Opus Christi

Salvatoris Mundi

Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World

Christmas 2011

Chosen from among men, the priest continues being one of them and is called to serve them, giving his life to God.
(Benedict XVI, video message to the International Retreat for Priests in Ars Vatican, September 29, 2009)

December 23, 2011: 50th Anniversary of Fr. Giovanni Salernos ordination to the priesthood

Contents
Fifty years of graces Fr. Giovanni Salerno, msp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 If I could be born again I would still be a missionary priest: Some questions for Father Giovanni, msp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 From the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Walking . . . with the poor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Chronicle of the Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 With Ecclesiastical Approbation from the Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cuzco
Never tire of praying for priests, especially now when it seems that all the forces of evil have been loosed upon the world, attacking particularly the sacred ministers of the Lord. Pray that they remain faithful, that they be holy, that they be nothing more (and nothing less) than what they should be: Alter Christus. Please pray for the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World priests and deacons! Fr. Giovanni Salerno, msp Fr. lvaro Gmez Fernndez, msp Fr. Sebastian Dumont, msp Fr. Urs Zanoni, msp Fr. Agustin Delouvroy, msp Fr. Vincent Mir Minnelli, msp Fr. Giuseppe Cardamone, msp Fr. Walter Corsini, msp Fr. Jos Carlos Eugenio, msp Fr. Jerome Gouallier, msp Fr. Louis Marie Sall, msp Fr. Pierlippo Giovanetti, msp Fr. Salvatore Piredda, msp Fr. Christian Herv De Penfentenyo, msp Fr. Alos Hollewerth, msp Fr. Zsolt Szab (deacon) Fr. Ral Gonzles, msp (deacon)

Partial or total reproduction of the articles contained in this newsletter is prohibited without prior authorization.

Message from Fr. Giovanni Salerno, msp Fifty Years of Graces

Dear Friends, I would like to begin this message with some words from Psalm 89: I will sing of thy mercies, O Lord, forever. God has been greatly merciful to my poor, weak person, I who had no preparation whatever. I will never tire of thanking the Lord and the Most Holy Virgin Mother of the Poor for all the graces they have granted me. My rst memory is how the Lord made me feel His invitation to be a missionary in Peru in an almost prophetic way while I was still a child, an invitation that became clearer when I studied geography in high school and was taught briey of that Andean land. At fourteen I experienced the premature and painful death of my father. I then had to care for my three younger siblings. I felt the scorn and exploitation felt by orphans. It was at this time that I accompanied my brother Enzo to the seminary of the Servants of the Poor, a community founded by Blessed Giacomo Cusmano, and read the inscription written above their entrance: He who helps the poor gives to God (Prov. 19:17). This phrase imprinted itself on my heart like a bolt from heaven and enkindled in me a great enthusiasm and strength that animated me to help the poor. This phrase was with me during all the years of my preparation for the priesthood. At seventeen I went to give catechism classes to children with tuberculosis at the Ingrassia sanatorium (which still exists) near the seminary of the Augustinian priests at Rocca de Palermo in Sicily. One day, while there teaching with my mouth covered with a handker-

chief so as not to catch tuberculosis, the superior of the institute surprised me by pulling away the handkerchief and saying, Get rid of this handkerchief because in the future you will be living with persons much sicker than these. And in Peru I treated not only those with tuberculosis but also lepers. My years of studying were not easy, especially the ones spent in the minor seminary of the Augustinians a glorious order of which I was a member for many years. It was also at this time that I was at risk of having to leave my studies for the priesthood and the order, because three eye doctors in the city of Viterbo told me that I would be blind by the age of twenty. You can imagine how I felt. But I didnt get discouraged. I never tired of praying before the tabernacle for the grace of becoming a priest. I wrote to the monastery of the Augustinian sisters in Cascia, asking them to pray that St. Rita intercede for me and grant me

