Congratulations to the Dehonians’ Brazil – Sao Paulo Province (BSP) which on February 15 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculdade Dehoniana or Dehonian College of Taubaté. Among those taking part in the anniversary celebrations were Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, Fr. Raúl Gomez-Ruiz, SDS (president-rector of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology) and Dr. Paul Monson (SHSST Vice President of Intellectual Formation & Academic Dean).
“I am honored to represent the US Province in taking part in this celebration and contributing to a day of lectures on education and theology from the perspective of our Dehonian charism,” wrote Fr. Vien in a letter from Brazil last week. “These will be for SCJs, faculty, staff, and students of the college. Fr. Carlos Luis Suarez Codorniú, Fr. Stefan Tertünte, and Fr. Raúl Gómez Ruíz [president-rector of SHSST] are among the guest speakers…
“Faculdade Dehoniana is one of the BSP Province’s apostolates. The first theology class was held there on February 15, 1924, and included SCJ students from Germany. Work for the establishment of the school began with a request from Bishop Dom Epaminondas Nunes D’Avila e Silva, who, in 1913, asked Fr. Dehon to send religious to teach in his seminary. Fr. Dehon asked the German SCJs to consider the bishop’s proposal. They responded positively, but the project was delayed because of World War I. It was resumed in 1919 with the arrival of the first Dehonians in Taubaté to start the building project. Today, the school educates students and forms seminarians from different Brazilian SCJ entities, dioceses, and religious communities. It offers undergraduate and graduate courses in Theology, Philosophy, Economics and Management, and more… “Let us pray for the continued success of Faculdade Dehoniana through the intercession of Fr. Dehon.”
