Castle
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Castle
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Are castles a thing of the past? Not for Frs. Ignacio Echarte, SJ, and José María Recondo, SJ. These two Jesuits of the Loyola Province in Spain assisted in research for the construction of a Japanese replica of the castle of Francis Xavier in Spain. The replica, located in the Park of Spain in the city of Shima, Japan, houses exhibits on Spain and has drawn great crowds--more than 2.5 million in the first five months alone.
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Hispanic Pastoral Program
The Center for Pastoral Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) recently began a two-year Certificate Program in Pastoral Studies in Spanish. "Hispanics are assuming a number of roles in the parishes: lector, liturgical minister, and social service outreach volunteers and coordinators," says program coordinator Fr. Allan Deck, SJ. "However, the Spanish-speaking community hasn't experienced systematic formation in their Catholic faith. There's a hunger in that com-munity for more in-depth knowledge of their faith."
The program, often a stepping stone toward higher degrees, spans fourteen weekends plus one week per summer. Faculty come from LMU and other universities, including Boston College and Fordham. Response to the 1993 pilot program was extremely positive, and a new class began in August
Making Music
From East and West, a new CD collection of liturgical music composed by Fr. Bob Dufford, SJ, features a variety of musical modes--from a capella arrangements to rich choral and orchestral settings. The scriptural texts follow the movements and themes of the first two weeks of Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises.
"I hope these pieces become a source of prayer and support for people," says Dufford, "and a way to help them in their private reflection." Dufford, best known for songs like "Be Not Afraid," which he composed as one of the original composers called the St. Louis Jesuits, has another collection due out soon: To Stand in Your Presence.
Cycling Against Cancer
Tour de France men who took a wrong turn at Toulouse? Mais non! These four pedaled a tour de force of their own to "break the cycle of cancer." Holy Cross grad David Joncas and Boston College grads Michael Dolan, Jim Doyle, and Tim Minahan pooled their professional resources in accounting and communications and combined it with their love of cycling to organize "Wheels for America," a coast-to-coast tour aimed at raising $250,000 for the American Cancer Society and at increasing awareness of the disease and its prevention. Sponsors included Arthur Andersen, Reader's Digest, MCI, Veryfine Juice, Budget Car Rental, and Michelin.
Launching their trip in San Francisco on June 5, the cyclists pedaled their way through Yellowstone National Park, Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo, finally dipping their wheels in Boston Harbor on July 30. For all four, "Wheels for America" was a personal war against cancer, which has afflicted their own families and friends.
Says Dolan, "'Wheels for America' has ignited passions in me I never knew I had. I'm driven by the challenge of raising thousands of dollars for this worthwhile cause."
Pen Pals
Youth leader, educator, editor, and playwright Fr. Daniel Lord, SJ, is pictured above saying mass on location during the filming of King of Kings. Lord was a good friend of Hollywood director Cecil B. deMille, as evidenced by 37 letters between the two that are in the archives of the Missouri Province.
According to archivist Nancy Merz, the letters show deMille's high professional regard for Lord (who advised deMille on movies including King of Kings and The Sign of the Cross) and their personal concern for each other. An example comes from a 1939 letter deMille wrote to Lord: "Mrs deMille and the children are all well. I am four times a grandfather but still striving to walk with a sprightly and springy step and still endeavoring to improve my understanding of Divine Truth. Your letter has brought warmth to me. I have missed your companionship."
Kosice Martyrs Canonized
On July 2, Pope John Paul II canonized Blessed Stephen Pongraz and Blessed Melchior Grodecz, seventeenth-century Jesuit priests martyred in Kosice, Slovakia. Also canonized was Blessed Mark Korosi (Crisinus), a Jesuit-educated diocesan priest and companion of Grodecz and Pongraz in their ministry to Catholics in Kosice.
During Europe's Thirty Years War, Frs. Pongraz and Grodecz cared for the needs of neglected Catholics in Kosice. When Calvinist soldiers besieged Kosice in September 1619, they arrested, tortured, and killed the three for refusing to renounce Catholicism and accept Calvinism. Beatified by Pope St. Pius X in 1905, the feast of these newly canonized saints is celebrated on January 19.
Mediator
Fr. Jim Radde, SJ, believes that more people need to learn to deal positively with conflict. In return for his mediation training under the auspices of Nebraska's Supreme Court and the Office of Conflict Resolution, Fr. Radde himself (above, with fellow mediator Cyndi Shelton) has been a volunteer mediator in the Small Claims Court of Douglas County, Nebraska.
A longtime health care chaplain educator, Fr. Radde found chaplaincy students expressing the need for mediation skills. Fr. Radde has also pursued family mediation training, and he dreams of establishing a mediation program for the poor. He is currently working on integrating a peer mediation program into the curriculum of a new Jesuit Nativity-style middle school in Omaha. "Teachers and students alike can grow in emotional literacy," says Radde, "and learn strategies for dealing with conflict."