1. Tanzania - UAC

The Centre for the handicapped children at Siuyu, Singida, Tanzania, was blessed by the Bishop of Singida on 20 February 2007 and has started functioning.

Wednesday, 04 April 2007 | 6729 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

2. Third General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Apostolate

The Third Ordinary General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Apostolate was held from 14-17 January 2012 at St. Vincent Pallotti Centre of Spirituality, Grottaferrata, Rome. There were 36 participants at the Assembly consisting of 27 voting members, experts, observers, translators, secretaries and moderators. As a central theme, the Assembly focussed on the challenge of the 'New Evangelization' and the Pallottine response to it. This is a theme that needs to be reflected upon and concretely realised all over the Pallottine world in the coming years. One of the main events of the Assembly was the election of the members of the new General Coordination Council. The 13 members, including the 3 ex-officio Superiors General, represent all the realities of the Union as far as possible. The protection of minors and of vulnerable adults was another theme given serious consideration during the Assembly. The vitality and dynamism of the Union will depend much on creative leadership with a universal vision and a profound love for our Founder and his charism. There should also be the willingness to work systematically on concrete and life-giving expressions of the charismatic vision of our Founder in different cultural and ecclesial situations. With this perspective, the Assembly also approved four proposals for further reflection and implementation: the 'New Evangelisation' and the Pallottine charism as a response to it, the participation of all members of the Union as equal partners in concrete missionary activities, renew and spread the celebration of the solemnity of the Epiphany, in forms suitable to our times, according to the inspiration of St. Vincent Pallotti, and the coordination of communities of lay men and women, consecrated and not. The whole Assembly was, for all the participants, an experience of Cenacle and of true family.

Thursday, 26 January 2012 | 176 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

3. Third annual meeting of the Institute of Pallotti -June 2008

On 12 June 2008, the third annual meeting of the Institute of Pallotti was held in the church SS.Salvatore in Onda, on the theme: "St Paul in the vision of the universal apostolate of Pallotti". The speaker, Fr. Zenon Hanas SAC, Vicar General of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, compared the concept of apostolate in St. Paul with that of universal apostolate in Pallotti. Starting from the vision of universal apostolate of Pallotti as presented in his writings, composed in 1839 at Camaldoli in a very systematic and holistic way, Fr.Zenon pointed out that the concept of universal apostolate represented an original idea of Pallotti, expressed in a pastoral, liturgical and practical language. From the diversity of apostolic tasks described in the Procure emerges the great and realistic experience of Pallotti. Besides, the speaker emphasised the fact that in this vision we can trace the contents of the book of Venerable Maria d'Agreda, Mistica città di Dio. The originality of the thought of Pallotti can be found in the figure and in the role of the thirteenth Procurator, under the protection of St. Paul, as described in the different Procure of the Catholic Apostolate. Pallotti assigned it the task, following the example of St. Paul, to animate the other twelve procure, to coordinate and help with all possible means the apostolic works, to speed up all and care for all, with an open attitude towards entire humanity. The thirteenth Procura signifies, for Pallotti, a unifying model of diverse charisms and gifts for his apostolic works.

Thursday, 26 June 2008 | 6391 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

4. Third annual encounter of the St V. Pallotti Institute 2011

The third of the annual encounters of the Saint Vincent Pallotti Institute occurred on October 13th 2011 as suggested to reflect on the theme of faith in the light of the guiding theme for this year 'to revive faith.' Fr Jerome Vallabaraj SDB professor of Catechesis and youth Ministry at the Pontifical Salesian University was invited to discuss the question of the formation of the young in the faith. The speaker began his presentation with an overview of the most urgent things in the catechesis of the young and he developed the thought of 'Empowering' the young towards the faith that transforms life. The speaker underlined that Saint Vincent Pallotti had the courage and the zeal to begin many changes of the model: the major changes that Pallotti made were the discovery that in the lay world there is a great capacity for good and the education of the young in the faith. The principle new pedagogical approaches in the formation process: According to Saint Vincent Pallotti, you need to stimulate a change in the paradigm in three key areas of youth catechesis that become also the principal objectives: Christian socialisation in the evangelical style of the disciples' lives; enabling from dependence to the process of Empowerment, and from teaching to catechetical learning. The indications contained in these areas are guidelines for those who are engaged in the catechetical learning of the young. The prospect of catechetical learning invites those who are involved in the catechesis of the young to move from a mentality of conquering to an approach of exploration. They do not treat of earning the young, of conquering them or leading them back into the church, but of exploring with them according to their age and culture, the wisdom that makes them live and the signs of God that from the beginning of time He loves to walk with humanity.

