to meet those needs. Attendees came from 31 African countries; all sectors of Africa were represented.

On the opening day of the Commission, Father Ron Ramson, CM, spoke on the history of the Vincentian priests and brothers in Africa stemming from the time of St. Vincent de Paul himself. On the following two days, Father Barry Moriarty, CM, presented a talk on the five Vincentian virtues, and Sr. Catherine Mulligan, DC, told attendees about the “Dream Project.” Members of the Society were especially interested in this project because it serves the thousands of men and women afflicted with the deadly AIDS virus.

Later in the event, the Vincentian fathers and brothers of DePaul Centre invited their Vincentian brothers and sisters of the Society, as well as the local Daughters of Charity, to dinner. That event marked another first: representatives of the Vincentian Family from all parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the United States were gathered and meeting in one location.

During dessert, the students entertained their guests. It did not take long for members of the Society and others to begin dancing around the tables during the singing. It was a remarkably joyful evening.
During the remaining days of the Commission meeting, the lay Vincentian men and women of the Society were still talking about the evening, about their conversations, and still dancing.

Southern Province

Artwork Will Symbolize Resurrection for New Orleans Rebuild Center

Work on the Rebuild Center at St. Joseph Church in New Orleans continues to progress, with an eye toward opening late this summer. It will contain many ministries and services for people who are returning to New Orleans and seeking assistance as they rebuild their community. The Congregation of the Mission Southern Province is involved with other religious and social agencies in this recovery outreach.

This spring has seen a beehive of activity as artist Margot Datz and historical renovator Tom Haines paint panels of a large outdoor mural for the new center. The installation will consist of six panels that are eight feet tall and a total of 25 feet wide. Each panel is separated by painted palm trees, and the entire work will stand in an outdoor, canopied courtyard.

According to an article by Christine Bordelon in the Clarion Herald, the Archdiocese of New Orleans newspaper, the artist “conceptualized the theme of water in the mural after chatting with Father Perry Henry, CM, pastor of St. Joseph Church, and parishioners and stakeholders in the new Rebuild Center. Father Henry showed Datz the church’s exterior water line left behind after Hurricane Katrina and discussed the theme of resurrection in St. Joseph Parish and the city.”

Discussing her work’s symbolism, Datz explains, “Water plays a major theme in New Orleans, from its positioning on the Mighty Mississippi, to its function as a port to the Gulf of Mexico, from its rain and humidity that render the city so verdant, to the catastrophic impact of Katrina.

“And water also appears in the Bible, as a vehicle of cataclysm, change, and renewal. In my mural for the recovery center, I have combined the various roles water has played in scripture, moving
left to right from crisis to healing,” she says.

Datz is grateful her mural is part of the recovery project. “I hope that it reaches people on different levels,” she said of the mural. “If nothing else, that it pleases and soothes them. But, if you want to go deeper, you can. It’s a backdrop of peace.”