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SSPX News Archive
India
2006
Indian
Tragedy
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a ligno Deus
HOLY CROSS SEMINARY
FATHERS OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT PIUS X |
J.M.J.
May 22,
2006
Holy Saturday
Dear friends
and benefactors of Holy Cross Seminary,
The past few
weeks have been a busy time for the Seminary’s maintenance and construction
crews, with up to eight men working here at one time. After a delay,
the radiators and copper piping have been installed to conduct heat
to the classrooms. A breezeway has been constructed joining up the
St. Joseph House to the classroom wing, and a bungalow at the back
of a workshop has been remodeled as a self-contained apartment for
one of our workers. The work on the remodeling of the teachers’
cottage continues.
SACRISTY FURNISHINGS
However, the
great find of this Paschaltide was the purchase of three four metre
long vestment chests and two very large (2 m. high) hanging closets,
as well as a complete new set of pews for the nave of the chapel,
four new long tables for the refectory, and a large number of beds,
mattresses, desks, chairs and bookshelves. They were acquired just
after Easter from a former seminary in Sydney that is about to be
demolished, and brought down by Brother Joseph in three completely
full truckloads.
We are grateful
for the volunteer workers, whose help enabled all these items to
be installed immediately. Two of the very large vestment cabinets
were installed in the vesting sacristy and one in the storage sacristy,
with one hanging closet in each sacristy. We were desperately in
need of the storage space, which space is essential to maintaining
the cleanliness and good condition of the vestments that enhance
the beauty of the liturgical ceremonies. However, these unexpected
(but so providential) expenses, combined with all the other maintenance
projects and the purchase of a 30 year old but very functional tractor,
have left the Seminary very short of funds at the present time.
We are indebted to our small number of regular benefactors but remind
our friends that the small tuition payment that we request (that
many of our seminarians cannot pay), barely covers food and incidentals,
and does not suffice to cover the running expenses of the Seminary.
DEPARTURES
I had not mentioned
in this newsletter the departure of three of our four Indian seminarians
at the end of last school year, just three weeks after having sacrilegiously
renewed their engagements in the Society of Saint Pius X for one
year, and just a few days after having received Minor Orders under
false pretenses. I call it sacrilegious, since they admitted afterwards
having secretly planned for many months to rejoin their Novus
Ordo diocese, that is they planned all along to break their
promises solemnly made before the Blessed Sacrament and in the presence
of the whole community, and they falsely requested in writing the
reception of Minor Orders as a step towards the priesthood in the
Society of Saint Pius X with which they had evidently no intention
of continuing. It is difficult to understand the deviousness underlying
this secrecy, since they would have been most welcome to leave at
any time. One cannot help but think that this was to keep both options
open, in case they were not received back by the diocese of Bombay,
as they were.
The reason
that I bring it up now is not just that their departure was a sword
of betrayal rending the heart of our little community, united in
mutual confidence and trust, but because it has now become a public
issue, and so much so that it has even been praised by none other
than Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos himself, President of the Ecclesia
Dei Pontifical Commission, and supposed intermediary for the
Society of Saint Pius X with Pope Benedict XVI.
How, you might
think, could a Cardinal of the Church praise such deviousness? Could
they have become a pawn in the politics of the modernists? This
is what Cardinal Castrillon had to say in a letter to Cardinal Ivan
Dias, Archbishop of Bombay, dated February 24, 2006:
“I wish to
acknowledge with gratitude your kind letter to me of 5 February,
2006 regarding the return to your flock of three seminarians who
had left your Archdiocesan Major Seminary in 2002 to enter to
the seminary of the Society of St. Pius X in Goulburn, Australia.
I am particularly appreciative of the memoranda by these seminarians
which you have enclosed and I rejoice with you that they have
responded to the grace to return to the fullness of the Catholic
faith and life in India. I am very pleased to know that they have
found in Your Eminence a paternal welcome back to the bosom of
the Catholic Church and I pray that their experience will make
them value even more the importance of being in full communion
with the Successor of Peter. The testimony of these seminarians
gives reason for great concern about the separatist mentality
which surrounded them in the seminary in Goulburn and which they
finally had the grace to reject. I sincerely hope that it will
be possible to save their vocations…”
The accusations
made by the Cardinal are the gravest possible. He who last September
publicly stated that the Society “did not formally constitute
a schism” and on November 13 last “they are inside the Church….because
communion exists”, apparently in an effort to appeal to traditional
Catholics, is now accusing us of nothing less than schism in order
to appeal to modernist Catholics.
