WHO EVER HEARD OF CHICLAYO?

 

By now everyone knows as much about the new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as they think they can, and one of the new pieces of the puzzle of his most active life, was his long stint in Peru.

  “Greetings … to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,” he said in Spanish, standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for his first speech as the leader of the Catholic Church.

 Those who have followed this Blog over the years know what this country means to mean, most importantly the people. 

In past Blogs (June 2013) I briefly mention CHICLAYO, where the future pope was Bishop. Not only do I know Chiclayo, but I have stayed there on two occasions, with the mother of our friend, Elaina in Piura.  I could do many blogs on the wonderful and sometimes funny things that happened when in that most friendly city and surrounding area from sea to mountains.

(Photo of Elaina's family.  She is in blue, her mother seated to her right and her brother and his wife and their two daughters)

Chiclayo, with more than 800,000 people, is the main commercial hub of Peru’s northern Pacific coast, with highways linking it to the Andes mountains and Amazon region. The city is located a little less than 9 miles from the Pacific Ocean and is the capital of the Department of Lambayeque*. Its surrounding lands are agriculturally productive, but despite its economic impact, Chiclayo faces social problems, with roughly 20% of its population living in poverty. (Photo below shows fishermen still using reed boats to catch fish).

After a year, the future Pope left to finish his doctoral degree and serve briefly in Illinois. But he soon returned to Peru, serving as a missionary in the northern city of Trujillo. He stayed there through the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s, amid civil war between the government and various militant groups – primarily the Maoist guerrillas of Sendero Luminoso, or “Shining Path,” who aimed to install a communist state, devastating the whole country.

 The violence hit other regions more severely, but Trujillo and the surrounding area were home to car bombs, sabotaged electrical grids and brutal military dragnet operations. Father Prevost accompanied Peruvians through some of the darkest days of the country’s history.

As the country transitioned away from the civil war period, which ultimately left nearly 70,000 dead, Father Prevost remained in Peru. During the 1990s, President Alberto Fujimori’s government built a polarizing legacy by undermining democracy and citizenship rights. The future pope lived in Chiclayo for nearly 10 years when he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023, after obtaining Peruvian citizenship.

 The new Pope thought so much of his time in Chiclayo, that he has made a young man from Chiclayo, Edgard Rimaycuna, his new secretary.

*Peru is divided into both geographic and political divisions. Geographically, it's split into three main regions: the Costa (coast), Sierra (highlands), and Selva (jungle). Politically, Peru is divided into 25 regions and one province (Lima). These regions are further subdivided into 196 provinces, which are then divided into 1,891districts. 

This can be confusing and maybe more info than you need or want: Piura is the northernmost department (with its capital the city of Piura) Lambayeque is the second-smallest department in Peru, but it is also its most densely populated department. It has three provinces and 38 districts.  Its capital is Chiclayo. 

In top photo  we are eating a meal of cuy, which is guinea pig. Before you turn your noses up, let me tell you it is better than chicken, a lot like rabbit, which I love. Whenever I ate it, it was fried, but it can also be broiled, roasted or even made into a fricassee. 

Guinea pigs originated in the Andes and are an important culinary staple in the peoples of Peru and Bolivia. Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year. The animal is so entrenched in the culture that one famous painting of the Last Supper in the main cathedral in Cusco shows Christ  and His disciples dining on cuy. 

One must remember that much of western Peru is desert (or mountainous) so there is not the land for large livestock, and in many cases the people are too poor to raise such stock. Cuy require much less room than traditional livestock and reproduce extremely quickly and they can be raised in an urban environment. Both rural and urban families raise guinea pigs for supplementary income, and the animals are commonly bought and sold at local markets and large-scale municipal fairs. Guinea pig meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol. 

NEW STAMPS

 The Vatican has issued its first official postage stamps featuring Pope Leo XIV.  Issued May 27, the commemorative set includes four stamps depicting key moments from the new pontiff’s first public appearances in early May.  The images portray the Holy Father blessing the crowd after his election, smiling in the Pauline Chapel, and praying in quiet contemplation.

Two of the stamps show Pope Leo XIV during his inaugural blessing in St. Peter’s Square on May 8, when he was formally introduced to the world. The other two highlight the pope celebrating Mass in the Sistine Chapel on May 9, which marked the official beginning of his ministry.

 Each stamp includes the inscription “Leone PP. XIV” along with “Anno I S.P. MMXXV,” referencing the first year of his reign.

