The Seminarians, Canons and Superiors gathered to commemorate the faithful departed at Gricigliano earlier this month.
Vespers
NEW NOVICES RECEIVE HABIT
On the 29th September, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, four new Sister Adorers received the habit and the white veil of novices at their house of formation in Naples, Italy, from the hands of His Eminence Cardinal Pell.
This joyous occasion brought together many of the professed Sisters, as well, who renewed their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
“One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”
Psalm 26:4
CARDINAL BURKE MESSAGE: 15 OCTOBER 2021
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
With heartfelt gratitude to all those who have prayed for my recovery, I write to inform you that, since my previous letter, physical therapy has aided my rehabilitation so greatly that I am now able to offer daily the Holy Mass. Words cannot adequately express my joy at this gift of God’s grace in my life. As a priest, Bishop and Cardinal, the return to the daily offering of the Holy Mass, the principal daily work of every priest, unites me most fully to you in our spiritual bond as members of the Mystical Body of Christ (cf. Jn 15, 5-8; Eph 4, 4-13). At the same time, my recovery continues to remain an intensive process. Divine Providence will determine the time of my return to my usual pastoral activities. In the meantime, please help me to prepare, as best as possible, for that time by your prayers.
This letter, however, is not principally intended to be an update on the condition of my health. It is, rather, an instrument of the pastoral charity which is the distinctive grace of the priesthood and episcopacy, offering sound direction and encouragement to the faithful. In specific, I write to encourage you to recite daily the powerful prayer of the Holy Rosary.
Although the Feast or Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7th, the entire month of October is dedicated to fostering this most highly prized devotion to Mary, which she herself has given to us. In writing to you about the daily praying of the Holy Rosary, I underline three important considerations.
First, the message of Our Lady of Fatima urges us to honor her by praying the Rosary every day. Second, when Our Lady concluded her apparitions at Fatima on October 13, 1917, Our Lord granted a remarkable confirmation of the apparitions in the Miracle of the Sun. Third, in asking us to pray daily the Rosary, Our Lady indicated a specific intention: peace. Pope Saint John Paul II, echoing Our Lady’s messages to us at Fatima, explained that “the Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 40).
The peace for which we pray, while reciting the prayer of the Rosary is not a peace given by this world (cf. Jn 14, 27), but rather the peace obtained for us by the blood of the Cross of Jesus Christ (cf. Col 1, 20). Let us recall that Our Lady of the Rosary was first given the title of Our Lady of Victory by Pope Saint Pius V, to honor the victory of peace, which was won, through her intercession and especially through the praying of the Holy Rosary, at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Changing the title of Our Lady of Victory to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Pope Gregory XIII underlined the powerful instrument for attaining the victory of peace, namely, the praying of the Holy Rosary.
The victory of peace is ultimately the victory over Satan who, since the sin of our First Parents, never ceases to tempt us to commit sin. It is the victory worked by God the Father through the Redemptive Incarnation of His only-begotten Son. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, is the privileged instrument through which God the Father sent God the Son into the world to win for us the victory. She is the woman whose Son crushes the head of the serpent, Satan, as God the Father promised after the sin of Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 3, 15). She continues to be the channel by which the grace of Christ wins the victory over sin in our daily lives.
By praying the Rosary daily, we draw near to the Mother of Our Savior, who teaches us, as she taught the wine stewards at the Wedding Feast of Cana: “Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you” (Jn 2, 5). She, whom Our Savior gave to us as our Mother – the Mother of Divine Grace – helps us to stand faithfully, with her, beneath the Cross of Our Lord, one in heart with her Immaculate Heart in the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus (cf. Jn 19, 25-27). With her, we share in the Triumph of the Cross.
The victory of peace, sought through the Immaculate Heart of Mary by praying the Holy Rosary and attained in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, overcomes the confusion, error and division, all the works of the Evil One, which so fiercely attack today the world and the Church. For that reason, I urge you today, if you are not already doing so, to pray the Holy Rosary, seeking the intercession of the Mother of God for the victory of peace, peace in your soul, peace in the world, peace in the Church. I leave you with words of Pope Saint John Paul II, whose papal ministry was so strongly marked by devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Let us pray the Rosary, if possible every day, either by ourself or in community. The Rosary is a simple prayer, but profound and very effective, even to ask favors for families, communities and the world” (Regina Caeli, 28 April 2002).
Imploring Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to bless you, your homes, your families, and all your labors, I remain
Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph,
Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE
NEWS ON CANON FRAGELLI
Dear friends,
Canon Fragelli continues his slow but encouraging rehabilitation. His treatment and medical interventions still prevents him from speaking, but his lips can be read and he manages, albeit still painfully, to write on a tablet.
He willingly asks for news and photos of the Mission of Mouila. To follow his programme of care he left the Careggi Hospital in Florence and is now in the Siena area. He will still need a lot of perseverance and courage: in this month of the Rosary, we entrust him with fervour to the powerful intercession of Our Lady of Victories.
In Christo Rege,
Monsignor Gilles Wach
9th October 2021
A LETTER OF GRATITUDE FROM HIS EMINENCE RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE
Praised be Jesus Christ!