FULLNESS OF CATHOLIC FAITH AND LIFE
What is the
“fullness of the Catholic Faith and life” that is supposedly lacking
in this Seminary. What could it be if not the intense spiritual,
disciplined life of a Seminary whose rule was praised by Rome (February
18, 1971), or perhaps the daily and even twice daily attendance
at the Mass of all time, or perhaps the thrice-daily common prayer
of the Divine Office, or perhaps the strict common life, the Gregorian
Chant and solemn ceremonies, the constantly ongoing series of Benedictions,
Processions, Ways of the Cross, Rosaries and devotions that punctuate
Seminary life? What could it be if not the study of the philosophy
and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, so often commanded by the Church
(e.g. Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XII) and yet of which
these young Indian seminarians in 5 – 8 years each of Seminary life
before coming to Holy Cross had learnt nothing?
Or could this
“fullness of the Catholic Faith and life” possibly be the following
description of the Bombay Novus Ordo Seminary made by one
of three after leaving in 2002… and to which he has now returned:
“The theology
in the Bombay Seminary is far from being the supernatural science
as has been well defined by the Angelic Doctor. It is completely
naturalised and horizontalized, to began and end in ‘this-worldly’
experience of ‘this-life’ (with eternal life forgotten, if not
erased). And therefore the modernists talk of ‘doing theology’
and as a natural consequence of such a ‘doing’, seminarians are
sent to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) to get ‘in touch
with reality’, to mingle with those non-Catholic atheistic, sometimes
perverse social workers who themselves have loose morals and broken,
disintegrated family life. The seminarians are then fed with the
Marxist agenda of ‘classless society’ with rebellion against legislative
authority in the Church as well as in the State, sowing in them
the seeds of the ‘revolution’ against God’s natural order. Peace
and serenity of recollected religious life is now replaced with
agitation and dissipation of mundane concerns of the world in
the disguise of striving for social justice and ecumenism, supposedly
to create ‘communal harmony’ – another proof of the depravity
of the modernist mind. I shall provide a few samples of modernists
academics that demonstrate clearly the complete loss of faith
and movement towards the Great Apostasy…” (Mr. D’Souza).
Or could it
be, to quote another of the three, describing the “moderator groups”
that exist in the Bombay seminary:
“Each week
the mass was said by the priest in his room. As a priest of inculturation,
he said it by squatting on the floor. A lot of novelties were
introduced at this mass, which included substituting the prayers
from the missal by spontaneous prayers, a group sharing on a topic
after the gospel, passing of the paten and the chalice for the
receiving of communion under both species individually by each
member and a replacement of the proper mass vestments by a shawl.”
(Mr. Rodrigues)
Make your choice. There seems to be no doubt as to where the “fullness
of Catholic Faith and life” lies, and yet Holy Cross Seminary
is condemned out of hand, precisely for living up to its mission
as received from the Church. Cardinal Castrillon’s letter further
accuses Holy Cross Seminary of not being in “the bosom of the
Catholic Church”, of not “being in full communion with the Successor
of Peter”, on account of its “separatist mentality”. These false
accusations derive from the statements of these seminarians of
a “practical sedevacantism” and of a “critical reaction towards
the Papacy”. The further accusation of a “separatist mentality”
stems from the Rector’s decision not to allow the Seminary to
public participate in a Eucharistic adoration in a local Novus
Ordo church.
SEPARATIST MENTALITY?
Yet these seminarians
all know full well that there is no practical sedevacantism here,
and that Pope Benedict XVI is prayed for publicly and by name at
every Mass, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Rogation days
and whenever the liturgy calls for it. They also know very well
that the Society lays no claim to ordinary jurisdiction, which can
only come from the Sovereign Pontiff, who has by divine institution
the fullness of the power of government over the universal Church.
Accusations of not being in full communion are consequently based
in part on the imaginary “excommunication” of Archbishop Lefebvre
and in part on our 35 year old refusal to accept the modernist spirit
of the post-conciliar Popes.
