Marian Helper Spring 2014

WACOM set for Aug. 15-19 in Bogota The thirdWorld Apostolic Congress onMercy (WACOM) will be celebrated on Aug. 15-19 in Bogota, Colombia. The Congress will include testimonies, lectures, street celebrations, Holy Masses, and missions. It is expected to draw thousands of people, including many cardinals. “Once again, we will gather together people from around the world to deepen our faith in, and awareness of, the Merciful Jesus and to bring the Divine Mercy message into the daily life of the Church and the world,” said Fr. Patrice Chocholski of Lyon, France, general secretary of the Congress. The structure of WACOMwill be similar to that of the first two World Congresses: five days with talks and testimonies in the morn- ing, workshops and missions in parishes in the afternoon, and festivals in the evening. Speak- ers will include Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, president of the Mercy Congress, discussing “Divine Mercy, Our Mission”; Cardinal Rubén Salazar, Archbishop of Bogota, addressing “Mercy at the Service of Reconciliation and Peace in Colombia”; and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. As with the two previous Congresses, theMar- ian Fathers are deeply involved in the planning, andwill be organizing a pilgrimage forMarian Helpers and all whowish to attend the Congress. “The Congress will help people come to know God as a God of mercy who can cure us from our brokenness, our sinfulness, and our fears,” said Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, WACOM’s continental vice-coordinator. Leading up toWACOM in August, the Marians will host the Northeast Regional gath- ering for the second North American Congress onMercy (NACOM) on June 7 in Stockbridge, Mass. The first NACOMwas held Nov. 14-15, 2009, inWashington, D.C. Such Continental Congresses were encouraged by Cardinal Schönborn and Mercy Congress organizers at the conclusion of the first WACOM in 2008. For more information on NACOM and WACOM, please visi t mercycongress.org. U.S. centennial celebrations planned As readers will remember from our summer 2013 cover story, the Marians of the Mother of Mercy Province in the United States and Argentina are celebrating 100 years since Blessed George Matulaitis and two young Lithuanian Marians, on Aug. 18, 1913, established the first Marian house in America. The Marians were then given a parish in the Chicago area on Nov. 13, 1913, and soon afterwards, they launched other ministries. “To celebrate 100 years since our establish- ment in America gives us extraordinary joy and gratitude to God for this incredible gift,” said Provincial Superior the Very Rev. Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC. “We were brought to the United States through the inspiration of our Renovator.” Celebrations will be held by the Marians throughout the province, but the main celebra- tion will be a Mass of thanksgiving on Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception inWashington, D.C. It will be followed by a reception. All Marian Helpers are invited to attend. Marian Helpers are also invited to attend a Divine Mercy conference as well as a Mass of thanksgiving at 2 p.m. on June 6 at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass. For the latest news about the centennial cel- ebrations, please visi t marian.org/centennial. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Austria (left), president of the Mercy Congress, is joined by the Very Rev. Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, the Marians’ provincial, during a planning meeting for WACOM in Bogota, Colombia, this past summer. M arie R omagnano In the News: Marians around the World Back to index