Announcing The Orionine Missionary Year

11^TH July 2013

St. Benedict

Dear Confreres and Consoeurs, and Friends of the Orionine Family,

We wish to announce to you that from 20^th October 2013 until 8^th December 2014 we shall celebrate the ORIONINE MISSIONARY YEAR, commemorating the departure of the first missionaries sent by Don Orione from Genoa to Brazil.

On 17^th December 1913, 100 years ago, at 4pm, the first Orionine missionaries left Genoa for Brazil on the ship named “Tomaso de Savoia”.  The missionaries disembarked at the port of Santos on 29^th December 1913 and, travelling by train, reached their destination, Mar de Espanha, in the State of Minas Gerais, on 2nd January 1914.

That departure was the first opening of the Congregation beyond the borders of Italy.  It is an important date because it signifies the beginning of the embrace of the peoples in the name of Don Orione.  After that the embrace of Don Orione reached many other peoples!  Today we are present in 32 countries. 

At the end of the Year of Faith, the Little Work of Divine Providence will celebrate the Orionine Missionary Year, from 20^th October 2013 until 8^th December 2014

The beginning will take place at the Marian Shrine of Aparecida, in Brazil, in the context of the pilgrimage of the Orionine Family in Brazil at the end of the General Assembly of the Sons of Divine Providence and will be the occasion of a vast gathering of Orionine men and women religious and lay people. 

It is a centenary which is important for the entire Orionine Family.

In this missionary year we intend to celebrate the meeting of Don Orione, personally, or through his Sons and Daughters, various nations: Argentina, Uruguay and Palestine in 1921, Poland in 1923, Rhodes (now Greece) in 1925, the U.S.A. in 1934, England in 1935, Albania in 1936, while Don Orione was still alive, then all the others: Chile in 1942, Spain in 1951, the Ivory Coast in 1971, Madagascar in 1976, Jordan in 1982, Venezuela in 1985......up to India in 2002 and Mozambique in 2003.

The Little Missionary Sisters of Charity have walked the missionary paths together with the Sons of Divine Providence.  They remember in particular the 90^th anniversary of the beginning of the LMSC in Poland, in 1924, and the sending of the first Missionary Sisters to Argentina in 1930.  In 2015 they will celebrate the Centenary of the beginning of the Congregation.

With the celebration of the Orionine Missionary Year we propose three aims:

1. To thank the Lord for the history of the Congregation which in itself is a history of mission;
2. To celebrate in our common origins the unity of the Orionine Family in the world with a renewed commitment to creative fidelity to the Charism;
3. To revive the missionary ardour typical of our Orionine identity, also in response to the continual appeals of Pope Francis for a “Missionary Church”.

To this end, we invite all the Communities and Provinces to celebrate in each nation the arrival of the Orionine charism and the foundation of the first institutions, even if the anniversaries are less than 100 years.  In fact, that first missionary expedition of 17^th December 1913 included the missionary drive right from the heart of Don Orione which was seconded by the generosity of many of his Sons and Daughters and brought about all the later openings.

We are sure that every spiritual, public, personal, community and congregational and civil event will do good to us and to the people among whom we live.

However, we, men and women religious celebrate the Orionine Missionary Year not only as a historical event with “external” initiatives, but above all as an interior event, as a vocational reminder to return to “the sources” of the radical centrality of Christ, of charity, of the salvation of souls.  Remember the two objectives signed in blood by the young Orione and Vaccari?  “1^st: who will have saved more souls in the first place.  2^nd : who will become more holy”.  Our identity is here.  The glory of God and our happiness is here.

As we once more thank the Lord for having given us Don Orione and his charism, spread today among many peoples, let us ask Mary, “our Heavenly Mother and Foundress”, to spread her blue mantle over us and over so many people that are entrusted to our missionary zeal.

Sr Mary Mabel Spagnuolo                                               Fr Flavio Peloso

Superior General PSMC                                                   Superior General FDP

Don Orione and the English Language

      St. Luigi Orione’s missionary zeal drove him to carry the apostolate of his Congregation to different countries. During the two visits he paid to South America, he experienced the need and importance of speaking other languages, realizing how difficult pastoral work is, if missionaries do not speak the local language. 

      Thinking about opening houses in English speaking countries such as Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, he encouraged missionaries and seminarians to study English, and also tried to learn a little himself.

