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70/7 Ranchi Jesuits, Sadbhavna P.B. - 4, Ranchi - 834001, Jharkhand JULY 2011

APPOINTMENTS

FATHER GENERAL HAS APPOINTED :

Father Paul Martin Regional Superior of Guyana.

Father Michael J. Garanzini (Missouri Province), Secretary for Higher Education.

FATHER PROVINCIAL HAS APPOINTED :

Sch. Sandeep Minj Regency: St. Mary's Janta High School Bardih

Sch. Arvind Kerketta Regency: Catholic Church Dolda & School.

Fr. Provincial's Programme

JULY 2011

01 ATC Namkum- Inauguration of the new academic session

02 RTC Tarunoday - Inauguration of the new academic session

03 Dorea, Blessing of the new Residence & School

14 Province Consult: Sadbhavna

15 Central Zone Provincials arrive

16 RTC Tarunoday -Central Zone's Provincials' Meet.

Bagicha, Hoffmann Law Associates (afternoon)

17 Lievens Film Studio - Meeting of the Provincials in Sadbhavna

18 To Bardih

19 Bardih: Canonical visit

20 To Noadih (evening) Canonical Visit

21 To Tongo (evening) Canonical Visit

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22 To St. Ignatius' Gumla (evening stay)

23 To Soso (morning) Canonical visit

24 To St. Ignatius' Gumals (after Holy Mass)

25-27 St. Ignatius' Gumla: Canonical Visit

28 Back to Ranchi (Morning)

31 Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

INFORMA TION

l RETREAT for the Pastors by Fr. Tony Herbert, SJ from August 17 - 27 (Morn), 2011.

l JEPASA SOUTH ASIAN CONVENTION: 17th October - 20th October 2011

· PLACE: Post Graduate Block, JDV, Pune

· Date & Time of Expected Arrival: 17th October by 12.00 Noon.

· Date and Time of Expected Departure: 20th October by 4.00 P.M

· Contact your province JEPASA coordinator for details and book your tickets early.

l Address of Father Manoj Ekka SJ, Arrupe International Residence, Manila Philippines

Mobile: +63 9274216918

l Kujur Justin P. left the Society on March 23, 2011.

Letter on FACSI: On June 12, Pentecost Sunday, Father General wrote a letter on solidarity inside the Society

through FACSI (the "Charitable and Apostolic Fund" established by Father Pedro Arrupe in 1976). After recalling

the meaning of Pentecost, Fr. Nicolás wrote: "Over the past thirty-five years one great sign of our shared mission

has been our Charitable and Apostolic Fund (FACSI, established by Father Pedro Arrupe) whereby the whole

Society contributes of what it has for the sake of the works in need of our financial support. On this great feast

of Pentecost I want to take the opportunity to remind us of this dimension of our life and how we have chosen

to do it: in solidarity with one another on mission.

After a reference to that "generosity of the Society inspired by Ignatius that always surprises us by its

magnanimity", Father General ends the letter with these words: "It is that generosity that I ask be the real motivation

for all of us to support our brothers reaching out in their need for our help ... Let me encourage each of you to

give new life and consistency to this solidarity fund, cooperating with the Spirit that inflames us still to this day".

NEWS FROM INSTITUTIONS

MANRESA HOUSE, RANCHI

Manresa House welcomes many guests and visitors in

April and May as many province men come back to

the province for their summer vacation from different

formation houses. In the month of June, on their way back

to their respective communities, they do come to stay in

Manresa House. This year also Manresa House was

glad to receive them. On 1st June, after hearing

the sudden death of Father Suleman Tirkey, most of

the community members rushed to St. Mary's Samtoli

(Simdega) for his final farewell and burial. It was a

sorrowful day for the whole province to lose him

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untimely. On 4th June, few community members went

to Semra - the native village of Fr. Justin Tirkey - to

share in his joy with his family and friends. He was

glad to celebrate the Thanksgiving Eucharist at home

in remembrance of his final vows, pronounced in Rome

on 8th December 2010. He took off for Rome after

refreshing holidays to carry on his mission at Radio

Vaticana on June 15.

Fr. Bimal Kerketta - a missionary to Egypt and

Fr. Amar Bage - a missionary to British Guyana - landed

at Ranchi and reached to Manresa House on June 6 and

29 respectively. Fr. Bimal had to come back to Ranchi

for urgent medical treatment. He underwent a surgery

on 14th June in Barnabas Hospital. His operation was

successful, and at the moment he is speedily recovering

in Manresa House. Get well soon Fr. Bimal! Fr. Amar's

arrival was a pleasant surprise as none of us was aware

of his coming. He says that he is on an education tour

to Jharkhand, and exclusively to Bandgaon where he

will stay for a month for his research paper. Best

wishes to Amar.

June was a month of transfers and changes:

Br. Isidore Ekka and Fr. George Burh were transferred

from Manresa House to Tarunoday and Doreya

respectively. Fr. Camil Kerketta, the new Minister

and Fr. Walter Ekka, the study guide of the

Collegians, joined the community on 26 and 27

respectively. There are seven new scholastics who

have come to Manresa House for their college studies

at St. Xavier's College Ranchi. Among these seven: -

2 are from Ranchi, 2 from Madhya Pradesh, 2 from

Patna and one from Dumka. These new comers had

one-day orientation programme on June 28. At the

moment their classes have already begun.

