Around the Provinces: Confrere News and Updates

Fr. John Gagnepain, CM		Fr. Dan Harris, CM		Fr. Dave Nations , CM		Fr. Tim Opferman, CM

Midwest Province

St. Mary’s of the Barrens, Perryville

The annual May Procession was celebrated on May 4 with over 700 people in attendance. The weather was beautiful as visitors gathered in front of the Church and processed to the grotto while praying the rosary. At the grotto a prayer service was held, ending with the traditional crowning of the statue of Mary. A reflection on the Blessed Mother was given by Father Henry Grodecki, CM, President of the Association of the Miraculous Medal. It was a beautiful celebration with students from St. Vincent’s Elementary and High Schools taking majors roles throughout the day.

The new Activities Director, Ms. Mary Hoehn, has organized a number of day trips for our seniors at the Apostle of Charity Residence. A recent outing to Ste. Genevieve included stops at the Great River Road Interpretive Center and the historic town square. The large screen television that was donated during the residence construction has received good use. Movie nights are popular and well-attended. In addition, a new computer has been hooked up to this television, expanding its use for Internet access and even video games!

Father Don Ours, CM, the Director of Seniority for the Midwest Province, traveled to Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, for continued training in senior adult ministry, sponsored by the Johnson Institute.

Southeast Missouri, SOMOPRO

The Southeast Missouri Project (SOMOPRO) was up and running again this past June as 29 energetic volunteers (mostly youth) assembled near New Madrid, Missouri, to do exterior home repairs for the poor and elderly. In the short space of five days, four homes were painted and four other homes received new roofs. Among the participants were Fathers John Gagnepain and David Nations, CMs, Brother Tim Opferman, CM, and seminarian Jeremy Dixon, CM. This was the fifteenth year for SOMOPRO.

St. Louis – Lazarist Residence

Father Dan Harris, CM, homiletics professor at Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, is a contributing author to two new books being published by Westminster John Knox: Teaching Preaching as a Christian Practice: A New Approach to Homiletical Pedagogy, a resource for homiletic teachers; and Feasting on the Word, a resource book for preachers. Fr. Harris also taught at the two Summer Preaching Institutes offered this past summer at Aquinas Institute.

Father Michael Joyce, CM, chaired an evaluation team for the Tribunal of the Diocese of St. Augustine at the beginning of June.

St. Louis – Province Office

During the last part of May, Provincial Treasurer Mr. Tom Beck traveled to Rome, where he attended his first meeting of the Finance Committee of the General Curia. It is believed this appointment marks the first time a lay person has served on a committee of the General Curia. From Rome, Mr. Beck traveled to DePaul Centre in Nairobi, where he spent two weeks working on a number of projects related to the finances of the Kenya mission.

After many years of teaching first graders, Brother Tim Opferman, CM, has arrived at the Province Office to undergo a crash course in accounting, management, and other related topics. Bro. Tim will leave later this fall to become the new Bursar (treasurer) at DePaul Centre in Nairobi – a position that has been vacant since the untimely death last summer of Father Tom Kloppenborg, CM. According to the staff in the finance department, Brother Tim is an eager and gifted student!

Denver – De Paul House

Father Paul Golden, CM, returned last month to St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota, to teach at the Institute for Pastoral Ministry. Over the past year, Fr. Golden has helped to design and implement a new Graduate Certifi cate in Canon Law, which can be completed in two years. He team-taught the Introduction to Canon Law course and then taught the course on the Canon Law of Sacraments.

Father Prudencio Rodriguez, CM, visited seminarian Jeremy Dixon, CM, who was studying Spanish in Morelia, Mexico. The language program is specifically geared for Catholic seminariansCAand priests. The teaching is done by local teachers who stress learning a pastoral vocabulary and encourage students to compose short homilies in Spanish. Students are placed in Catholic homes where their host families attend daily Mass frequently.

Western Region of the USA

Vincentians from the three western provinces of the Congregation of the Mission (Midwest, South and West) attended two different gatherings this past summer. The first was a five-day retreat held at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California. The retreat director was Very Reverend Gregory Gay, CM, Superior General of the Congregation. About 55 Vincen tians from the three provinces attended. The second was a Ministry Leadership Gathering held at DePaul University in Chicago. Thirty-five Vincentians involved in the ministries of education and formation assembled to discuss future collaboration among the various apostolates, as well as to share fellowship and renew acquaintances.

Southern Province

Several confreres have recently received new appointments. Father Jack Cawley, CM, who began his sabbatical on July 1, will begin work in the Province of the West in January 2009. He will be fulltime faculty member at St. John’s Theological Seminary and Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education. Fr. Cawley also has been reappointed to the Southern Province’s Misconduct Review Board.

Father Tom Stehlik, CM, is appointed as Provincial Consultor and Father Lou Arceneaux, CM, is reappointed as Provincial Consultor.

Fr. Arceneaux has also been appointed Superior of the confreres in the New Orleans area and Pastoral Administrator at St. Joseph Church until Father Perry Henry, CM, returns from sabbatical at the end of January 2009. Fr. Arceneaux also has agreed to join the planning committee for the next national Vin cen tian Family Gathering.

Father Godden Menard, CM, has been reappointed as area Superior in Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition, Fr. Menard is reappointed as member of the Vincentian Sharing Program. Father Rex Hays, CM, has been reappointed as Parochial Vicar for another three years at Holy Trinity Church in Dallas.