INM-KMJ/XP-CIR 37/03-2020 REAL LIFE REAL MIRACLE MARCH 2020

Dear Confreres,

Cordial greetings and wishes to you from the Citadel! I am indeed very pleased to write this month’s Circular for our reflection. I sincerely thank the Provincial Fr. K.M. Jose SDB, for giving me this opportunity to do so. I thank Bro. Joseph Das and Fr. Mark Vellanganny who have helped in the preparation of this text.

As we all know, the month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the unassuming yet energetic Guardian of the Holy Family who bore immense human and divine responsibility on his manly shoulders. I feel it would be good for us to once again recall our glorious past and thank the Almighty for the numerous Salesians who worked extremely hard to build up our Glorious Province. In doing so, we need to keep in mind that, the baton is today in OUR hands, and WE will be answerable to future generations for the way we take forward the Mission entrusted to the Community for which each one of us is responsible, in fidelity to our Saintly Founder and our Salesian Forefathers!

1. A Brief Initial History of the Province of St. Thomas the Apostle, Madras (INM)

The Salesian Province of Madras is 86 years old! It was erected on 24th January 1934. When the future Patriarch of Goa, Teutonio De Castro was still a student in Rome he shared with his fellow students an ambition – that of visiting Don Bosco. But his superiors feared that if the young man went to visit him, he might fall under the holy spell of the saint and end up becoming a Salesian! Hence permission to visit him was refused. But after De Castro was ordained, he went to Turin. Don Bosco was not there. So, the young

priest embarked on another journey and finally met the saint. With tears in his eyes, Don Bosco blessed

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Fr. De Castro and told him, “You will do much good.” Sixteen years later, Fr. De Castro was consecrated Bishop of Mylapore. It was his earnest desire to get the Sons of Don Bosco to work in his diocese of Mylapore. In 1904, on the occasion of his ‘Ad Limina’ visit, he went to Turin to plead for a speedy sending of Salesians to his diocese. Yet nothing happened. However, the following year, Blessed Don

Rua decided to send to India a small group of Salesians under the leadership of Fr. Tomatis. They included Fr. Ernest Vigneron, Fr. Richard Biebuyck, cleric Mario Balestra, Bro. John Rostagna and aspirant Adrian Roveto. They set sail from Genoa (Italy) on 18 December 1905 and arrived in Tanjore on the evening of 14 January 1906.

The choice of Fr. Tomatis proved to be a happy one. He was an exceptionally gifted man. As a boy he had, for three years, served Don Bosco’s mass – and then his coffee! His twelve

years of experience as Rector, his versatile mind and mastery of European languages, equipped him for his mission. He spent the first two years in Tanjore and then went to Mylapore, to take charge of the second Salesian House in India, the Santhome Orphanage, where he worked for the poor Anglo-Indian youth in such a fatherly manner that he well deserved the inscription we read on his tomb stone: “Father of the Poor”.

Fr. Biebuyck, who was the manager of the industrial school, rose in popularity to the point of becoming a Municipal Councillor in Tanjore but had to return to Italy for reasons of health in January 1907, after completing just one year in Tanjore. That left Fr. Tomatis and Fr. Vigneron alone to look after the pastoral needs of the vast and new mission. But the most painful shock for the early Salesians in Tanjore, however, was the unexpected death of Fr. Vigneron on 20th November 1907. He passed away in the General Hospital in Madras following a hernia operation. He was the first Salesian to die on the Indian soil. Bro. Rostagno, who was trained as a blacksmith, left at the expiry of his vows at the end of 1906 itself and the aspirant Roveto, who was trained as a shoemaker, also returned to Italy in 1908. Cleric Balestra, on the other hand, remained in the mission and was ordained a priest in 1911 at Mylapore. He was the first Salesian to be ordained priest in India. He returned to Italy in 1912. So by the end of 1907, Fr. Tomatis and cleric Balestra are the only Salesians in India.

During the last illness of Fr. Vigneron another great missionary was on his way to the East, Fr. Eugene Mederlet who was on his way to China to join Fr. Louis Versiglia, the future Salesian martyr and saint. On reaching Colombo port, he thought of breaking his voyage in order to pay a visit to his confreres in India. Divine Providence synchronised matters that when the news of the death of Fr. Vigneron was communicated to Fr. Rua, he cabled back to Fr. Mederlet – “Remain at Tanjore”. Thanks to this unexpected reinforcement, it was possible for Fr. Tomatis to accept the Mylapore Orphanage, leaving

the new comer in charge of the Parish of Tanjore.

