Quarterly Newsletter of the Clerics of St. Viator • Volume 10, Number 1
From the Provincial... Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Tsunami, 9/11, sexual abuse and vocation crisis, violence, human addictions, corrupt politicians, volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, snow and ice, cold winds, gray skies, bare trees and fields, and the Chicago Cubs. The newspapers and media newscasters continually bombard us with the latest scandal and disaster of the day. Signs of Fr. Charles G. Bolser, human corruption even invade sanctuaries of purity CSV, Provincial and holiness that were formerly sacrosanct such as professional baseball and Notre Dame football. Many hear in their own minds the echo of the words of Macbeth; “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” As we experience Winter, we bring dead trees into our homes and fill them with artificial lights and colorful decorations to distract us from the darkness, and to remind us that the darkness is only temporary and will give way to the promise of spring. While signs of death abound, we awaken each day, hoping for signs of life and celebrate the birth of the infant who gives life to our world as we begin a new year and life cycle. Winter gives way only grudgingly, but it does in time give way. Our human experience and the seasons of the year teach us that life always renews itself. Our faith however calls us to look for signs of life that abound each and every day. I remember when I first drove out to Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas during the month of July, and as I drove down from the mountains of Colorado into the desert of Utah and Nevada I was convinced that nothing could live in that barren land. It was only by actually taking the time to walk around and look carefully that I began to see abundant signs of life everywhere – only different from what I
was used to seeing. Small cactus flowers, tarantulas, scorpions, wild horses and donkeys, rattlesnakes, and life in abundant diversity thrived. The artificial lights of Las Vegas lit up the sky and a city bloomed in the desert. Life and death seemed intertwined and intimately connected. Great compassion and charity openly existed side by side with greed and corruption. Even today, as we experience human tragedy, we look for God to intervene and make all things well. But we often seem to find God to be absent from our vision. We condemn the proverbial “them” and curse the absent God for not making things better. We become bitter and self absorbed, filled with self-pity and at times a sense of guilt because we are unable to change the world around us. We immerse ourselves in the emptiness of the signs of death that overwhelm our vision. In order to truly see, we need first of all to understand that we are blind. We need to be able to say honestly, “Lord, I am blind; that I may see.” To see is to be able to see beyond the surface and the end of our own nose – to see the human condition as it is. The human condition is certainly filled with great suffering and evil. But it is just as certainly filled with great compassion and life giving. To see the massive destruction of the recent Tsunami and at the same time, the great outpouring of compassion and assistance from people all over the world is to see the hand of God reach out in human flesh to ease the suffering experienced by so many. On the other hand, to view the Tsunami as God’s punishment is to be blind to the reality of the creative process of our planet and our universe that is ongoing. The message of the Gospel is that God is present in celebrations of life as well as in suffering and death. At times, we look for God to be present only in the orderly, but are unable to find God in that which is chaos and destruction. We forget that creation involves the loss of what was in order that the new might come to be. We remain fundamentally unaware that continued on page 2
Renovations are Complete at Province Center Chapel Renovations are complete in the Province Center Chapel – A Special thanks to Bro. Don Houde, C.S.V. for all his help concerning design and implementation. In front of the tabernacle under the crucifix in the renovated chapel at the Province Center is a book entitled “Deliver Those in Need” Inscribed in the book are names of all those who ask the Viatorians to remember their intentions in daily prayers. Inserted in each issue of this Quarterly Newsletter there is an envelope that one can use to list prayer intentions.
