Guatamala, Quiche, E.J.Cuskelly perspective.

June 4^th, first time celebrating the new feast of the beatified martyrs.

Jose Maria Gran MSC

For those visitors who would like some reading, below is an excerpt from a talk by E. J. Cuskelly MSC about his experience while Superior General about visiting Guatamala and experiencing its history and MSC missionaries there. It throws light on the Spanish colonisation of Central America and the consequences. (It is also an insight into Jim Cuskelly himself and his perspective as Superior General.) With thanks to Tony Arthur MSC for text and photos.

Let me pass now to Guatemala in Central America, where many MSC have lived and worked and some have died a violent death. Guatemala is a delight to the eye and the ear. The place-names ring like bells run wild: Chichicastenango, Sacapoulas, Chimaltenango. There, in the highlands, the air is clear as crystal, the colours of the Indian costumes are as brilliant as birds of paradise, and the sun sets in a glory that is as warm as the smile of God.

In January 1980, in this strikingly beautiful land, I met with a group of MSC missionaries, my friends and brother priests. On the shores of Lake Atitlan framed majestically by its three volcanoes, we talked of the coming murder of at least three of their number. We knew that a brutal military government had placed their names on its hit-list. In Australia, we find it hard to imagine the brutality that exists as an everyday reality in other lands. However, though hard for some to believe, it is easy to understand. Those of you who have seen the film “Romero” would have some idea of the situation in many Latin American countries.

The Spanish conquistadors invaded Guatemala in 1522. They had horses; they had guns. The Indians had neither and were easily defeated. The Spaniards took for themselves (and their descendants) all the more fertile lands. They made their own laws about land-registration. Their descendants prospered. Some of them became very rich with plantations of coffee, sugar, bananas and other tropical fruits. The Indians were driven back into the hills. They knew nothing about land-laws. Deprived of their former lands, they set up their little farms on the hillsides. There they grew their corn and their peppers. They ran a few cattle, pigs and chickens and eked out an existence right on the poverty line. There was a way for them to earn a few extra dollars and to clothe their families. They could go down to the coast to work on the farms and plantations of the rich. There they earned less than a dollar a day - about $5 a week (I’m speaking of the 1970s). Australians would earn between three and four hundred dollars a week for the same work. Most of their $5 a week would be paid back to the rich to buy food and clothes. The rich land-owners owned most of the shops as well.

Some years ago, MSC missionaries came from Spain to work among the Indians who had been Christians of sorts ever since the days of the conquistadors. The missionaries ministered to their spiritual needs. They also taught them better farming methods; they imported superior quality cattle, helped them to form their own cooperatives and to set up their own shops. The missionaries also talked about social justice and the concept of a just wage.

Missionaries with the People

The rich families felt threatened. If they had to pay just wages, if they lost their cheap labour, they would lose a lot of their wealth. They paid the military to force the Indians to work for them, to destroy their cooperatives and even to shoot their leaders. The next step was for the ‘big-wigs’ in the military to decide that, if they were to do the dirty work for the rich, they should have some share of the riches. The army took over the government. Then retiring generals and colonels also took over tracts of land where the Indians were living. Invoking the old land laws, they claimed legal justification for this robbery. If the Indians resisted, they were shot.

Then the missionaries spoke out. They were not political men, but they were friends of the Indian people. They had the courage to insist that the human dignity of the Indians should be respected, that they had basic human rights: they had a right to a just wage; they had no obligation to work for the rich plantation owners - they had a right to the lands which the military officers were stealing from them. It was a crime to rape their wives and daughters; it was a crime to shoot their young men.

This proclamation of the Gospel did not please the rich and powerful. The rich resented losing cheap slave labour. The military resented losing a chance to get rich at the expense of the Indians. All of them feared that the priests would make public the atrocities which the soldiers were committing with the backing of the rich.

Jesus and the Martyrs

During those days in January 1980, on the shores of Lake Atitlan, surrounded by the beauties of God’s creation, we MSC discussed the ugly deeds wrought by evil men. All of us were afraid. Some were afraid that they would be the ones to die; the rest of us feared that soon we would have to bury our dead. We asked whether it would not be best for those on the hit-list to leave the country while there was still time.