the grace of this much desired priest- ing to walk up to the seminary in Monhood. The abbess of the monastery, reale where I found professors who Mother Giuseppina Rosata, quickly were not only well prepared to teach sent me a letter church doctrine which told me but who were that a young nun also devout and in the monastery possessed a great had offered herspirit of charity! self as a victim to Their example is impressed on my the Lord for my heart even today. eyes. Some days Almost all of later when I already had my bag them were appointed bishops packed to return in Sicilian dioto Sicily, God ceses. I was saved me because nally ordained to He sent me my the priesthood on brother in reliDecember 23, 1961 gion, Fr. Hector a year before Salimbeni, who the classmates I had arrived from (December 23, 1961) Fr. Giovanni left in Viterbo. Rome. There he Salerno, msp, on the day of his ordinaI have many knew a famous eye tion to the priesthood with his mother memories of that doctor, Professor and Msgr. Corrado Mingo, Bishop of glorious day Mazzantini, who among which were had treated other Monreale, Sicily two prophetic young men who had been told they would be prematurely announcements. The rst was from blind but who had become priests. my mother as she untied the handkerProfessor Mazzantini took my case chief with which my bishop had tied and prescribed a long treatment (which my now consecrated hands, and kissed wasnt authorized by the World Health them saying, May these hands console Organization) which I would have to fol- many orphaned children. These words low until I was forty. Unfortunately, the greatly surprised me because the Auprofessors in Viterbo were unconvinced gustinians had no orphanage in Sicily. The second prophetic message was of the diagnosis of this good doctor and had resolved to interrupt my studies. As from Fr. Agustin La Valle who said to I had intuited that they would make this me, May these hands serve to carry the fearful decision, I asked Fr. Agustin La Gospel to the remotest poor on earth. Valle, provincial superior of the Augus- These words were like a bomb in my tinians in Sicily, to attend the exams as heart because at that time the Augustinpart of the tribunal. The voice of Fr. La ians of Italy had no foreign missions. Meanwhile, the words He who Valle in the corridor trying to save my situation still rings in my ears. He got helps the poor gives to God that I had me passed and so I was able to continue read at the seminary of the Servants of theological studies in the seminary of the Poor resonated even louder in my Monreale in Palermo. heart. To these were added the messages What a great joy it was every morn- of the Holy Father in Rome, the testi-

(1974) Fr. Giovanni Salerno treating children in the Andes

monies that came from Latin America and, above all, the momentum that the Second Vatican Council had given to us to turn our attention to the poor. Taking advantage of his canonical visit to our monastery in Gela, I asked permission of the Father General of the Augustinians, Fr. Luciano Rubbio, to study medicine, expressing also my desire to dedicate my life to the poor in

the most remote missions. Fr. Luciano listened to me very kindly and told me sincerely that it would be a scandal to give me ofcial permission due to the turbulent situation after the Council, so he gave me permission to study privately and to practice in some hospitals. I had the opportunity to serve at the old hospital in Caltanissetta and the pediatric clinic Mayer del Careggi in Florence. These were all valuable experiences for me. I arrived in Peru in 1968 and there met Dr. Federico Bombieri, founder and director of the Peruvian pharmaceutical company Carlo Erba. In him I encountered a true father who helped me with countless shipments of medicine which I used to found dispensaries in the prelature of Chuquibambilla. He was also the one who obtained for me from the Peruvian Ministry of Health the authorization to work as a medical missionary in the entire region of Apurimac. This permission was very important to me as in those rst years that I was travelling the Cordillera of the Andes. Besides treating the sick at the dispensary in Antabamba, I took

(1968) Fr. Giovanni Salerno celebrating Mass in the Andes on an altar of piled rocks