 A total of 390,000 stamps were printed, and are now available through the Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office. For years we collected Vatican stamps as we had “insiders” in the Vatican who could go to the office for us.

These stamps not only represent the spiritual life of the church, but are a means of historic record keeping.

 For collectors of Vatican issues, the Pope Leo XIV release is expected to become a sought-after modern classic

MODERN MYSTIC OF UKRAINE

 

As we continue to pray for the on-going war in Ukraine, I present a mystic born in that country, who Father E. mentioned in a class recently. Will she be the next St. Faustina?

STEFANIA FULLA HORAK was a Lviv native, born in Tarnopol in 1909. She studied philosophy, graduating from the Lviv Conservatory, and working as a music teacher. She had a very inquisitive and unusually sharp mind. In her youth, she abandoned the faith she had learned at home, but not God, whom she desired with all her being. "I don't believe in anything that people believe in. I don't understand how they believe. I think that if God exists, He is much greater than anything that can be said about Him.”

During the war, she was a liaison officer for the Home Army, a post she retained until the end of the German occupation in Lviv.

In great torment, she searched for the truth for many years, praying: "God! If you are there - give me light!".  She wanted to experience God, "let Him satisfy me". She wrote many times about the desire for God to come to her. One of Fulla Horak's most moving entries are the words: "God! How I hate you for not being here!"

The great desire to meet God made Fulla decide to give an ultimatum to the Mother of God herself. From her notes we learn what she asked Mary for in Częstochowa: "If people obtain graces related to health or material matters from the image, why shouldn't I try to gain light for my soul there? Although I was an unbeliever, I decided to exhaust all recommended means, so that I would have nothing to reproach myself with and to gain proof of my best will."

Neither the fanfare at the unveiling of the image, nor the praying crowd, nor the dark face above the altar made the slightest impression on me. The vota seemed to me to be a distasteful, advertising decoration, and the priest calling from the pulpit - insincere. (...) And then, coldly, objectively and clearly, I gave the Mother of God an ultimatum: if within three months - simply, without any miracles, without shocks, without extraordinary things - I obtain faith and an inner sense of God - I vow to serve Heaven until death."

 Fulla's nephew, Father Tomasz Horak, told us that his aunt had received the desired light. In August 935, Fulla attended a salon meeting. During the conversation, one of the women talked about a case she had managed to solve thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God. Fulla admitted at the time that she did not believe in Mary. The woman addressed Stefania with the words: "God! How unfortunate you are that you do not believe!" A few days after the meeting, which had a strong impact on Fulla, Stefania experienced a presence from the afterlife.

And the light came, although not immediately. In August 1935, Fulla experienced the presence of someone from the afterlife for the first time. At that time, she did not know who, but she soon found out – it was St. Magdalena Zofia Barat, who had died 70 years earlier (1865), the founder of the Sacré Coeur congregation.

Under the dictation of St. Magdalena, she wrote down subsequent notebooks in a mystical way. The words written then concerned Fulla herself. Then came the mystical revelations presented in this book – an extraordinary journal of mystical meetings with saints, containing their teachings. During one of the visions, St. Magdalena told Stephanie to write down her words. "Take a piece of paper and a pencil. Don't shine the light. Write. Calm down, come next to me. Sit closer."

" I sat down with the notebook on my lap and suddenly the pencil started moving on the paper by itself. I was just holding it. I don't know what she was writing because I didn't hear any dictation. Shine the light and read it" - we read in the notes. The note contained instructions for Stefania.  Over time, Fulla began to have mystical revelations. They were presented in a book entitled "The Holy Lady. Mystical Revelations and Visions". The publication contains the teachings of the saints who came to Fulla, their messages, as well as descriptions of the realities of heaven, purgatory, and hell experienced by Fulla.

 Other saints came to Fulla’s apartment on Kopernika Street in Lviv: Cardinal Mercier, John Bosco, Teresa of the Child Jesus, January and Sylwester, Andrzej Bobola, John Vianney, Catherine Emmerich, Pierre Giorgio Frassati, Joan of Arc, Stephen, and Nicholas. They came to her very realistically – Fulla could, for example, touch the rough habit of St. Magdalena Zofia.

The altar in her house became a tabernacle. Fulla smuggled the Holy Communion stored there to prisoners whom she helped, but was caught and arrested by the Soviets. She was sentenced to 10 years, serving the entire sentence in the hell of the Gulag, surviving the terrible test of the cross, when she underwent an operation to remove her stomach and duodenum without anesthesia.

