MISSIONARIES OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

Breaking News

Cincinnati Native Ordained Deacon

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood announce the ordination of Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S., as a transitional deacon. Deacon Scalf was ordained on June 1 in a moving ritual at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Whiting, Ind., by Bishop Dale Melczek of the Diocese of Gary, Ind.











Precious Blood priests, brothers and lay associates, family members and friends were on hand as Deacon
Scalf received the blessing of the bishop and pledged himself to a life of service to the Church.
Deacon Scalf, 32, a native of Cincinnati, is the son of Hal and Phyllis Scalf, and grew up in Our Lady of Victory Parish in Cincinnati. He was a high school teacher before he entered the Community. He recently completed a master of divinity degree at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and also teaches lay ministry classes in the Diocese of Gary.

Deacon Scalf will serve
for six months at St.
John the Baptist in
Whiting, near Chicago,
and is also teaching
theology at nearby
Calumet College of
St. Joseph, which is
sponsored by the
Missionaries. In
December, he departs
for a six-month stay
at a Precious Blood
seminary in Tanzania,
where he will teach at
a seminary.

 

The Chicago Tribune recently printed a feature article about Fr. David Kelly, C.PP.S., and his ministry with youth in Chicago. To read the story, go to

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0713-drum-circlejul13,0,5445489.story

Now ministering at...

St. Henry Cluster
St. Henry, Ohio

Fr Tom Hemm,
C.PP.S.

 

 

 

 

 

Sts. Peter & Paul
Parish
Ottawa, Ohio

Fr Matt Jozefiak,
C.PP.S.

 

 

Chilean Vicariate Closes
Jubilee Year

On September 16, 1947, Frs. John Wilson and John Kostik, the first two Missionaries of the Precious Blood to set foot in Santiago, began the journey of the Chilean Vicariate that has now celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The Chilean C.PP.S. jubilee year began with a Mass in September 2007 at Saint Sebastian’s Church in Purranque. The Mass was presided by the local bishop in a packed church. This church is the southernmost C.PP.S. parish worldwide. Many people attended the celebration, including the crowd that traveled from our two parishes in Valdivia. The Mass was part of a week-long commemorative program.

During this jubilee year, liturgies and presentations on the C.PP.S. were part of the celebration, as well as conferences on Precious Blood spirituality for the laity. The celebration concluded with an anniversary Mass at Our Lady of the Precious Blood in Santiago on July 1, 2008, with hundreds of people in attendance.

Fr. Antonio Baus, C.PP.S., of the Chilean Vicariate, writes “At the end of this jubilee year we want to acknowledge the immense work and dedication of our Community members who served in Chile over the years. Only God knows the many hardships they went through. A word of gratitude also goes to our donors and benefactors for their generosity and support. Many of the efforts of our Missionaries could not have been accomplished without the perseverance, trust, prayers and financial support invested in us, especially from our friends in the U.S.











“May the good Lord protect and keep us all, as we follow the path of the Precious Blood in this country.”

Fr. Gregory Comella, C.PP.S.
December 28, 1946-August 2, 2008

Fr. Gregory Comella, C.PP.S.,
died on Saturday, August 2, 2008,
at his residence in Oakland, Calif.
He had been in failing health for
some time.

Fr. Comella was a teacher, retreat
leader and spiritual director. He
gave presentations and offered
guidance to people around the United States.

Fr. Comella was born Dec. 28, 1946 in Waukegan, Ill., the son of Frank and Margaret (Billeck) Comella. He entered formation with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1972 and was ordained on April 19, 1975.

After his ordination he served as spiritual director at Brunnerdale, the Community's high school seminary in Canton, Ohio; and at Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., then as chaplain at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Ind., both sponsored by the Missionaries.

In 1980, he was named to the staff of the Cenacle Retreat House in Lantana, Fla. While in Florida, he was also the director of formation for the office of lay ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami, and a campus minister at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He was appointed director of special formation for the Province of the Pacific in 1981. He continued with formation work for the province for 11 years. During that time, he also served as vice provincial.

Fr. Comella was named the director of the Province’s mission house in Berkeley in 1993. His ministerial appointments were always carried out in addition to his ministry as a spiritual director and retreat leader. For many years he served as an adjunct faculty member with St. Thomas of Villanova University in Miami. He considered himself a teacher and also a student as he explored ways in which eastern and western religions could meet and strengthen each other.

Fr. Comella became a member of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1995. He lived for a short time at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio, before returning to Berkeley, where he spent the remainder of his life, still teaching and offering spiritual guidance until his death.

Fr. Comella worked to advance peace and justice issues but often found himself at odds with others due to his outspoken views. “Greg was a ‘stubborn Sicilian’ and proud of it,” said his longtime friend, Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S. “He was mainly stubborn in his view of people as inherently good, holy, wise, gifted and reflecting the divine. Greg was always quick to speak out against all forms of discrimination because he saw this as persecution.”