Someone said to me later: “There’s an easy solution. You are their superior; just order them to leave.” Like many easy solutions, this was no solution at all. I was sure that the missionaries would not feel bound by any such order. They believed that it was their duty to stay with their people, in spite of the danger to themselves. Furthermore there are two ways of destroying a missionary. One way is to assassinate him while he is carrying out his duties for his people. The other way is to have him appear to desert both his duty and his people. The second is, in its own way, a type of death, and, for the dedicated missionary, it is worse than the first. They stayed with their people and I went my way.

Jose Maria Gran

During the next few months I heard of the death of three of our priests. Firstly we learned that José Maria Gran had been killed, and in Barcelona I shared in his parents’ grieving. Then Faustino Villanueva was assassinated and later Juan Alonso. All three were the most pastoral and least political of men. Eventually, the Bishop declared the Diocese closed and ordered all priests and nuns to leave. It was then that the other MSC also left. Later some went back underground; we believe that at least one of them is dead.

Funeral, Jose Maria Gran

You will wonder: But how can people get away with such injustice? They get away with it, firstly, by being very careful about interviews permitted to foreigners. Secondly, they have developed their own philosophy of “The national security as the greatest good”. In this philosophy anything is justified if it protects “national security”. All that is opposed to it is a crime. It is sedition to criticise officials; it is a crime to oppose the government. It is a crime to oppose the military even when they are stealing your lands. This sort of philosophy justifies all kinds of violence perpetrated by the government. And sadly, President Reagan and others believed that all opposition to a government in power was leftist or Marxist. Nobody asked: how did these people come to government? Do they govern justly? In Latin America many governments came to power by violence; and they govern by cruelty and greed. But - I am wandering from my central theme.

Like all religious orders, we MSC have a book of Constitutions which describes our ideals and our way of life. The second Vatican Council asked all religious to examine their Constitutions and bring them up to date. The old M.S.C. Constitutions contain the words: “Following the example of Jesus, we will strive to lead others to God with kindness and gentleness. Trusting in God’s grace, we will be ready, if necessary, to lay down our lives for them.” During the 1970s, there were some who thought that this was romantic stuff, beautiful but unreal. It should be omitted, they said. But in 1981 when we met in Rome to finalise the rewriting of our Constitutions, we thought of Jose Maria, of Faustino and Juan Alonso. We listened to this letter from the Church in Guatemala which read: “Your priests saw the Indians going hungry; they witnessed the suffering of the peasant families. They brought the light and strength of the Gospel to stop the enemies of God from spreading death through our land. This was their crime: to preach to all people their right to live with dignity.” Then we took up our pens and we re-wrote with pride: “We will be ready, if necessary, to lay down our lives for our people.”

Guatemala will be forever a part of my life. The Indians still suffer in that beautiful violent land. In spite of the sacrifices made, their world has not been re-born. We who knew them will live with the memory of our martyred brothers - especially when we hear songs like these: “Empty chairs at empty tables where my friends will meet no more. My friends, my friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for.” (Les Miserables)

Advertising for Director, Province Care and Assisted Living

The Australian Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

The Organisation

The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) is a religious congregation founded in France in 1854, with Brothers and Priests within the Catholic Church numbering 1900 working in over 55 countries. In Australia, the Province has around 140 men, and their work is involved in various ministries including parishes, missions, education, retreat centres, hospitals, and health care. Around 36 Province members live in a retirement community in Kensington, Sydney, whilst others live in much smaller MSC communities - St Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park, NSW (6) – Kew (4) and Blackburn (10), Melbourne, Vic – Adelaide, SA (1) – Darwin, NT (1).

St Mary's Towers, Aerial view

The Role

Reporting to the Head of the Province, this newly created position is a key leadership role within the Province. As Director, Province Care and Assisted Living, your responsibility will be to ensure the ongoing care and support of our men in need of aged or health care Province wide, the management of the assisted living and facility management at the Kensington site, and ensure Province and Community Leaders are supported in their role of ensuring the wellbeing and accompaniment of each MSC member.