(Cuzco, 1984) Tambo de Montero Street where the Saint Teresa of Jesus Orphanage and soup kitchen for poor children began
care of all the lepers in the region of Apurimac and participated in the rst congress for leprosy in South America, being the only one invited from the Peruvian Ministry of Health, which took place at the Hotel Presidente in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It wasnt easy founding the various dispensaries in that region and, although life was hard, among these trials I experienced the help of God Who never abandons those who trust only in Him. I thank with a sincere heart the dear brothers in religion, Fr. Giovanni Bellotti, who went to heaven two years ago, and Msgr. Domingo Berni, bishop of the prelature of Chuquibambilla, who helped me greatly and comforted me. The good bishop, while I was in his prelature, not only helped me but also humbly, silently, and ably, supported me in founding the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World. I must also thank Fr. Giacomo Bonaita who, together with Msgr. Berni, was responsible for the economic administration of the dispensaries during my service in Apurimac. I would also like to express my gratitude to my brother in religion, Fr. Giuseppe Turco, who has always accompanied me with a truly brotherly heart at each stage of the founding of the Movement. Back in 1987, he, with the advice of the Augustinian provincial in Sicily, gave me the canonical authorization to found the Movement of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World, which from its rst steps has been sorely tried and was sinking before it was even born. I also wish to thank the Augustinian Fr. Gioiele Schiavella who as Assistant General and Vicar General gave me help and comfort. Last, I thank my other religious brother, Msgr. Giovanni Scannavino who in 1984, as Assistant General of the Augustinian order, enforced the foundation of the Movement with a resonant and authoritative voice during a decisive meeting where more than one missionary was against the founding of the Movement. As I said before, the foundation of the Movement wasnt easy, and carrying it forward was even less so. More than once we felt like we were drowning in a stormy sea. There have been calumnies, death threats (not only from guerillas but also from people you

would never imagine), and threats to brothers among whom you will least bomb the St. Teresa of Jesus orphan- expect it. The Good God has used all age in Cuzco. And there was no lack of these trials to strengthen the Movement misunderstandings among those who of the Missionary Servants of the Poor should have helped and understood. In of the Third World. the midst of all this, I remain profound- Today I am happy to be surrounded by ly grateful and moved by everyone, many sons and daughters from 18 above all by those who help me so that countries: Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, I may exMexico, perience the United in my life States, what our Portugal, glorious Spain, Mother France, ItSaint Teresa of Jesus aly, Switsaid, Bezerland, lieve me, Belgium, serving Austria, the Lord Germany, as you Poland, should, Hungary, you will Croatia encounand Ser(December 23, 2010) Fr. Giovanni Salerno with chilter very bia. At the dren in the current Saint Teresa of Jesus Orphanage devout beginning brothers I sang the who the Lord will send and you may mercies of the Lord. Now with you I count on them more than on your own would like to proclaim the Magnicat relatives. You will meet priests and with an exultant heart: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has lled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever. Fr. Giovanni Salerno, msp

WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF PRIESTLY FORMATION HOLY MARY MOTHER OF THE POOR

There is a place for you here!

The Church cant falter in its mission to carry the light of Christ, to proclaim the joyous announcement of the Gospel.
Benedict XVI, to the participants of the Ordinary Assembly of the Superior Counsel of the OMP (Vatican, May 14, 2011)

House of Priestly Formation Holy Mary Mother of the Poor Carretera Mazarambroz S/N 45110 Ajofrn (Toledo) Spain Tel: (00-34) 925 39 00 66 Fax: (00-34) 925 39 00 05 sptmcuzco@hotmail.com www.msptm.com

During July of 2012 we will take in young men from different countries (18-30 years old) in our seminary in Ajofrin, Toledo for three weeks of International Camp. Camp 2012 will be a Christian conference with sightseeing, sports and Spanish classes.

International Missionary Camp 2012

Contact: Fr. Giuseppe at pgiuseppe@gmail.com or visit msptm.com for the schedule of events.

If I could be born again I would still be a missionary priest.

Some Questions for Father Giovanni
It was the charity and prayer life of the Augustinian priests who taught us that inspired me. They have all died except Father Vincenzo Giovino. I remember especially Father Messina. They made us fall in love with purity. They gave us as examples Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Saint John Berchmans, Saint Stanislaus Kostka, etc. And, speaking of purity, Father, why is chastity so important to the priesthood? Chastity is necessary to be able to imitate Christ in everything. The priest must be an alter Christus, another Christ. It is important to follow Jesus, loving others as He loved everyone. There are even married Catholic priests, as in the Eastern Byzantine Catholic tradition, but they are always limited in what they can do because they must give their affection to a wife and children and cant give themselves totally to souls. When the superior asked for volunteers to go to Peru, why did you say you wanted to go? I had felt a missionary vocation since I was very young. When I was 12 years old I was very moved attending the farewells of young missionaries who were going to Madagascar. We accompanied them to the port. As the ship set sail, they raised a crucix and blessed their friends and relatives. I said to myself, One day I must be like them. Could one say that the missionary priest has a double vocation? Of course. In this double vocation, the missionary priest gives himself more to