Along with your prayers, your financial assistance is greatly needed by the Viatorians to continue our ministries in the United States as well as overseas. If you would like to assist us financially in our ministries, gifts may be sent to: Viatorian Development Office 1212 East Euclid Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004 847-398-6805 You may designate where your gifts will be used, or you can trust us to distribute the funds where they are needed most at a particular time. As a non-profit and taxexempt organization, the Viatorians are very grateful for your prayers and financial support in “educating for the future.” For Wills and Bequests: Clerics of St. Viator an Illinois Corporation
Medical Mission The sixth annual medical mission left for the Corozal District in Belize on February 3, 2005. This year, the Viatorian team will be working together with a group from Cincinnati who has scheduled their medical mission at the same time. The goal this year is to establish clinics in three villages each day. If you would like to assist us financially in this ministry, gifts may be sent to:
Viatorian Development Office 1212 East Euclid Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004 847-398-6805
From the Provincial... continued from page 1 death and life are two sides of the same coin and are inseparably intertwined. The four seasons remind us of this reality always. Jesus teaches us that the resurrection into new life is only experienced by entering fully into our humanity which is filled with change and possibility being realized – and is experienced in both the pain of loss as well as the joy of the new.
knowledge and their compassion with the poor in Belize. I have witnessed efforts to assist Viatorians in Colombia and Belize, as the struggle to bring a more just society to fruition continues. I have witnessed Viatorians consistently make every effort to meet the sacramental and spiritual needs of others without regard to their personal convenience.
Examples of God’s compassion abound in human life. Millions of people every day do what they can to ease human suffering. Doctors, nurses, counselors and teachers, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, contractors and architects, and even lawyers, politicians and priests, rabbis and ministers reach out to those in need with compassion and care. In all of them, if we look carefully, we will see the hands of God active and present. It is in countless normal acts of service that God is made manifest to the world. God speaks to us in whispers and the quiet as well as in the hurricanes of our lives.
We have experienced the growth of Viatorian Associates; men and women dedicated to sharing deeply in the Viatorian spiritual life and ministry. Recently we experienced the ordination of Fr. Edgar Suarez in Bogotá, and the reception of the ministries of Lector and Acolyte by Br. Fredy Santos, and by the First Vows of Br. Frank Enciso. I know of the dream of our Colombian brothers to build a new St. Viator High School and their commitment to the growth of the Viatorian community in Colombia. I see the dedication of our Viatorians in Belize and their struggle to meet the needs of 23 local village communities with their efforts to build a new St. Viator Vocational High School to meet the needs of
From my perspective, I have witnessed countless individuals choose to annually share their medical
Forever a Priest Father Thomas McCarthy, CSV On June 5, 1996, seventy-six year old Father Thomas McCarthy, CSV, was concelebrating Mass in the little chapel of the Santo home in Worcester, Massachusetts. At the moment of the elevation, a small host lying on the paten began to bleed. Father McCarthy witnessed this event with his own eyes. His life would never be the same again. The first thing the bleeding host points to is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the summit and source of Catholic worship (Catechism #1324). To those outside the Church, the Eucharist is truly a sign of contradiction. How is it possible that the Eternal God is present under the form of bread and wine? The words of the Tantum Ergo, sung for centuries during Benediction, say simply, “Faith supplies where senses fail.” Throughout history, when faith was lacking, miracles served to call attention to the Real presence: mysterious lights, ciboriums or monstrances suspended in the air, and most dramatically, hosts shedding blood—sometimes so profusely as to splatter the walls and pour onto the floor. Wherever these events took place, conversion followed and a wave of Eucharistic devotion expressed itself in pilgrimages and the building of churches. Yet, a Eucharistic mystery is really a one-two punch: you can’t talk about the Eucharist without including the priesthood. The Holy Father has written, “Every priest is a hidden force.” If a Eucharistic mystery points to the Real Presence of Christ under the outward forms of bread and wine, it
also reminds us of the presence of Christ in the priest who pronounces the consecrating words, “This is MY Body…this is MY Blood.” Not by accident does the priest speak in the first person. He is, at that moment, in persona Christi, acting as Christ by virtue of the sacrament of ordination that he has received. The mystery of the priesthood is even more heightened if we consider the men who are called to this sacred ministry. They come in all shapes and sizes, personalities and backgrounds, ethnic groupings and political persuasions. The only common denominator among them is the One Priesthood of Christ that they share. Just as faith penetrates the appearances of bread and wine, so does it recognize Christ present in every one of His priests.