Lieven's Institute of Film and Electronics Media

(LIFE) is a new initiative of the Jesuits to offer courses

on Mass communication. To make it known to the

public, there was a press conference on 29th about the

new courses which will commence on July 18, 2011.

Fr. Dilip Sanjay Ekka

ST ALBERT'S COLLEGE RANCHI

On 18th June 2011, our summer courses for both

Philosophy and Theology were brought to conclusion

to the great relief of the teaching staff. In the meantime

our men were involved in various pastoral ministries.

Our veteran liturgist Fr. Jos De Cuyper successfully

conducted a three days liturgical seminar at Social

Development Centre for the priests and religious of

BIJHAN region. He also took an active part in the

establishment of the All India Adivasi Mahasabha,

a joint venture of the All Churches Committee and the

Sarna Brethren. Fr. Sudhir Kujur was busy preparing

the Ursuline Sisters for their final commitment in the

religious life at Sitagarh. He also gave an annual

retreat to the Ursuline Novices at Kanke Road, Ranchi.

Fr. Vincent Toppo gave a course to the religious

sisters on the importance and role of the family in the

Church and later on together with his Marriage

Encounter team gave a three days youth seminar to the

St. Anne's novices at Samlong which was appreciated

very much. It was very effective in bringing about an

attitudinal change among the participants. After two

months holidays our College reopened on 30th June

2011. On the same day, Fr. Jonckheere returned from

Belgium after his well deserved holidays.

Fr. Vincent Toppo, SJ

ST. XAVIER'S COLLEGE

Though in the month of June usual classes were not held

various exams kept us busy. The Semester exams

continued till the second week of June. After that

from 16th June the Entrance Tests were conducted for

various courses. For the first time in the history of

College, the entrance test was held for the admission in

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Intermediate Courses. As only the 'Online Forms' were

given by the College, compared to other years there

were less applicants, yet there were more than 4, 500

candidates for the Science stream, about 1,400 for

commerce and about 600 for Arts. For test OMR

(Optical Marks Reader) sheets were given to the

students so the results were published within five

days. For all the Degree and P.G. Courses also entrance

Tests were held. This year few new P.G. courses like

M A in Political Science, Geography, Economics and

M.C.A have been added.

Sensing that the new courses will certainly

increase the workload on the community Fr. Provincial

provided us two new members. Fr. Patrick Xalxo

joined us as Administrator and Fr. Praful Ekka as

student in B. Ed Department. The community was

happy to have some other achievements too. This year

the performance of Intermediate second year students

of the College was better. State toppers (fist rank) in

Arts and Commerce were from the College while in

Science the state topper was from St. John's. Altogether

there were ten students who found place in top thirty

students of Science, Arts and Commerce in Jharkhand.

Fr. Peter Paul, the Vice Principal also had his latest

achievement. His book - 'Chhiteez Ki Talash Mein'- In

Search for the Horizon- a collection of 25 Hindi

short stories-was released on 17th June on his

birth day. Many Jesuits and well-wishers gathered

to congratulate him. Hearty Congratulations Paul!!

Fr. Ephrem Ba'a

ST. MARY'S SAMTOLI

1st June was a sad day for St. Mary's community which

lost Fr. Suleman Tirkey early morning at 7.10 a.m.

The funeral mass took place in the Cathedral presided

over by the Provincial, Fr. Xavier Soreng. There were

about 81 priests, hundreds of nuns and thousands

of faithful who came to bid farewell to their beloved

Father. On 8th June Apostolic school boys started

their retreat under the guidance of Sr. Cicilia, DSA.

On 9th June our hostellers began their three days

retreat under the guidance of Fr. Ireneus To'ppo.

On 10th Fr. Vijay went to Jharain to settle the school

building construction problem. On 11th June

Fr. Philemon went to Ranchi to receive the award

of the 'Best Principal' in the district level. He received

fifteen thousand rupees, a memento, a shawl and a medal

from the Education Minister of Jharkhand. It was a great

houour for the St. Mary's family and Simdega district.

On 13th June both Hindi and English medium

schools were reopened after a long summer vacation.

On the same day a short prayer service was held for

Fr. Suleman during assembly and thereafter classes

were suspended. On 15th June, Fr. Isaac Tete joined the

community and he is appointed as the Vice Principal

of the School. Fr. Sikander is appointed as the

Administrator of the Inter College. On the same day

four Scholastics came here from Manresa House to

spend their Summer Vacation. On 18th June St. Mary's

school family offered a special Mass for late

Fr. Suleman Tirkey, Sch. Joseph Benedict Purty and

Sir Sanika Kachhap in the Cathedral at 7.30 a.m followed

by an homage ceremony in the school.

On 25th June admission for class XI started and

ended on 30th June. On 1st July 'Life Orientation'

classes started for them. The main speaker was

Fr. Paul Tirkey, the Redemptorist. St. Mary's School

family is very glad to get the permanent affiliation

from Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi.

Congratulation to Fr. Philemon! St. Mary's English

Medium school is full of life and activity. Extra

Curricular activities of English medium school are

attracting many guardians and students. At present

the number has gone up to 371 in the English medium

school which is the fruit of our hard labour.

Fr Vijay & Philemon

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ST IGNATIUS' GUMLA

Community: Fr. Erentius made use of summer holidays

in giving seminar on IPP and RTE to sisters in

Jalpaiguri from 1-12 June, 2011. Fr. John Lakra

conducted five days Cultural Dance Seminar at

Nawatoli parish for the parishioners from 6 to 10 June.

