FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 27th OCTOBER - 3rd NOVEMBER 2024
Last week in Rome, at the 48th General Chapter of the Passionists, we elected a new Superior General as the latest successor to St. Paul of the Cross. He is an Italian, Fr. Giuseppe Adobate Carrara (as in the marble). We wish him well and we pray for him. Of more interest to Log readers may be that we also elected six consultors, one for each configuration (region) of the worldwide Passionist Congregation. These come from India; Brazil; Tanzania; Peru; Portugal and, last but not least, Scotland. Yes, our own Father Paul Francis Spencer CP, from Royston, has been elected as the First Consultor on the General Council for the next six years if, as we say, God spares him, and so we congratulate him and pray for him too. As it turns out, he will be the oldest member of the new General Council, whose ages range from 35-70.
Father Paul Francis is at present parish priest at Mount Argus in Dublin, as well as holding a few other roles in our province. He will now have to leave Dublin and go to live in Rome at our mother house of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill, near to the Colosseum. He won’t be an easy man to replace in St. Patrick’s Province where he has been a key player over many years, and, given how thin on the ground we already are, we are now going to be stretched even further. Next June 2025, we will be holding our own Province Chapter, at which we will elect a new Provincial and team, and look to appoint people to various important roles. With someone such as Father Paul Francis now out of the equation, that task will be even more difficult than it was always going to be, and the challenges will be great. More and more, we will look to develop partnerships with our laity, and to welcome more Passionists from other continents, where the members are younger and more numerous, to sustain and develop our mission going forward. Between Scotland, England and Ireland, we have a good number of Indian and African Passionists working with us already, including Father John Varghese here in St. Mungo’s. Of course, we also have a Welshman in St Mungo’s, Father Gareth. In the not-so-distant past, we had a reasonably strong Passionist presence in Wales, but as numbers decreased, we eventually had to close those houses down. One such house was a small retreat centre at St Non’s on the Pembrokeshire coast, a very beautiful location just outside the City of St David. St Non was St David’s mother, and so I always thought that this provided a connection with Glasgow, where we venerate, not just St Mungo, but also his mother Thenew, also known as Enoch. It's said that after he was expelled for a time from Strathclyde, when his life was under threat, St Mungo headed south and eventually came to Pembrokeshire where he met St David, and the two became firm friends.
The Passionists were founded in Italy between 1720 and 1741, by St Paul of the Cross, after a long and painstaking process, but did not grow beyond Italy (apart from a brief, but failed attempt to start a presence in Bulgaria) until the mid-19th Century. In 1840, via a recently formed foundation at Ere in Belgium, Blessed Dominic Barberi arrived in England with a few companions. He became known as the Shepherd of the Second Spring because of the part he played in revitalising the Catholic Faith in England, and is best known for receiving Cardinal John Henry Newman, now a canonized saint, into the Catholic Church. From there the Passionists began to spread, arriving in Ireland in 1856, firstly to Mount Argus in Dublin, then coming to Scotland, and to St Mungo’s, in 1865, and then to Holy Cross in Belfast in 1869. The Congregation is now in every continent, and in over 70 countries throughout the world, as is reflected in the make-up of the new General Council. I’m glad to say that, in recent years, we returned to Bulgaria, and succeeded in establishing a presence there at last.
So, what does the future hold? Who knows? But we trust in the grace of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and we ask, and depend upon, your continuing prayers and support.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
Last week in Rome, at the 48th General Chapter of the Passionists, we elected a new Superior General as the latest successor to St. Paul of the Cross. He is an Italian, Fr. Giuseppe Adobate Carrara (as in the marble). We wish him well and we pray for him. Of more interest to Log readers may be that we also elected six consultors, one for each configuration (region) of the worldwide Passionist Congregation. These come from India; Brazil; Tanzania; Peru; Portugal and, last but not least, Scotland. Yes, our own Father Paul Francis Spencer CP, from Royston, has been elected as the First Consultor on the General Council for the next six years if, as we say, God spares him, and so we congratulate him and pray for him too. As it turns out, he will be the oldest member of the new General Council, whose ages range from 35-70.
Father Paul Francis is at present parish priest at Mount Argus in Dublin, as well as holding a few other roles in our province. He will now have to leave Dublin and go to live in Rome at our mother house of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill, near to the Colosseum. He won’t be an easy man to replace in St. Patrick’s Province where he has been a key player over many years, and, given how thin on the ground we already are, we are now going to be stretched even further. Next June 2025, we will be holding our own Province Chapter, at which we will elect a new Provincial and team, and look to appoint people to various important roles. With someone such as Father Paul Francis now out of the equation, that task will be even more difficult than it was always going to be, and the challenges will be great. More and more, we will look to develop partnerships with our laity, and to welcome more Passionists from other continents, where the members are younger and more numerous, to sustain and develop our mission going forward. Between Scotland, England and Ireland, we have a good number of Indian and African Passionists working with us already, including Father John Varghese here in St. Mungo’s. Of course, we also have a Welshman in St Mungo’s, Father Gareth. In the not-so-distant past, we had a reasonably strong Passionist presence in Wales, but as numbers decreased, we eventually had to close those houses down. One such house was a small retreat centre at St Non’s on the Pembrokeshire coast, a very beautiful location just outside the City of St David. St Non was St David’s mother, and so I always thought that this provided a connection with Glasgow, where we venerate, not just St Mungo, but also his mother Thenew, also known as Enoch. It's said that after he was expelled for a time from Strathclyde, when his life was under threat, St Mungo headed south and eventually came to Pembrokeshire where he met St David, and the two became firm friends.
The Passionists were founded in Italy between 1720 and 1741, by St Paul of the Cross, after a long and painstaking process, but did not grow beyond Italy (apart from a brief, but failed attempt to start a presence in Bulgaria) until the mid-19th Century. In 1840, via a recently formed foundation at Ere in Belgium, Blessed Dominic Barberi arrived in England with a few companions. He became known as the Shepherd of the Second Spring because of the part he played in revitalising the Catholic Faith in England, and is best known for receiving Cardinal John Henry Newman, now a canonized saint, into the Catholic Church. From there the Passionists began to spread, arriving in Ireland in 1856, firstly to Mount Argus in Dublin, then coming to Scotland, and to St Mungo’s, in 1865, and then to Holy Cross in Belfast in 1869. The Congregation is now in every continent, and in over 70 countries throughout the world, as is reflected in the make-up of the new General Council. I’m glad to say that, in recent years, we returned to Bulgaria, and succeeded in establishing a presence there at last.
So, what does the future hold? Who knows? But we trust in the grace of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and we ask, and depend upon, your continuing prayers and support.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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