Father Giovanni, at what age did you realize that you wanted to be a priest? I realized it even before I could talk. I was still in my mothers arms. I saw a priest. He impressed me greatly, dressed in his soutane. Although I wasnt talking yet, I understood and I thought to myself: One day I have to be like him. I remember this well. How was the seminary where you studied? Was it comfortable? There were no comforts. When I entered the seminary my father wanted to accompany me. He prepared for me a dress suit to make the 200 km trip from Gela to Palermo. We went 12 hours by steam engine train. It was after the war and there was no hot water. In the seminary there was a shower for every 20 seminarians. Sometimes rats appeared between the showers, big rats. Sometimes we took cold showers. The food was good, thank God. One ate well with the Augustinians and they treated us with much love. Do you remember any priest during your seminary years who inspired you by his example to continue?

God because he leaves his country, his friends, his relatives, even his mother and father. What advice can you give to young priests who are beginning their ministries today after all the scandals that the Church has so painfully lived through? Today I tell young priests to be holy. The Church needs holy priests now more than ever. And holiness is realized by rst living in the presence of God, under the loving gaze of God. From very young they must be taught to live under the maxim: God sees me. Then I have to do everything well because God sees me. Second, work well. Third, know how to offer yourself and to suffer. Offer everything that the Lord sends at each moment and know how to suffer every misfortune. There is actually a war against the cross. Nowadays the cross begins at the maternal breast: abortion. They dont want to accept one more child. The cross continues in divorce, where there is no understanding between spouses. It ends in euthanasia, the refusal to suffer. To young priests I recommend, above all, to work well, and live under the gaze of God, but realize this idea by offering yourselves as victims to the Father in imitation of Christ. This victim has to be pure and immaculate. Purity is achieved by living in the presence of God, avoiding even whatever impure ash which may blind the heart of the priest. Avoid any friendship or intimacy with women. I am not against women, on the contrary, because I have a mother and sisters, but the priest has to avoid every type of familiarity with women, giving importance to the life of prayer and having a deep, lial and balanced devotion to the Mother of Jesus and of priests. Is it possible to live chastely all ones life? Chastity is possible if one lives under the loving gaze of God, makes prayer a

priority and avoids whatever may blind the heart. Many holy diocesan and religious priests and also many holy laymen who live in the world are pure and chaste like the lilies of the eld. Have you ever known anyone who was martyred or beatied? I had a great friend, Father Francesco Spoto, who was martyred in the Belgian Congo and is now a Blessed. He was a doctor and priest of the Missionary Servants of the Poor which is a congregation founded by Blessed Giacomo Cuzmano in Palermo. What do you want to tell us of your 50 years of priesthood? The best years of my life have been the ones Ive dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor because they, though materially poor, have a great hunger and thirst for God. And their faith has increased my own as a missionary priest. If I could be born again, I would become a missionary priest.

Lord, it is You we shelter in each poor, sick child we take in!

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OREMUS
Act of Love
I love Thee, O my God. My only desire is to love Thee, until the last breath of my life. I love Thee, O innitely loveable God, and I prefer to die loving Thee, rather than to live for an instant without Thee. I love Thee, O my God, and I desire only to go to Heaven, to have the happiness of loving Thee perfectly. I love Thee, O my God, and my only fear is to go to Hell, because there one will never have the sweet solace of loving Thee. O my God, if my tongue cannot say at all times that I love Thee, at least I want my heart to repeat it to Thee! as many times as I breathe. Ah! Do me the grace to suffer while loving Thee, to love Thee while suffering, and, that when I die: I not only will love Thee, but experience it in my heart. I beg Thee that the closer I come to my nal end, Thou wilt increase and perfect my love for Thee. Amen. Saint John Vianney, Cur of Ars