More specifically, you will be responsible for:

• Ensuring men in need of care and support receive appropriate, quality, cost effective care and support which is planned, delivered, monitored, and reviewed in a manner that reflects best practice aged care support in the home.
• Ensuring each man in need of assisted living support at the Kensington site receives a full suite of quality and cost effective clinical and care services provided through a mix of government funded and MSC privately funded services.
• Ensuring quality and cost-effective facility management, including catering and cleaning services, are in place and reflect best practice in the home and statutory standards, and
• Ensuring best practice with respect to management, policy, safety, compliance, and duty of care in the home

This opportunity is a permanent full-time role and based at Kensington. The role might, from time to time, involve some intrastate and interstate travel.

St Joseph's Home Kensintron

Key Requirements

Your experience in a service management, case management or care coordination role, as well as your appreciation for the life, mission, health and wellbeing, and ethos of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart will be key to this role.

Ideally, we are looking for someone who has the following:

• An alignment with the philosophy, mission objectives and values of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
• Understanding of the aged care sector and government funded services and how to make best use of them
• Ability to coordinate clinical and aged care to meet an individual’s requirements in the home environment
• Ability to apply regulations in relation to risk, safety and quality improvement processes
• Strong people management skills and experience
• Resource planning and contract management skills to ensure delivery of agreed outcomes at agreed service levels and within budget
• Ability to advocate and influence stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes
• Experience in facility or operations management (desirable)
• Relevant tertiary qualifications, in particular as a health or allied health practitioner.

This is an exciting time when we are building upon our internal capabilities, and a pivotal role supporting our mission and the health and wellbeing of our members.

For a confidential discussion about this position and to obtain a copy of the Position Description please contact Anthony Spata at REACH Human Resources on 0402 210 055 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Application Process

Applications should include a Cover Letter and Resume. Your Cover Letter must include how your knowledge, skills, experience and personal attributes align with the Key Requirements of the role (as outlined above).

Applications are to be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Applications close 22 June 2021.

For a copy of the Pos

Only candidates with the right to work in Australia may apply for this position.

Preferred candidates will be required to have a National Police Check clearance and appointment will be subject to a satisfactory check outcome.  

Some significant June days for the Chevalier Family 2021

Feast of the Sacred Heart, 11th June

1 June, 1940

Mother M Electa, MSC, promises to build a chapel in honour of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, in Hiltrup, Germany, to seek protection for the Congregation and its works during World War II.

3 June, 1874

Fathers Chevalier, Vandel and Jouët renew their profession before Pope Pius IX.

4 June, 1980

Father Jose Maria Gran Cirera, MSC, of the Spanish Province, is assassinated in Chajul, Guatemala.

Now the feast day of the Martyrs of Quiche.

5 June, 1944

During World War II, New Guinea Missionary Sisters were imprisoned in Ramale Camp, New Britain, in PNG.

6 June, 1846

Jean-Marie Vandel is ordained a priest at Fribourg, Switzerland, at the age of 37 years.

7 June, 1861

The Vicar General of Bourges blesses the first part of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Issoudun. In the window near the altar of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, is a stained-glass representation of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, her first image. This same stained-glass window is today located above Our Lady's Chapel entrance door, situated inside the Basilica.

9 June, 1983

The three Generalates, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart meet together for the first time. The first meeting took place at the MSC Generalate, Via Asmara in Rome.

10 June, 1854

Father Charles Piperon, a significant early member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is ordained priest for the Diocese of Bourges.

10 June, 1855

Authorized to take the title of Missionary of the Sacred Heart, the young Chevalier ceases his functions as curate in Issoudun. He takes up the role of parish priest of Issoudun more than 20 years later in 1872.

12 June, 1874

On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius IX signs the decree of Approbation of the MSC Society. Father Chevalier also offers Pius IX a petition, asking him to consecrate the whole Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

14 June, 1851

Father Chevalier and eleven other seminarians are ordained priests in the cathedral of Bourges by Cardinal Dupont.

14 June, 1937

Louis Vangeke, MSC, is ordained the very first priest for the Papua New Guinean Catholic Church. In 1970, he became Auxiliary Bishop of Port Moresby, PNG, and then Bishop of Bereina, PNG, until his retirement in 1979. He died in 1982.

15 June, 1851

Father Chevalier celebrated his first Mass in a small chapel (no longer in existence) in the garden of the major seminary in Bourges.

16 June, 1868

First General Assembly of the Third Order of the Sacred Heart in Montluçon. Father Guyot is its General Director, in the name of father Chevalier. It is a Third Order for women without vows and is associated with the MSC congregation from 1865 to 1874.