The community bade farewell and wished best wishes

for theological formation to Sch. Ajit Kalyan Kujur

who completed his two years of regency in hostel

and school on 14th June. Also, Sch. Bipin Tirkey,

the new regent, was given a warm welcome by the

community on the same day. Fr. Marc De Brouwer

underwent with Hernia operation in Sarawgi Seva

Sadan, Ranchi successfully on 19th June. He came

back to Gumla on 29th June fully healed. He looks

more healthy and stronger now. Fr. Albert Kullu

conducted two days seminar on Theological

perspective on education and financial management

for the diocesan priests who are mainly engaged in

schools. There were 56 participants in the program.

Fr. Anselm Ekka gave six days retreat to Ursuline

sisters in Gumla. Later he himself made his retreat in

Jharna, Namkum based on resurrection. He also

delivered very inspirational speech to Catholic Sabha

members on Christian Faith on 26th June at the Gumla

cathedral.

School: Apostolic boys celebrated St. Aloysius'

Day, their patron saint on 25-26 June enthusiastically.

On this occasion 166 apostolic boys from Samtoli

also joined them for the feast. There was much awaited

amusing and colorful cultural program on the eve

of 25th June. Both apostolic schools had staged one act

plays: Honesty Ultimately Wins, Donkey Don and

The Magic of Love. The last play The Magic of Love

staged by Gumla apostolic boys gave away strong

message to the spectators. Youth who are drifting

away to evil are brought back to the right path by the

incredible love and tireless work of a young priest

who played the main character in the act. Fr. Xavier

Soreng, the provincial of Ranchi Jesuit society was

the chief guest on the occasion. He encouraged boys

and spectators with his powerful message of love.

He also said English is must for successful life in this

modern world. He also presided over the Holy

Eucharist and 11 priests concelebrated with him on

the following morning. Football matches, speech,

quiz and extempore competitions were conducted

between Samtoli and Gumla Apostolic Schools.

Total participants were 323 including both the

apostolic schools. On 27th June the same play was

performed for the students and the staff of the school.

In the Inter College admission is on. From this year

Inter Collage boys are also taken in the hostel.

St. Ignatius' high school, Gumla, secondary exam result, 2011

Appeared 161 Passed 153 Marginal 08

St Ignatius' Inter College, Gumla, Result, 2011

Total 1st Div. 2nd Div. 3rd Div. Total Highest Failed

Appeared Passed Percentage Students

Science 164 03 04 00 07 65% 157

Commerce 59 04 25 14 46 62% 10

Arts 123 00 69 21 97 26

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Ar ouse: Besides regular project works Women

Federation Meet was organized in AROUSE

premise on 3rd June. Relatively good number of

SHG's from Gumla and Simdega districts gathered

together on this occasion and displayed their

achievements in various forms. Mr Punai Oraon,

DDC of Gumla was the chief guest and Mr. J.B.

Tirkey, DPO was the guest of honor on this occasion.

Youth in Action a three days youth prayer program

was held in AROUSE. The aim of the program was to

inculcate spiritual awareness in the youth. There were

167 youth participants in the program. Br. Blacius is

busy making rain water harvesting tanks. He is able to

mobilize few convents also to go for it. Fr. Solomon

Barwa with his team has conducted Jeevan Pravesh

seminars in ten schools this year so far. Total number

of participants in all these seminars is 829 in which

108 boys and 721 girls were made aware of moral

and ethical values. Total number of catholic student

participants has been 431 so far.

Gram Utthan Kendra (GUK): Conscientization and

awareness programs have been the main task of the

organization. Under the awareness and motivational

programs there have been number of agriculture

seminars in which enhanced and scientific way of

cultivating rice and vegetable is taught. GUK has also

conducted seminars on fish rearing, animal husbandry,

horticulture and forest right. By 5 Marg Darshan

(motivational) seminars GUK managed to conscientize

88 boys and 17 girls. Beside the general health

awareness seminars for villagers three days seminar

on NRHM was conducted for VHPs and helper

nurses at GUK from 7- 9 June. 74 participants

benefited by it. Two other three days refresher

course was organized for VHPs at Domerpat and

Naodiha. 55 and 61 participants respectively were

empowered by the same. Two one day dai training

programs were held in Mamarla and Dokapat in

which 15 and 35 dais respectively took part. By the

women and child department 5 seminars were

conducted for SHG's by which 138 women from

15 SHG's have benefited. The fashion designing

program namely tailoring was concluded in Jokari,

Kadhardanr and Mamarla. 30 trainees have graduated

the same course in the month of June.

Alphonse Aind

ST. XAVIER'S, BUNDU

Welcome and farewell! Fr. Ashok Sandil and

Br. Yacub Xalxo joined the community on June 05

and 07 respectively. On June 07 itself, the Parish

community gave farewell to Br. Blasius Ekka.

During the last academic year, the hostel boys

seemed to have misused their freedom. They harshly

protested against the management by damaging the

windows and electric wires in the hostel premises.

However, this year with the timely intervention, slowly

the study tone is creeping in and the boys now show their

motivation to cooperate with the management.

The meetings on June 22 and 28 of the Managing

Committees of the School and the Inter College

respectively were not ordinary ones of the normal go but

the members of the Governing Body too were present

and both the meetings were chaired by Fr. Provincial

himself. The committees have suggested a few strong

recommendations to bring in regularity in classes

and transparency in management.