Yes, we are
obliged to have a critical reaction towards such Popes, and to separate
ourselves from those of their guidelines that undermine and destroy
the “fullness of Catholic Faith and life”, such as the post-conciliar
liturgy and ecumenism. Yes, we are bound to separate ourselves from
the Novus Ordo Missae, which is insulting to God Our Lord
and undermines the Faith. Yes, we owe it to God to be logical with
ourselves, and we must refuse the fruits of this Mass – namely Holy
Communion from hosts consecrated at such Masses and public participation
in the adoration of these hosts. Indeed, if we were to do these
things, we would thereby participate in a protestantizing, modernist
worship and show our approval of it. If this is what is meant by
having a “separatist spirit”, then we make no apologies for it.
We want to be separate from the Novus Ordo and to have no
part in it. It is the whole reason for our combat. However, this
does not in the least mean that we deny the validity of such Masses,
or that we judge the intentions of those who perform or participate
in such ceremonies, or that we fall into a critical bitterness.
Having understood by a special grace of God what is required to
maintain and live the Faith, we have the obligation to state so,
loud and clear, without ambiguity of any kind. This precludes even
a distant participation in the New Mass.
Cardinal Castrillon
Hoyos has clearly not understood the principles, and is fact committed
to undermining them. Hence his blistering attack on the Seminary.
It is difficult to understand how he can be an effective intermediary
with the Pope, given that he believes that all these compromises
are necessary “to save their vocations”, whereas in fact
these principles are the guarantee of perseverance in our holy vocation
as Catholic priests.
INDOCTRINATION?
Allow
me to quote also from the public statement of Cardinal Ivan Dias,
Archbishop of Bombay, dated March 25, 2006. He has this to say of
the three seminarians:
“They
were sent to a seminary in Goulburn (Australia), where they were
systematically indoctrinated against the Second Vatican Council,
the ‘modernist’ Popes John XXIII and his successors, including
Pope Benedict XVI (Pope John Paul II being accused of ‘silent
apostasy’), the New Mass introduced by Pope Paul VI, the Divine
Mercy devotion, the Catholic Church’s ecumenical and interreligious
dialogue etc...They were further told that the Holy See is vacant…”
The most preposterous
aspect of this mixture of truth and falsehood was the use of the
emotive term “systematically indoctrinated”. These young men would
not have been accepted in the Seminary if they had not already shared
our convictions, as they most assuredly did, and as the following
passages demonstrate amply. One of the three wrote this in his Seminary
application:
“To
my sadness, I found, once again by God’s grace that the mission
of the Novus Ordo Church was for the glory of ‘man’. Divine Providence,
once again through our Blessed Mother, led me to the Sacred Tradition
of the True Priesthood”. (Mr. D’Souza)
The same
seminarian had this to say, describing his meeting with Cardinal
Dias on December 7, 2001, and is included in his testimony of why
he had turned to Tradition and left the post-conciliar Seminary:
“His Eminence,
the Cardinal, welcomed me warmly and then disclosed to me his
plan. He intended to give me a Jesuit priest as a counselor to
clash down all my funny ideas (of faith) and during this period
of one or two years, I would have to work and ‘rub shoulders with
Hindus, Moslems, and all types of people of various religions
and then realize that they too possess the truth’. In this way
I would be purified of all old and outdated ideas of faith, and
accept Vatican II with all its ecumenical orientations. He demanded
complete obedience to his authority. He himself would then come
to my parish and lay his hands on me and so that ‘I would climb
up the ladder’.- This phrase demonstrates the Masonic technique
of luring souls to the vanity of this world. Here is was
as though I came face to face with the devil who was saying to
me “I will give you all this, if you bow down and worship me.”
I went back home with a heavy heart, only trusting in God’s providence….The
next day…a friend…introduced me to the Society of St. Pius X.
Thanks be to God, for at last after a long journey through heresy
and so many traps of the devil, He led me to the Truth.” (underlining
& bold in original text).
EXPLANATION
It seems to
me that any objective person can see that these are not men who
have been indoctrinated or forced in any way to adopt traditional
positions. The very fact that they chose to abandon Holy Cross Seminary
is proof enough of this. It is not the Society of Saint Pius X that
has changed - but these three seminarians – and I fear greatly lest
they discover that Cardinal Dias has not changed either. This leaves
the curious question of how three young men, who were fully aware
of the evil and destruction being wrought in the post-conciliar
church, and who had the advantage of nearly four years formation
in a traditional pre-Seminary and Seminary, four years daily attendance
at the true Mass, four years intense prayer life, including a 30
day Ignatian retreat, four years study of traditional spirituality
and philosophy, would return to the humanist, indifferentist, inculturationist
confusion of the post-conciliar church.
