Claretian Update

The quarterly email update about news in the U.S.A. Province.

Claretian Missionaries accepted as Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) of the United Nations
This is an initial step, but a significant step nonetheless, toward a greater participation in a forum where discussions and decisions are made that affect the lives of billions of people around the world, especially those most in need. Read the United Nations press release here.

Biography of Claretian Bishop Placido Rodriguez featured on KCBD NewsChannel 11 in Lubbock, Texas
The boy who would become the second Bishop of Lubbock, Texas, spent his earliest years in Celaya, a city of some 130,000 inhabitants today (40,000 at that time) located 125 miles northwest of Mexico City and surrounded by croplands on the high plains of Guanajuato. Read and watch the story here.

Claretian priest buried at the San Gabriel Mission is subject of recent petition for sainthood
Three decades after his death, a steady stream of visitors from around the country still pay homage to the San Gabriel Mission grave site of Claretian Father Aloysius Ellacuria. Read the article from the Pasadena Star-News here.

Motherhouse of the Claretians in the United States to re-open in San Antonio
The U.S.A. Province has begun discussions on re-opening the Province motherhouse in San Antonio, the first house of residence for the Claretians in the United States in the early 1900s. No timetable has been set, and the location eventually will once again house Claretians.

50th graduation anniversary at Dominguez Seminary to be held in August
Priests, brothers, former Claretians, and alumni will meet at Dominguez Seminary to catch up with old friends, classmates, and teachers. This year the Annual Eleven o’clock Mass and BBQ is Saturday August 13th, and coincides with the feast of the Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro. Father Steve Sherwood of the Oblate School of Theology and Deacon Gonzalo Martinez of the Cathedaral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane are gathering their class for their 50th high school graduation anniversary, and will preside and preach that day.

Four Novices to be housed in the U.S.A. Novitiate House in Chicago
Beginning this summer, four Claretian novices will begin the Claretian Novitiate, which will be housed within Claret House in Chicago, under the supervision of our Novice Master, Father Jose Sanchez, C.M.F.

Claretians from India continue ministry in the U.S.
Father Paulson Veliyannoor, C.M.F. of Muvattupuzha, Kerala, a member of the Independent Delegation of North East India, came to the U.S. in 2006 to do pastoral work at San Gabriel Mission while studying at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria near Santa Barbara. He expects to complete his doctoral program and return to India next February to serve at St. Claret College at Ziro, which is in the foothills of the Himalayas in the remote tribal land of Arunachal Pradesh. He has already completed his clinical internship at the Wright Institute in Beverly Hills. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the Eucharist, and is titled Transformation in 'E': A Research into the Structure and Dynamics of the Lived Experience of the Eucharist.

Meanwhile a member of the Bangalore Province has just arrived in Chicago. Father Sabu George, C.M.F. will start on a doctorate in business administration. His specialization is in anticipation of opening a Management School at St. Claret College in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. Prior to his arrival in the U.S., Sabu worked for five years as Principal of St. Claret College at Ziro. Sabu descends from the Pakalomattam family of Kuravilangad, whose forebears were baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle.

Father Bruce Wellems, C.M.F., featured in New York Times article
For more than 20 years, the Rev. Bruce Wellems has been a cheerleader, a confidant, a voice of reason and, at times, the only advocate for the children and youth in the Back of the Yards, one of Chicago’s high-poverty neighborhoods. Read the entire article from the Times here

Claretian history in Prescott noted in The Daily Courier (Prescott, Ariz.)
Mexican heritage has deep roots in Arizona thanks to the Claretians. Read entire article from The Daily Courier here.

Remembering Father Rhoel Gallardo, C.M.F. 11 years after his martyrdom
Fr. Gallardo was 34 years old when he died. His priestly life started when—as a college student working on a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in a school in Baguio City, Philippines—he was one day visited by a Claretian priest and invited to join the religious order. The young man from Zambales province promptly accepted the fateful call of Christ and His saints, surely chief among them the congregation’s founder, St. Anthony Mary Claret. Read then entire column from Minda News here.

Claretian Provincial Chapter and Assembly to confer at Techny Towers Retreat & Conference Center
Claretian members of the newly formed U.S.A. Province will convene together for the first U.S.A. Provincial Chapter from August 22—26, 2011 at the Techny Towers Retreat Center in Techny, Illinois (north of Chicago). Among the many matters to be discussed and addressed during the week will be areas of expansion necessary for the Province and the election of the new Provincial Superior and Consultors.

News & Notes

• Father Joseph J. Peplansky, C.M.F. passed away on March 13, 2011 after a prolonged illness. Read more about the life of Father Peplansky here.
• Father Wayne J. Barron, C.M.F. passed away on May 29, 2011. Read more about the life of Father Barron here.
• Father Ignacio Blanco, C.M.F., and Father Theo Fuentes, C.M.F. to celebrate 60 years of priesthood on July 8th.
• Father Patrick McPolin, C.M.F. to celebrate his 95th birthday on July 30th.
• Claretian Novice Augustin Carrillo will be making his first profession in Guatemala in August.
• Father Roland Lozano, C.M.F. completed his J.D. degree from the People’s College of Law in Los Angeles and is now preparing for the California Bar exam.
• The O’Reilly Catholic Student Center & Chapel of the Blessed Claretian Martyrs of Babastro (the current CCM building) in Springfield, Missouri will celebrate its 10th anniversary in September 2011.

Any news and information you would like to contribute should be directed to Kevin Goodwin, Communications Manager, at goodwink@claretians.org.