When the Salesians took charge of the Orphanage at Mylapore it was just a

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tottering institution with 35 boarders. At the death of Fr. Tomatis in 1925 there were 280 boys! Good Bishop De Castro rejoiced at this development. Whenever Fr. Tomatis meekly complained to him of the war that was waged against him, the Bishop used to reply, “Father, remember those around you will one day go but you will remain.”

The year 1912 brought valuable reinforcements: they were Fr. Giovanni Mora and Fr. Leonida Gatti. Fr. Mora shared with Mgr. Mederlet the golden days of Tanjore, the bitterness of the temporary exile and joy of the comeback. He eventually helped Mgr. Mederlet and Mgr. Mathias to administer the Archdiocese of Madras as their Vicar General and trained a number of missionaries as the Rector of the Seminary of Poonamallee for nearly two decades. Fr. Gatti was a man of outstanding qualities and talent, but within two years he was struck by paralysis and died in St. Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore, at the age of 27. He is buried in the cemetery of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of that city.

Now it seems that two extremes are the characteristics of all heroic beginnings: excess of zeal and want of personnel! The Parish of Tanjore had a Catholic population of 9000 souls. There were some 50 villages scattered in a radius of 16 miles and had no sufficient personnel to look after them. Then another man appears on the scene: Fr. Carpene, a man of splendid qualities again. He could preach in fluent and eloquent Tamil in less than 2 years! However, once whilst taking some measurements for the proposed building of the new high school, he got sunstroke and was advised to leave the tropics and returned to Italy in 1921.

One most encouraging fact brightened up the work of those pioneers. They were blessed with a small number of fine vocations from among the boys entrusted to their care. Fr. Ignatius Muthu was the first to join the ranks and 2 other bright boys followed suit. Fr. Ignatius must have been seen in Don Bosco’s dreams, since he headed the magnificent endless army of Indian Salesians predicted by the Saint. One of the lads was sent by Mgr. Mederlet to do his studies in Rome. He was eventually to become the first Bishop Vellore, Mgr. Mariaselvam! His brother Fr. Joseph Sandanam soon followed in his footsteps and so did other generous lads from Tamil Nadu, the first fruits of the Indian Soil to be received in the great family of Don Bosco.

During this period, missionary and educational activities of Tanjore reached a peak. A high school and an industrial school were built. The weaving, the carpentry and the printing sections became very well known. Parallel was the development of the orphanage at Mylapore.

The year 1922 saw the arrival of the first batch of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, who established themselves in Tanjore. Along with them two polish Salesians arrived, Fr. Dehlert and Fr. Piesiur. These two were the last missionaries to Tanjore. Fr. Piesiur died in 1945 after suffering much due to arthritis and is buried in our cemetery at Tirupattur. On his tombstone a Latin Pauline inscription

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is engraved which means: “We share His sufferings for the purpose of sharing His glory.” Fr. Dehlert died in Bombay in 1958.

The year 1926 greeted the visit of Very Rev. Fr. Peter Ricaldone, the then Prefect General of the Salesians, on an Extraordinary Visitation to our Far East Missions. On finding that the conditions laid down at the time of our acceptance of the Mylapore and Tanjore Institutions were not being complied with, he intimated to the Administrator of the Diocese of Mylapore that the Salesians would quit both Tanjore and Mylapore in 1928. Indeed, when the Visitor was returning from China at the end of 1927, he made this decision irrevocable and ordered the Salesians to hand over both the Institutions to the Mylapore Diocese.

Naturally when the Salesians had to quit the Diocese of Mylapore and especially their work in Tanjore an adequate compensation was demanded for the large capitals invested in those institutions which after so much work they were about to abandon. On the diocese finding its inability to give an adequate compensation, Mgr. Texeira volunteered to offer to the Salesians the Shrine of Bandel to which the Salesian Provincial Mgr. Mathias agreed after having secured the necessary permission from Archbishop Perier of Calcutta.

Whilst the heart of those early Salesians was filled with grief for having to leave that field of work which they had cherished and looked after for so many years, there was a remarkable activity in the Apostolic Delegation on account of the revision of the Concordat between the Holy See and the Portuguese Government. Things came to a head in the year 1928 and an adjustment of various dioceses was decided upon.

The old Vicariate of Madras that once upon a time comprised an enormous area reaching as far as Hyderabad had already been carved out giving origin to various ecclesiastical divisions: but the Archdiocese of Madras which emerged in 1886 was still too extensive for an efficient administration. In 1928 that fateful year in which the double jurisdiction system was abolished as a result of a concordant between the Holy See and the Portuguese Government, a new carving was decided which was to bring into existence the new Diocese of Nellore and the independent mission of Bellary.