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Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Margaret Mary, the fth of seven children, was born on July 22, 1647, in Lhautecourt near Verosvres, a small town in Burgundy, France, and was baptized three days later. When she was only eight, her father died and her mother took her to live at the convent in Charolles. Because of an illness, she remained there only two years, but it was during this illness that she consecrated herself to the Virgin, promising to become a religious if she was cured. On recovering, she apparently forgot the promise, but at 20, when her mother intended for her to marry, the divine calling to the religious life was rekindled in her heart. In 1671 she entered the Monastery of the Visitation of Saint Mary at Paray-le-Monial. Though she didnt yet know it, the Lord had very special plans for her. From December 1673 to June of 1675, she received three great revelations of Jesus. She would receive thirty of these revelations throughout her life but these rst three were the most important. The Lord showed her His Sacred Heart, which has so loved men and receives nothing but ingratitude in return, and asked her to promote its public cult with the institution of a universal liturgical feast. Today, devotion to the Sacred Heart which has brought numberless benets to the Church and to mankind (John XXIII) and is considered as the best means of practicing Christianity (Pius XII) has been extended to the whole world. This devotion was already known in the Church, but with the apparitions of Saint Margaret Mary they spread much more rapidly. Thanks to the fervor of the saint, the opposition of her community changed little by little into real enthusiasm and, once established at Paray-le-Monial, the new devotion was propagated in other monasteries of the Visitation. On October 17, 1690, Saint Margaret Mary died, exhorting her sisters for the last time, Love Love Himself, but love Him perfectly. Among the many expressions of this devotion, the Missionary Servants of the Poor have introduced the nine rst Fridays of the month, at Fr. Giovannis wishes. This practice is tied to the twelve promises of the Heart of Jesus. This devotion is also being established among the children that participate each Saturday in the Oratory. Closeness to the Heart of Jesus visibly heals the many wounded hearts of the children we shelter. Fr. Pierlippo Giovanetti, msp (Italian)

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From the World

Money by itself doesnt cause growth
United Nations Report on Human Development
Wealth doesnt mean human development. If growth is measured by better health, education and well-being and not just money and production and consumption of goods, then one discovers that the people of a country can develop themselves without economic growth. So says the 2010 Report of the Program for Development of the United Nations whose title indicates the goal and results of the investigation: The True Wealth of Nations: Roads to Human Development. Analyzing countries, this time, using in addition to the classic development indices that include hope, access to education and dignied standards of living as well as three new indices: inequality, which measures income and access to health and education; gender inequality, which measures the disparity in reproductive health, access to education and employment; and the multimedial index of poverty, which uses up to ten parameters to estimate how serious is the lack of health, well-being and education. The multidimensional index of poverty reveals that in the 104 countries analyzed, there are 1.7 billion persons who live in multidimensional poverty and there are more than 1.3 billion persons in those countries who live on $1.25 a day. This report conrms that poverty is the absence of empowerment of persons, communities and peoples. It conrms that the inequality must be analyzed from both a material and non-material (democracy, role of civil society, access to means of communication, etc.) standpoint. And, as far as the report lets us understand, its more and more an economy of global development, not just of the production and consumption of goods. On the other hand, a redistribution of income favors greater equality and, consequently, aids equal development for all.

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We Invite You to Share our Missionary Work in Peru as . . .

Young laywomen who wish to give all their love to abandoned children, to stretch out their arms, like Mary, to the Child Jesus Who is present in these children. Young laymen who wish to give their hearts to Christ, to give their talents and skills, whatever they may be, to the service of the Divine Master, so His work can be realized in all human circumstances. Priests and seminarians to take the Body and Blood of the Redeemer to the most remote and abandoned sites of the Andean Cordillera, and to announce the message of love and salvation of Christ Crucied and Resurrected. Full-time Contemplative Seminarian Priest Consecrated Layman Full-time contemplatives gathered together to live an austere life in a cloistered community, in order to give glory to God, and to intercede for all the members of the Church along with Mary, our mother, and to make reparation for the sins of mankind. Married couples who wish to open their families to the poorest, as a small domestic church that is transformed into a shelter of love shared with those who suffer. Young people who are searching and who, during a year of experience in the Third World, are inclined to discern with an open heart, and are willing to listen to what mission the Lord is calling them. Consecrated Laywoman Consecrated Married Couple Oblate Associate Member or Collaborator

Name _____________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City _________________________ State _______ Zip Code_________ Country __________________________ Email ___________________ Age _______ Level of Education _______________________________ Telephone __________________ Occupation _____________________
House of Priestly Formation Holy Mary Mother of the Poor Carretera Mazarambroz S/N 45110 Ajofrn (Toledo) Spain sptmcuzco@hotmail.com
Seminarians, please mail your request to: All others, please send this form to the following address:

Friends of the Missionary Servants of the Poor Foundation 5800 West Monastery Road Hulbert, OK 74441 USA 616-691-7909 info.ocsm@gmail.com

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In Praise of Contemplatives
Would you like to join our Contemplative Servants of the Poor of the Third World, who dedicate most of their day to prayer and Eucharistic adoration, and who also dedicate some hours to manual labor in order to help the poor?
You have chosen, or more exactly, Christ has chosen you, to live His Easter Mystery with Him in time and space. May all that you are, everything you do each day, be it the Ofce recited or sung, the celebration of the Eucharist, the work done in your cell or in community, respect for the cloister and silence, the voluntary or imposed mortication of the rule, be taken on, sanctied, and used by Christ for the worlds redemption.

Like Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, you too can offer your donation to God to benet the neediest.

I, _________________________________, from the Monastery of:_________________________________ Address:____________________________ City:_______________________________ Country:____________________________ commit myself to live the obedience and poverty of my surrender to God in my monastery for the Movement of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World, so that the Kingdom of God may come to the poorest.

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With your help, one more child will be fed in our centers in Cuzco, Peru.

Thank You!

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You Can Help Us!

By echoing the cry of the poor, by giving copies of this newsletter to your friends and relatives and our other publications (which you may request for free), as well as by organizing missionary meetings in which our missionaries may participate.

*** By offering your sacrices and prayers, together with delity to the Gospel and the Pope, so that each Missionary Servant of the Poor of the Third World may be the living presence of Jesus among the poor. *** By sending us your Mass intentions.

*** By coordinating directly with us some concrete projects or supporting those projects that we carry on daily such as: By purchasing our necessary to bake 3,000 loaves daily for more than 1,500 persons: Daily expense $67 By purchasing 50 local bricks $67 With a scholarship for one month of study for a missionary sister $200 With a scholarship for one month of study for a seminarian in Ajofrn, Toledo, Spain $335 With monthly help for the families in Cuzco who work for us (teachers, professionals, etc.) $400 With the construction of a square meter of Nazareth Village $535.00

*** By remembering our Movement of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World in your will.

*** By donating jewelry or real estate which will be sold for the benet of the orphaned children.

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The Most Important Help for Missionaries

To desire something more than the daily regularity of a steady job and to long for something truly great is part of being young. (Benedict XVI, Message for World Youth Day, 2011)

I, ____________________________________________________, during all of 2012, commit myself to remain united to you in order to give thanks to God for this new charism of the Church given to the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World. My participation will be as follows:

Form of Offering
Daily Holy Mass
Eucharistic Adoration

Weekly Bi-weekly Monthly

Other

Holy Rosary Address ________________________________________________ City _______________________ State _______ Zip Code________ Country ________________________ Date ___________________

This Spiritual Offering may be sent to our address in Cuzco, Peru. There it will be placed at the feet of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the altar of our chapel of Mary Mother of the Poor of the Third World.

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S.O.S to Young People!

Listen to Him as a true Friend with Whom to share the path of your life. With Him at your side, you will be able to face with courage and hope your difculties and problems, even your disappointments and failures. Benedict XVI, Message for World Youth Day 2011 (Vatican, August 6, 2011)
With the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World you can realize this ideal with a life of deep prayer and generous giving of yourself in the service of your many brothers who suffer every type of marginalization.