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the people of that area. We recently accepted 13 Pre-Associates to better prepare them to be of service wherever and whenever they are needed. In addition, Viatorians serve faithfully in Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Burkina
“God is calling us forward, filled with faith that He is alive, active, and visible in our world and within our Community.” Faso, Chile, Japan, Taiwan, France, Canada, and Spain as well as the United States. I recognize the tremendous compassion and dedication of these men of Viator and countless laity that support our efforts in so many ways. In all of this, we understand that the greatest enemy is ignorance and our Viatorian mission to educate in faith is truly our gift. Today, in the midst of dwindling numbers of Viatorian priests and brothers, Eric Derr and Chris Bankie are living and working at Viatorian apostolates to discern the possibility of Religious Life. John Eustice and Moises Mesh (the first Belizean candidate) are immersed in our Novitiate program in Kankakee, Ill. Two other Viatorians, Dan Belanger and Corey Brost are studying theology at Chicago Theological Union
with a view toward ordination to the priesthood. We also recently accepted ten new Associates in Las Vegas, Nev. and we are privileged to have 29 active Associate Viatorians praying and working with us in the United States. God is alive and present within our Community and we see signs of life. This life is dynamic and is found in the very process of change and development that is both frightening and heartening. God is calling us and although we are not always sure where we are being led, but we know with certainty that God knows – and that is enough. It is not important what others choose to do or not to do. What is important is what we choose. To be Viatorian means to choose to participate in the human pilgrimage and to enable ourselves and others to see God. So often the Church is the only voice of the poor, speaking to a world that does not want to listen. In this, we remember that the Church is, as Tim Unsworth said so well, everybody and that God is present in the whole Church. As God is present in all of creation – the functional and the dysfunctional – we find within ourselves the light and the shadow – the human and the divine and in this we are brothers and sisters to Jesus of Nazareth and to each other. In all of this, we take hope. And maybe, just maybe, the Cubs will win the pennant this year.
In the Footsteps of Our Founder roofs of fluted tiles, do not fall into line, but crowd each other all along the four or five narrow rough streets.”
Fr. Querbes Named Pastor at Vourles The year 1822 proved to be a decisive year for Fr. Louis Marie Querbes. The 29 years old had been Parochial Vicar (Assistant) at his home parish of St. Nizier in Lyons for six years. St. Nizier, with 25,000 members, was the most active, dynamic, urban parish in Catholic Lyons.
Vourles had been greatly contaminated by the virus of the French Revolution (1789-1799). The village provided recruits to the Revolutionary Forces for the siege of Lyons. Vourles was called “Vourles-the-Courageous”. Thirty-five citizens were honored for “Their exemplary Republican spirit”. Despite “The Restoration” after the Concordant (1801) the ideas of the Revolution, which decried and mocked religion and the church, persisted and were deeply embedded in the town folk.
Fr. Querbes had already developed a reputation as a promising priest. He was admired for his success as a catechist among children and adults alike; for promoting Sacred Heart and Marian devotions, and for his pastoral zeal both in and outside the confessional. Because of the excellence of his scripture-based homilies, Fr. Querbes was in demand for conferences to prayer groups, pious societies, for retreats and for parish missions.
St. Bonnet, patron of the parish, was a noted Bishop of Clermont-Ferrand. He spent his last 25 years in Lyons and died there January 15, 710. His remains were transferred from the Benedictine Monastery of St. Pierre to Clermont-Ferrand in 722 or 723.
In the custom of those times a priest his age with six years of ministry was a candidate for a small rural village parish, and, if successful, would be promoted to a larger town, eventually to an urban parish or some ecclesiastical position.
At St. Bonnet, Father Querbes discovered a shamefully neglected parish and a dilapidated church. The church never recovered from the desecration of the Revolution: smashed altars, broken statutes, damaged artifacts and profaned sacred vessels. The rectory was a neglected, low roof, poorly lighted peasant house.