Returning to Poland, she settled in Zakopane with her sister Zofia, offering advice, prayers and hope  to those who came to her.

After a life full of sacrifice, suffering, and service, Fulla Horak died in Zakopane on March 9, 1993.

  Father Tomasz Horak points out that there is no answer to the question of why the Church has not recognized Fulla Horak's writings so far.  There were attempts by the German publisher to obtain the bishop's permission to print and distribute the book, i.e. an imprimatur. This is not a confirmation of the authenticity of the revelations, but consent to print may be confused with such confirmation. Hence the excessive caution of church offices. 

Only 27 years have passed since Fulla's death in 1993. In the scheme of things, this is not a long time. In the case of people who experienced revelations, very often the Church has banned the distribution of the content transmitted in the revelations, such as  the case with St. Faustina's "Diary".  So far nothing in her visions has been found to b against Church doctrine.

Some of the visions taken from her journals:

"The sufferings of purgatory are long and more severe than the hardest life! The torment of a soul eternally damned exceeds our imagination in its monstrosity. There is nothing in our concepts to which it could be compared. And the eternal happiness that God has destined for the saved, the happiness that I know from those who are already experiencing it, surpasses everything, and at the same time is worth overcoming all the weakness of our corrupt nature to gain it! God has promised eternal happiness to all who love Him, and He will keep His Word!" - describes Fulla in the book "The Holy Lady".

 Heaven  "The bland, helpless human imagination, unable to find another word for it, says that eternal happiness is singing, proclaiming the glory of God and constantly looking into the Face of God.. it is not stillness and inaction! "Looking into the Face of God" is the inability to do anything otherwise than according to His will. Here everything that our imagination could create is realized. For all the most fantastic human thoughts are but a pale, distant reflection of God's ingenuity. In Heaven the soul will find all desires, but it will find them in a perfect form. It will find there even that which, unthought of, lay at its bottom as a longing".

 "Purgatory is more terrible than anything that can be said about it. Purgatory consists of countless and most diverse circles. The circle of Hunger, Fear, Horror, Affliction. Speaking of Purgatory, I will omit the torment of longing for God, because this longing is the fundamental state of the repentant soul. It might seem that as we enter higher and higher Circles of purification, as we approach the Eternal Light more and more, the torment of longing weakens in the face of the hope of imminent satisfaction. No! The proximity of this Light intensifies in the soul the intense, unique striving to unite with it - it pulls it towards itself with incomprehensible force, so that in the last Circle of Purgatory, where there are no other sufferings apart from waiting, the longing for God reaches its highest intensity.

Nothing weighs down the soul in purgatory as much as the resentment or hatred of those left on earth. In contrast to the mutual benefit of prayer for the dead, such hatred brings mutual harm."

The most merciful, most tender, most powerful Advocate of the souls suffering in Purgatory is the Most Holy Virgin Mary.

Every offering always has, but especially on All Souls' Day, a huge real value for the souls in Purgatory. You can offer any little thing for them. Even the effort of going to the cemetery, carrying a wreath, the crowding in the tram, getting cold, getting soaked - everything! You just have to offer it consciously. The intention gives importance and meaning to every effort."

 Hell  "Like Heaven and Purgatory, Hell is divided into the most diverse and innumerable Circles. The lower the Circle, the more terrible the torment in it. The damned soul knows about the full greatness, power and beauty of God, and is simultaneously aware that it will never see Him. It knows that its suffering is eternal and that nothing will soothe or alleviate this torment. It is burned by the unquenchable fire of desire and longing for happiness that will never be its share.

 A torment that no words can convey: conscious, aware, hopeless, hateful and eternal torment - this is the state from which no damned soul will ever emerge. And this is Hell!"

The mystic also drew attention to the importance of Guardian Angels in our lives. "When God creates a human soul, He simultaneously assigns it a Guardian Angel. This is a Spirit whose properties are closely adapted to the character of the soul entrusted to His care. The Guardian Angel's care for a person is limited to protecting them from what God has allowed to happen to them. In such cases, the Guardian Angel has the right to intervene with Divine Providence and can remove many things from a person through his intercession. However, this can only happen when the good will of a person listens to the inner promptings and warnings of his Guardian Angel."

Father Tomasz Horak points out that there is no answer to the question of why the Church has not recognized Fulla Horak's writings so far.  There were attempts by the German publisher to obtain the bishop's permission to print and distribute the book, i.e. an imprimatur. This is not a confirmation of the authenticity of the revelations, but consent to print may be confused with such confirmation. Hence the excessive caution of church offices. 

