5th January

Feast Day of

St John Neumann C.Ss.R.

TIME LINE

March 28, 1811
St. John Neumann born in Prachatice, Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic)

June 1836
Ordained a priest by the bishop of New York

June 1842
Takes vows as a Redemptorist

1846-1849
Redemptorist vice-provincial in the U.S.

1849-1852
Pastor, St. Alphonsus Church Baltimore

1852
Named fourth bishop of Philadelphia

January 5, 1860
Neumann dies at age 49

October 13, 1963
Declared Blessed

June 19, 1977
Neumann declared a saint by Pope Paul VI

Please pray for the 2011 Chapter...

The Chapter was formally opened last night (2nd Jan).

The confreres worked hard today, listening to various reports on the state of the province.

An election will be held tomorrow for the office of the Provincial Superior. 

Your prayers are asked at this time.

The Virtue for the Month of January is Faith!

On the banner above you'll find "Preaching and Prayer"

- click on this and "Virtues" will appear

- click on that and find out more about Faith!

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

January 1st 2011

The Redemptorists wish all their friends

every grace and blessing

for this coming

New Year!

The Redemptorists of the London Province

wish you and your loved ones

a peace filled,

joy full,

and blessed Christmas Day!

Our Prayers are being offered for you

over this Christmas-time. 

REMEMBERING THE 1980 ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE:

Materdomini, in southern Italy, was the birthplace of St. Gerard Majella our patron.

The Redemptorists have a basilica there dedicated to St. Gerard and his shrine is a popular place for pilgrimage.

30 years ago in November, Materdomini was struck by an earthquake.

Ninety interminable seconds.

It was Sunday, November 23, 1980.

At 19:34 a quake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale devastated southern central Italy.

An earthquake of biblical proportions: 2,914 victims, 9,000 injured, 280,000 displaced persons.

The photos tell the story of the destruction of the old Basilica of St. Gerard at Materdomini.

Two days after the disaster, Pope John Paul II came to, Balvano (Potenza).

In this small area, the collapse of the church led to the deaths of 66 people, mostly children.

Time cannot erase the hurt of those who lost their children and loved ones.

But as Benedict XVI said to the survivors of the L'Aquila quake in 2009,

"we must commit to live again, tapping into what the earthquake cannot destroy: Love."

The church, monastery and St. Gerard’s shrine have been completely restored .

The St. Gerard Family League is an association of Christians united in prayer for their own and other families, to preserve Christian values in their home and family life. It is an extension of the Redemptorist family and its apostolate.

St. Gerard Majella born in Muro, Italy in 1726 was a Redemptorist brother.

During his lifetime and after his death in 1755, God was pleased to work miracles through his intercession. St. Gerard is the patron of mothers and young children and has become well known as a constant help and inspiration to parents.

Membership of the League is open to all and a monthly Mass is offered for all members and their intentions.

If you wish to obtain further information or membership please click here to contact us.

Christmas Greeting from...

Our men at the Abbey, Birmingham, Frs Dickenson and Maguire C.Ss.R.,

send their best wishes and prayers to all!

In this photo they are joined by the Archbishop of Birmingham, Most Rev Bernard Longley.

Our novice brothers send their festive wishes from further afield, Canada!

4th Sunday of Advent

Alleluia, alleluia!

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son

                     and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means

"God - is - with - us".

Alleluia!

ADVANCEMENT IN THE SEELOS

CANONIZATION CAUSE

New Orleans: The official Diocesan Inquiry into an alleged extraordinary healing through the intercession of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos C.Ss.R., has been finalized.  Most Reverend Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, had convoked the Diocesan Inquiry Phase in May, 2009, and his Inquiry Panel members exercised the greatest diligence in gathering the necessary proofs and extensive documentation.

The fact-finding Inquiry Panel investigated the case and heard the testimony of Mary Ellen Heibel, her primary physician and nurse, and other key witnesses, concerning Heibel’s cure of metastasized esophageal cancer.  Heibel, a devout Catholic and parishioner of Saint Mary’s Church in Annapolis, Maryland, had  been cancer-free since January 2005, even though the disease had spread to her liver, lungs, back and sternum, and medical treatment had failed.  The cancer disappeared one week after she helped begin a weekly Seelos novena in her parish.

On October 11, 2010, the Redemptorist Postulator General, Reverend Antonio Marrazzo, submitted the results of this investigation to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints at the Vatican.  With the Diocesan Phase of the canonization process now complete, Marrazzo’s formal petition for the Decree of Unsealing the Acts effectively begins the Roman Phase.

At some point in the near future, the case will undergo proper scrutiny by Vatican authorities who will determine if the cure meets the criteria for the one miracle needed in Seelos’ canonization.

Redemptorist Father Francis Xavier Seelos (1819-1867) was beatified at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome in the solemn Jubilee Year 2000.   He was a man of joy and deep prayer, whose kindness and zeal attracted many people to the sacraments.  Known to many as a powerful intercessor, his sacred remains are located at the National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

You are kindly urged to pray for his canonization.