The Cause of Bishop Bresillac
SMA News of July
Discovering Fr. B. Michel's Book
Today, twelve years ago, I was ordained a priest and emotions are still fresh in my mind. It was the most important day of my life. I looked around my family and friends gathered for the occasion and some of them gave me an impression they were happier than me and wondered if this could be possible because, in my head and mind, it was my day and not theirs. I was wrong in my mind. After my ordination, I realized that it is other people who make us happy in ministry. It is first and foremost God, our family members, and the communities we serve.
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“To be a missionary from the bottom of my heart” these words of Bishop Melchior de Marion Bresillac, the founder of the Society of African Missions, are grace given to me. After my priestly ordination in Bangui, the Central African Republic, I was appointed to Tanzania for my first mission. The beautiful country of very friendly people and adorable nature, Tanzania is known across the world for the splendid Mount Kilimanjaro and the great Serengeti National Park.
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Our postulator, Father Andrea Mandonico, has asked me to share some thoughts about the event of May 26th, when Pope Francis approved the decree which officially recognizes the heroic virtues of Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésillac, our Founder. Based on the experience I have from the years that I spent in this service, I do so willingly.
First: this approval by the Pope is not a simple formality that opens the door to beatification, once there is a miracle granted through the intercession of our venerable Founder. On the contrary, it is an act rich in meaning. It recognizes the high quality of de Brésillac's teaching and personal spiritual experience. The written responses of the theologian consultors who examined our Positio show this.
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Father Jean Comby was a prominent professor of Church History, was born in March 1931, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Lyon in 1959. He died on May 21, 2020 (Solemnity of the Ascension) at the age of 89, after a long battle with several cancers.
Lecturer and researcher
During his 61 years of ministry, Father Comby distinguished himself as a brilliant teacher and professor in seminaries, universities, and catechetical training centers.
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Jean was a great friend since 1963 when he started teaching Church History at the African Missions seminary in Lyon. He was then teaching history at the Minor Seminary of Lyon Diocese, which was situated next to the cathedral. He lent many books from his library, particularly the biographies of "dissidents" such as Wicliff or John Huss, and Luther and Calvin. I remember passing an oral exam just on my readings. He was very appreciated by all and all the seminarians were unanimous on the high quality of his courses and his sense of pedagogy.
Thanks to Jean and Joseph Hardy SMA, I developed a great interest in Church Fathers and their writing; this thereafter made us to often meet on “rue Sala” or with Lyon friends of “Sources Chrétiennes”, a place our brother Michel Dujarier eventually chose for his research.
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Tanga in the Swahili language means “a sail”. It is also the name given to a new home for vulnerable youth and children, especially with albinism, built by the SMA Tanzanian Region/District in Mwanza, Tanzania. It is a place where fourteen young girls and boys will find security, high-quality holistic education, good living conditions, but most of all family care and love. In recent years, especially in the last decade, the Albino population in Tanzania has experienced a big increase in violence against them. There have been numerous attacks on the Albino people, in which some of them were mutilated or even killed.
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SMA Founder Bsp. Melchior Marion de Brésillac
Message from the Superior General and his councils
The Year of St. Joseph