Only 27 years have passed since Fulla's death in 1993. In the scheme of things, this is not a long time. In the case of people who experienced revelations, very often the Church has banned the distribution of the content transmitted in the revelations, such as  the case with St. Faustina's "Diary".

GOD'S ARCHITECT

 

Earlier in the month (May 16)  we dealt with an American Benedictine architect, Father Michael McInerney, OSB.   Here is another builder, more well known, now up for canonizaton.  VENERABLE ANTONI GAUDI I CORNET, known to be a ground-breaking genius, is internationally recognized as one of the most prodigious experts in his discipline, as well as one of the top exponents of modernism. His building designs were a product of his intense Catholic faith, his dedication to Spanish culture, and his obsession with the structural logic of nature. He is known as "God's Architect".

He was born in 1852 in Reus, where his family spent their summers. He came from a family of boilermakers, a fact that allowed the young Antoni to acquire a special skill for working with space and volume as he helped his father and grandfather in the family workshop. His talent for designing spaces and transforming materials grew and prospered until it eventually metamorphosed into a veritable genius for three-dimensional creation.

 As a child, Antoni’s health was delicate, which meant that he was obliged to spend long periods of time resting at the summer house in Riudoms. There, he passed many an hour contemplating and storing up in his mind the secrets of nature, which he thought of as his supreme mistress and ultimate teacher of the highest knowledge, being the crowning achievement of the Creator.

In 1870 he moved to Barcelona to pursue his academic career in architecture, at the same time working at various jobs to enable him to pay for his studies. He was an inconsistent student, but he was already showing some evidence of brilliance that opened doors for him, allowing him to collaborate with some of his professors. When he completed his studies at the School of Architecture in 1878 the Director, Elies Rogent, declared: “I do not know if we have awarded this degree to a madman or to a genius; only time will tell.”  His  ideas were not a mere repetition of things that had already been done up to that time.

He began to receive more and more commissions and at the same time began a transformation of his old self. The man, who in his youth had frequented theatres, concerts and social gatherings, went from being a young dandy with gourmet tastes to neglecting his personal appearance, eating frugally and distancing himself from social life, while simultaneously devoting himself ever more fervently to God.

His masterpiece and best known is the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, also known as the Sagrada Família, which towers over the city of Barcelona. In 1883 was offered the task of designing and building the Church of the Holy Family, a project sponsored by a lay association and relying entirely on individual donations. He was, in some ways, a surprising choice. 

Though hailed as a creative genius whose work combined an eclectic range of styles, he was also something of a dandy. Yet he took on the project with almost single-minded dedication. The church became more and more ambitious. Incorporating inlaid ceramics, wrought iron, and original sculpture, it began to grow into an astonishing work of art—a reflection of the artist’s imagination but also, increasingly, a reflection of his growing faith.  

As his church began to take shape, Antoni grew closer to the One he called “the greatest master builder.” He adopted an ascetic life, dressing as a workman, fasting frequently, and attending daily Mass. While also designing many other buildings, Holy Family became his central work. In the last months of his life he slept on a cot in the church.

On June 7, 1926,on his way to Mass, he was struck by a streetcar. Mistaken for a beggar, he was taken to the charity ward of the local hospital, where he died on June 10.   His funeral was attended by many of the citizens of Barcelona who came to bid a final farewell to the most original architect that the city had ever raised up.

Though work on the Church of the Holy Family continues to this day, it has long been recognized as one of the world’s architectural treasures. In 1999 it was also named as a basilica. 

The church is an active basilica and was dedicated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, 128 years after construction first began. "In this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his sentiments in the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of representing the soul of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in man”."

Nora Heimann, a professor of art history at The Catholic University of America in Washington, said that Gaudí’s canonization would bring many architects and artists joy to see one of the most renowned architects included in the canon of saints.

“God is the best artist of all, and I think artists like Gaudí that look to nature to find that beauty and then try and capture that beauty themselves in a completely innovative way. Even if you’re not religious, you feel a kind of sense of transcendence.”

                               Funeral Procession of Servant of God Antoni Gaudi

 

A MAN OF CLEAR IDEAS

 

POPE LEO ‘has the mentality of a mathematician’ and ‘knows how to govern,’ confrère says. 

In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, OSA, one of two undersecretaries of the General Secretariat of the Synod, shared his memories of the new Pope, with whom he worked at the Augustinian general curia beginning in 2008. (The future Pope was the Augustinian prior general from 2001 to 2013.)