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I express deep gratitude to God, who has brought me to this point of healing and recovery. As previously communicated by the leadership and staff of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for whom I also express my profound appreciation, I am no longer intubated with a medical ventilator. I have been transferred out of the Medical Intensive Care Unit and settled in a hospital room where the doctors, nurses, and numerous hospital staff have provided vigilant, superb, and steadfast medical care. For these dedicated professionals, too, I offer heartfelt thanks, as well as to the priests who have ministered to me sacramentally. To those who have offered innumerable Rosaries and prayers, lighted candles, and requested the offering of the Holy Mass, I extend my sincere gratitude, and I ask the Lord and His Mother to bless you all. I also thank my brother bishops and priests who have offered Mass for me or prayed for me at the altar.
This generous outpouring of grace unites me to you in a special way, as I am also particularly united to all victims suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 virus. With all my heart, I express to you my wish that I could respond to every phone call, text message, and email. However, due to the intensive rehabilitation that I will soon begin, providing a response beyond these universal letters will not be possible. In your charity, I know you will understand this circumstance and accept that I must preserve my energy so that I can recover my health and strength. Hospital regulations limit visitors to immediate family members. During the forthcoming extended period of convalescence, it is my intention to provide only occasional updates when there is something significant to share with you.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has accepted the necessary and crucial role of direct communication, on my behalf. Again, in your kindness, may I ask that you direct all of your communication to me through the Shrine’s website, at GuadalupeShrine.org/MessageCardinalBurke.
Of late, I have been reminded of the motto that I took when I was selected for the episcopacy: “Secundum Cor Tuum” (According to Your Heart). All things ordered in and through the Divine Will have as their origin the Sacred Heart of Our Savior, whose fundamental motivation is His Eternal Love for His Father and for His children. Since Divine Providence has governed that I remain hospitalized for the present, I now reaffirm that same episcopal conviction: suffering, united with the suffering of Jesus Christ, is truly efficacious in His Divine Plan for our salvation when accepted willingly and wholeheartedly. Saint Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, teaches us the meaning of our suffering: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (Col 1:24).
United with Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, I offer all that I suffer for the Church and for the world. Asking God’s blessing upon you and your family, and confiding your intentions to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and your holy patron saints, I remain
Yours in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
28 August 2021
Feast of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
GENERAL CHAPTER
Some photographs from last week’s Chapter meeting at our Motherhouse in the Tuscan hills:
Above: Priests ordained in July give first blessings to their bretheren who were unable to travel for the Ordination ceremonies
Below: Pontifical High Mass offered by His Excellency, Bishop Luciano Giovannetti on the Feast of St. Louis
Below: Your Canons gather from across the world at Gricigliano
OUR NEW CANON!
Our warmest heartfelt congratulations to Canon who was incardinated into the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest during last weeks General Chapter meeting at Gricigliano.
Canon received the Choir Habit and distinctive blue pom-pom biretta of the Institute and Salesian Cross.
Benedíctus Deus in sǽcula!
UPDATE ON CANON HENRIQUE FRAGELLI – 27/08/21
Since 21st May, Canon Henrique Fragelli has been in the Covid intensive care unit at Carregi Hospital in Florence, Italy, in the care of specialised doctors.
The recovery of Canon Fragelli continues, he has begun to wake up. His full recovery will be gradual and slow. Let us persevere in our prayers to support his recovery so that it will be prompt and complete.
ORDINATION WEEK PHOTOGRAPHY
As is usual, at the end of June/beginning of July, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest cherishes the abundant graces bestowed by God during the liturgical ceremonies of Ordination week.
This year, twenty-two new Seminarians received the Cassock and Tonsure at Gricigliano on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively and on Thursday, eight new priests were ordained in Florence.
Rev. Monsignor Gilles WACH presided over the ceremonies of the reception of the Cassock on the feast of Ss. Peter & Paul (Tuesday 29th June), followed a day later when H.E. Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE carried out the Tonsure.
Reception of the Cassock
Tonsure
On the evening preceding their Ordination, the shortly to be ordained Canons received the Choir Habit
Ordinations to the Priesthood
The Ordination Mass was on Thursday 1 July 2021, the feast of the Precious Blood, 8 young men, surrendering all to serve Christ, His Church and His Faithful are now Priests forever! Deo gratias!
Mass took place at the Chiesa dei Santi Michele e Gaetano in Florence in the presence of H.E. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke.
The new priests are:
Canon Maximilien Vuylsteke (France)
Canon Christian Juneau (Canada)
Canon Nicholas Phillips (Nebraska, USA)
Canon Francisco Palomar Andres (Spain)
Canon David Le (California, USA)
Canon Bryan Silvey (Missouri, USA)
Canon GodefroyDucret (France)
Canon Julien Aumont(France)
Please pray for them!
PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS 2021
To all dear friends of the Institute,
Together with Monsignor Gilles Wach and the Institute family all over the world, we seek once again your prayers for the deacons who will be ordained to the Priesthood on Thursday, 1 July 2021, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, by His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, at the Institute’s church of Saints Michael and Cajetan in Florence, Italy.
The deacons being ordained are:
Deacon Maximilien Vuylsteke (France)
Deacon Christian Juneau (Canada)
Deacon Nicholas Phillips (Nebraska, USA)
Deacon Francisco Palomas Andres (Spain)
Deacon David Le (California, USA)
Deacon Bryan Silvey (Missouri, USA)
Deacon Godefroy Ducret (France)
Deacon Julien Aumont (France)
Before this very special day on the 29th and 30th June, 22 men, who have now completed their first year of formation at the Motherhouse, Gricigliano, will receive first the cassock and then clerical tonsure.
Entrusting all to Our Blessed Lady, Mother of Priests, and an example of faithful, humble, and joyful acceptance of God’s will, I remain,
Faithfully yours in the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Canon Amaury Montjean