The Catholic Vote

St. Vincent Archabbey gearing up for Franciscan University

(Br. Mark, O.S.B. entertains discerning students and fellow religious at Franciscan University last year.)

STEUBENVILLE, OH (SEPTEMBER 12, 2008) – More than 100 religious communities and dioceses from across the United States and abroad will send vocations directors to participate in Franciscan University of Steubenville’s annual Vocations Awareness Day, which is one of the largest vocation fair in the nation.

The event, sponsored by the Pre-Theologate Program and Chapel Ministries, will be held on Friday, October 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Finnegan Fieldhouse. It is free and open to the public. Afterward, a 4:45 p.m. Mass in Christ the King Chapel will be celebrated for those discerning religious life or the priesthood.

Last year’s Vocations Awareness Day attracted about 800 attendees. University and high school students, home school families, and local individuals took advantage of the opportunity to meet with vocations directors, ask questions, and learn about their unique missions and charisms.

Some of this year’s orders include: Franciscan Friars of Renewal, Dominican Order of Preachers, Carmelite friars and nuns from California, Washington, and Oklahoma, the Benedictine monks of St. Vincent Archabbey, Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, School Sisters of St. Francis, and sisters from Madrid, who are especially seeking Franciscan University education or Spanish majors to teach in Spain. Religious directors from many dioceses across the U.S. will also be present.

Father Ken Cienik, SA, director of the Pre-Theologate Program, encourages the public to attend. He says this is a great opportunity to encounter “a wide variety of religious orders and dioceses at one time and to discern if one might be right for you.”

For more information, call 740-283-6495 or e-mail vocationday@franciscan.edu.

 
Contact: Franiscan University of Steubenville http://www.franciscan.edu OH, 43952 US Tom Sofio - Assistant Manager, 740-284-5893

(Also, feel free to contact us at the St. Vincent Archabbey Vocation Office and let us know if we will see you there: 724-532-6655, vocations@stvincent.edu)

Holy Father speaks of Monasticism

St. Vincent Goods

Recently, we have been getting a lot of inquiries from you guys about purchasing products that the monks of St. Vincent have worked on to help in your faith journey, particularly the DVD's of our own Fr. Jacques Daley, OSB that have appeared on EWTN. Without a doubt, these DVD's are a great tool in discernment so I have posted a few links to Father's DVD's on the side panels. Just click on the photos. (The link will take you to the St. Vincent store which has other religious books, videos, etc. for you to take advantage of.)

St. Maria Faustina's spiritual director to be beatified!!!

From Vatican.va

Michał Sopoćko was born on November 1, 1888 in Nowosady (Juszewszczyzna), then under Imperial Russia. The Czarist authority persecuted the Catholic Church as well as both the Polish and Lithuanian people within in its territories. In the Sopoćko family, of noble lineage, the Polish and Catholic traditions were conserved and developed. The young Michael matured in this religious and patriotic atmosphere. Motivated by a desire for unconditional service to God, the Church and humanity, he entered the Major Seminary in Vilnius. On June 15, 1914, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Franciszek Karewicz.

For four years (1914-1918) he worked as a parochial vicar in Taboryszki, where he opened two mission churches at Miedniki and at Onżadòw, as well as various schools.

As informed by someone that the German authorities who checks that zone may arrest him,he left the parish and went to Warsaw. There he became a military chaplain for the Polish army. While dedicated to his ministry as chaplain, he enrolled as a student in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Warsaw and from which he obtained a doctoral degree. At the same time, he graduated from the National Pedagogical Institute. In 1924, he became a coordinator of the regional military chaplaincies, based in Vilnius.

In 1927, Archbishop Romuald Jalbrzykowski entrusted to him the responsibility of being Spiritual Director for the Major Seminary. During this same period he taught for the faculty of Theology at Stefan Batory University, also in Vilnius. He eventually requested the Archbishop to release him from both the military pastoral care and from the seminary duties. His desire was to dedicate himself entirely to theological pursuits. In 1934, he received the title of ‘docent’ in pastoral theology. While teaching, he never forgot the importance of pastoral service. He was rector of St. Michael Church and also served as confessor for Religious Sisters.

One of the most significant events of Fr. Sopoćko’s life occurred in 1933, when he became the Spiritual Director of Sr. (now Saint) Faustina Kowalska of the Congregation of Sisters of Mary Mother of Mercy. He continued to assist the Saint after his transfer to Łagiewniki, and where she died on October 5, 1938. As her confessor, he undertook a thorough evaluation of Sr. Faustina’s mystical experiences concerning devotion to the Divine Mercy. Following his advice, she wrote of these in her "Diary.” To this day this remains a spiritual classic.

The Divine Mercy devotion became a life-giving inspiration for Fr. Sopoćko. Due to his assistance, and under the direction of Sister Faustina, the artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski painted the first portrait of Jesus as the Divine Mercy. Fr. Sopoćko wrote extensively on the subject of the Divine Mercy, and, in 1938, he established a committee charged with building the Divine Mercy Church in Vilnius. However, this attempt had to be halted due to the onset of World War II. But despite the war and German occupation, Fr. Sopoćko persisted in his efforts to promote the devotion to the Divine Mercy. Filled with zeal, he constantly helped those who were oppressed and threatened with extermination, for example, numerous Jewish people. Fortunately, he managed to avoid arrest and imprisonment. In 1942, along with his fellow seminary professors and students, he was forced to go into hiding near Vilnius. He remained concealed for two years. Yet it was during that very time when Fr. Sopoćko played a major role in establishing a new Religious Congregation. According to the revelations of Sr. Faustina, this Congregation was to promote love for the Divine Mercy. After the War, he wrote the Congregation’s constitution. And he became actively engaged in the growth and development of what we know as the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Mercy.

In 1947, Archbishop Jałbrzykowski, since two years at Białystok with his diocesan Curia, sought that Fr. Sopoćko come to the same city. He therefore accepted a position as professor in the Archdiocesan Major Seminary. There he taught pedagogy, catechetics, homiletics, pastoral theology, and spirituality. Additionally, he continued to further the apostolate of the Divine Mercy. He also made serious efforts to obtain official approval for the Divine Mercy devotion from the Church authorities. Fr. Sopoćko worked tirelessly on the biblical, theological, and pastoral bases by which to explain the doctrinal truth concerning the Divine Mercy devotion. His publications were translated into numerous languages including: Latin, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Fr. Michal Sopoćko died on February 15, 1975, in his apartment on Poleska Street. He was popularly acclaimed for his sanctity. He was buried in the parish cemetery in Białystok. Following the inauguration of the process for his Beatification, his body was moved to the Church of the Divine Mercy (November 30, 1988).

For more on Father Sopoćko, Divine Mercy, and St. Faustina, check out this great DVD series by our own Fr. Jaques Daley, OSB which was done for EWTN. Click here for more info.