 

The new Pope “is a man with very clear ideas,” said Bishop Marín. “He has the mentality of a mathematician and a canonist. He is extremely orderly, tireless in his work, thoughtful. He never makes decisions lightly. He meditates, reflects, and prays. He is a person who, faithful to the Augustinian style, always works in a team.”

 The prelate added:

He is a man who knows how to listen, he listens a lot and listens to different opinions. This does not mean that he agrees with all of them, but he listens to them and dialogues. He knows how to govern. He makes decisions, but always in a dialogical style.

 Turning to the topic of sexual abuse, Bishop Marín said that “he has always been by the victims’ side. Always. And he has scrupulously respected all the protocols. His way of proceeding has been irreproachable. He was one of the few who has always remained by the victims’ side.”

NEW MADONNA

 

 

May 18, Volodymyr Zelensky met with the new Holy Father, Pope Leo.

 “For many nations, the image of a mother and child is a symbol of life that must be protected. Today, we presented Pope Leo XIV with a special icon – the Holy Mother with the Infant - painted on a fragment of a crate used to store heavy artillery munitions, brought from near Izyum. This icon speaks of our children. Of those who have suffered from the war, who were deliberately abducted and deported by Russia, and who are very much awaited at home – in Ukraine. We pray for the lives of all our deported children and hope for the Vatican’s support in this matter, so that all of them, both the children and Ukrainian prisoners, can return home.”

BENEDICTINE ARCHITECT

 

I think many years ago, I did a Blog on the work of my great grandfather, who was a well- known architect and builder (he did the first “skyscraper” under Louis Sullivan) in St. Louis.  My father studied architecture in college and though he never set up a practice in Los Angeles, he designed houses for family and friends. My elder brother was very successful in the building trade, and like my father, very artistic. Because it is in my blood, I am always interested in good building and found this Benedictine monk, who designed Churches in the East, about the same time my great grandfather was working. The use of brick and stone were among similarities in their work.

FATHER MICHAEL  McINERNEY, O.S.B. was born in 1877 in Pennsylvania of Irish immigrants. His father was a stone contractor and at age 15 he was accepted as an apprentice to work under the architect W.A. Thomas of Pittsburgh.  Augmenting his training with studies at Duquesne University, the he quickly advanced and soon became a partner in the firm.   

(My great grandfather  who had immigrated from Germany at 17, owned the business by age 27 that he started to work in). Michael got his start as a teenager working as an assistant to his father and obviously had a love of stone.

 In the Holy Year 1900 Michael enrolled at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, intending to receive a  liberal arts education.  Soon after he arrived a fire ravaged through Robert Lee Stowe Hall built in 1898.  That fire of May 19, 1900 proved to be a turning point in his life and the life of the Abbey and College.  Michael volunteered his services to help with the interior reconstruction of the gutted building.  That was the beginning of his long career as architect of Catholic institutional buildings locally and beyond.

As with so many in religious life, we have plans and then God intervenes, calling us. Michael entered the monastery in 1902 and professed monastic vows in 1903.  He was ordained priest in 1907.  His designs were primarily for Catholic institutions that included approximately 200 churches, 27 hospitals, 18 convents or monasteries, 10 gymnasiums, and other projects as well.  His works were influenced and particularized by his love for monastic architecture.  He became known as "Father Michael of Belmont Abbey."

(Right: St. Michael's  Church in Gastonia, NC)

Trained in the medieval-revivalist style of his time, he brought to life churches and convents and church properties rich in architectural theology.  Father McInerney developed his own style that became known as "American Benedictine."  This was a red brick variation of the German Gothic Revival, named thus for its frequent use by monasteries. 

 Interior ornamentation was simple and austere.  Exterior ornamentation was intrinsic rather than appended as an afterthought.  His signature was a long-stemmed cross  that is customarily seen in many of his building exteriors; sometimes in bold relief while other times more subtly inscribed in the brickwork design.

(Left: Portico- Belmont Abbey)
His works are remembered for their imposing beauty and simplicity.  His first full creation, St. Leo Hall,  was designed by him as a seminarian and built in 1907.  The accomplishment won for him significant acclaim. The design he pioneered had a box shape that gains special distinction from its Gothic windows and the projection of the roof. 

The texturing of the brick and the shapes and sizes of the windows create a Benedictine feel.  This work as well as his other creations on the campus of his Alma Mater, Belmont College, helped establish the young monk-architect as a leading religious architect in Catholic circles.  