17 June, 1851

Father Chevalier receives his first appointment: curate in the parish of Ivoy-le-Pré. He remains in this parish for 7 months before taking his second appointment in Châtillon-sur-Indre.

19 June, 1940

At 8:30am, Issoudun is bombed: 100 people died and many are wounded. The historic presbytery from which Father Founder was evicted in 1907, is destroyed.

24 June, 1915

During the First World War, Missionary Sisters in New Britain (PNG) are imprisoned.

26 June, 1859

Laying of the first stone of the new sanctuary of the Sacred Heart in Issoudun by Monsignor Caillaud, Vicar General of Bourges.

26 June, 1984

Sister Klara Sietman, MSC, is elected as 6th Superior General of the MSC Sisters.

28 June, 1928

Father Arthur Lanctin, MSC, 2nd Superior General of the MSC, 1901-1905, dies in Issoudun.

30 June, 1850

Jules Chevalier is ordained to the Sub-Diaconate, in the Chapel of the major seminary in Bourges.

Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 2021.

This post is coming to you from Melbourne, our second day of seven in strict lockdown for all Victoria, again.

Our celebration of the Feast will be online or in small community groups.

We are 15 MSC in Victoria, OLSH Sisters in Bentleigh (where we usually meet, but not since 2019) and smaller communities, and all Australian MSC Sisters (except for one in the Philippines) are in Victoria, also several groups of Lay MSC in Melbourne and in country Victoria. 

Now you have an extra intention for today. But we are conscious of how fortunate we are in comparison with PNG, Fiji, India, Philippines, Europe, the Americas and Africa.

Following the recent posting of the Aboriginal Madonna, today we celebrate some indigenous images of Mary and interpretations of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

When in 1854 Father Jules Chevalier was thinking of founding a society of men whose mission it would be to cure the evils of that time by leading people to the Heart of Christ as the healing source of life, he asked Our Lady for help. Having experienced her powerful intercession several times he felt that, out of gratitude, his society should honour her in a special way.

Eventually he invoked her with the title "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart" and the devotion to Mary with that title spread rapidly in all continents. A confraternity with that name was founded and reached 18 million members in 1891. The Congregation of Sisters founded by Father Chevalier are called "the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart". The feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is celebrated nowadays on the last Saturday of May.

The purpose of this devotion, according to Father Chevalier, is to honour Mary "in her relationship of ineffable love which exists between her and the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

MSC leave their marks in unusual places.

Fr Gilbert Buisson MSC and the seventh Station of the Cross, Narellan.

When officiating recently at a wedding at Narellan, John Mulrooney saw the seventh Station of the Cross in the Chapel and sent a photo. The reference is to Fr. Gilbert Buisson MSC.  With thanks to John.

The main reference in Google is to the parish of Queenstown, the parish notices for 31^st of October, 2013, remembering Fr Buisson and Albert Cuneo (in fact, they do have the same day of death).

So, back to Jim Littleton’s books on Deceased Missionaries of the Sacred Heart – and, in his 1992 book, a photo, details and the following rather unique story.

Gilbert Buisson was on loan from the French Province, one of a number of early missionaries whose ideals and intentions were above reproach, but who were unsuitable for the sort of work expected of them in Papua New Guinea.

He studied theology and philosophy in Rome and arrived in Papua New Guinea in 1888. He spent 17 years in the Yule Island Mission, stationed mainly on Thursday Ireland. He was a scholar and a hermit rather than an evangelist. He spoke little English and had very little contact with his surroundings.

He was transferred to Australia and was engaged in Parish work in the diocese of Lismore. He was attached for a short time to the parishes of Bowraville and Bellingen (1904), and then was sent to various parishes in Tasmania: Campbell Town, Fingal, Longford… Finally he got permission to live alone as chaplain to the Good Samaritan Sisters and their orphanage at Narellan outside Sydney.

From Narellan he was a regular visitor to St Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park. He corresponded with his MSC friends and invariably in Latin hexameters, in the composition of which she was something of a genius. He died in his sleep at Narellan in his solitary cottage in the convent grounds.                     

(Sorry, no examples of his letters available!!)

