On 28 April, many of the apostolates and local communities of the Congregation of Holy Cross around the world held liturgies and events to mark the opening of the Year of Mission, declared by Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Superior General, in his sixth circular letter on Holy Cross Mission: Continuing to Cross New Borders.
On a wider visit to Bangladesh, Br. Bednarczyk joined the celebration of the St. Joseph Province, which was held at the St. Joseph Technical School Campus in Dhaka. After revealing a plaque for the Year of Mission and lighting the ceremonial candle, Br. Bednarczyk and Br. Ripon J. Gomes, C.S.C., Superior of the St. Joseph Province, spoke on the meaning of mission today and offered encouragement for renewing our missionary spirit. There was also a time of Eucharistic Adoration to pray that the Congregation continue to bring “Hope Beyond Borders”, which is the theme of the Year of Mission.
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Across town in Rampura, Dhaka, Fr. George K. Rozario, C.S.C., Superior of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province, led a prayer service and Mass for the Holy Cross scholastics and the members of the Moreau House community. In the homily, Fr. Binoy S. Gomes, C.S.C., spoke of the importance of living for Christ and how His love is the fount of our missionary efforts.
In the Province of North East India, the celebrations at the province’s apostolates include the raising of a special flag bearing the logo of the Year of Mission.
In the Province of East Africa, there were various celebrations, including an assembly at Holy Cross Lake View S.S.S. Wanyange in Jinja, Uganda, and a Mass at St. Andre Bessette Holy Cross Parish in Koch-Goma, Uganda.
Then in Canto Grande, Peru, there was a Mass at the Patrico Peyton Center at which representatives from all the Congregation’s apostolates participated. Fr. Elmer Caro, C.S.C., Assistant Superior of the District of Chile-Peru, presided, and Fr. José Luis Tieno, C.S.C., preached, calling on all those associated with the mission of Holy Cross to leave their comfort zones to bring hope to those bearing the cross in their lives.
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Coinciding with the establishment of the Congregation’s new Holy Family Mission in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, Br. Bednarczyk said that the Year of Mission presents an opportunity for the whole Family of Holy Cross to reflect on its mission and to renew its missionary zeal.
“While our mission, like our charism, remains the same, we need to refashion or adapt it at times in order to revitalize it in light of the Church’s and society’s needs. We cannot just rely on what we have always done before,” wrote the Superior General. “We in Holy Cross must discern new pathways in fulfilling our mission.”
The Year of Mission began on 28 April because it was on that date in 1840 that Blessed Basile Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, sent the first foreign missionaries from Le Mans, France. During this year, as Br. Bednarczyk explained, the Congregation seeks to renew its commitment to cross not just the physical borders that separate nation-states, but also all those other borders that separate people into groups of “us versus them”. By joining in deep solidarity with “men and women of grace and goodwill everywhere in their efforts to form communities of the coming kingdom” (2:12), the Congregation strives to live a mission that brings “Hope Beyond Borders”.