The only answer
is a spiritual one. The devil attacks the priest and the priest-to-be
on every side, fully aware that if he can destroy any one of us,
he can cause many hundreds and thousands of souls to be lost. In
the midst of the abundance of spiritual treasures of a traditional
Seminary, it is very easy to start taking graces for granted. Presumption
sets in, then the critical spirit, then a naturalistic attitude,
and finally the vanity of this world, the devil saying: “I will
give you all this, if you bow down and worship me”. Such departures
are, alas, not uncommon in the Society.
You cannot
begin to understand how entirely dependent we are on your prayers
and sacrifices. The Seminary is not just a training ground; it is
a spiritual battlefield, and every soul must be fought for and won.
Nor is this battle a one time event, but rather a constantly recurring
struggle. The fight is against indifference, lukewarmness, intellectual
pride, self-centeredness, abandonment of the spirit of mortification.
God has sent us some very good and extraordinary men, but we need
to always be on the lookout, for the devil, like a lion seeking
whom he may devour, is already to catch us out on a curved ball.
In our inadequacy, we commend ourselves to your prayers, and beg
that you would think of offering up at least a decade of the Rosary
every day for the perseverance of priests and seminarians, and for
vocations, as well as reciting these prayers requested by our Superior
General: O Lord, grant us priests; O Lord, grant us holy priests;
O Lord grant us many holy priests; O Lord grant us many holy religious
vocations; St. Pius X, pray for us.
Yours faithfully
in the Immaculate Heart of our Heavenly Queen,
Father Peter
R. Scott
April
16, 2006
Four
girls and four boys at the orphanage receive the sacrament of Baptism.
The orphan children wait outside the church for
their baptism
on Easter Sunday.
Entering the church with Fr. Couture
The children with their godparents and Fr. Couture
new children of God!
April 11, 2006
Dear
Friends in Christ,
Wish you all a holy and blessed Easter. We all at the orphanage
are doing fine. This Easter eight of our children will be receiving
Baptism and two first Communion. It is going to be a wonderful Easter
for us all. Please remember all these children in your prayers.
Dominic
Savio
From
this time I will try to write a little bit about each child who
is with us. About how they came to us and when, about their previous
families etc.. I will start with Dominic Savio who may be around
11 years old. His previous name was Mohan. He came to us along with
his brother Gopi in Dec 2002. Their dad died when they were very
young and then their mom became very sick and they came to the Government
Hospital in my home town Tirupati. After a few days in the hospital
she died and they were left orphans. They had some relatives in
their town which is around 200 kms from Tirupati. They went to them
but they did not want them, so they went back to the hospital in
Tirupati because the nurses in the hospital were sympathetic to
them and were taking good care of them. They admitted the little
one (Mohan) in the hospital so that he will get some free food and
the nurses gave them some used clothes. They were in the hospital
for nearly 4 months. The pediatrician in the hospital was my brothers'
class mate, so when my brother came home for holidays he went to
visit his friend and came to know about these boys and sent them
to me in Kadapa. Since the older boy, Gopi, was in his early teens
and didn't know how to read or write I sent him to the Salesians
(Don Bosco fathers) in Hyderabad and since then he was with them
learning tailoring and basic reading and writing skills. He visits
his brother once in a year. His brother Mohan who was baptized as
Dominic Savio in November is with us. He is fun loving, intelligent
and has very good memory power. He started learning Tamil two months
back and he is already studying the 3rd grade Tamil text. Here are
some of his photos.
with his brother
singing
serving Mass
cleaning
Because of the vast empty land around us, we have lot of visitors.
Every morning from 4Am we can hear the birds singing and are some
times visited by our friends of the air Eagles, Cranes, King fishers
etc., My immediate neighbors are squirrels who live on the roof
of our dining room and try to push all their garbage in to our room!