Tuesday, 25 October 2011 | 1010 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

5. The third meeting of Institute of St. V. Pallotti -June 2010

The third annual meeting of Institute of St. Vincent Pallotti in Rome, held on 17 June 2010, reflected on the theme: "Collaboration among the priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful in the vision of Pallotti". After specifying the significance f the word "collaboration", the speaker, Fr. Stanisław Stawicki SAC, affirmed that St. Vincent Pallotti proposed and sustained a "Theology of Relationship". According to him, in fact, there is no love, neither human nor divine, without relationship between persons, and since God is love, He is the model, the origin, and the end of every relationship. In the world of today, which is so fragmented, it is not easy to maintain united the contrasting realities. In the opinion of the speaker, if the religious, priests and lay faithful want to remain in a state of relationship, they must take care of such relationships. St. Vincent Pallotti cared much about these relationships: he desired to construct networks of communion among the charisms and worked for unity among the religious. Therefore, he tried to embrace all the spiritualities of the 18th Century, and made every effort to know, love and serve the Lord in all the Congregations. This saint tried, besides, not only to promote communion among the secular, regular clergies as well as the religious, but also wanted to be a "unifying point" between the clergy and the lay people, both men and women. In conclusion, Stanisław Stawicki SAC, invited the Pallottines to reflect seriously on one aspect of their priestly identity, that is, to be "a bridge between the secular and regular clergy in the Church of God". He also reminded that the formation should be always in the spirit of the foundation. In order to take care of our relationships, we need to undertake common and regular formation programs right from the beginning; indeed, we need to "form together" not only occasionally, but regularly, for example, though the meetings of study organized by the St. Vincent Pallotti Institute in Rome. It is formation that can change our mentality, especially the formation "right from the beginning".

Friday, 25 June 2010 | 5753 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

6. Third study meeting of the Pallotti Institute - 4 June 2009

The third study meeting in 2009 of the Pallotti Institute in Rome took place on Thursday June 4th 2009, the theme was "Biblical themes in the preaching of Pallotti." The speaker, Fr. Fabian Silveira, SAC, a member of the International College of Queen of Apostles, developed the topic given to him along three main lines. He started by recalling that, following on from the Synod of Bishops in 2008 on the Word of God, numerous initiates were undertaken to deepen appreciation of the Word of God in Christian life. Therefore, his presentation was in harmony with the Church's current priority, a way of sentire cum ecclesiae. St. Vincent Pallotti, Fr. Fabian affirmed, felt himself to be completely inserted into the life of the Church of the 19th century and followed the normal practice with regard to ordinary preaching, which was an explanation of the Gospel during Mass and Christian instruction, and also with regard to preaching on special occasions which was done during spiritual retreats, during the month of May and at novenas. The models for his preaching were Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist and St. Paul. The Gospel formed the content of his preaching with a special emphasis on Jesus, his poverty, his humility, his hard work and the rejection he suffered. The dominant biblical theme in Fr. Vincent's preaching was the image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The biblical figure of the Good Shepherd strengthened his zeal to show the people of God the vast horizons of pastures and to offer them the healthy nourishment of Gospel truth. Pallotti's own preaching and his advice to preachers, especially his predilection for the figure of the Good Shepherd, are for all of us a source of inspiration and can illuminate our Pallottine pastoral commitment and encourage us to deepen our apostolic spirituality.

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 | 6539 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

7. Transfer of mortal remains of three confreres (Masio)

On the 10 October 2007 two members of the General Council of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, Zenon Hanas SAC and Jacob Nampudakam SAC, made a visit to the Abbey of Masio in order to transfer the mortal remains of the three Pallottine who died in Masio. The visit was also an occasion to meet with the parish priest and many other persons who continue to preserve the memory of the presence of Pallottines in this place. We thank Advocate Patrizia Giavotti for organising this visit. The association of the Abbey of Masio (Province of  Alessandria, diocese of Asti) with St. Vincent Pallotti was initiated with the entry of Giuseppe Faa' di Bruno into the Congregation of the Catholic Apostolate in 1845. From that year on, there developed a very rich history of interaction between the Abbey of Masio and the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines), above all, thanks to the efforts of Giuseppe Faa' di Bruno himself. The Pallottine presence in the Abbey of Masio lasted for about 140 years, until 1987 when the members of the Italian Province left this place definitively. Until today (2007) traces of the Pallottine presence are evident in this place. We can indicate mainly three such places.

Wednesday, 17 October 2007 | 5136 hits | Print | PDF |  Email | Read more

8. Three new auxiliary members of the General Regime

From the month of September 2011, there are three new auxiliary members of the General Regime: Fr Josef Schwind (SP) - pastoral assistant in the Church of San Salvatore in Onda. Fr Josef is German and has lived the majority of his life in Brazil. His task is that of welcoming people that visit our Church of San Salvatore in Onda. Fr Ernesto Varela (UR), Uruguay - assistant to the General Archivist. Fr Ernesto works with Fr Norbert Hannappel in the difficult task of re-arranging our General archive. Fr Ernesto is also a member of the Local Community Council. Fr Norbert Sequiera (BA) India - assistant to the General Bursar. He supports the General Bursar Fr Gerald Dwyer in the innumerable economic issues. In addition, Fr Rory Hanly (IR) is part of the local community of the Generalate this year and as you already know, is Secretary General of the UAC.