           

English for Pastoral Work

In 1922, Fr. Casa was about to go to Canada to work with an Italian community, so Don Orione asked him to study English in some letters.

In a letter, Don Orione explained to him how important and necessary it was to speak the language well for the pastoral work: “So, I inform you that I am sending you to Canada (…) where there  are 600 Italians with their families,and we need to open a church and an Italian-English school before the end of 1922. So you will have to speak English well enough to be able to teach and to preach…”  (Buenos Aires, 28^th February 1922)

In other letter Don Orione kept asking him about his English and encouraging hin to study it: “I would not like you to give up studying English because of this; in fact, I wish you to dedicate yourself even more purposefully to this undertaking.” (Buenos Aires, 14^th March 1922)

In another letter: “Study English really hard, and prepare yourself with all your heart and soul as a priest for a great charitable enterprise” (29^th March 1922) and in other: “How is your English?” (18^th April 1922)

In 1935, Don Orione sent Fr. Gaetano Piccinini to the United Kingdom with the aim of learning English and exploring the possibility of opening a house there. In a letter, the Founder asked Fr. Piccinini to write to them in English from London: “From London, write to us in English.”  (8^th June 1935).

Providing What was Necessary to Study

            Due to the pastoral necessity of speaking English, Don Orione was concerned to provide everything which would be needed to learn: books, teachers and schools.

            “For North America, (…) I am always of the mind to send Fr. Filippo and the other Polish one, who has already been appointed. Eng. Marengo should teach them the most commonly used English words and the pronunciation. Get them a book on the English Language and you must hurry”. (To Fr. Sterpi, Buenos Aires, 27^th May 1935)

            He recommended to Fr. Casa to look for a language institute: “In Sao Paulo, there will be branches of the Berlitz language schools (…) If you don’t find the Berlitz School satisfactory, there will be others which also offer rapid courses”. (Buenos Aires, 28^th February 1922.)

He even advised those who already knew English about how not to forget it: “Ask Fr. Risi to get an English religious to provide him with some spiritual books in English, so that he will not forget the language”. (Messina, 27^th June 1911)

A Secretary Who Speaks English

            During his second stay in Latin America, Don Orione often wrote to a young engineer, Paolo Marengo (the Founder called him “Paolino”), giving advice and motivating him. In two letters, written a few days apart, Don Orione said that he needed a secretary “who can at least speak English and French” (21^st April 1936) and invited the young engineer to help him: “you will be my secretary for the English language.” (23^rd April 1936).

Don Orione Trying to Learn English

            In a letter to Fr. Ottavi and Fr. Michalski, who were about to go to the United States, Don Orione wished them a safe trip and a good mission and said to them that he hoped to visit them, so that he was studying a little English: “I have to remain here for several more months, but I hope, God willing, to come and see you fairly soon, so I am already studying a little English, so that I will be able to manage. I have two difficulties, but the worst is the lack of time. As soon as you can, write to me in English.” (Buenos Aires, 30^th October 1935)

            Regarding his desire to learn English, there is a sheet of paper with some notes on both sides, where he wrote some everyday greetings, simple questions and sentences in Italian and their pronunciation in English. There is no date or place on these notes, so that we cannot say when or where they were written. For example:

Addio Gud bái	Che ora é? Vat taims is it
Come stai? Hau ar iu?	Faccia presto Bi quick
Gud mornin(g) Buongiorno

The Importance of the Languages

From his own experience of being abroad, Don Orione realized the importance of speaking other languages. In a letter to Fr. Piccinini, he said: “Here too, our aspirants and novices as well as Fr. Montagna, the superior of the novitiate, and the seminarians Punta and Solano are studying English, and their teacher is very pleased with them. One has to be abroad and in a truly cosmopolitan city like Buenos Aires, to realize how essential the study of languages is.” (Buenos Aires, 8^th June 1935)

Conclusion

            After reading through some of the Founder’s writings and reflecting about them. I would like to emphasize two things:

• Don Orione’s personal experience, which any missionary can identify with, because of his realization of the need to learn languages for his pastoral work. Although we have no way of finding out how much English Don Orione learned, and it would be pointless even to try, it is at least certain that he endeavored to do so.
• He was able to read the signs of the times, realizing the importance of speaking English in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, because it is the language of the people.