On October 25, 1822, the Apostolic Administrator of Lyons appointed Fr. Querbes pastor of St. Bonnet in the village of Vourles. He arrived there on October 31. The next day, the Feast of All Saints, Fr. Querbes was installed as pastor. Little did he foresee then that he would remain the pastor in Vourles for 37 years.
Only a few parishioners were sincerely Catholic. A handful attended services. The prevailing spirit was one of gross impiety, prejudice against religion, and disrespectful, discourteous, even spiteful attitudes toward priests.
Vourles lies in the region of the Rhone River Valley, 12 km south of Lyons and is situated amid the undulating plains of Brignais with its farms, peach orchards and vineyards. In the near distance flows the Garonne River. The green hills surrounding Vourles rise to woodlands and to St. Andre-laCote in the Lyonnaise Mountains, with Mount Pilat visible to the south.
Yet here, Fr. Querbes was to devote his lifetime of catechizes and evangelization which he consecrated to Jesus, through Mary and the Holy Angels. In the next article, we will highlight the approaches Fr. Querbes undertook as he began his pastoral ministry at Saint Bonnet in Vourles. Leo V. Ryan, CSV
Vourles in 1822 was a village of about 800 people. Our former Superior General, Pierre Robert, CSV wrote “ It’s houses, with their clay walls and
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Three Jubilarians Share Their Roles as Viatorians dealt with troubled kids that oftentime were concerned about a place to live and keeping the gangs at bay.
Fr. John Puisis lives for the honor and glory of God As a young boy, Father John Puisis, CSV, read about the lives of the saints, which greatly influenced his decision to dedicate his life to Christ. That was 60 years ago in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. “My parents were both religious, but my mother was very prayerful and devout,” explained Father Puisis. His mother and father raised six children, two of whom became priests.
“It was there that I realized that spirituality comes before doctrine,” said the street-smart priest. “I knew these kids believed in God because if you’re kicked out and living on the street you pray to God. If you’re running in the alley and some one is shooting at you, you pray to God. You have to start with spirituality and then introduce the religion to people.” Working with inner city kids gave Fr. Eck a first hand understanding of cultural differences. After a short interim as a hospital chaplain, he found himself again at another parish in Springfield that was experiencing cultural differences. Faced with a declining school enrollment, Fr. Eck worked to build an understanding among his parishioners of diversity and tolerance.
“I remember when I was in the eighth grade my teacher also had a strong influence on what I read which led me to a religious vocation,” he added. His vast knowledge of the saints familiarized him with many religious orders, which eventually led him to the Clerics of St. Viator.
Fr. Eck is now at St. Viator parish in Chicago not far from his first alternative high school. He believes that young men today seeking vocations will most likely come from the middle classes.
In 1937, after his high school years at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, he attended the Viatorian novitiate in Lemont, Ill. Father Puisis then began teaching high school English, French, Latin, sociology, religion and even some science courses.
Fr. Pedro Herrera realized his vocation “ I think it has been a process of finding and realizing what God wanted for me,” explained Fr.Pedro Herrera, CSV. “ I don’t have an exact moment that I found a vocation.”
When an opportunity came along in 1952 to bring the Viatorian mission to Kyoto, Japan, Fr. Puisis answered the call as an educator and as a pastor of a parish until 1966. However, his greatest joy in life is to bring Christ to others through the sacraments. “Sacraments are the life of Christ, particularly the Mass,” said Fr. Puisis. “ The liturgy is the teaching of the Church, the heart and the mind of Christ. I live my life for the honor and the glory of God. It’s my work.”
Fr. Pedro Herrera, CSV, studied with the Viatorians during his six years of Secondary Education. He was in the group of the first students that the Colegio (San Viator) had in 1963. “It is difficult to say when I realize that I had a vocation to the priesthood,” said Fr. Hererra. “I was an altar boy for a couple of years (I was probably 11-12 years old) at the chapel close to my home. I also served sometimes as an altar boy in school masses.”
