On May 29 the General Chapter held a Mass of Remembrance to honor those SCJs who have died since the last General Chapter in 2009. The Mass began in the meeting hall to allow for translation assistance and ended in the main chapel of the “Collegio Internationale.”

“It has become part of our General Chapters to remember those who have gone before us, who, through death, were joined with Christ,” said Fr. John van den Hengel, the main celebrant and homilist. “We remember the dead of the last six years, we join with them and ask the Lord of mercy and of love to embrace them and be their joy…

“These members have all been part of our life line, our story. Their lives built up part of our identity. They were and are part of our story. We tell our current story by retelling theirs, what they did, their dying in the midst of life, their sacrifices, their foibles and faults.”

Speaking of the slide show that would follow, Fr. John said that “You will probably, as I will, have these moments of recognition: ‘ah, yes, it is so good to be reminded of you again,’ ‘thank you for what you did,’ ‘sorry that I did not always recognize you for the gift you gave to the community,’ ‘thank you for the joy you brought,’  ‘you were a great grace to the church and to the community.’

“Allow our minds and our hearts to tell the story again, to feel it in our hearts, to shed a tear at the sadness of their loss … but always with the awareness and the faith of the power of their life in Christ.”

Newly elected administration

On May 27, Fr. Heiner Wilmer, newly elected superior general, was the main celebrant at a Mass of Thanksgiving. Joining him at the altar was the newly elected council.The Mass was broadcast live on TeleDehon.

Fr. Donald and Fr. Heiner

Fr. Francis and Fr. Heiner

P. Leopold Mfouakouet

P. Paulus Sugino

P. Artur Sanecki

P. Carlos Enrique Caamano Martin

P. Steve Huffstetter

After the election of the General Superior on May 25, 2015, members of the General Chapter have elected five (5) members of the Council. On the same day in the afternoon, Fr. Leopold Mfouakouet, the Provincial Superior of Cameroon, was voted as the first member of the council representing the continent of Africa.

On Tueasday, May 26, the second to be elected or rather re-elected, for the next six years as general councilor, was Fr. Paulus Sugino, representing the geographical zone of Asia.

The third councilor became Fr. Artur Sanecki, the Provincial Superior of Poland, representing Europe.

The fourth councilor, representing the South America, is the Regional Superior of Venezuela, Fr. Carlos Enrique Caamaño Martin. Fr. Carlos, 48, is the youngest member of the council.

Finally, Fr. Steve Huffstetter, the U.S. Provincial Superior became the fitfth general councilor, representing the North America.

Congratulations to all!

The election of the members of the General Administration was conducted in a very smooth and fraternal way. They seem to be a good and strong team.

The official start of the New Administration is the end of the General Chapter on June 6, 2015.

Today, May 25, Fr. Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, was elected as the 10th superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians). He succeeds Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho, who completes his second, six-year term.

Originally from Germany, Fr. Wilmer, 54, has been the provincial superior of the Dehonians’ German Province since 2007.  He was ordained in 1987, and professed his first vows with the congregation in 1982.

Prior to his service as provincial superior Fr. Wilmer held a number of positions in education. From 1998 – 2007 he was headmaster of Gymnasium Leoninum in Handrup, Germany. Before that, he spent a year teaching German and history at the Jesuit’s Fordham Preparatory School in New York (USA).

From 1995 – 1997 he served at Liebfrauenschulem, a school in Vechta, northern Germany, as a teacher of religion, history and politics, as well as a school chaplain.

Fr. Wilmer has also taken part in several social initiatives with the poor and disenfranchised.  In 2006 he spent three months in Caracas, Venezuela, doing catechesis among the city’s barrios. From 1996 – 1997 he worked to develop a training initiative for women at a penitentiary in Vechta (Germany).

During his year teaching in New York he served in the Jesuits’ soup kitchen. And in 1993 he spent four months in Toronto, Canada, serving as a chaplain at “L’Arche Daybreak,” a residential home for people with disabilities.

His studies have included French Philosophy at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and Fundamental Theology at the University of Freiburg, where he earned his doctorate. The title of his thesis: “Mystik zwischen Tun und Denken. Zum Ort der Mystik in der Philosophie Maurice Blondels”  [Mysticism between doing and thinking. The place of mysticism in the philosophy of Maurice Blondel]

Fr. Wilmer is also an author with several published works.

His election took place during the General Chapter of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Rome. The event brings together Dehonian priests and brothers representing 40 countries on five continents. In the next few days the chapter delegates will complete the election of the five-member General Council.

The chapter concludes on Saturday, June 6.