Fr. Bernard Schoepfer was born on March 16, 1962 in Bâle, Switzerland and grew up in the Alsace region, Eastern France. He is a member of the Province of Paris, admitted into the Congregation on September 10, 1984, and was ordained priest on May 4, 1989. In his quarter century of ministry, Fr. Bernard has fulfilled a number of varied ministries. Right after ordinatation e has engaged in pastoral work in rural areas of the Diocese of Amiens; in 1998, after completing formation at CIF (International Formartion Center) he was assigned to animate the ministry in the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Chapel at Rue du Bac, Paris; in the same time as a member of formation team he accompanied seminarians preparing for priesthood from the Congregation; 2000 – 2007 worked as spiritual advisor to the St. Vincent de Paul Society SSVdP in France; since 2004 he serves as Superior at the Maison-Mère – Motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission; and since 2007 he is national chaplain of St. Vincent’s Teams (Equipes saint Vincent – AIC France). Additionally, he has been member of Provincial Council of Paris for 10 years.

Fr. Gay addressed similar Letter to Provincials of  the Congregation of the Mission in which he expressed gratitude to Fr. Bernard Schoepfer for his generosity in accepting this assignment as well as offering thanks to the outgoing director Fr. Patrick Griffin: “I thank Fr. Bernard for his willingness to serve, and I assure him of our prayers and fraternal support in his new ministry. I express my deep gratitude to Fr. Patrick Griffin for his tireless devotion to duty as Director General these past three years. We pray the Lord grant him good health, so that he may continue for many years to “serve the Lord with gladness”. (Ps. 100:2)

Fr. Bernard is scheduled to assume his new duties in late March. At the end of his letter to the Vincentian Provincials, Fr. Gregory Gay exhorted confreres: “Let us entrust Fr. Bernard’s mandate to our Blessed Mother, because as St. Vincent told us, “When the Mother of God has been invoked and taken as patroness of important matters, everything can only go well and accrue to the glory of Jesus, her Son.” (SV: XIII b, p.3)

Read the full text of the Nomination Letter for the Provincials

Ten artykuł jest także dostępny w języku polskim TUTAJ

In a letter to the Daughters of Charity and signed by both Frs. Gay and Griffin, they said, “We have come to this unwelcome conclusion only after much discussion and prayerful reflection. It is based solely on Fr. Patrick’s health situation. He has been attentive to a heart condition which has raised greater concern in the last six months. His doctors are recommending a program of care and lifestyle which make carrying out the responsibilities of Director General difficult and incomplete.”

The letter acknowledged the difficulty the decision to step down presented for Fr. Griffin, noting, “Patrick and I have spoken about our love for the Company and our desire to serve them and our beloved poor in the best way. Both of us recognize that this goal is not possible in Patrick’s role as the Director General because of his doctors’ advices. Acceptance of the sometimes mysterious will of God, as reflected in the circumstances of our life, brings us to this point.”

Fr. Gay expressed gratitude for the years of service Fr. Griffin has provided as Director-General of the Daughters of Charity since his appointment in 2010. He expressed hope that his future ministry will continue to be rewarding. “I am sure that I speak for all of us when I thank him for his service and offer him our continued prayerful support. Thankfully, Fr. Patrick will be able to carry out another ministry with different responsibilities in his Province and for the Congregation.”

Fr. Patrick Griffin, a native of Brooklyn, NY, is a member of the Eastern Province, USA and was ordained in 1979. He studied at the Catholic University of America, where he earned a doctorate in Sacred Scripture. He has spent his 35 years in priesthood as an educator, working as a seminary professor and formator and in higher education as an administrator and teacher. He has also organized ongoing education programs for diocesan clergy and given retreats for the Daughters of Charity. Before being named the Director General and moving to Paris, Fr. Griffin served as Executive Vice President for Mission at St. John’s University in Queens, NY.

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On this occasion we bring you a short presentation in English and Polish on the origins of the Company of the Daughters of Charity wishing them abundant blessings in their service to the marginalized, impoverished, needing. May the Charity of Christ encourages them in their works and lives.

“This period of persecution surged during the Spanish Civil War, but the harassment began much earlier. In an interviev with RomeReports.com Vicente Cárcel Ortí, one of the privileged few with access to the Vatican Secret Archives from that time period, called it one of the most ruthless persecutions of Catholics in history. “Since 1931, there was a covert practice of forbidding Catholic newspapers from publishing, of not allowing funeral processions on the streets, or forcing people to remove any religious objects from public view. It was certainly the greatest persecution number-wise in all of Western Europe, practically since the Roman Empire.”