Fr. Puisis shared his thoughts on vocations today. “We live with a secular attitude,” he lamented. “People want material things. They want money; they want success. Eventually they learn it’s not that important.”
Fr. Hererra also joined a group of students that one Viatorian formed to prepare them as cathechists –to go to give cathechism in one of the poor parishes in Bogotá (1964-1967 probably); he liked this work too.
Fr. John Eck listened to his heart Fifty years ago, Father John Eck, CSV, sat in his high school classroom and looked at his teacher, Fr. Speakerman, CSV and thought to himself, “I can do that.” Somewhat uncertain, he shared his thoughts with his best friend who encouraged him to “just run around and have fun instead.”
“During vacation time I use to go and work at the Colegio,” he continued. “This probably also helped me to get to know the work and way of life of the Viatorians.” He also remembered saying “mass” at home when he was about ten years old, using clothes that seemed to resemble the vestments of Mass! Being a Viatorian has helped Fr. Hererra in his personal formation and identification as Christian. “The preparation that I have been able to get, academic, personal and spiritual, has helped me to find where are my strengths and limitations,” said the priest from Colombia. “I have been able to serve as a teacher, counselor, friend, administrative, pastor, chaplain, and so many other situations of presence among people –poor and wealthy- -living in peace, and under the violence of the country. In all these different situations, the Viatorians have been at my side as support and motivation.”
But those feelings didn’t go away. John Eck even spoke to his teacher, Fr. Speakerman, CSV, who advised him to at least try the novitiate in Arlington Heights, Ill. and if it wasn’t a good fit, he didn’t have to stay. Entering the novitiate right out of high school, Fr. Eck thought that when he was half way through the program he had better get serious. He went to his 30-day retreat and followed the rules up to the eighth day of the retreat when he thought it was the first time he had experienced God. Was he crazy? Was he holy? He wasn’t sure. In those years he tried to control prayer.
Fr. Hererra believes that there are still many questions that deal with the “future,” the “security,” the “rightness” of the decision to enter in a religious order. “I think that these questions have been always in front of the decision of one person,” he explained. “The same questions or uncertainty may be in front of someone who is making the decision to get married. Of course when you start or begin in an order, you have in your mind many ‘idealistic’ ideas of life, religious, priests, and even people. During the 25 years of priesthood, you just clarify and give the correct color to things, not your color, but the color that they really have.”
He taught at Spaulding high school in Peoria and later entered the seminary in Washington D.C. to become a priest. When he returned to Illinois, he taught at Alleman High School in Rock Island and completed a masters program from Western Illinois University with an emphasis in counseling. Fr. Eck came to Chicago after 12 years in Rock Island to work at an alternative high school in the Uptown neighborhood. Students were runaways and kids who had no place to go but the streets. It was there that Fr. Eck
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World Day of Prayer
Prayer for Vocations
Fr. Dan Nolan, CSV Vocation Director
Radiant God, We offer you our praise and thanks for creating us and all of creation out of love.
During the first two months of this New Year, the Church in the United States has asked Catholics to participate in two important activities to promote vocations. A couple of weeks ago - January 9th through the 14th, we observed National Vocation Awareness Week and next month, on February 6th, we will be asked to observe World Day for Consecrated Life.
You sent your Son, Jesus, as the Light of the World to shine forth your goodness. You call us, like Jesus, to let our light shine by sharing our bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing those in need, and removing oppression from our midst.
National Vocation Awareness Week began on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is on this feast that we also commemorate the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The gospel this day reminded us that God favors Jesus, and He is called and sent for the victory of justice. As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, Jesus, as God’s chosen servant, was sent to open the eyes of the blind, to free prisoners, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Consecrate us through prayer and service. May holiness shine forth from us so that others may come to know and love you. Bless our Church with men and women who dedicate their lives to you through the consecrated life.