The School has started an intensive course for

3 months with adapted pedagogy for the students in

need with a motto Vishesh Dhyan. It has borne the

most unexpected result. The change seeping through

was felt by the teachers within 2 weeks. But it was

regrettable that out of 156 only 39 turned up.

Matric result: 1st Division: 47, 2nd Division:

74, 3rd Division: 10, Marginal: 1, Total 132.

Ashok Sandil

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ATC NAMKUM

ATC and St. Joseph's community college had a series

of events in the month of June. On 6th June, there was

a joyful birthday celebration of Fr. Sylvanus Kerketta

as well as the sending off Fr. L. Francken and

Fr. Patrick Xalxo. The ANM students presented

them a farewell programme. On the same day

Fr. Erenius Toppo was welcomed as the assistant

director of ATC. Fr. Xavier Kerketta accompanied

him to ATC from Noadih. ATC is excited to receive

Fr. Erenius Toppo as an agriculturist and is hopeful

for bumper cultivation. ATC conducted horticulture

training programme for 57 trainees in two groups and

the other training programme was conducted on Lac

cultivation in which 48 trainees attended.

There were a few important discussions and

consultations between ATC and Kishor Nagar with

regard to an agreement of cultivation of ATC lands.

On 29th June, ATC and Kishor Nagar had a joint

meeting with Fr. Xavier Soreng, the Provincial and

Fr. Sudhir Minj, the Socius at ATC. He guided and

proposed both the institutions to come to a written

agreement regarding the following points - a) exchange

of expertise and human resources, b) demarcation of

cultivable land, c) store hall and threshing floor.

Both having different potentials and resources agree

to collaborate and share their expertise and human

resources in the field of farming.

St. Joseph's Community College, ATC, Namkum

conducted the ANM First year annual examinations.

The entrance test and the interview for the ANM

candidates were conducted on 10th June. The selected

candidates got their admissions. ANM Training

Session 2011-13 of St. Joseph's Community College

was inaugurated on July 01, 2011 at about 10.00 a.m.

in the Conference Hall of the Institute. Fr. Xavier

Soreng, the Provincial graced the occasion as the

chief guest and gave the key note address to the

students and the staff. The second year ANM students

presented a cultural programme on the inaugural

ceremony and received a huge appreciation for their

endeavours.

Fr. Erenius Toppo, S.J.

INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE (ISI), NEW DELHI

The last two months have been quite eventful for

Fr Christopher Lakra and me. Christopher, apart from

his regular administrative work, took time out for his

research work on 'witchcraft' project and made a field

visit of some areas in Chaibasa and Deoghar and

Dumka. He also visited NGOs in Ranchi and

Hazaribag in connection with another project on

development-displacement in Jharkhand. I too

contributed quite substantially in the meetings

organized at Vigyan Bhawan, India International

Centre, and CGO Complex, respectively by the

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry

of Tribal Affairs, and Ministry of Minority Affairs

on tribal matters in view of the 12th Five Year Plan.

I was also invited as an expert at a two-day workshop

at the National Institute of Rural Development

(NIRD), Hyderabad, on July 01-02, 2011, to develop

a training manual on PESA for the Fifth Scheduled Areas.

Joseph Marianus Kujur, SJ

DE NOBILI PUNE

De Nobili College looked like a deserted palace

before the arrival of M.A. Philosophy (IGNOU)

students in May. They reached DNC on May 30th for

their End Semester exam that was scheduled from

June 1st to 17th. The arrival of the students brought

life in the community. The first two weeks were

packed with the exams.

The community was happy to receive old and

the new-timers on June 7th as they stepped in the

campus after a long summer vacation. The new-timers

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were very much surprised and lost in the huge

two-floored DNC building. They appeared in the

Jnana-Deepa Vdyapeeth English Entrance Test on

June 9th. Schs. Ajik Kerketta, Anuj Kumar Minj,

Roshan Baa and Shailesh Lakra from Ranchi Jesuit

Province passed in the test. Congratulations! The

community arranged two days orientation on June 10

and 11 for the community.

The JDV new academic year 2011-12 began on

June 13th with the Holy Eucharist presided over by His

Lordship Thomas Dabre, the bishop of Pune diocese.

The Eucharist was held at Papal Seminary church.

Newly erected Christ the King church, Sainikwadi,

next to DNC football ground, was blessed by His

Lordship Thomas Dabre on June 11th. DNC community

was happy to partake the delicious dinner along with

the parishioners and guests soon after the felicitation

program.

Adivasi Hindi Association (AHA) organized

Freshers' Day in JDV hall on June 19 to welcome the

new members of the association. It began with the

Holy Eucharistic celebration presided over by

Fr. Anil Aind (Haz) and several other priests

concelebrated. AHA warmly welcomed the new

members. Sch. Martin Tirkey, the president of the

association, invited them to develop and show their

talents as and when opportunity comes. The total

number of the participants was about 60 excluding

the lay people. June 30th was a very special day for

the DNC community. Every province welcomed the

new comers officially and had dinner in its

respective province room.

Fuldeo Soreng

PREMAL JYOTI AHMEDABAD

On 13th June, we reached Ahmedabad safe and sound.

Though we came back after summer vacation, we felt

here that summer was not yet over. Our college reopened

with the inaugural Holy Mass on 15th after summer

vacation. Timing is changed in the college due to which

our classes are affected, and sometimes some classes

are suspended due to unavailability of rooms. PJ is

packed with a big number of scholastics so some

of us are staying in the common room. PJ scholastics

had a one day Ahmedabad Darshan. We visited Step

Well, Mosques, Akchar Dham temple and Gandhi

Ashram. On 26th we had our monthly recollection

by Sr. Mary James SCM. Now we are assigned to

different weekend ministries which are likely to

begin from 9th July.