 Because of the poverty and minority of Catholics in the South, his works in the Carolinas centered on small chapels, but by the 1920's he had a national clientele and most of his large projects were out of state, including Maryland and West Virginia. 

Over time Father McInerney's style of design evolved, emphasized by a shift from brick to stone, from Gothic Revival to a striking conception of the Romanesque imposed on classically simple facades, to his own abbreviation of the the Art Deco, with a new economy of exterior line with a taste for flat roofs and squared towers, emphasizing the box form.  These later buildings had strikingly unornamented interiors whose art and expression proceeded from the structural design.  

The modest income he earned helped keep his Abbey solvent during the Great Depression.  As an artist he also designed altars, candlesticks, chalices, vestments, candelabra, sanctuary lamps, pews, and even grave markers.  As an artist he contributed many articles on the subject of church and institutional architecture, stained glass, and other related topics.  He served on the faculty of Belmont Abbey College and during the summer months he was an adjunct professor at St. Louis University in Missouri. (Did he come across my great grandfather?)

                     (Right: Sacred Heart Convent & Church)

According to local historian Father Pascal Baumstein, OSB:

"The Stained Glass Association of America and the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects granted him honorary memberships. In 1959, St. Vincent College of Pennsylvania awarded McInerney its doctorate (honoris causa) in recognition of his more than five hundred buildings, his 'devotion to ecclesiastical art, the sacrifices and labors of the priest and monk, and the economy of church funds [secured through] the endeavors of his artistic and architectural talents.' He is interred in the monastic cemetery at Belmont Abbey."

VOCATIONS AS A SIGN OF HOPE

 

            "Prayer", Jacob Lawrence, 1947- Whitney Museum of American Art, NY 

Tomorrow, May 11 the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is Mother’s Day and also the Church commemorates the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is important to remember that without priests, there would be no Eucharistic celeration, no partaking in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

 Pope St. Paul VI instituted the day of prayer in 1964 and placed it on the Sunday on which the Gospel of the Good Shepherd is read at Mass. 

The message for this day, was issued by the late Pope Francis on March 19, entitled “Pilgrims of Hope: The Gift of Life.” Following an introduction, the message has three brief sections, entitled “Embracing our specific vocation,” “Discerning our vocational path,” and “Accompanying vocations.”

 “The problem of having a sufficient number of priests,” Pope Paul stated in his message for the 1st World Day of Prayer for Vocations, “has an immediate impact on all of the faithful: not simply because they depend on it for the religious future of Christian society, but also because this problem is the precise and inescapable indicator of the vitality of faith and love of individual parish and diocesan communities, and the evidence of the moral health of Christian families.”

 “Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity,” he added.

Pope Benedict’s prayer in 2013 with the theme "Vocations as a sign of Hope founded in Faith", especially addressed to young people, fits right in with Pope Francis' theme for  the Jubilee Year 2025 of HOPE:

I hope that young people, who are presented with so many superficial and ephemeral options, will be able to cultivate a desire for what is truly worthy, for lofty objectives, radical choices, service to others in imitation of Jesus. Dear young people, do not be afraid to follow him and to walk the demanding and courageous paths of charity and generous commitment! In that way you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of a joy that the world cannot give, you will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love, you will learn to “give an account of the hope that is within you” .

THE NEXT POPE?

 

Tomorrow, May 7, is a big day for Catholics the world around, as Cardinals vote to elect the next Pope. With all the hype in the media, it is as if we are choosing the next Derby winner, rather than the one who will lead us closer to Christ.

Bishop Robert Barron in an interview with EWTN this week, said the next pope should have Jesus at the center of his papacy.

 “I want someone who declares the resurrection of Jesus in a compelling way. Because that was Peter’s job, and this is the successor of Peter. I think to put the stress on the spiritual, on the evangelical, on the declaration of Jesus — that’s what matters.” 

 “The preoccupation with — oh, is he left-wing? Is he right-wing? Climate change, immigration — OK, we can get to all that, but the first thing I’d look for is a disciple, a believer in Jesus, and who has the capacity to proclaim the Resurrection in a compelling way, that’s the pope’s job, [and] to be a source of unity for the Church.”

While there are speculations as to whom it will be, we need to remember that two of our last Popes were completely unexpected...Pope (St. )John Paul and Pope Francis.  Will it be another non-Italian? We wait!