By our baptism we too are called for the victory of justice. God’s favor also truly rests on us. When we renewed our baptism vows at mass, hopefully then and now we continue to discern how our vocation in life (as a married person, a single person, a religious priest, brother, sister or as a diocesan priest or deacon) furthers the cause of justice in our world.
Be a lamp to light our way now and always. Amen
In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, as World Day for Consecrated Life. When February 2nd is not on a Sunday, we celebrate this day on the Sunday after the Presentation by promoting consecrated (religious) life throughout the universal Church.
I Want to be More. I Want to
On Sunday, February 6th the scriptures encourage us to let our light shine so that our good works may invite other to do the same. Women and men who have been called by God are to continue to let their lights shine through their profession of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and a life dedicated to prayer and service.
Give
More.
This Sunday also gives the People of God an opportunity to recognize and express gratitude for those who have consecrated their lives to God. This is also a time for the People of God to prayerfully look around us and prayerfully discern who do we see, because of their faith, goodness and talents, causes us to ponder if they would make good priests, brothers or sisters. This is also a perfect occasion to invite, encourage these young people who come to our minds to consider consecrated (religious) life as one of the ways to live out one’s baptismal commitment.
Each of us is called to respond to God in some special way. What is God asking of you? We are looking for men who are college • Are you active and a fully initiated member of the Roman Catholic Church? educated, normally between the ages of 20 and 40. If you have leadership • Do you exhibit enthusiasm, a sense of abilities– can invite and enable others to purpose and a positive life direction? use their gifts, and can be collaborative with women and men of all ages and • Are you a person of integrity that has ethnic backgrounds, we invite you to an awareness of God in your life? contact our Vocation Ministry Program.
Young people today are generous and looking for opportunities to serve others. Some are being called by the Lord to a life of consecration to God. A world of encouragement can do wonders in helping someone who might even be faintly hearing God’s call.
Vocation Ministry 1212 East Euclid Street Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Let us pray regularly giving thanks for the gift that consecrated life has been and continues to be for the Church.
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847.398.0685 www.viatorians.com
Viatorian Tradition Around the World
Haiti: News from Gonaives, Haiti After a very generous response from many sectors of the international Viatorian community, the schools we administer in Gonaives, so devastated by the recent hurricane, have re-opened their doors. The Viatorians in Gonaives, however, do not lack for challenges. During the night of December 1 a band of armed robbers invaded the Viatorian residence of the school. Going from room to room and with guns pointed at the various members of the community, made off with around $1500 (US). Naturally the confreres working at the school were demoralized by this attack, but they continue to work with courage and devotion. This attack occurred only two months after Tropical Storm Jeanne flooded Gonaives tragically killing over a thousand people. Our prayers and support are with these Viatorians who are ministering on the “front lines” of the needs of God’s people.
United States & Colombia: Saint Viator High School Welcomes International Counterparts Playing the instant word association game with "Colombia," many Americans will think of guerrilla war, drug trafficking and kidnapping. They won't think of sophisticated high-rise cities, vibrant culture and Viatorians. A group of Colombian students visiting Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, IL this week hoped to leave a few kinder impressions on their American hosts. "On the news, people always see the violence, the drug trafficking, the bad stuff about Colombia," said Juliana Medina, 14. "That's why we wanted to come, so they know we aren't like that."
