Although it was a meeting of the Canadian and US administrations of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, much more than North America was represented in the US Provincial Council meeting room on April 21. Among those around the table (and on the Zoom screen) were Dehonians originally from Vietnam, India, Brazil, Indonesia, the United States, and French and English-speaking Canada. These are just some of the countries now represented in North American Dehonian communities and ministries. An international community serving an international church.
Calling in via Zoom during a home visit to Congo, Fr. Gustave Lulendo, SCJ, regional superior of Canada, took SCJs on a walking tour of the Congolese Province’s outreach to refugees. Approximately 1,000 women and children displaced by conflict now live on the community’s property in Kisangani, home to the Monsignor Grison Center. Benefactors from the US and Canada contribute to the SCJs’ ministry there.
Besides welcoming Dehonians from around the world, both North American entities also serve immigrant populations. There is direct service, such as in Montréal where the community hosts five refugee families on its property, and general outreach to international families across the US and Canada through schools and parishes. The councils discussed a variety of immigration issues during their meeting.
Other topics included the creation of a vision statement for what it means to be a Dehonian in North America, as well as some of the more “nuts and bolts issues:” updates about commissions, shared projects, and follow-up to previous gatherings, such as the 2024 conference in Mississippi on climate disruption and nuclear weapons. “We don’t want these moments in our congregation to be isolated events,” said one councilor. “We need to keep revisiting them so that the discussions begun in the meeting rooms don’t stay in the meeting rooms.”
Click here to view a few photos from the meeting.
The councils will next meet on October 27-28 in Toronto.
