A multi-voice choir for saint Giuseppe Allamano
What do Consolata missionaries and missionaries say about their founder and the Oct. 20 event?
Friends of the birthday boy are known to be the happiest, especially if the person in question is the founder of their Institute and is about to be proclaimed a saint by the Pope. Taking a tour on the web, we collected some excerpts of testimonies that describe well the atmosphere of anticipation and joy around this event, which not coincidentally also coincides with World Mission Day.
Let’s start with the Superior General of the Consolata Missionaries. We do not give precedence to the women because we are following the chronological order of foundation (the men’s Institute was actually born first, in 1901, followed by the women’s in 1910).
Father James Bhola Lengarin, born in 1971, was moreover recently elected-June 12, 2023-and his term will last until 2029. Born in Kenya, he is the first African-born superior of the Consolata, a sign of a changing evangelization that has yielded its missionary results.
“The Consolata was already certain that Father Allamano was a saint,
because the whole spiritual legacy he left continues to attract people to the Church in different parts of the world […].
In this time of preparation,
let us make courage to live our choices and actions more and more according to the heart of Allamano […].
Let us commit ourselves to listening to and living his word,
let us feel encouraged to proclaim it with greater commitment,
to witness with courage and to bring new hope to this ever-changing world. I
n the end, let us pray that the holiness of Allamano will make us, his children, a united family,
called to proclaim the Gospel and live charity in everything and always.
(Sources: Consolata Missions)
And now, the word to Sister Lucia Bortolomasi, who lived for 14 years in Mongolia, where she arrived in 2003 with the first group of Consolata missionaries who arrived in Mongolia, where she lived for 14 years. Born in Susa and raised in Alpignano, in the province of Turin, she is the new Superior General of the Missionaries of the Consolata as of May 28, 2023.
“His canonization is for all of us an immense gift
that invites us to draw more and more from the riches of his holiness.
Let our eyes and hearts be fixed on our Founder
to listen to him and look to his holiness
that stimulates us to continue in a serious and profound way his mission”
(Sources: Consolata Missions)
Bishop Giorgio Marengo, a Consolata missionary and apostolic prefect in Mongolia from the capital city of Ulan Bator, is the youngest cardinal in the history of the Catholic Church:
“It is a moment of joy, gratitude and encouragement for all of us to
to experience the canonization of our founder,
of a man truly transfigured by the light of Christ.
We are in many different places around the globe,
but on this occasion we all feel closer
because we know that we are responding to a holy vocation
that brings so much good to the Church and the world”
(Sources: Consolata Missions)
There can certainly be no shortage of young people in this roundup of voices, none out of the chorus. Yet, as is always the case, they know how to be more original, such as a group of seventy young people from Manaus who gathered at the San Oscar Romero Continental IMC Novitiate on October 13. What did they do? A treasure hunt, to get to know him better! Among them was Rafael Moreira de Aguiar, from the youth group of Santa Lucia Parish:
“The treasure hunt was very nice, not only because of the games,
but also because it brought together different parishes.
We also got to know Giuseppe Allamano better,
who will soon be a saint,
and how he lived his vocation with love and zeal,
being an example for us.
The wish is that, like him, we can be closer to God every day
and respond to his call”
(Sources: Consolata Missions)
There are many words traveling around the world crossing the future St. Joseph Allamano, who gave birth to so many communities present in Africa, Asia, Europe and America. Difficult to collect them all. These, however, are a small taste of what will take place in Rome this weekend.
As per the program, the Prayer Vigil on Saturday evening (8 p.m.); the Eucharistic celebration on Sunday 20, presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 a.m.; and the Mass of Thanksgiving on Monday at St. Paul Outside the Walls, presided over by Msgr. Marengo.
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- Padre Giovanni Piumatti