Subodh Lakra

KANKE PARISH

Two Montfort Brothers - Pradeep Horo and Prakash

Purty - made their final commitment on 6th June at

Montfort School, Hatiagonda. Both of them hail from

Dorea, Tamar; one of them, Prakash Purty is the

younger brother of Fr. Florence Purty, S.J. This was

an added reason for my joining the Brothers in their

celebration. Fr. Ignatius Tete left for his new mission at

Sitagarha in the beginning of the month. Parishioners

will miss his inspiring homilies. Next to follow suit was

Fr. Praful Ekka who was called to join St. Xavier's

Community. He was given a short but warm farewell by

parishioners on 26 June; the same day Fr. Pius Xalxo,

S.J. came to fetch and reach him to St. Xavier's. The

mass exodus of 6 St. Anne Sisters came at the end

of the month. They had been actively involved in the

parish and so they too will be missed very much.

Fr. Emmanuel Horo

SOGRA

On 1st May, the youths of the Parish inaugurated the

Marian month by hoisting the Marian flags in their

respective ̀ tolas' and village churches. Deacon Sylverius

NEWS FROM PARISHES

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left for the Scholastics Get Together held in Bardih to

deepen his friendship with his fellow scholastics. From

15th May the Sisters and the Catechists started

taking classes for the preparation of the first communion.

The total number of the children was 91. The first

Communion Celebration was solemnly held on 29th May.

This year Frs. Albert and Tej Mati attended the

Province days alternatively between 24th May and

26th May and enriched themselves with the vision and

the spirit of the province. On 30th May, the youths of the

different village units had the Marian procession in

the parish. Just after the procession, they had devotional

and adhunik Cultural programme in honour of

Mother Mary. Fr. Tej Mati had gone for the Annual

retreat to Jharna Namkum from 1st June to 9th June.

Meanwhile the parish priest, the Deacon and the Sisters

prepared 291 boys and girls for the Confirmation

which was held on 12th June. Fr. Alois, Fr. Ajit and

Scholastics helped out the parish priest and made

the celebration grand successful. On the same day

Frs. Florence, Vijay Paul and Sebastian came to Sogra

for the supervision of the School building. On 13th June

the Parish Middle School and High School reopened

after the Summer Vacation. Meanwhile the boundary wall

of the Sisters' convent is coming up speedily. This year

school family has taken initiative to plant some local trees

like: futcal, Banian, Pakri etc. On 30th June Fr. Albert

blessed the foundation stone of the Sisters dispensary in

Sogra in the presence of Sister Flora, the Provincial

and other sisters of Gaibira, Hamirpur and Palsa convents.

Fr. Tej Mati

KOCHANG BURUDIH

The arrival of monsoon in the second week of June

brought great relief in this hilly region of Burudih

Kochang. Three days of continuous rain announced the

end of summer. Dried wells were refilled and

parched land got plentiful water. Due to rain, the new well

under construction collapsed burying tools and

implements in it.

Fr. Damian Minj joined the community on 20th

June and on the same evening he was accorded a

warm welcome. The following day the school reopened

and resumed its classes after summer vacation.

Fr. Anthony Ekka was given farewell on 24th June as he

went for his B.Ed studies at St. Xavier's College

Ranchi. Fr. Damian will take care of the School situated

in this remote and hilly region. For the

better education of girls, a hostel is a dire need for them.

Therefore a new hostel building is coming up to

cater the need of the girl students. The work is in fullswing.

On Sunday 3rd June, on the occasion of the feast

of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Parish Day was celebrated

by the parishioners. Their active participation made the

day- joyful and memorable one.

Fr. Joachim Jojo

PATRACHAULI

On 5th June, during the solemn Eucharistic celebration 58

boys and girls received their first communion.

Fr. Justin Tirkey presided over the Holy Eucharist very

creatively and gave an inspiring homily which was

liked by the faithful. Scholastics David Minj and Sujit

Toppo helped the choir to make the liturgy more

solemn and meaningful.

Patrachauli Middle School reopened on 13th June

and resumed its normal classes after Summer

holidays. Students bade warm farewell to Fr. Alex, Sr.

Anjose and Sr. Phulmani on 25th June. Fr. Alex went

to Ranchi for his B.Ed studies while Sr. Phulmani and Sr.

Anjose were transferred to Hulhundu and

Abadganj respectively. Two new sisters - Sr. Jyoti and

Sr. Dayawati- have already arrived Patrachauli in

place of those two transferred from here.

The feast of St. Ignatius is coming soon. Hence Fr.

Lalit Tigga, the Parish Priest, has already started

planning to celebrate it meaningfully. He convened a

meeting of the Parish youth on 29th June to plan and

prepare well for the feast.

Fr. John Crus Tigga

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ST. XAVIER'S JUNIOR COLLEGE

St. Xavier's Junior College is in demand for admission inspite of its rural background and very poorstandard of education in the neighbourhood. Thestudents of all caste and creed are flocking to getadmission. The college is happy to serve more poorand marginalized students of this area.

On 2nd June, Fr. John B. Dungdung came backfrom Jharkhand. He gave the message that St. Xavier'sDegree College will not commence this year. All of uswere a bit shocked because we were almost readyto start the degree course.