2021 Provincial Conference opens  

Peter Hendriks has sent photos and Chris McPhee's opening address

Welcome to the 2021 Provincial conference; our first since we had to cancel last year’s conference by order of a decree due to Covid19 lockdown...

The Role of the Provincial Conference is:

a) To review the ongoing direction and policies of the Province between Chapters.

b)          To provide a forum for mutual exchange between Local Superiors and the Provincial and his Council, as well as among Local Superiors themselves.

c) To develop strategies of cooperation amongst communities, and between communities and the Provincial Superior.

d)          To study the more important problems common to the Province.

This week we have a lot to get through, and the way we are going to do this is to hear from each of the Directors and Chairs of the different committees that will inform you, our Superiors, as to how the Province is moving ahead after a disastrous 2020.

A question that keeps coming into my mind – I think since I was Novice Director at Douglas Park – is how do we combine our MSC spirituality with reality especially as we come through this Covid19 pandemic?

As we know, it is very easy to talk about heart spirituality, and even in private criticize what we are doing and what we are not doing… but my hope here is not to do that, nor to be judgemental of who we are or what we do… but hopefully to ask some questions and hopefully to be imaginative for the future of being Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

Phil Hicks and Leo Wearden

Working in this area of leadership today I would often confront myself with the question, “what do we have to explain to the world about the way that we live.”  I ask it because, am I living any differently to that of the wider community… is my life any different today as it was before I joined the MSC.  I think it is, but what about those considering joining, and throw their lot in with us… how do they, when looking at me/you/us see us MSC     living the gospel and living it within a community of men all wanting to live the gospel and more importantly for us, to live it accordingly to our consecrated life of vows... 

The challenge is, and I wonder, is this question being asked of us by younger generations? Maybe we may think that they have given up on us – but I am certain that God has not given up on us or them, for that matter.

Steve Dives and Paul Cashen

 In a book, that I used while being a Novice Director, called ‘Conversion’ by Jim Wallis, when writing about the Christian life, touched on to something of an answer, an understanding that may help in melding spirituality with reality. He said, “Factors of race, class, sex, and national identity shape and define the lives of Christians just like everybody else. No one expects anything different of Christians. The predictability of the Christian style of life, or, more to the point, the loss of a distinctively Christian lifestyle, has severely damaged our proclamation of the gospel. We have lost that visible style of life that was evident in the early Christian communities and that gave their evangelism its compelling power and authority.”

My life and, I’m pretty certain, others, who have grown up in my generation, have lived through one of the most self-centred times in history.  With self-fulfilment and individual advancement being the goal has led us all to another question of ‘how can I be happy and satisfied?’ And connecting that with spirituality of any kind can come down to; “what can Jesus do for me,” or more to the point, “what can you do for me.”  Here I wonder if our emphasis on heart spirituality is only bringing Jesus into our lives rather than bringing us into his life.

Chris McPhee and Dominic Gleeson

Cuskelly once said that “a spirituality is an integrated way of life, informing one’s whole life, inspiring and colouring one’s whole response to God… to inspire a way of life from heart to heart…” He then continues by saying that “a spirituality of the heart will not survive long without suitable forms of expression… we need in this field a creative fidelity.” 

Further, over the coming days of this conference we will hear from many more in the province who will give us a summary of what is happening – to give a response as to the direction and the resolutions of our last Chapter.

Tony Young

I have often said that our MSC community here in the Australian province is not about age but Spirit…  in other words, to have a sense of mission – a sense of purpose – a common purpose – to be on earth the heart of God has nothing to do with age but has to do with spirit.   To have, to be, to be connected, belonging to, drawing our whole life from this ‘source of living water’ – Jesus – to have a sense of doing this together – oneness – supportive of the group, both individually and corporately – to risk and to say, ‘yes’ we do this together – we imagine together – we put into mission ‘together’.

I think my recent time as Assistant General highlighted the absolute need for us to be doing this kind of thing, this type of process, this time together, to vision, to be, and to sense our brotherhood. 

Mark Hanns and Philip Malone

What I experienced while on the General Council were many MSC men without a vision or identity of what it really meant to be an MSC.  They were ordained – they were priest – they had the identity of priest – then what?  As I listen and observed these guys, I kept asking myself the question – what does it really mean to be a missionary of the Sacred Heart? 