Watch this gallery of pictures from the beatification ceremony.

Congregation of the Mission

✠ Rev. Amado García Sánchez ✠ Rev. Andrés Avelino Gutiérrez Moral ✠ Rev. Antonio Carmaniú y Mercader ✠ Rev. Fortunato Velasco Tobar ✠ Rev. Gregorio Cermeño Barceló ✠ Rev. Ireneo Rodríguez González ✠ Rev. Leoncio Pérez Nebreda ✠ Bro. Luis Aguirre Bilbao ✠ Bro. Narciso Pascual Pascual ✠ Rev. Pelayo José Granado Prieto ✠ Rev. Ricardo Atanes Castro ✠ Bro. Salustiano González Crespo ✠ Rev. Tomás Pallarés Ibáñez ✠ Rev. Vicente Vilumbrales Fuente

Daughters of Charity

✠ Sr. Andrea Calle González ✠ Sr. Carmen Rodríguez Barazal ✠ Sr. Concepción Pérez Giral ✠ Sr. Dolores Úrsula Caro Martín ✠ Sr. Estefanía Irisarri Irigaray ✠ Sr. Estefanía Saldaña Mayoral ✠ Sr. Gaudencia Benavides Herrero ✠ Sr. Isidora Izquierdo García ✠ Sr. Joaquina Rey Aguirre ✠ Sr. Josefa Gironés Arteta ✠ Sr. Josefa Laborra Goyeneche ✠ Sr. Josefa Martínez Pérez ✠ Sr. Juana Pérez Abascal ✠ Sr. Lorenza Díaz Bolaños ✠ Sr. Maria Asunción Mayoral Peña ✠ Sr. Maria del Rosario Ciércoles y Gascón ✠ Sr. Maria Luisa Bermúdez Ruiz ✠ Sr. María del Pilar Nalda Franco ✠ Sr. María Dolores Barroso Villaseñor ✠ Sr. María Severina Díaz-Pardo Gauna ✠ Sr. Martina Vázquez Gordo ✠ Sr. Melchora Adoración Cortés Bueno ✠ Sr. Micaela Hernán Martínez ✠ Sr. Modesta Moro Briz ✠ Sr. Pilar Isabel Sánchez Suárez ✠ Sr. Ramona Cao Fernández ✠ Sr. Victoria Arregui Guinea

Association of Miraculous Medal

✠ Dolores Broseta Boner

Sr. Carol Keehan, D.C.

In 2011 Sr. Carol Keehan DC was named one of Time Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2010. Sister Carol has worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years. She took Presidency of CHA in 2005. Pope Benedict XVI awarded her the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross for the Church and Pontiff).

Reffering to various opinions Sr. Carol brings greatest moral authority to the debate over the HHS mandates as she represents major stakeholders in the debate, the many Catholic hospitals nationwide that care for one sixth of all Americans: If anyone can speak authoritatively about what it means to carry on the healing ministry of the Lord Jesus in America today, it is she and the people she represents. Sr. Keehan not only advocated for the passage of the ACA, it is doubtful that the ACA would have passed without her support.

In response to the call of Christ,
who invites me
to follow Him
and to be a witness to His charity
to the poor,
I…renew the promises of my Baptism
and vow to God,
for one year,
chastity, poverty, and obedience
to my legitimate Superiors,
and to devote myself
to the corporal and spiritual service of the poor,
our true Masters,
in the Company of the Daughters of Charity,
in accordance with
our Constitutions and Statutes.
Grant me,
O Lord,
the grace of fidelity,
through your Son Jesus Christ crucified,
and through the intercession of
the Immaculate Virgin.

Constitutions of the Daughter of Charity explain the vows, they are renewing each year in this way:

In order to serve Christ in persons who are poor, the Daughters of Charity commit themselves to live their baptismal consecration through the practice of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, which receive from this service their specific character. (C.27)
The Daughters of Charity make four vows: service of those who are poor, chastity, poverty, and obedience. To make them validly they must, in addition to fulfilling the requirements of universal law, be authorized to do so by the Superior General. These vows are “non-religious”, annual, and always renewable, according to the Constitutions and Statutes. The Church recognizes them as they are understood in the Company, in fidelity to its Founders.(C.28)

On this special Day of the Renewal of their commitment to the Lord in persons who are Poor we congratulate Daughters of Charity all over the world their decision, perseverance and fidelity to the Legacy of the Founders, and we wish them continues strength and zeal in the service of Christ in the persons of the Poor through another year.