On 4th June the college launched mentoring system.The students were divided in small groups. Theywere put under a monitor. The first meeting was veryencouraging. According to the programme twice everyweek, the group will meet and interact among themselves.All the groups have to deliberate on how to becomemen+ women for and with others.

On 5th June Fr. John Ekka and Miss Annie visitedthe college. They inspected the building construction.They briefed the contractor Mr. Smaul about theconstruction of the remaining part of the building.

The college has invited the local youth for spokenEnglish classes. This year the admission taken inthe college has doubled up by the end of June, already250 students have taken admission.

Fr. Joachim Dungdung, the brother of Fr. JohnDungdung visited Assam. Fr. John took him toLakhimpur and Dibrugarh.

Outreach Programme

In my visit to some of the non-formal education centers,I can't boast of big numbers, but in my interaction

with the illiterate people, it was quite inspiring to listen totheir joyful experiences. On 4th June, underthe Sports Development Programme the Sonabheelhockey center players played a friendly matchagainst Assam Valley School. The center came outvictorious. They won the game by 2:0. Some new playerswere tried out. Some of them showed talent and insightinto the game.

On 19th June, the youth of Balipara Parish cametogether for common sharing and reflection. Afterusual sharing of their activities in their respective units,some common points were taken up. The whole groupbroke into their unit groups.

Right to information application was finalized to besent to the block. The information on PublicDistribution system will be sought from the block. Eachunit was helped to fill in the form for opening a bankaccount for each unit. As the result of class X and XIIhave just been published, the youth reported that thenumber of our catholic tribal students who have clearedthe exam has definitely increased compared to otheryears where very few students cleared Class X and XII.It is encouraging to know that this year about 60 - 70youth have cleared the exam. Fr. James congratulatedthe youth and reminded them to join St. Xavier'sJunior College for their plus two studies.

The youth also discussed on the possibility of availingK.K. Handique State Open University startedby Assam Govt. The Open University provides Assameselanguage as the medium. With no bar on age, thestudents can clear plus two and join graduate and postgraduate degrees. The youth body also planned tocelebrate the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola meaningfully.

James Lakra

ASSAM MISSION

GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY ROME

The month of June was the exam time at Gregoriana for

both the students and the staff. The atmosphere

seemed to be calm and tensed. There were tears of both

joy and frustration. In between the exams, the

students managed to find their own time and space

according to their convenience to celebrate the successful

DIASPORA

11

completion of their studies and to exchange best wishes

for the new mission awaiting each one back home.

Although the exams continued until the end of June, the

Jesuit community aptly concluded the Academic

Year on 21 June with a solemn Eucharistic celebration

presided over by R.P. Rector. In his homily, he

invited all present to be grateful to God for each blessing

received during the current Academic Year and

exhorted to be more attentive to the Lord's call to the

intellectual mission at Gregoriana. The feast of

St. Aloysius Gonzaga traditionally signals also the end

of the various community activities for the Academic

year. The house will remain closed during the month

of August and will reopen after the summer vacation on

the first day of September.

During the first week of June, the Bishops of

Chhattisgarh were here in Rome for their Ad Limina visit.

On their request, we led them to a pilgrimage to Subiaco,

the place where St. Benedict spent three years in

a cave praying and fasting. The cave known as Sacro

Speco (Sacred Cave) attracts large number of

pilgrims and tourists every year. In the valley of Subiaco,

St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica spent

nearly 20 years and founded a series of thirteen

monasteries and nunneries in and around Subiaco.

Our Bishops were impressed and enlightened by the

explanations of our Jesuit guides - Christdhari (MAP)

and Linus. On our way back home, we paid a visit to

Tivoli, the city of thousand fountains.

On 16 June, Justin came back from Ranchi with lots

of enthusiasm and good experiences to share with

us, especially his unforgettable experiences during the

Province Days. He expresses his gratitude to the

Community of Manresa House and to all our Jesuit friends

who received him with open arms wherever

he went. On the invitation of one of American friends, he

left for United States on 20 June for ten days.

On 22 June, Linus accompanied the Jesuits of Missiology

Faculty for a week-long group reflections, prayers

and consultations to program the future courses organized

by the Dean of the Faculty. After rich and

diverse experiences, Linus came back to Rome on 30

June, only to leave for Ranchi on 01 July. I too leave

for Ranchi on 15 July for summer holidays.

Fr. Prem

MANILA PHILIPPINES: Arrupe International

Residence (AIR)

After four months of long waiting finally Fr. Manoj was

called by the Social Science department of Atone

de Manila University to study MA in Social Development.

On 2nd June Fr. Manoj said good bye to Cambodia and

went Manila Philippine. Since all the Jesuits of Arupe

International Resident (which will be the residing

community for Fr. Manoj) were in villa and house was

closed, so Fr. Manoj was taken direct to the villa house

from the airport for two days. Staying two days in the

villa was a very good time for relaxation and

opportunity to know the community members. On 4th

June whole community came back to Aruppe International

Resident (AIR). AIR is a formation house for East Asia

Assistancy. AIR consists of Juniorate, Philosophy and

Theology. All together we are 61 members (54 Scholastics

and 7 staff members). On 5th June, we had Orientation

programme. On 6th June onwards admission process

was started in Atone de Manila for the new comers.

Fr. Manoj was the last one to be enrolled since his

documents were not authenticated from the Embassy.