It highlighted for me our own situation here in Australia.  Sure, we may not be as clerical and as focused on ‘priesthood’ as our brothers internationally, but we are probably more sophisticated in hiding our lack of direction and vision.

Frank Dineen and Alo Lamere

Many of us are working hard in ministry, in good works, but are we working out of the… am I working out of the spark, the energy, the reason ‘why’ I am an MSC.  Is our mission part of my everyday life – is it my vision – personally; are the Constitutions, are they my inspiration and driving force – to be on earth the heart of God.  Or am I in ministry and it has become just another job, a duty, without much meaning and direction – but only a sense that I am doing good work, for the church and even for God – but there is no spark, energy or fire. And again, this is not about age, but spirit.

This brings me to our central message: to be ‘Clear at the Core’.

At the beginning of this year, Br Graham Neist fms, guided and facilitated our Provincial Council gathering at Douglas Park. There we certainly looked at the year just past – and all felt it was like no other!

Kimi Vunivesilevu and Peter Hendriks

Here, we shared and discussed together important questions such as: How do we read the reality we are living in? and How do we respond? To questions around where we sense life is inviting us and to how we find a response. 

One of the key outcomes of this process was to be ‘clear at the core’ of who we are, the ‘why’ we do what we do, and to be able to live with it being messy on the edges. I love this idea of being clear at the Core and being messy at the edges. This for me summed up a lot of 2020 and I think is a great help to lead us into 2021.

If there was one thing that taught us anything last year, was to keep our focus, keep our gaze, keep our heart on the one thing we belong to, the one thing ‘why’ we are MSC, the one thing – may the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved. This, I think is what it means to be ‘clear at the core’ of who we are.

Over the coming days we will re-look at our Resolutions of 2016 Chapter with the many reports, presentations, and insights as to the direction from those presenting. We will have a chance to ask questions and to give our own input.

However, unfortunately we have three members of the conference unable to be here and so: We have a tabled report from Vietnam, from Japan Region.

Tributes to Bob Irwin MSC and his work in MSC Education

(Some have to wait until they die for eulogies. Some have to wait for their causes for canonisation are introduced to have their virtues extolled. Now Bob does not have to wait.)

Tribute by John Mulrooney MSC

Bob Irwin  often says he is a Missionary of the Sacred Heart from the top of his head to his boot straps.

We know he is incredibly talented: a man whose great love is people; a man who is a gifted administrator; a man with vision who has the courage, tenacity and wisdom to bring those visions to fruition; a man with the great skill of bringing people with him; a man who can always be relied upon with practical wisdom and common sense; a man with good humour and sense of fun; a natural born leader and a great friend to many people. So many superlatives we can use and all good and true.

With all these gifts and talents of course comes a man with great warmth and heart. If the inner and outward true ‘marks’ of a Missionary of the Sacred Heart are love, kindness, compassion, tenderness, mercy, concern for all, – one ‘who loves with a human heart’ – then we have a very special one in Bob Irwin!

I was very fortunate to follow on from Bob in several roles. The foundations of the school retreat team were well established by Bob. My time as Principal at Chevalier College found a school ‘humming’ with good will, great spirit and strong sense of being an MSC school at its heart. He dragged me kicking and screaming to be his assistant at Treand House when he was in the role of Provincial (and ignored an 1100 student petition to have me remain at Chev!) but what a privilege it was to be guided by him and to be part of those initiatives such as Vietnam and the Chevalier Institute. Our lives have ‘criss-crossed’ through the MSC Education ministry at meetings, conferences, holidays, conversations, bottles of wine, phone calls, e-mails etc over five decades.

Bob simply loved the staff and parents he worked with. He simply loved the young people in our schools and other places and never tired of being with them, challenging them, calling them to be better than they thought they were. As Provincial he saw his most important and primary role was the individual care of the MSC men. I was there when he encouraged them; when he affirmed them and built up their confidence; when he challenged them; when he laughed with them; when he wept with them and when he buried them. He was acutely aware of his responsibilities in this as he knew the role he was in had both the capacity to affirm and to build up as well as the capacity to hurt.

I could say a lot more but enough superlatives lest he get a big head!

It’s enough to say that each community he lived in and worked with was enriched and strengthened by him and was left in a better place after his leaving.