And of course I should not forget the slimy creepy snakes which
live along with us on our land! So far we have killed 7, most of
them are baby ones though. Two days back we saw the mommy or is
it the daddy? ( I am just curious, does both male and female exist
in the snakes or just one sex?) Our snake killing expert Swarupa
was not at home then, so the lucky one got away.
Well, all of us at Nav Jeevan wish you all a blessed and holy Easter.
We remember you all in our prayers every day. Please keep praying
for us also.
In
Christ,
Swarna
February 26, 2006
Dear
Friends in Christ,
Hope you are doing fine in this New Year. We are all doing fine
by the grace of God. It is one month since our move to Tirunelvelli.
It is so peaceful and quiet here and so it is giving us more time
to meditate on the things of God, and with the Spiritual conferences
once every week and regular sacraments we are all striving to raise
our hearts to God and to do His will.
We left Kadapa on the 18th morning in January on our 20 hour ride
to this new place with 8 elderly and 20 children. Fr.Couture also
accompanied us. We had mass just before we left Kadapa and the children
started the rosary as soon as they got into the train. So our trip
started well and we had no problems on our journey. Fr.Couture even
took catechism class for the children on the train! We did have
some fun moments with the old ladies who were traveling for the
first time in a train and that too for 20 hours!
We
reached Tirunelveli at 4AM on the 19th January. That evening we
had the blessing of our house and the first mass in our chapel and
then consecration of all of us to Mother Mary. That night we had
big fireworks celebration. That night we had a good sleep as we
all were dead tired.
The
children are learning Tamil now. I don't know when I will start
learning Tamil formally. Now I am going around for shopping and
other things and managing by using little Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and
English all mixed up! Only three of our children are joined in a
regular school outside as they were studying in English medium school
in Kadapa. The other children are being tutored at home. We are
teaching them Tamil and English and hope to join them in a regular
school next academic year (June).
Two
days back we took our children on a picnic to Tuticorin. It is a
town around 60kms from Tirunelveli. The children had nice time playing
at the beach. They also had a chance to see the port and had a tour
of the inside of a Ship which was loading up and getting ready to
go to Singapore. We also went to Our Lady of Snows Church and the
Cathedral. For the first time the children were able to see big
Churches with high steeples. They were really happy to see such
beautiful big Churches.
We
are very happy at our new place with all the sacraments available
to us. The children also have improved a lot with regular confession
and daily Communion. I hope and pray that we may get many vocations
from these kids.
Our
New address is:
Swarna Vongala
Nav Jeevan
No.10 Bungalow
High Grounds
Tirunelveli, T.N. ý 627 011
India.
In Christ,
Swarna
Orphanage
comes to Tradition!
A young Indian lady (with 2 Master's degrees in computer engeneering)
left her good job in the USA to return to her Indian State of Andhra
Pradesh (in the center in India) to start an orphanage and old people's
home, back in 2001. After 4 years she had 51 orphans and 30 old
people. Then, in 2004, she discovered Tradition, while, at the same
time, aspiring to the religious life. Waiting for the signs of Providence
to decide on some serious matters for her future and the future
of her work, she obtained them last July and thus, decided to move
near our priory in order to continue the work, get nearer to the
sacraments and have the minimum requirements for some Traditional
Sisters to come and spend 1-2 months with them in the near future.
The move took place last Jan. 18-19 with 20 of the children and
11 of the old people.
The two ladies running the Orphanage assisted by a French lady
She wrote a letter to her (mainly American) benefactors, explaining
this decision to move, which actually took place after having bought
a piece of land in her area and just before she began the construction
of a new orphanage. Result: the parish in Iowa which was supporting
her for the last 4 years with their $1000 monthly decided to stop
all support.
Dec.
8, 2005
Dear
Swarna,
(...)
We will be informing our congregation that because of the change
in direction of your ministry, our parish will not be able to
continue our support of your ministry. The reissued check from
July is in the mail and our November check will be in the mail
tomorrow. We will need your new address as we would like to share
that with the congregation in case some parishioners would like
to include you in their charity on their own. Our final check
will be in early January as we finalize our December budget.
The pastor,
Fr. M.S.
Now
she is completely in the hands of the priests, friends and benefactors
of the SSPX. She is now renting this new building, while looking
for a property she could eventually purchase -- if possible at walking
distance from our priory -- and then she will build according to
her needs.