Till he gets all his documents authenticated he will be in

provisional admission. All his documents are in

the process. Hopefully by the end of July he will be able

to clear all the necessary requirements for his

admission. On 12th June we had Mass of the Holy Spirit

presided by Fr. Mark Rapper SJ President of

JCAP. On 13th June new School year 2011-12 was

opened.

Manoj Ekka SJ

12

A few hours after the sunrise the shining light of St. Mary's

Samtoli that enlightened the paths of thousands

died out for ever. The heartbeat of Fr. Suleman Tirkey

stopped at 7.10 am on 1st June 2011. No one could

believe it. In the morning at 6.15 he celebrated the Holy

Eucharist in the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph

of Tarbs and had his breakfast there. He was back to

St. Mary's and complained about pain in his chest.

Fr. Vijay Manohar Tirkey, the Rector, rushed him to

St. Martha Health Centre, Samtoli, hardly a few meters

away from St. Mary's. But without giving much time to

serve him he departed from us forever. In fact, it was a

massive heart attack. We lost a very fine Jesuit of Ranchi

Province. May he rest in peace!

Fr. Suleman Tirkey was born on 15th December

1947 in Raja Ulhatu of Ulhatu Parish. His father was

Thomas Tirkey and mother Helena Tirkey. His early

schooling took place in the village. He passed his

matriculation in 1964 from St. Aloysius High School,

Ranchi. He completed his Intermediate studies at

St. Xavier's College Ranchi. Then on 28th June 1969 he

entered the Novitiate at St. Stanislaus College,

Sitagraha. After completing his Novitiate and Juniorate

studies at St. Stanislaus College, Sitagarha he did his

graduation and Master's degree in Ranchi University.

Thereafter he did his mini regency and normal regency

at St. Xavier's School, Ambikapur. Then he went

to DNC Pune for his philosophy and theology. He was

ordained a priest on 17th April 1982. From 1983 to 1987

he served as a hostel in charge cum assistant

teacher in St. Ignatius' H. S. Gumla, St. Xavier's H.S.

Bundu, and Kishore Nagar, Namkum. From 1987 to

1996 he was Acting Headmaster of St. John's H.S.

Ranchi. He did his Tertianship at St. Stanislaus College,

Sitagarha. From 1996 to 2002 he was the Rector of

St. Mary's Community and rendered his service to

the school as an assistant teacher. From 2002 to 2007

he was the Director of Apostolic School Samtoli.

After his retirement in 2007 he served St. Mary's +2

and High School as the administrator till he breathed

his last.

Fr. Suleman lived his life to the fullest. Hearing his

sudden demise thousands of people thronged to pay him

their last grateful and tearful homage. After grooming his

dead body at St. Martha Health Center it was brought

to St. Mary's and kept it in the community chapel where

people poured in to see him for the last time. Keeping

in mind his popularity and huge crowd his burial Mass

was celebrated in the Cathedral. Many people from

Ranchi, Kunkuri, Gumla, Khunti and other places had

gathered. There were 80 priests and hundreds of sisters.

Fr. Xavier Soreng, the provincial of Ranchi, was the main

celebrant. Fr. Rector Vijay Manohar Tirkey and the

Principal Fr. Philemon Ekka along with many fellow Jesuits

and others concelebrated. Fr. Alois Beck gave a moving

homily underlining the life and love of Fr. Suleman. Though

the whole atmosphere was sorrowful everyone felt the

love and concern of Fr. Suleman. The music and singing

of the choir group of Ursuline sisters made the atmosphere

serene and prayerful. After the Mass the body was

brought in procession to the Jesuit cemetery. Young Jesuits

and the school and Inter College staff carried

the coffin on their shoulders in turns. Some important

people from the town also turned up for his last

'darshan'. It was 6.00 pm when his dead body was laid

in the grave to rise again on the last day. With tears

in their eyes but peace in heart people dispersed.

Fr. Pratap Toppo commented, "What a beautiful death!

He gave no trouble or pain to others. After accomplishing

his greatest priestly function, namely celebrating

the Holy Eucharist….in ten minutes time he passed away."

He completed his race successfully. "Well done,

THE LIGHT HAS GONE!

Fr. Suleman Tirkey, S.J.: A Brief Life Sketch

13

good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a

little. I will set you over much; enter in the joy of your

master." (Mat. 25.21)

Fr. Suleman had thoroughly understood his life.

He had enjoyed every moment of his life. Therefore,

his community members say - some people's life is

like sugarcane, press it and squeeze its juice but lo and

behold the remains also keep up its sweetness.

Fr. Suleman's life was also just like that. To meet

every member of the community, to understand their

joys and sorrows, to labour hard to make the community

even better was his sole aim. He was a man of rich

personality. His heart was very big. He met all kinds

of people- young, old or children cheerfully. By this

half of their ailment was alleviated. In today's

pace- not many have time to listen to others. But

Fr. Suleman listened to all very patiently and gave

his precious time. He was a spiritual man. He had deep

faith and trust in God. He guided thousands of boys and

girls to their goals. His experienced counseling helped

many who stood at the cross roads of their life to choose

their right vocation. Today their number aspriests and

nuns is quite big. He even united many broken families.