Many, many thanks and blessings Bob.

Speech delivered by Rita Daniels - MSC Education Committee AGM -16 May 2021

I have been asked to speak tonight about Fr Bob from an education perspective and I am privileged to do this having met him more than 40 years ago. I had the pleasure of working for him when I was a teacher and later the Principal of Daramalan College when he was in the role of Headmaster, Provincial Superior and later Director of MSC Education.

When Bob arrived at Daramalan College as Headmaster (which was the terminology used then) it was like a tornado had hit the school. In my opinion, he was very much the right person for the job at that time. He brought:

• renewed energy and vision
• an amazing capacity to engage with the whole school community,
• a strong commitment to promote and embed MSC spirituality more deeply within the school community
• as well as a desire to spruce up the appearance of the school, amongst other things.

Although not everyone within the school was looking for the volume or speed of the changes that occurred, that did not deter Bob. He was a man on a mission for the full six years. 

This was his first appointment as a Head and he used his intellect, his energy and his love of people to change the school. The overwhelming majority of changes he led were very well received and this, as you know, is not that at all easy to achieve! He was articulate in stating why a change was going to be made and he ensured that the planning had been done to enable the implementation to occur reasonably smoothly.

Bob was always focussed on how things could be improved:

• relationships between staff,
• relationships with students and their families,
• the physical environment
• but most importantly the MSC identity of the school.

It was not change for the sake of change but change for the overall good of the school that drove him to put his heart and soul into his work. Nothing Bob did was ever done in a half-hearted way.

As a Headmaster, Bob was not someone who spent his days shut up in his office. Instead, he was out and about looking to see what was happening in different places and talking to people. He would often share his lunch with some of the staff in the staff lounge before going out to talk with the students and staff in the courtyards or on the oval. This helped the staff to get to know him in a relaxed setting and he rarely missed much of what was happening within the staff due to his sharp capacity to observe and question.

One of my stand-out recollections from these six years is how much the students loved Bob. He got to know many of them by name as well as things about their family and their interests and they knew he genuinely cared about them. He made himself very accessible to them, he jollied them along when he thought they needed it and the lolly machine he placed in his office was well utilised over the six years Bob spent at Daramalan.

Bob was always straight and very fair with the students and they knew and appreciated this. He took time with them and tried to instil in them a strong sense of their self-worth and goodness. Whenever he spoke to them as a group, he was really positive, encouraging and reinforcing the message that they were unconditionally loved by God. His homilies always included wonderful stories that students could relate to in some way and so they listened to him and, I suspect, absorbed much more than they realised at the time.

Bob spent a lot of time and energy on encouraging people and really supporting them to be the best they could be. For example, he gave opportunities to those staff he saw as having strong potential rather than to those who expected to be offered a position simply because they had served their time waiting for it.

He was prepared to try new things, including for example, Outdoor Education which was offered for some years with varying degrees of success but always a lot of expense.

Bob got very involved in the local education community and was regarded highly by his fellow school leaders across the three sectors of education in the ACT. They knew he was always focussed on having the education system work as fairly and transparently as possible for the students. He was happy to speak his mind (and did so from time to time on issues he felt strongly about) but it was always done in a considered and respectful manner.

One of the outstanding things Bob did during his time as Headmaster was he introduced to Daramalan the practice of having family masses and they were huge events that drew the community together. Bob’s dynamism as a leader and as a priest brought large numbers of families to the college, sometimes on very cold winter evenings such as tonight. People joined in the singing that he led so enthusiastically and the Masses were very special occasions that are remembered fondly by many people.

During my time as Principal of Daramalan, I enjoyed watching the daughters and sons of students who were at Daramalan in the 1980s when Bob ran the school, much like their parents did, get enthused by Bob’s singing at the end of Sacred Heart Day Masses – and I know that some of the students used to go home and tell their parents about what had happened at Mass as it was so special for them. This capacity to get people involved and to take up the challenge Bob put to them is a great gift that Bob has and he has used it incredibly well in his work in schools.

Bob organised the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Daramalan in 1987 which really marked a coming of age for the college within the Canberra community. There was a beautiful mass at the Cathedral which was attended by a very large number of people as well as events at the college. Bob says from time to time that almost everything he built at Daramalan was knocked down and replaced by Barry at a later stage but one enduring thing Bob initiated  as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations was naming the buildings after significant people, mainly MSCs, in the history of the college and I doubt that this will ever be changed, especially by Barry.