Several memorial services are planned. A memorial Mass will be celebrated by the Missionaries on Saturday, August 16 at 10 a.m. at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio. Also on August 16, a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at the St. Joseph Parish Learning Center in Alameda, Calif.; and memorial services will be held in Chicago, Florida and India. C.PP.S. members and Companions will also gather for a memorial Mass on August 18 at Sonnino House in Berkeley, Calif.

 

Candidate Is Temporarily Incorporated

Home from a year of special formation at St. Agnes Church in Los Angeles, Bob Jansen stepped forward in his home parish of St. Henry, Ohio, and became temporarily incorporated into the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. In a temporary incorporation, a candidate for the priesthood or brotherhood pledges to become part of the Community as he continues his studies to prepare for the consecrated life.

The ritual was part of a
celebration of the Eucharist
on Sunday, August 17. Jansen,
25, now enters advanced
formation at Catholic
Theological Union in Chicago.

The celebration was close
to an anniversary for the
Congregation, which was founded on August 15, 1815, pointed out Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S., who delivered the homily during the liturgy. Fr. Dos Santos is in ministry at St. Agnes. “One hundred and ninety-three years ago, Gaspar del Bufalo and three companions were at the abbey of Saint Felix in Giano, Italy, and together they began a journey in faith, to begin a religious community called the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. That journey continues here today,” Fr. Dos Santos said.

“Twenty-five years ago, Paul and Judy Jansen brought their son Bob to the baptismal font at St. Henry Church, where he was baptized by Fr. Raymond Bauer,” he continued. Those two journeys, theMissionaries’ and Bob’s, wererunning on parallel tracks that now have merged.

Jansen’s step in formation “deepens his baptismal call,” Fr. Dos Santos said. “He is going deeper into that call God placed on his heart and soul when God made him. Today is about Bob’s joyful response to that call. All of us are on the same journey, to become Christ.”

That is particularly close to Jansen’s heart, Fr. Dos Santos continued. “Bob told me that the Gospel he chose for today (John 15: 9-17) forms the core of his own personal spirituality. In it, we see that our goal as Christians is to become not merely like Christ but to become Christ, to be for all people the vision of Christ. . . . Bob has discerned he can best do that as a Missionary of the Precious Blood.”

 

Missionaries of the Precious Blood
Welcome Four New Members

Four young men said yes to their vocational call on Saturday, May 17, and became full members of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.)

 

 

 

 

 

The ceremony, called the rite of definitive incorporation, took place during a Eucharistic liturgy at Immaculate Conception Church in Celina, Ohio. Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S., provincial director of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, accepted the young men’s commitment to the Congregation.

Making their definitive incorporations were:

Fr. Angelmiro Granados Acevedo, C.PP.S. Fr. Granados, 31, a native of Colombia, was ordained a diocesan priest in 2003. When he went searching for a religious community that could foster his call to the spirituality of the Precious Blood, he found the Missionaries through their website, beginning a five-year formation process. Fr. Granados serves as a teacher and chaplain at a school in Bogota, Colombia, where he is studying for a master’s degree.

Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S. Scalf, 32, a native of Cincinnati, is in advanced formation with the Missionaries. A high school teacher before he entered the Community, he recently completed a masters of divinity degree at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and also teaches lay ministry classes in the Diocese of Gary. Scalf, a priesthood candidate, will be ordained a deacon at St. John the Baptist Church in Whiting, Ind., on July 1.

Vincent Wirtner, C.PP.S. Wirtner, 45, a native of Fort Wayne, is a former youth minister and a licensed practical nurse. He also brings his gift of music to the Congregation. He is currently in advanced formation and is studying at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in preparation for the priesthood.

Antonio Sison, C.PP.S. With the rite of definitive incorporation, Sison , 42, becomes Br. Antonio, a religious brother with the Community. A filmmaker, teacher and spiritual director, he is a native of the Philippines who received a doctorate in theology while studying in the Netherlands. Br. Antonio teaches at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he has spent two years in advanced formation.

The celebration was a joyous day for the Congregation, whose members carry on many ministries across the United States. “For those of us who pray for vocations to the religious life, for those who have asked God to send more people to work in his vineyards, a day like this is an answer to those prayers,” said Fr. Anthony. “These four men, from such different backgrounds, all displayed the same commitment to our Community and to a life of service in the Church. They bring many gifts to our Precious Blood family, and we welcome them and honor the years of preparation it took for them to make this step.”

From left, Kevin Scalf, Br. Antonio Sison, Vince Wirtner and Fr. Angelmiro Granados hold the mission crosses they received during the rite of definitive incorporation, signifying their full membership as Missionaries of the Precious Blood.