He was dutiful. After his breakfast he would

be in the school till four o'clock. After that from five

to six he taught English to St. Anne's candidates of

Gumla Province. He did this for last four years. He was

a source of inspiration. He filled the students with

enthusiasm. He was a lover of games and sports. He

was a very good football and basketball player. He

was a man of discipline. He didn't like any disorder

in the school. Service was his sole motive. He was

the C.L.C. Director for Ranchi archdiocese. He

devoted lots of time for its growth. Four days ago he

had just come back from Kolkata after attending

a C.L.C. meeting. He was an iron man. He was not

deterred by odds. It is said - defeated by difficulties

and obstacles some sit back, whereas some go

forward to remove the difficulties and obstacles

of others. Fr. Suleman was a man of latter type.

He did not wait in helping others. He would plunge

into the river of life and bring the drowning

person ashore. His last message to his fans is,

"Friends! Life is a battle, fight it. Success will

kiss your feet."

Fr. Alois Beck, S.J.

Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN), another step to the Frontier:

A brief r eport on the General Workshop at Loyola, Spain 18-23 June, 2011

What is GIAN?

GIAN has been around for some time. For those who

are wondering what GIAN is all about, it is an

Advocacy network that would utilize the vast human and

material resources of the Society of Jesus, to

address the specific challenges across the world,

particularly of the poor and with the poor. The network

builds on the Jesuit traditions of Magis, reading the signs

of the times and the call of the GC35 to undertake

ministries that take us to the 'frontiers'.

GIAN works through five networks: Ecology,

Education, Governance of Natural and Mineral Resources

(GNMR), Migration and Peace and Human Rights. Each

network has a leader and a core group to plan

programmes and evolve an effective advocacy network.

Ultimately, GIAN through its advocacy efforts

hopes 'to transform policies, laws, practices, power

relations that generate injustice and exclusion and

strengthen the capacity of people to participate and decide:

empowerment -Citizenship. It is a part of the

broader process of promotion of Justice. And for us

Jesuits it will be a tool for the mission of Faith-Justice'

says Lucia Rodrigues, the leader of the Right to Education

network.

14

Loyola Workshop

The General workshop at Loyola, between 18 and 23

June, 2011 brought together all the 5 leaders, 20 core

group members, 8 observers from the organizing

team Alboan, a development agency along with

2 members of Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat

(SJES), Rome. The Secretary and team members of

ALBOAN facilitated the workshop with the threefold

objective a) to provide training on International

Ignatian Advocacy and Networking; b) to help

the core groups become effective working groups

and c) to establish a plan of action (for the next 1, 5 years)

in each one of the networks with clear calendar and

responsibilities.

The Methodology followed was focused on

evolving a concrete plan of action. Hence out of the

22 sessions we had, ten were core group meetings,

evolving specific plans for the future of the networks.

It is to the credit of the workshop that every core

group came out with time bound action programmes.

The workshop was also an occasion for all of us,

to some for the first time, to be at the holy precincts

of the Founder's conversion, the Eucharist celebrated at

the Conversion chapel being a high point of the

workshop. We also had a guided pilgrimage of the House

of St. Ignatius and a concluding Eucharistic

celebration at the residence of Blessed Garate, the house

adjacent to the spirituality centre at Loyola.

We were five from South Asian Assistancy: Xavier

Jeyaraj (Secretary, JESA and core group

member - Migration Network), D M Solomon, (Leader

- GNMR Network), Walter Fernandes (Core group

member - GNMR network), Trevor Miranda (Core

group member - Education network) and

M.K.George (Core group member - Peace and

Human Rights network).

Where do we go from here?

All the networks have deadlines for the preparation of

position papers, an internal mapping which would

gather information on key institutions and persons

involved or interested in advocacy (potential members

of the network), the perspectives, interests, concerns of

grass root people, diagnosis about the strengths of

the social sector and the different Jesuit institutions,

and conclusions about the interests, capacities and

wills of the institutions in the Society of Jesus on the

issue of advocacy. This would be followed by an

External Mapping exercise to identify key allies, both

from the church-related and civil society institutions

and networks who are active on advocacy on the

respective issues of GIAN. It will also look for the

most relevant international institutions and other target

institutions identifying main topics of the international

political agenda on the issue of the network. By

June-July 2012, the core group will meet again to take

stock of theprogress.

Do join the networks and move one step ahead

to the Frontiers that the GC and the Society is calling

us to.

M.K. George S J

Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, 31 July, 2011

15

BIRTH DAYS

JULY AUGUST

15 Kandulna Joseph 01 Lakra James

Topno Dominic 04 Ekka John

Tirkey Amrit Toppo Suman Prabhat

16 Kamath Vijay A. 05 Ekka Juel

17 Hassapurty Rajat Barla Rajenius

Kandulna Anil Hassapurty Anuranjan

19 Ekka Alexius 10 Surin William

Kullu Alphonse Ekka Cyprian

Minj Vijay Paul 11 Toppo Hilarius

20 D'Souza Gilbert 12 Lakra Telesphore

22 Sandil Ashok Roshan 13 Dungdung Linus

25 Tiru Raphael Xalxo Prem

Xalxo Isaac 14 Xalxo Yacub

26 Purti Zacharias Tirkey Modestus

Horo Ranjit Kumar 15 Toppo Samuel

Minj Vijay Kumar Kerketta George

Kujur Ignatius 18 Soreng Charles

27 Bilung Vinod 21 Van Winckel Steve

28 Francken Louis 26 Xess Ajit Kumar

29 De Brouwer Marc 28 Dungdung Emil

30 Lakra Benjamin Ekka Sanjay

31 Ba'a Theodore Ignatius 29 Joncheere Florent

30 Kullu Jayprakash N.

WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

16

St. Ignatius Loyola(1491-1556)

Happy Inigo Day to Y ou All