It then dawned on the legislators that the Salesians had just inherited the mission of the North Arcot from the Archdiocese of Pondicherry: and that its boundaries and those of Madras joined at several points. It could as well be joined to the capital by a bottle neck and made into a new reshuffled Archdiocese of Madras. So, it was decided to split the city of Madras now shorn from its dual rule into two territorial jurisdictions, the judicial knife being the ever winding Cooum River: the southern half went to Mylapore and the Northern portion remained with the Archdiocese of Madras. And good Fr. Mederlet, whose heart had been physically affected by the recent sacrifice of abandoning Tanjore was nominated its first Salesian Archbishop, scarcely a

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month after settling in Vellore. On receiving the intimation of his appointment, Fr. Mederlet cabled to the saintly successor of Don Bosco, Fr. Rinaldi, his inability to accept saying ‘ Indignus sum” (I am unworthy). But soon came the reassuring order from Turin: “Accept in Nomine Domini.” Mgr. Mederlet was consecrated Archbishop in St. Mary’s Cathedral on 28th October 1928.

The appointment of Mgr. Mederlet to the Archdiocese of Madras was bound to herald a phenomenal development of the Salesian work in South India. In fact, it led to the erection of the Salesian Province of South India. So far, the Salesians in the South had been depending on the Provincial of the Northern Province, with headquarters in Shillong, Assam. It was now evident that the Salesian Family in India was spread over too extensive an area and that the South was going to need an autonomous administration on the eve of its further development. So, the Superior General, authorised by a rescript of the Congregation of the Religious, passed a Decree dated the 24th January 1934 erecting the Salesian Province of South India with St. Thomas the Apostle as Patron and Titular.

The Decree of Erection listed a number of houses and residences of which, properly speaking, only Vellore, Bombay and Tirupattur were Salesian houses in the proper sense, the rest being missionary outposts, parochial houses and minor seminary.

To steer the rudder of the newly born Province, one of the pioneers of Assam, who had arrived in his early twenties and therefore had all the knowledge and experience needed for the

task, namely Very Rev. Fr. Eligius Cinato, was appointed as the First Provincial through a decree of 3rd March 1933. namely Very Rev. Fr. Eligius Cinato, was appointed as the First Provincial through a decree of 3rd March 1933. He was re-appointed for a second term to the same post by another decree issued on 7th November 1939. Towards the middle of the Second World War, when it was apparent that the Salesian missionaries belonging to ‘enemy’ nations would be interned, Fr. Cinato approached the Salesian headquarters and obtained the appointment of an emergency substitute. Fr. Cinato, though not affected by the order of internment and therefore could have continued to rule the Province, he volunteered to accompany his confreres to the internment camp. It was in these circumstances that, as an emergency measure, the Vatican Radio transmitted on 4 th November 1942 the appointment of Fr. Josè Carreño to take over the direction of the Province. Fr. Carreño was “a true visionary with Don Bosco’s heart” and “the man who best incarnated the goodness and loving kindness of our Saviour’ (Fr. Di Fiore), one who was “wholly Don Bosco’s man, a man of God, full of love to all” (Fr. Maschio). In his 3+6 years of leading the province, he “handed on to us the Salesian spirit in its essential characteristics: thirst for souls, brotherly love, family spirit built on prayer, work, cheerfulness healthy optimism and hospitality.” He in turn handed over the direction of the Province to Fr. Archimedes Pianazzi in August 1951. He was, in the words of Fr. Carreño, a man as acquainted with the depths of the ‘Summa’ as with the hardships of missionary pioneering, his name being linked both with explorations in virgin fields of theology and with the first evangelization of the Garros and the grammar and method of their unexplored language. He was appointed the third Provincial by the decree of 22nd September 1951.

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We are indeed grateful to the early missionaries who suffered and sacrificed in order to build up this ‘Glorious Province’ and realize that we have inherited it and are now entrusted with its healthy growth. May we have the same zeal and commitment of those early missionaries in nurturing it for continued service to the needy and the marginalised as our Founder had so ardently desired.

2. ST. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY, FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS & GUARDIAN OF THE HOLY FAMILY

Life did not go according to Joseph's plans. He was ready for marriage and family. Then the unexpected and unbelievable happened: Mary was pregnant. He was confused and deeply hurt. But above all, he wanted to protect her, to keep her from harm because he loved her. Then he had a dream from God that explained everything. He took her into his home as his wife.

There is not very much biographical data about St. Joseph in the Holy Scripture . What is the beauty of this holy silence of the Holy Scriptures regarding St. Joseph? What facet of the spirit of the Church shines in this silence? In any circumstance, there are very good reasons to suppose that he, St. Joseph, is one of the greatest saints in the Church. This being said, one would expect to find an abundance of edifying biographical material about so great a saint. But the opposite is true: both Scriptures and Tradition say very few things about him. How can this be explained?