Any one wishing to help this new orphanage can send donations
to SSPX ASIA
God bless.
Fr D Couture
The
new Nav Jeevan Orphanage near the SSPX Priory
The
St Pius X Hostel Boys, with Fr. Summers,
preparing the building for the orphanage and old people
Catechism
during the train journey
The
Prior, Fr. Summers, with one of the orphans
and the lady in charge, Swarna Vongala
After
the Blessing, the first Mass by the District Superior,
which will be folowed by the consecration of the institution to
the BVM
20
orphans and 11 old people in their new home
after a 20 hour train ride to move nearer the sacraments
2005
 
Group
picture of the clergy in the mission of the Society of St. Pius
X in Palayamkottai, India.
On the right, the three priests resident in India: Fathers Summers,
Chazal and Jackson.
On the left, seminarian Joseph Steinmetz and visiting District bursar,
Father Joseph Lester
(with black sash, coming from Singapore...)
September 29th:
2003
The Feast day of St. Thomas The Apostle was a day of special celebration
in India. After years of labor, we have finally been able to dedicate
our new priory and Hostel in Palayamkottai. The Providential designs
of God sent His Excellency Tissier de Mallerais to India to preach
the annual retreat to the priests, and without any human intention,
the dedication date fell on the feast day of our patron Apostle.
The building itself is magnificent: four Ionic columns enclose a
noble front porch; the interior of the building is much like a cloister,
with a garden open to the sky. The resemblance to the House on Pennsylvania
Ave. is wholly intentional. There is ample room for priests, brothers,
and familiares, as well as space for office work, publications,
and receiving visitors. It is set on an open ground of 2 acres,
near the center of Palayamkottai, adjacent to Senthil Nagar, the
foremost Catholic colony in the town. The extra land will provide
room for future growth, which immediately includes a church and
enlarged Boys Hostel.
For the days celebrations, a huge thatched basilica was raised,
and the interior decorated lavishly. The ceiling was covered with
sequined drapes, and at the end there was erected a large stage
and altar. The Hostel boys worked late into the night preparing
everything, and rehearsing their rubrics. The crowds began arriving
by bus, foot, and van at 9 AM, and by ten o'clkock the grownd was
teeming with about 400 people, among them being confirmands, in
their white dress. Faithful followers of Tradition came from distant
cities: Madras, Trichy, Bombay, Bangalore…and most of our
parishioners from South India made sure to come. Six Indian priests,
who are now come to Tradition, also looked on: Fr. Matthias, Fr.
Sebastian, Fr. Pancras, Fr. Xavier Ignatius, Fr. Albuquerque, and
Fr. Sequeira. It was a grand and joyfull reunion of friends and
family, for we Catholics do, indeed, form one family. The unity
of hearts could be seen in the friendly atmosphere Fr. Blute had
to play traffic cop to keep the confirmands in line, as they registered
and received their cards. Indians don't like lines--they all want
to cut in front.
The Bishop arrived, straight from the priests retreat, and was
thronged with people. When all was ready, the Bishop, Fr. Blute,
and Fr. Pancras vested and processed into the basilica. The Veni
Creator was intoned, and His Excellency addressed the crowd. Originally,
the number of confirmands was estimated at about twenty…but
what to our astonished eyes not twenty, but sixty young men and
girls, to become soldiers of Christ. Such a consoling sight!! Truly,
God has brought forth these fruits, without us even knowing it!
After the Confirmation ceremony was over, we had the great blessing
of celebrating a Solemn High Mass. The people were much moved by
the stately ceremonies, especially by the excellent performance
of the Hostel boys, whose gravity and solemnity provided a stark
contrast to the hoopla of the Novus Ordo.
After Mass, the altar was screened off, and we invited several
prominent Catholics to speak for the occasion. The Bishop spoke
of how important it is to protect the young from corrupting influences,
and he commended the work of our Boys Hostel. Fr. Blute expressed
his great joy and satisfaction at seeing the army of soldiers of
Christ, like the dry bones of Jeremias, to spring from the ground,
fully armed. Also addressing the crowd were Benny Joseph, head of
the Dept. of Economics at Christ College, and a long-time supporter
of the Latin Mass, and Mr. G. Selvaraj, a local school Correspondent
and an active collaborator in our work. Then, the new building was
blessed by the Bishop, and the Managing Trustee Mr. Innocent Regis
cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new priory and Hostel.