Bob also led the college through the aftermath of the great fire of July 1986 which was quite a traumatic and disruptive time but, looking on the bright side, it led to some new facilities being built which is never a bad thing. I might add as an aside that none these facilities still  exist – Barry replaced them!

When Bob left Daramalan at the end of 1988, it was a very different school to the one he found when he arrived in 1983. He then went on to achieve many equally wonderful things at Chevalier College and then in Darwin at St John’s College which presented its own special challenges. He showed in his time in schools that he was, indeed, a natural leader.

In his role of Director of MSC Education, Bob maintained his strong interest in education and he was a fantastic support to all the MSC Principals. Bob understood the need to implement changes in how the schools were governed in order to set them up for the future when fewer MSCs would available to be active in the schools and he promoted strongly the importance of spiritual formation for all staff, not just the Principals. The embedding of the Chevalier Institute Team’s work as an integral part of formation in all the MSC schools has been an outstanding part of his very significant contribution to MSC Education.

I have worked with Bob on quite a number of panels to review or select people for school leadership roles and when I did this, I saw that Bob would always strive to be scrupulously fair and kind towards all those involved. He understood that the experience of being reviewed or applying for a senior role was often very challenging, so he worked hard to make people in these situations feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

As you would know, Bob also has a delightful sense of fun and he has perfected the art of dissolving tension or lightening the mood of the room with a smile or a humorous comment or story. He is a wonderful person to spent time with and he enjoys the company of others. When Bob visits any of the MSC schools you can see many people who know him in each of the schools gravitate towards him to catch up. He is certainly very well-known and loved in each of the four MSC schools.

When Bob was very sick some years ago, it was a significant wake up call for all of us who had assumed Bob was someone who would always be around.  Fortunately for us he overcame his illness and he remains as someone who is incredibly important in the history of MSC education. He is a man who has a deep love and affection for MSC schools and their students, in particular; and he is a man of great faith and love as well as boundless optimism and joy in life.

Bob, on behalf of all of us here and those who have been part of this group in the past, I thank you for the extraordinary contributions you have made to MSC education and for being the wonderful person that you are. We have been greatly blessed by your work, by your friendship and by your presence among us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have done and been for us.

News from around the MSC world

Carl Tranter MSC posts this news from MSC Venezuela.

Handover of our parish of Saint Iñes in Maracaibo, Venezuela to the local Diocese. P. Jesus Sandoval new Parish Administrator appointed by Mr Archbishop Mons. José Luis Azuaje. The Liturgy was celebrated on the eve of the Solemnity of Pentecost at Parish Headquarters.

 It is a parish we have founded and built up. One plants, another reaps. That is the missionary spirit.

A message from Jonas, novitiate, French-language Union novitiate.

We are doing well in the novitiate. It is almost the end of the rains which occasioned great damages following the erosion. We are also threatened almost on daily basis by the gangsters despite the presence of the military who have replaced corrupted police officers. The novices enter their 30 days retreat, Friday, April 30 until May 31. A special intention for them. Hi to everyone.

And from California, San Bernadino Diocese, from the Office of Priest Personnel

Many may remember Gene Sabio who was part of MSC General Administration, 1999-2005.

Rev. Sesinando Cajucom, Jr., MSC Pastor, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Riverside, for a term of six years beginning July 1, 2021 and ending on June 30, 2027.

Father Generoso (Gene) Sabio, MSC will be returning for new ministry in the Philippines in July 2021. We thank Father Sabio for his faithful service as he concludes his time as Pastor of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Riverside and as Vicar Forane of the Riverside Vicariate.

Rev. Luis Segura, MSC, Parochial Vicar, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Riverside, for one (1) year beginning July 1, 2021 and ending on June 30, 2022. We welcome Father Segura to the Diocese.

Acknowledging Bernie Mc Grane MSC

Today we congratulate Fr Bernie McGrane MSC on his 95^th birthday, and remember his long ministry, principally in the mission of Eastern Papua, and for many decades of service. This year he is 69 years ordained.

And, from the archives, celebration of his 94^th last year at the Monastery.