First, we can observe that Scripture also only speaks a few times about Our Lady, who is much more than St. Joseph. She is the masterpiece of creation, incomparable to all others. Again, why do Scriptures say just a few words about these two great figures? The traditional reason given is that both were very humble and chose to be out of the limelight in order to let Our Lord shine and receive all the honour and glory. This is a very good reason, but there is something else too. It is something that reflects the spirit of the Catholic Church very much. Any magnificent actions in their lives were overshadowed by the fact that Our Lady was the Mother of the Creator and St. Joseph was the Foster Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Spouse of Our Lady. Anything else they did was effaced in light of this.

Josephology, the theological study of Saint Joseph, is one of the most recent theological disciplines. In 1989, on the occasion of the centenary of Quamquam Pluries Pope John Paul II issued "Guardian of the Redeemer", which presented Saint Joseph's role in the plan of Redemption, as part of the "redemption documents" issued by John Paul II such as Redemptoris Mater to which it refers. In 1962, Pope John XXIII inserted the name of Joseph in the Canon of the Mass, immediately after that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 2013, Pope Francis had his name added to the three other Eucharistic Prayers.

What can be more admirable than having been chosen to be the Foster Father of God? Nothing can be comparable to that. When God hid the detailed account of St. Joseph and Our Lady's lives, He encouraged and inspired the Church to contemplate their many facets and learn from the Hierarchy. That is to say, He wants the saints and the doctors to elaborate the doctrine from the abridged data He gave us. God wants man to distil from Scripture and Tradition the good doctrine He hid there, as the bee draws nectar from the flower. When someone sees a flower, he doesn’t

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imagine that something so sweet would be inside. The same is true regarding many truths of Revelation, especially with regard to St. Joseph and Our Lady. So, from the silence of Scriptures regarding St. Joseph and Our Lady, you can deduce the approval of God for the hierarchical character of the Catholic Church.

CONCLUSION

Pope John Paul II had once said: “Saint Joseph is a man of great spirit. He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words, but above all because he listens to the words of the Living God. He listens in silence. And his heart ceaselessly perseveres in the readiness to accept the Truth contained in the word of the Living God.”

The only authentic facts we have about Joseph are from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. They show what a selfless, loving, responsible husband and father he was. When called to Bethlehem to register for Herod’s census, Joseph did everything he could to make the trip of about 90 miles easier for his pregnant wife. He was there for the birth, supporting Mary and keeping her baby warm and safe. As the father, he arranged for the circumcision and named the child Jesus as the angel told Mary. Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the Lord in the Temple and offered a sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves. Joseph left for Egypt the very night the angel in a dream told him that Herod wanted to kill Jesus. When the angel told him it was safe, Joseph took them back to Nazareth.

Joseph was a happy man! Why shouldn’t he be? Mary loved him and he loved her. He loved to hold Jesus and make him laugh. They cheered him on when he took his first steps. We can only imagine the day-by-day delights as they watched him grow. Yet, misunderstandings can happen in even the best of families. Remember how they lost him in the Temple!!! But He came back home with them to Nazareth and grew in wisdom and grace.

St. Joseph is the Legal father of Jesus Christ, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Prince and Patron of the Universal Church. He is also the Patron of Unborn Children, Fathers, Immigrants, Workers,

Employment, Explorer, Pilgrims, Traveller, Carpenters, against doubt and hesitation and of a Happy Death.

Let us cultivate devotion to this great humble saint and imitate him by being attentive to the Voice of God whether awake or asleep! All our communities need to be guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, just as St. Joseph was!! At times, life in the community and living with our confreres or beneficiaries will certainly have its ups and downs. St. Joseph is a good example of how to accept each and every confrere in our own lives, just as he accepted Mary to be his wife, unknowingly welcoming into his life the Mother of God and the Saviour of the world!!!

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NEWS FROM THE PROVINCE

ADMISSION TO MINISTRIES

On 16th March 2020 at 6 p.m., our first and second-year students of Theology will receive their Lector and Acolyte ministries at DBTC, Kavarapettai. We accompany these bothers with our prayerful wishes.

DIACONATE ORDINATIONS

We are grateful to the Lord for the gift of Nine Deacons (INM 5 and INT 4) from DBTC Kavarapettai this year. They will be ordained on 18th March (Wednesday) 2020 in Sacred Heart Church, Gummidipoondi, at 10 a.m. by Most Rev. Dr. George Antonysamy D.D. We praise and thank the Lord for these young sons of Don Bosco and we wish them a fruitful pastoral ministry as they prepare for their Ordination to Priesthood.

