Dear Parishioners:
At Masses last weekend, the parish youth who attended the Steubenville Youth Conference shared their reflections on their faith-filled experiences. We are grateful to Lola Oberg, Jared Marroquin, Caroline Colligan, and Andrew Liawana, who offered a great witness of faith. Please pray for these young men and women as they continue to grow in faith, hope, and charity.
Next week is the Annual Mission Cooperative Collection, and a member of the Piarist Fathers is coming to share with us about their good works. The Piarist Fathers are a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Joseph Calasanz in 1617 in Rome. Also known as the Order of the Pious Schools, they are the oldest religious order specifically dedicated to providing free education to children, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
The vesting of novices into the Piarist Order.by Saint Joseph of Calasanz
St. Joseph Calasanz, the founder of the Piarist Fathers, was born in Peralta de la Sal, Spain, in 1556, and was ordained a priest in 1583. Nine years later, he moved to Rome and was deeply affected by the children there. With permission of Pope Clement VII, he opened a free school for them in 1597. This school was opened to every child, regardless of their particular religious affiliation, and is believed by many to be the world's first free elementary school. It stressed piety and learning; thus the Piarist motto, "pietas et litterae".
In 1617, with the permission of Pope Paul V, St. Joseph Calasanz and fourteen other men became the first members of a new religious congregation. In 1621, Pope Gregory XV raised this congregation into the rank of a religious order under solemn canonical vows, calling it the Order of the Pious Schools. The abbreviation "Sch. P." following the name of a Piarist comes from the Latin words "Scholarum Piarum" (of the Pious Schools).
In the late 1940's many Piarists from Eastern Europe emigrated to the United States. With the help of Bishop John O'Hara of Buffalo, they established their first American community in Derby, NY in 1951. Within the next decade, they established Piarist schools in Buffalo, NY, and Devon, PA, and a diocesan school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Piarists profess the three evangelical religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In addition, they profess a fourth vow to dedicate their lives to the education of youth. Today, over 1,300 Piarists are teaching 131,000 students in 26 countries around the world.
In 1990, the Piarists founded a college preparatory school in eastern Kentucky for the youth of the impoverished area. The Piarists are committed to working among the poor in Appalachia, providing a free education and the best and perhaps only hope of bringing poverty to an end. The school began with one first-year class, and added a class each year until the 1993-1994 school year, when the school had its first four-year program.
Next weekend, Piarist Father John Callan, Sch.P., is preaching at all Masses about the good works of his order, especially in Appalachia. Father is a native of the Philadelphia area, where he graduated from the Piarists’ Devon Preparatory School in 1975. He then entered the Piarists’ seminary just 2 months after graduation.
Father Callan earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from both Villanova University and Florida Atlantic University. He was ordained a priest in September 1982. And then he taught theology and mathematics at Devon Prep for 16 years and at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale for 27 years. For the past 2 years, he has served as Headmaster of The Piarist School in eastern Kentucky, Appalachia. I am certain that you will give Father your usual warm welcome.
Please be prepared to support the second collection next weekend, which is for the Piarist Fathers. There is no envelope designated for it, and checks should be made payable to OLM. All monies collected are forwarded to the Piarist Fathers.. Annually, every parish in the Diocese participates in supporting the missions through the Mission Cooperative. Each parish hosts Missionaries who tell us about the good works of the Missions in spreading the Good News of the Gospel
In the name of Fr. Callan, the Piarist Fathers, and the poor they serve, I thank you for your generous support. Father Brodeur is away on vacation this week. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox!!!!
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