The 33 students, ranging in age from 11 to 17, and their four teachers come from three Catholic schools in Bogotá, Colombia. Among them is Colegio San Viator, Saint Viator's Colombian sister school. They spent their time here taking in American culture - from video games to Chicagostyle pizza to Italian beef and hotdogs at Portillo's and sharing some of their own. Thursday, January 20th the international guests went on a field trip to downtown Chicago to visit the John G. Shedd Aquarium and had lunch at Gino’s East. On Friday, it was girls in flowing dresses and boys in white shirts and red kerchiefs as the Colombian guests presented two performances for the Saint Viator faculty and students demonstrating their cultural song and dance. The dances ranged from the foot-stomping joropo from the plains region, which imitates the patter of horse's hooves, to the African rhythms of the garrabato from the coast, in which a figure dressed as Death tries to pull down the vibrant dancing girls who rebuff him. When they aren't on stage, the Colombian students wear jeans and sweatshirts – and become indiscernible from their American peers (save for their tans). The recent snow was a novelty for all but a handful of the Colombians. Carlos Quinchara, a student from Colegio San Viator, got a faceful of it when he opened the sunroof of the car he was riding in with Gina Bozza, a junior whose family hosted him. He was able to teach his American host sister a few things as well, though, "He taught me to salsa, and I took him to cheerleading practice." Before returning to Colombia on Sunday, the students and their host families celebrated Mass and had dinner together at Saint Viator followed by one last special presentation for their generous hosts. “We were very excited to welcome our Columbian guests to Saint Viator High School. This was a unique opportunity for our students to experience different cultures first hand while celebrating their Viatorian connection,” said Assistant Principal Eileen Manno.
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Remembering... Fr. Thomas McMahon, C.S.V. (1928-2004) When Fr. McMahon retired from Loyola University, Chicago in June 1999, he did not realize that he would not be able to experience all the relaxation one expects of retirement. He was not in good health. He did continue to enjoy the camaraderie of the Viatorians and all the McMahon family. Family was always so important to him. Any conversation of length would eventually include a reference to a brother or sister, a niece or nephew. After family and the Viatorians came in importance his colleagues at Loyola where Fr. McMahon spent 28 years as professor of Business Ethics and Business Law. His activities in academia and in the market place all centered on ethics. His work as Director of the Loyola Center for Values in Business was almost as enjoyable as his day to day teaching. Just as he enjoyed teaching, he was so proud of the success of his former students. He labored with great care over every detail of the Center’s annual conference. The many articles he wrote on Business ethics were works of love as were the homilies he meticulously prepared while serving on Sundays at St. Viator and St. Robert Bellarmine parishes. For the last two years of his life, Fr. McMahon was bedridden in hospitals and nursing homes. He remained interested in family and friends. From his sick bed he completed his book Transforming Justice, and on September 18 celebrated his 50th anniversary of ordination with a family and friends.
Fr. Patrick Hayes, C.S.V. (1916-2004) In the signature portrait of Fr. Pat Hayes, he would be wearing a bright green clergy shirt and/or green suspenders, and he would be holding a camera. He would of course be smiling as always. Yes, Fr. Hayes was proud of his Irish heritage and his family from the farming areas of Delavan, Emden and Monticello, Illinois.
After his joy of serving the people of God as a priest, Fr. Hayes loved photography. No one knows how many hundreds of pictures he took in his lifetime. Besides the chronicle of the Hayes family, it would take a library of albums to hold all the pictures of Viatorians and their activities that Fr. Hayes took over his many years in community. At a Viatorian assembly, his camera work never interfered, but quietly he went about taking excellent candid shots. For the first 15 years of his ministry as a Viatorian priest, Fr. Hayes was an English teacher. After that, he spent the remainder of his busy life as chaplain or associate pastor. Between 1953 and 1956 he worked as chaplain at hospitals in Mitchell and Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 1956, he became associate pastor at St. Viator Parish in Chicago. From 1963 to 1968, he began ministering to the people in Las Vegas. For 13 years, he resided at St. Patrick Parish in Kankakee while he was chaplain to the residents of Shapiro Development Center. When it was time for retirement, he returned to Las Vegas where he found many ways to help in the parishes there.