Monday, 07 November 2011 | 927 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

9. Triduum and Feast of St. Vincent Pallotti - 2008

The Church of San Salvatore in Onda, the sacred place where our Founder, St. Vincent Pallotti, was buried, had been preparing for days to celebrate the Triduum in honour of St. Vincent. The celebration took place within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the theme of this year's celebration is "Pray continuously".  On January 17th, the opening day, we gathered around the first member of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, Elizabeth Sanna.  We prayed, as we do on the seventeenth of each month, for the beatification of the Venerable Elizabeth and we entrusted the entire Union to the Lord. On the second day, the Eucharist was celebrated in the Armenian Rite at the altar of St. Vincent Pallotti, the presiding celebrant was Mgr. Jozef Kelekian, Rector of the Pontifical Armenian College, who was accompanied by the seminarians. On the following days representatives of the members of the UAC in Italy and Sisters from both Religious Congregations, as well as many of our friends, participated in the solemn celebrations. On January 21st. some students from the Urbanianum College where St. Vincent had exercised the ministry of Spiritual Director for many years, came to visit St. Vincent.  Continuing the annual tradition one of the current students read a letter in reply to that which St. Vincent wrote to the students of the College in 1849.  The Eucharist was celebrated by our confrere Archbishop Henryk Hoser, SAC, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. On January 22nd, the anniversary of the death of St. Vincent, the Eucharistic celebration was led by the Rector General, Fr. Friedrich Kretz, who, for the first time in his period in office, was able to celebrate  our Founder's feast day at San Salvatore in Onda.  We gathered in a family spirit around the altar of St. Vincent Pallotti, all the representatives of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, priests, sisters and laity were present, and together we reflected on the example of his love of God. The Rector General gave us some points for reflection on this by reminding us that it emerges very clearly in the life of St. Vincent itself and also from his writings that he was in love with God.  It is only from someone who is in love that such a level of apostolic activity as St. Vincent lived can flow. At the end of the Eucharist the new National Coordination Council of the UAC in Italy was presented and the members received from the outgoing NCC a lamp, a symbol of the light that will continue to shine. On January 23, we were guests to the Pallottine Parish in Pietralata (Roma), dedicated, of course, to St. Vincent Pallotti. At the Eucharistic celebration, presided by the parish priest Fr. Luiz Quaini (SM), were gathered the Pallottines of the Local Community and that of the Generalate, the Sisters and the lay people of the parish. The evening was concluded in fraternal spirit, with an agape offered by the parishners. The Eucharistic celebration that concluded all the festal celebrations, presided by Fr. F. Todisco, was celebrated on January 25, on the feast of Conversion of St. Paul, at the altar of St. Vincent Pallotti. With a spirit of joy, we thanked the Lord, who has called us to follow him in the Union of the Catholic Apostolate, and has given us in St. Vincent Pallotti, a great example of holiness, of love and of charity.   

Wednesday, 23 January 2008 | 4447 hits | Print | PDF |  Email

10. Triduum and Solemnity of St. Vincent Pallotti

On the most awaited day by the whole Union of the Catholic Apostolate, i.e. 22 January, a large number of the sons and daughters of St. Vincent Pallotti and many guests were gathered together in the Church of the Holy Redeemer for the solemn celebration of the memory of the saint who, for the entire Union, is the guide to sanctity. The main celebrant of the solemn Mass, Very Rev. Fr. Zenon Hanas, the Vice General of the SAC, recalled the key words pertaining to the life, work and spirituality of our Founder: to revive faith and re-enkindle charity everywhere. Vincent Pallotti has left this message and this task to every Christian and in a special way to those who wish to follow Jesus in the Union and grow in perfection in their daily life. As is the case always, the solemn celebration of 22nd was preceded by a triduum inserted into the week of prayer for Christian unity. During these days we have listened to the testimonies of our guests on how they see and understand the person of St. Vincent Pallotti, a Roman priest, spiritual director of many colleges especially of the Propaganda fide and Rector of the Neapolitan Church of the Holy Spirit. In addition to the Triduum, for the first time, there was an hour of Eucharistic adoration organised and animated by the choir of the UAC to pray in the words of St. Vincent who, imploring the guardian angels, wrote "...Jesus himself, above all to encourage me to present myself before him with great trust, order you to remind me if I am afflicted that He, in the most blessed sacrament is my consolation; if I am ill that he is my doctor; if I am blind, deaf or dump that he is my light, my hearing, and my speech; if I am dead, that he is my life; if I stray from the way to paradise, that he is the way; if I am poor, that he is my wealth. PROGRAMME and GALLERY

Friday, 30 January 2009 | 5216 hits | Print | PDF |  Email