SUMMER MINISTRY ASSIGNMENTS 2020

The Summer Ministry Assignments for this year is attached with this circular. All the students of Theology will be available from 20th March to May end. The students of Philosophy from Yercaud will be available from 27th April to May end. The students of Philosophy from Nashik will be available from 5 th

April to May end. The Summer Ministry Appraisal Report 2020 of the Deacon/ Cleric will be prepared by Rector/Leader/In charge and submitted as and when the Ministry is completed. A Template/Format will be provided to help you in the preparation of the report. This report will be duly communicated to the Deacon/Cleric before it is officially submitted to the Economer. Rectors/Leaders/In charge will inform the Economer if any changes are made in the summer ministry schedule.

SCRUTINY / PERSONAL GROWTH APPRAISAL

All Rectors/Leaders are reminded to ensure that the Periodic Assessment of the Clerics/Brothers is done for those in initial formation and the forms reach the Provincial’s Office on or before 31st March 2020.

ADMISSIONS

Clerics in temporary vows who are due to renew their Profession and novices seeking to be admitted to their First Profession, will submit their application to the Rector/Novice Master on 19 th March, 2020 on the Feast of St. Joseph. These applications will be sent to the Provincial Office by 31st March 2020.

INM YOUTH PASCH 2020

The INM and INT Provinces’ Youth Pastoral and Catechetical departments (DBYES, Deepagam, Illamai, Kristodhayam) will jointly organize the Youth Pasch 2020 at Don Bosco, Jawadhi Hills. It will begin on 8th

April 2020 (Wednesday evening) and the participants are expected to be present by 6 p.m. The event will end on 12th April (Sunday) by 6. 00 a.m. We expect every Salesian community, especially our parishes to send at least 2 youngsters to participate in it. The Youth Director of the province will coordinate the whole event and contact you with further details. May I request you to give your full cooperation by sending the young people from all our settings to participate in this Youth Pasch, which

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will give them an opportunity to encounter the Risen Lord through a profound meaningful celebration of the Paschal mysteries and strengthen the faith experience of our youngsters during the year of Youth.

RETREAT FOR DOMESTIC STAFF 2020

The dates of the Domestic Staff Retreat for this year is given below. All the Retreats will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Tirupattur Region - 23 - 24 (Mon-Tue) March 2020 Vellore Region - 25 March (Wed) 2020 Puducherry Region - 26 March (Thu) 2020 Chennai Region - 30 - 31 (Mon-Tue) March 2020

REST IN PEACE

Bro. Aloysius Induar SDB (ING) passed away on 8th February 2020. Our prayerful condolences to the Salesians of Guwahati Province.Mr. Antony Doss (90), elder brother of Fr. Adaikalaraj Kolandaisamy passed away on 17th February 2020 in Thachambadi.Bro. Dominic Induar SDB (INS) passed away on 28th February 2020. Our sincere condolences to the Salesians of Shillong Province.

Sainthood for Blessed Devasahayam Pillai

Pope Francis on Friday 21 February 2020 authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate 8 decrees regarding 10 candidates, clearing two of them for Sainthood. Among them is Indian martyr, Blessed Lazarus, called Devasahayam Pillai, an 18th century high-caste Hindu married man who converted to Catholicism. A decree acknowledged a miracle through his intercession that cleared him for Sainthood. Born on 23 April 1712 as Neelakanda Pillai, in the village of Nattalam, Devasahayam served in the palace of southern India’s Hindu kingdom of Travancore, which stretched from what is Kanyakumari District today, right up to Cochin in Kerala State. At Baptism in 1745, he assumed the name 'Lazarus' or 'Devasahayam' in the local language,

meaning ‘God is my help’. However, his conversion did not go well with the heads of his native religion. False charges of treason and espionage were brought against him and he was divested of his post in the royal administration. He was imprisoned and subjected to harsh persecution. A Catholic for only seven years, he was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752. Sites linked with his life and martyrdom are in Kottar Diocese, in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu state. His tomb at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Nagercoil attracts large numbers of devotees. Devasahayam was declared Blessed on December 2, 2012, in Kottar, 300 years after his birth. The Canonization date will be decided later.

Wishing you a very Happy Feast of St. Joseph! Through his powerful intercession, may each one of us experience the closeness of Jesus in our lives, as we endeavour to progress in sanctity during this Holy Season of Lent.

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Yours truly in Don Bosco,

Fr. Xavier Packia SDB INM Economer

Date: 01.03.2020Place: Chennai - 600010

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