Fr. Daniel Reardon, C.S.V. (1930-2004) He loved laughter and music, fantasy, science, Chicago, his family, and he had an almost childlike appreciation for all of life. During his 54 years of religious life and 43 years of priesthood, Fr. Reardon brought joy and comfort to the many who knew him as friend, priest, teacher, and chaplain. The students who knew Fr. Reardon at Spalding Institute in Peoria, Cathedral Boys High School in Springfield, and St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights between l954 and l974 will remember a lively teacher who “staged” interesting lab experiences. There is probably a snake or some other live animal in the stories they remember. He was all for hands-on teaching and he truly liked his students. After 20 years of teaching, Fr. Reardon began a 30 year career as associate pastor, pastor, and chaplain. His first special experience as a parish minister came when he was assigned to be
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pastor at Holy Cross parish in Morgan City, Louisiana. He went South with a small band of Viatorians who wanted to work as a team in the school and church. His friends have heard the tales of life in Creole country. From 1979 to 1999, Fr. Reardon was associate pastor in several parishes including St. Viator parish in Chicago and Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas. From 1999 until his death, he worked as spiritual director at Villa Desiderata Retreat House in McHenry, Illinois. His last assignment, like all his tasks, he enjoyed very much.
Fr. Wayne Dupuis, C.S.V. (1937-2004) All who knew Fr. Wayne Dupuis remember his wry sense of humor and that hint of a smile that accompanied his sage comments on just about any topic. He was always well informed and never behind the times. The numbers in attendance at his two funerals, one in Las Vegas and one at Bourbonnais near his hometown of Kanakakee, Illinois, were signs of the wide circle of friends who loved him. His ministerial life was divided into three periods. From 1956 to 1978, with four years out for seminary, he worked as teacher and principal primarily in Springfield, Illinois with short assignments in that period of time to Spalding in Peoria and Alleman in Rock Island. Fr. Dupuis worked for 13 years (1978 to 1991) as counselor at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights where he was held in high respect by faculty and students. The many Viator grads like those of Cathedral, Griffin, Spalding and Alleman remember him as a true educator who was so instrumental in helping them find just the right colleges. Former students often came back to visit as part of their way of thanking him. For the last 12 years of his life he worked as Associate Pastor at St. Viator Parish is Las Vegas where the parishioners loved him and he cared for them. He spent a good deal of time preparing his Sunday sermons. His efforts earned him the reputation of a fine homilist in all the parishes where he celebrated the Eucharist.
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Clerics of St. Viator 1212 E. Euclid Avenue Arlington Heights, IL 60004-5799 847-398-6805 www.viatorians.com
PAID ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL PERMIT NO. 105
Quarterly Newsletter - Winter 2005 If you are receiving multiple copies of this newsletter and/or wish to be removed from our mailing list, please call our Development Office at 847-398-6805 or fax your request to 847-398-6247.
Viatorians
EDUCATORS OF FAITH
The Clerics of St. Viator are religious priests and brothers sent by the Catholic Church to teach the faith and proclaim Jesus Christ as Gospel. In parishes, schools and a variety of ministries, Viatorians work with Christian communities to live, deepen and celebrate their faith.
Adam Clementi, Development and Technology 1212 E. Euclid Avenue, Arlington Hts., IL 60004 • 847-398-6805 aclementi@viatorians.com
Great Communicators Second-graders at St. Viator Grade School in Chicago, Ill. can feel pretty good about themselves. They read “The Adventures of Flat Stanley,” about a boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board, is folded up, put in an envelope and sent to California, where his adventures multiply. The students mailed a letter of explanation and their drawing of Stanley to President George Bush, Mayor Richard M. Daley and even the Holy Father in Rome – and they received replies from all of them! The Pope promised to pray for them and their teachers; the Mayor said that he took Stanley on a tour of City Hall, and the President told the kids about the White House pets and invited them to click on www.whitehousekids.gov to learn more. From an article printed in The Catholic New World December 19, 2004 – January 1, 2005
Easter Prayer Father, All powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. We praise you with greater joy than ever in this Easter Season, when Christ became our paschal sacrifice. He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world. By dying he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven, we proclaim your glory forever.