SERVANTS FROM THE SAME TOWN

 

 

How many places in the world today have three young people being considered for canonization- all from the same city? The Archdiocese of Paraná began the diocesan phase of its Servants of God Carlos R. Yarez and Victor Schiavoni (see past two Blogs) and  MARIA CRUZ LOPEZ  who was not only born in Paraná, Argentina (1986) but died of the same disease as the two young men.

The daughter of Daniel López and Noemí Johnston, she was the eldest in a family of four children, with parents committed to the faith. She was a young woman with a missionary soul and a joyful, peaceful outlook.

María Cruz stood out for her immense, serene smile and her concern for helping others. She also drew, sang, and played the keyboard. She was dedicated to her studies and her friends and she lived her youth with joy.

 At 14, she encouraged the formation of the Claretian Missionary Movement "Prejumicla" at the San Francisco Javier Chapel. There, she demonstrated her great missionary spirit, motivating others, visiting homes, and committing herself to the families she visited. She later continued in Catholic Action, combining these two charisms until her death.

In her senior year of high school, she was diagnosed with leukemia.  At first she was upset, but she accepted her illness with great fortitude and peace, giving strength to her family and friends. In the face of great pain, she always knew how to bear it with a smile and the confidence that God had not abandoned her.

This attitude of dedication and service motivated her high school class to transform itself under the motto "All for Maria Cruz." Her classmates joined in prayer, worship, visits, letters, and campaigns to help her. There was a tremendous spiritual force surrounding her illness and a tremendous attraction of grace.

In her family, school, parish groups, friends, and  university she left traces that deeply impacted those who knew her. María Cruz was an example of the importance of surrendering ourselves completely to God and accepting His will in our lives. Despite facing an illness that sapped her strength, she maintained her spirit of service and trust in God, praying for others and encouraging prayer. 

Her biographers recount that María Cruz “accepted the test as God's will and decided to offer her illness, especially for the unity of her class (she had been sharing the last years of high school with a difficult, disunited class, with many behavioral problems), also for her family and for the priests. As the weeks passed, after beginning treatment, her diagnosis worsened: she suffered from hepatosplenic lymphoma, a rare and more serious oncological disease.

Even while hospitalized, she remained faithful to her spirit of service, thinking about how to help those also hospitalized and accompanying everyone in prayer.  And without knowing it, her own  prayer and closeness to God awoke ithe Spirit in othes who prayed especially for her.

In 2005, she received a bone marrow transplant and gradually resumed her activities. She began a new apostolate to support children with leukemia and their families at the San Roque Maternal and Child Hospital in Paraná. 

The bone marrow transplant did not help her overcome the disease, which would reappear later that year. Her parents say that despite the grueling, exhausting, and painful nature of the previous treatment, they never saw or heard her complain. 

 Maria died June 2, 2006 at 4:30 p.m., with a smile on her lips.  

All three young people lived in the same time frame, in the same city and one wonders if they knew one another? No matter,  this country of Pope Francis prodcued three exceptional young people, dedicating their lives to Christ and dying of the same disease, knowing how to offer their sufferings in union with Him.

ANOTHER ARGENTINE

 

 

As we just bured our Holy Father Pope Francis, we have another young man from his native land. Amazingly, he comes fom the same area in Argentina as  Victor Schiavoni (past Blog).  SERVANT OF GOD CARLOS RODOLFO YARYEZ also was born in Paraná, earlier than Victor (1977) and both young men died of the same dread disease. He was the son of Clotilde Zunino and José Angel Yaryez, and brother of José Luis Yaryez. His parents and his only brother provided a Christian environment for his childhood, filled with mischief and games, but also with a marked spiritual tendency.

Born in 1969, he spent the first 4 years of his childhood in the village of Tabossi and, at the end of 1972, his parents moved permanently to the city of Paraná where he lived until his death.

He completed his primary education in Paraná, and his secondary education at Technical School No. 3 "Tte. Luis Candelaria"; then pursued a degree in Electromechanical Engineering at the National Technological University, Paraná Region.

At 16, he joined a study group on the Social Doctrine of the Church and later joined the ranks of Catholic Action Argentina at the Parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, Cathedral of Paraná. He was an active member, serving as a junior youth delegate and later as diocesan vice president of the Catholic Action Youth until his death. He was a great educator of young people to whom he transmitted his Christian joy.

 His school friends comment that, at that age, his transformation was noticeable. From his slovenly style of dress and somewhat careless speech (which earned him the nickname "the Indian"), one could see a change in his taste for certain music, his improved academic performance, and his respect for elders and women. This change was so significant that his classmates were careful about their speech and behavior when Carlos was present.