After so much food for the soul and mind, you can believe, everyone
was very hungry. For this purpose, a festive meal was prepared and
served to all… chicken biriyani, vengayam, mango jam, and
more! Everyone went home confident that the work of Tradition was
soon to take off in a big way, and that God's blessing was upon
us
photos
2000
August 4: Three ladies from Bombay managed to get all their
papers to join us in Rome and thus to represent India.
June 17: In the last month, we received two astonishing
donations of new books: one bookstore in Texas donated 8 crates
of their overstock, and another generous soul donated $1000 worth
of Tan books for building up our priory library. May God bless them
for all the good which will come from those books. We also received
permission to build a community hall (chapel) in Christurajapuram
and we are well on the way to receive Government recognition for
our Primary school. With the help of Children in Need, in Essen,
Germany, we were able to construct a new classroom, and staff rooms
for the teachers in our school of Christurajapuram.
We also were able to buy lots of furnishings necessary
for the school. Enrollment has held steady at 70. Great thanks to
C.I.N.
Fr. Blute completed one year of teaching in Magdalene
Matriculation. He has also signed on to teach Creative Writing in
English for one more year.
May 31: In the last two months, we celebrated
3 weddings in Nagerkoil, in a place called Christu Nagar, where
the sheep are left without a shepherd; In March, and May there were
two conversions from Hinduism to the Catholic Faith--after sufficient
instruction.
May 30: Day of recollection for the Boys of
St Pius X Hostel.
May 20: After literally years of efforts, Fr
Blute was finally able to procede to the inauguration of the St.
Pius X Boys hostel, located at a walking distance from the Palayamkottai
priory.
May 3: Fr George Maurel left India temporarily
to fill in a vacant post in Sri Lanka.
April 16, Palm Sunday: Many of our faithful
participated in a Palm Sunday procession of some 300 people in Tuticorin.
It was followed by a very nice 6 hour recollection by Fr. Pancras
Raja.
April 7: Fr. Edwin returned from a 6 week tour of Europe,
during which he spread to dozens of Mass centers and thousands of
Traditional Catholics the good news of our Mission in India. For
the first time, an Indian priest made presentations in England,
a nation to which Mother India is historically linked.
Jan-Mar: The school in Christurajapuram got a big new classroom,
a staff room, and increased rations at the noon day meal. The schoolyard
is now dominated by a statue of St. Pius X, thanks to a faithful
of Germany. The school in Christurajapuram also received government
recognition, after a year of preparation. The Society received a
plot of land as a gift in the subdivision of St. Alphonsa. Fr. Blute
completed one year of teaching English successfully.
The mission was pleased, thrilled, and consoled with
the 1-year visit of Mr. Isaac Moats, seminarian from the SSPX seminary
of Winona, USA. Mr. Moats wanted to experience one of the Society’s
most difficult missions before proceeding any further.
Another visitor, Gabriel Swatzell, 20 years old from
Spokane, WA, USA has arrived. He helps keep the house clean. The
prior has held a monthly day of recollection every month for the
priests. Outside priests are now beginning to frequent it. A grand
Solemn High Mass was celebrated in Trichy for the wedding of Mary
Jude and her newly baptized husband Marcel. Fr. Pancras Raja assisted
as Deacon.
Fr. Edwin has been assisting at the hearing of confessions
in the shrine of Kadal Matha, Our Lady of the Sea, and Our Lady
of Fatima Church, Vallioor, at the request of the parish priest.
1999
December 8: Many of our priests renewed their membership,
their oblation within the ranks of the Society of St. Pius X. May
we all persevere unto the end…
November 25: In Bombay, while Fr. Maurel was recovering
from his Indian 'welcome' (only a gentle bug…) the Redemptorist
Fathers flew East to Europe and Fr Couture flew West back to base
in the early hours of the day (1.30am,2.30am… )
November 23-24: While the two Redemptorists visited the
shrine of St. Francis Xavier in Goa, the District Superior stayed
in the South to discuss apostolic and administrative matters.
November 19: Fr. George Maurel left Singapore for Bombay
and Palayamkottai to begin his new Indian apostolate.
November 15-20: Second priestly Retreat by the Redemptorist
Fathers for 5 priests.
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