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Walking . . . with the Poor

(1970) Fr. Giovanni Salerno, carrying the Word of God to the villages of the Andes by foot and on horseback
In this chronicle, we present a brief account of the life of Father Giovanni Salerno in gratitude to God for giving Father to the Movement, to the Church and to all the poor children that the Movement has served, serves and will serve. January 30, 1938 Father Giovanni Salerno Legname is born in Gela, an ancient Greek colony in Sicily. He receives his First Holy Communion at age 7 and as he remembers, That day I asked for three things: to be a priest, to be a doctor and to be a missionary. And the Lord heard me. Only four years later he entered the minor seminary of the Augustinians in Monreale. December 23, 1961 Father Giovanni is ordained a priest and that same day receives two prophecies, revelations of what God has reserved for him. His mother, kissing his hands, says, May these hands save many children! (One must remember that at that time the Augustinian Order in the Sicilian September 22, 1952 Father Giovannis father dies. province didnt work with orphaned or abandoned children.) Then the Provincial Superior, Father Agustin La Valle, on kissing his hands, says: May these hands carry the Gospel to the remotest poor! It is something unexpected, but it is the plan of God. Two years later, the Apostolic Nuncio in Peru, answering the request of Msgr. Alcides Mendoza Castro, Bishop of Abancay, requests of the Superior General of the Augustinians that he send missionaries to work in the poorest zone of his diocese, the region of Apurimac. The Superior General sends every member of the Order a letter asking for volunteers. Father Giovanni is among those who offer themselves.

October 7, 1968 Father Giovanni, who has left Italy in July with the other

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Augustinian volunteers, arrives in Antabamba in the region of Apurimac where he founds the Mother Rosa Gattorno medical dispensary, the rst of many. In Apurimac he will work as a priest and missionary doctor for more

assures us that Jesus has set foot in this poor neighborhood where there is so much misery? On the contrary, this house will grow because other missionaries will arrive, other priests, to console and educate all the poor and abandoned children of this barrio. These are also prophetic words.

(1970) Situation encountered by Fr. Giovanni Salerno in the Alta Cordillera of the Andes
than 15 years. But over time God reveals His plans to him. Many women die in childbirth and leave their children to Father Giovanni who, taking advantage of this situation and under the inspiration of the encyclical Populorum Progressio of Pope Paul VI is encouraged to carry out a project to shelter these small orphans and abandoned ones. May 8, 1982 The Discalced Carmelites of Cuzco give Father Giovanni the use of a small place which he uses to begin what will later be called the Saint Teresa of Jesus Orphanage. Father Giovanni recounts that he shuddered to think that the Prefect of the city was going to participate in the inauguration, because the orphanage had been opened without any authorization and so could be closed by his order. But on hearing the situation, the Prefect said, How can I close this orphanage which

May 30, 1986 Having received news about the Servants of the Poor of the Third World, Cardinal Marcelo Gonzalez Martin, Archbishop of Toledo, Spain, meets with Father Giovanni and tells him, This movement is the work of God. And as I am not only the Archbishop of Toledo but a Cardinal of the Church, as such I feel it necessary to help you. He insists that to guarantee the future of the new order it is necessary to found it on priests and permits Fr. Giovanni to speak to the seminarians in the Metropolitan Seminary of Toledo. The rst seminarians arrive in Cuzco the following year. This same Cardinal permits the Movement to open a House of Formation in his archdiocese allowing the seminarians of the Movement to study at the seminary in Toledo.

April 17, 1983 The rst missionary family begins to work with Father Giovanni. They will form the nucleus of what will become the community of married missionaries of the Movement. The following month the association of Servants of the Poor of the Third World ofcially begins.

November 5, 1986 Father Giovanni concelebrates Mass with Pope John Paul II who later receives him in a private audience speaking encouraging words to him about his work which he himself calls Opus Christi Salvatoris Mundi. August 8, 1987 The Saint Teresa of Jesus Home in Cuzco is opened with the consecration of the altar by Msgr. Sebastiano Rosso, Bishop of Piazza Armerina, Sicily, who in Gela the year

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(1986) Fr. Giovanni Salerno being received by His Holiness John Paul II
before had declared the birth of the Movement of the Servants of the Poor of the Third World in the presence of the Archbishop of Cuzco, Msgr. Alcides Mendoza Castro. The following year, the San Tarcisio Center and the Saint Teresa Soup Kitchen are opened in Cuzco. The Saint Maria Goretti and Francisco and Jacinta Marto Free Schools will open in 1997. November 4, 1989 The rst stone of the Priestly House of Formation in Ajofrin, Toledo, Spain is blessed. Its church will be consecrated and inaugurated by Cardinal Marcelo Gonzalez Martin ve years later on June 18, 1994. April 16, 1995 Our Lady of Silence Monastery is founded in Urubamba in the sacred valley of the Incas. Father Giovanni remembers, It was being a missionary that made me understand the fundamental importance of the contemplative life, of prayer and silence. For this reason I wanted our Movement to include a branch of contemplative men. When asked why he didnt want a branch of contemplative women also he says that there are many monasteries of contemplative nuns who support us and they are our contemplatlive branch of women.

