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Column
about
Fraternite Notre Dame
Sunday April 20, 2003
After a Holy Week filled with fervor and recollection,
under the auspices of the Ecce Homo and the Holy Face, following the
Easter Vigil and Blessing of the new fire, the Easter solemnity took
place in our church, magnificently flowered and ornate, in all the
splendor of a majestic liturgy, resplendent like the Resurrection
of the Divine Crucified, and in a joy that seems only comparable to
the one that once enveloped the first witnesses…
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Friday April 25 in the afternoon
Upon the initiative of Chicago's Council and in the presence of numerous
officials, in front of a dense assistance including a good number
of French people from metropolitan France, Martinique and elsewhere,
the inauguration of the sign naming the street that borders our church
after our Superior General, Bishop Jean Marie R. Kozik, in his honor
and as a testimony of his action in Chicago (where Fraternite Notre
Dame serves meals each day to over 200 destitute persons, and distributes
pantry products to more than 150 needy families) as well as New York,
where Fraternite Notre Dame's missionaries had also gone to comfort
the injured and the families of the victims following the tragedy
on September 11, 2001.
After the National Anthem and unveiling of the sign, official statements
were made:
-Alderman Isaac Carothers, standing for Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley,
informed us notably that the day of April 25 had been declared "Reverend
Bishop Jean Marie R. Kozik Day";
- The Consul General of France in Chicago Mr. Dominique Decherf;
- Alderman Emma Mitts;
- Regina Lewis, Founder and CEO of Ashunti Women' Shelter;
- Eugene Williams, Police Commander, Chicago 15th District;
- Sonny Jackson from Eyes on Austin (which helps renovate needy elderly
persons' houses);
- Without forgetting the Nepal Ambassador, very interested by the
work of Bishop Jean Marie overseas and notably in Mongolia.
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These diverse prominent figures' interventions allowed the assistance to much better size up the entire action of our Superior General, at the local level as well as in quite remote areas such as Mongolia.
But our report would be seriously unfinished if we would not mention
the statements addressed Bishop Jean Marie by some of the children,
who benefit from the after school assistance provided by Fraternite
Notre Dame:
Extraordinary, incomparable testimonies expressed from the bottom
of these >
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little ones' hearts, in gratefulness towards he who helped them out
of unspeakable misery in some homes in the neighborhood = "Father
Jean Marie, we love you…"
No less touching was the testimony of a wife and mother expressing
the same feelings, with the same words from the heart.
May we keep in mind the quite remarkable participations of Douglas
Banks at the piano, and our choir at FND. A buffet pleasantly ended
up this memorable ceremony. Back
to Top
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Saturday April 26
We had the great joy to attend, in our well-filled church, the sacerdotal
ordination, through the hands of Bishop Jean Marie, of Father Louis
Marie of the Mother of Sorrows, and the deaconate of Brother Marie
Samuel of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, thus bringing Fraternite
Notre Dame two new and precious artisans for the harvest, which extends
as far as the eye can see over the world.
The superb ceremony, very touching in the dignity of its impeccable
arrangement, was followed by a procession around the church block,
in thanksgiving and to request divine protection over the United States,
under the care of the Ecce Homo, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint
Padre Pio.
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A reception in honor of our two newly-ordained religious ended up
the morning, and by early night, at the Navy Pier by the lake, a dinner
was served aboard the Odissey, providing the entire Community and
our friends an unforgettable memory with some navigation on Lake Michigan's
waters, with the grand view of Chicago by night, seen from the lake.
Back to Top
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Sunday April 27
A great day for our new young Father, that is, the one of his first
Mass! With much dignity, a fervent concentration, and filled with
real assurance, Father Louis Marie celebrated his first Mass, on the
very Sunday consecrated to Divine Mercy: a homily by the Most Rev.
Bishop Jean Marie, with an amazing force and persuasion, bringing
to us the words of consolation and hope our souls so much thirst for.
Then, each one in the attendance came up and kissed the hands of our
new young priest, as a sign of friendship and respect for his dignity.
In the afternoon, talented Douglas Banks gave us a treat with a powerful
concert whose blazing inspiration could not let any auditor indifferent.
The day was concluded by a friendly dinner with all our friends, in
the large lower-level room at the Church.
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Monday April 28
During the morning Mass, the Most Rev. Bishop Jean Marie received
the postulate of Brother Joseph Marie of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
the simple vows of Sister Marie Rita of the Mother of the Sacred Heart
along with the perpetual vows of Sister Marie Madeleine of the Infinite
Love.
In the afternoon, departure of our friends from France. Already! They
said.
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