Congratulations. Greg McCann 60 years professed today – and celebrating MSC Brothers.
August 5th was one of the days for the profession of MSC Brothers in the past. Greg has had ministries in schools, both cooking and teaching, and spent years in China teaching English as a second language.
August 5th is a good day to take note of our tradition of Brothers in the Australian Province. Especially, with the coming General Chapter. It is hoped you enjoy reading about the Brothers in Australia below.
Brother Bernard Mongeau MSC is attending the Chapter and is preparing propositions for the Chapter. He notes that in 2017, Pope Francis addressed to the members of the General Chapter the following message:
“[…] the brothers in a congregation are a grace of the Lord. I ask you not to yield to the temptation of clericalism that, as I have often remarked, alienates people, especially the young, from the Church. May your common life be marked by true fraternity, which welcomes diversity and values the gifts of all.”
He remembers Mark MacDonald saying the same thing. In the Documents of the 2017 General Chapter, it is written under the article number 49:
“We believe that our understanding of the life and mission of our non-ordained members has been evolving over the past few years, due in part to our recognition of the dangers of “clericalism” in a religious Congregation. The focus is now much more on the fact that as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, we are all religious. This means that our “Brothers” are not a special category within our Congregation. (Cf. Const. 28) All topics considered relate to all of us since we all have the same vows, the same charism, the same mission and form one and the same family. All around the world, we still have much to do in relation to this question. We need to promote vocations not to priesthood or brotherhood but to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.”
Bernard Mongeau introduces himself.
I am a member of the local community of Quebec in Canada belonging to the Province of the Dominican Republic since November 2022. I am an MSC brother since 1980. Before being an MSC, I worked in the administration of a large commercial company for nearly three years. In the novitiate, in 1979, the master of novices did not know what to offer me as a job. After speaking with the provincial treasurer, he invited me to work with him. That's how it all started. After my novitiate, I took university courses in administration and accounting. From 1993 to 2000, I worked in a popular education organization in Quebec. I worked as local treasurer and assistant provincial treasurer from 1980 to 2008 at the service of the MSC mission. I was provincial treasurer of Canada from 2008 to November 2022. Since the canonical fusion of our Province with that of the Dominican Republic, I am the treasurer and secretary of local community and the civil corporation. Since 2008, I am a member and administrator of an association of treasurers of religious institutes in the province of Quebec called ATTIR. This association offers monthly training days in administration, civil law and canon law, psychology and restructuring. I have never been on a mission outside my country. However, I visited on several occasions a poverty reduction and popular education project that we had supported in Nicaragua. I was involved in the file of the canonical fusion of our Province and the possession of our Mexican mission in the Province of Central America. I am also part of the General Finance Commission of the Congregation.
We take the opportunity to pay some tributes to MSC Brothers, Australia.
At times there were 100 Brothers in the Province. Robert South was the first, professed in 1899. A number of men joined us for some time and did not continue. There are 108 Brothers listed in our Necrology. We have 14 Brothers in Australia and one in Vietnam. They are named at the end.
John Ehlefeldt
In the past the Brothers staffed colleges and houses like Kensington, Douglas Park, Scholasticates, later in parishes. Brothers cooked, cleaned, worked in farms and gardens, and in the Annals Office. With regret we look back at the separation because of first and second class status (and reinforced clericalism).
John Walker
Since the late 1960s a Brother has usually been a member of the Provincial Council. Brothers became Community Leaders in the 1990s, Peter Harvey Jackson, Douglas Park, Kensington, Melbourne, Phil Reilly Chevalier, Peter Curry Navarre House, John Walker Canberra, Barry Smith Douglas Park. Brothers have been bursars at provincial and community level, members of finance and building committees. From 1950 to 1990, Brothers were part of the General House community in Rome.
Gerry Burke
Tribute must be paid to the many Brothers missionaries in PNG and the NT, builders, boats, captains. Ted Merritt gained a pilot’s licence. Andy Howley was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1978 to study Native Americans in the US and was instrumental in setting up Alcohol Awareness and Family Recovery at Daly River (and later in Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa, and awarded Medal in the Order of Australia). Alan Kinnane was also involved. Alan was later ordained a deacon.
Barry Smith
In the 1970s, Brother began to teach and many to qualify in teacher training, moving into art, woodwork, dormitory supervision, infirmary, sport. Paul Brooks was Principal of St John’s Darwin. Education in English as a second language extended to China with Greg McCann. John Walker trained in nursing.
Peter Harvey-Jackson
Brothers have theology degrees, Peter Harvey-Jackson, John Walker, James Maher. Brothers have had overseas sabbaticals, for study, for experience. Since the late 1960s Brothers have worked in Formation, in recent times, Col Sinclair in the Pacific Islands Province, Peter Harvey-Jackson as Novice Master at Douglas Park.
James Maher was a noted musician and composer.
Since the 1980s, Brothers have appointed to particular ministries, hospital chaplaincies, prisons, AIDS ministry. Ken Clancy had a visiting ministry at Croydon and mission support at Chevalier (and had a book written about him).
Our Brothers today:
Barry Smith
Col Sinclair
Gerard Shanley
Greg McCann
Henk Bosman
Jac Boelen
John Frith
John Walker
Josef Senjuk
Paul Bowen
Peter Curry
Peter Harvey-Jackson
Phil Reilly
Reg Pritchard
And Hung leading the way in Vietnam
Col Sinclair and the Pacific Island pre0novitiate group