Upon joining Catholic Action, he met his girlfriend, who shared his joy, pain, and illness. He dated her for almost six years, where prayer, the virtue of chastity, and purity kept them united until the end.

His spiritual life deepened through frequent Communion and adoration, as well as Ignatian retreats. He  had a great devotion to the Virgin Mother, especially  Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Mount Carmel and prayed the rosary daily. 

 He knew how to see Jesus Christ in his neighbor, and so he did not hesitate to come to their aid, with true charity and apostolic zeal.

 His reputation for holiness was deeply felt by all those who knew him and shared different moments in his life, when he shone with his sense of humor, his faithfulness as a friend, and his profound spirituality. So much so that a plaque bearing his name hangs in the Youth Room at the Archdiocesan Headquarters of Catholic Action, and another can also be seen at the San Martin Regional Hospital, at the entrance to the Hemotherapy and Immunohematology Section.

His trust in the Divine Will sustained him until his last breath. He passed away on October 30, 1990, in Gracia de Dios, surrounded by a priest and the love of his family, friends, and girlfriend.

He accepted his illness and his suffering with Faith. No one heard him complain. He knew that his suffering had meaning and that the Lord was giving him this opportunity to give himself, with love, for a greater good, which he didn't know about, but which he trusted would bear fruit at some time or place.

 

DIVINE MERCY

 

                                                  Kataryna Shadrina- Ukraine

Cardinal Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, presided over the solemn Mass for DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY held in St. Peter’s Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps as “instruments of mercy for humanity” in the world today. 

“Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred and violence: this is the great teaching of Pope Francis…

It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the Magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity.

Jesus comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams. He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love.”

"There is nothing that man needs more than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God."

                                  —Shrine of Divine Mercy in Cracow, Poland on June 7, 1997

THE POPE OF PEACE AND HOPE - BURIED

 

Cardinal Bychok, who leads the Ukrainian Catholic eparchy of Melbourne (Australia), said in a tribute to Pope Francis that reflects the thoughts of many as today we bury the Holy Father:  

 “Each Pontiff imparts his own personal character on the Church. The Holy Father Francis was a Pope for the marginalized and those on the periphery. He was a man of simple piety who strove to bring the Church closer to people. His gave freely of his gifts and had a unique personal approach to all he met.

 Pope Francis was a Pope of peace. In a world devastated by war he called for peace and justice… the Holy Father was a strong defender of life and the dignity of every person. He worked for the healing of divisions between East and West and for a greater understanding of other faiths, building on that which we have in common rather than our differences.

 Building on the work of his illustrious predecessor Benedict XVI of blessed memory, Pope Francis apologized to survivors of abuse and set in place simpler procedures to deal with perpetrators. He began to implement a culture of safeguarding for the most vulnerable. Work that must continue into the future.

 I ask all Catholics and people of good will to pray for the eternal repose of the late Holy Father giving thanks for his life and the gifts that he freely shared.”

In another tribute, Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, superior general of the Society of Jesus, reflected on the first Jesuit pope, saying Pope Francis “did not seek to please everyone” or to measure himself by a popularity index. Once he chose to be a disciple of Jesus, his deep motivation in life was to put God’s will into practice…. He was “a man of prayer, who asked for prayers to make decisions according to the will of God.”

 “Pope Francis helped put the difference of positions on the table. I don’t think of Pope Francis as a reformer. I think of him as someone who continued the reform that the Church has always carried out.”

 “Pope Francis’ most urgent legacy for today will be his calls for peace. I think Pope Francis has shouted in every moment, on every occasion, about peace. The world needs peace and peace is built by us. Peace means to put aside any other priority than people and the dignity of people. And peace means justice with the poor. I think the constant prayer and the constant argument about peace by Pope Francis is a very important message for today.”

It is not a coincidence that Pope Francis died part way through 2025, in the year he had proclaimed a Jubilee of HOPE, for many have called him the pope of Hope.

In his own words, the Holy Father written:  “In times like the ones we are living, in which the Third World War being fought ‘piecemeal’ that is unfolding before our eyes can lead us to assume attitudes of gloomy discouragement and ill-concealed cynicism.”

Hope is “the hinge on which the world remains standing, despite all the wickedness and nefariousness caused by our sins as men and women.

To hope, then, is to welcome this gift that God offers us every day. To hope is to savor the wonder of being loved, sought, desired by a God who has not shut Himself away in His impenetrable heavens but has made Himself flesh and blood, history and days, to share our lot.”