November 22, 1991 Because of various attacks and defamations of the Movement and its work, Msgr. Alcides Mendoza Castro intervenes with a declaration that emphasizes the importance of the work that the Movement carries out in Cuzco. These attacks are repeated and he again intervenes for the Movement with a Decree of March 20, 1997.

January 10, 1999 In Hungary, Bishop Laszlo Biro blesses the Center in Budapest where the Movement has been working for a year with gypsy children. Ofcial activity thus begins in Hungary. December 27, 2000 Msgr. Alcides Mendoza Castro approves the statutes of the Movement. March 16, 2001 Father Giovannis mother dies.

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August 25, 2007 The City of Boys in Andahuaylillas (22 miles from Cuzco) is inaugurated by Msgr. Juan Antonio Ugarte Perez, Archbishop of Cuzco, concelebrating Mass with Msgr. Michele Pennisi, Bishop of Piazza Armerina, Sicily and Msgr. Rafael Palermo Ramos, Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, Spain who has supported the Movement since its foundation. September 8, 2007 Don Antoine Forgeot, Benedictine Abbot of Fontgombault, who has collaborated with the spreading of the Movement in France, solemnly crowns the image of Holy Mary, Mother of the Poor, in the chapel of the City of Boys. Also present is Don Fernando Rivas, Benedictine Abbot of the monastery of Lujan in Argentina, who has also collaborated in the spreading of the Movement in Argentina.

March 8, 2003 The Apostolic Nuncio of Peru, Msgr. Rino Passigato, solemnly inaugurates and blesses the new Saint Teresa of Jesus Orphanage on the outskirts of Cuzco.

May 19, 2009 The new Apostolic Nuncio of Peru, Msgr. Bruno Musaro, consecrates the altar of the new monastery of Our Lady of Silence contemplative community in Querowasi, a few miles from the City of Boys.

March 26, 2011 Msgr. Michele Pennisi, Bishop of the diocese of Piazza Armerina, blesses the Nazareth Village in Andahuaylillas, an international and missionary Nomadela built to house the community of married missionaries of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World. These families come from Colombia, the United States, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, practicing various professions such as architects, engineers, builders, teachers, banker, workers. They have come with their children, leaving behind their countries, work and comforts to place themselves at the service of the evangelization of the most poor. September 2011 They are working hard on the construction of the Minor Seminary in the City of Boys which

(2011) Fr. Giovanni Salerno in the City of Boys in Andahuaylillas with the children of the Saint Tarcisio Home, the minor seminarians, the brothers and the priests

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All this, which we have painted with Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World broad strokes, but families at the Nazareth Village above all by the fact that the Movement ofpromises to be lled soon with boys fers all of us a sure path to holiness, we ready to give their lives to the Lord in have only to raise a grateful glance to the work that He has wanted done here Heaven, asking God that by means of in Peru through Father Giovanni. His Mother who is always invoked by December 23, 2011 Father Giovanni us by the name of Holy Mary, Mother celebrates 50 years of priesthood. The of the Poor of the Third World, grant us Movement has 15 priests, 2 deacons, 11 the gift of faithful perseverance in His major seminarians, and 17 minor semi- work for so many poor and so many narians; the Mother House of priests souls who await His Word, His Body in Andahuaylillas; a hundred sisters and His Blood. at various levels of formation that live in the Mother House in Cuzco or in the houses in Lima, Cusibamba, Punacancha and Urubamba; the contemplative community in Querowasi with 2 priests and 2 brothers; the community of married missionaries with 12 families that live in Nazareth Village; the center that takes in gypFr. Giovanni Salerno with the Missionary Sister Servants sies in Budapest; of the Poor of the Third World the seminary in

Ajofrin, Toledo, Spain; the missionary center in Sordio in the province of Lodi, Italy; the associations and support groups that work in different countries and live the charism of the Movement; and the numerous monasteries that support the Movement with their prayers and daily offering.

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Our Missionary Sister Servants of the Poor of the Third World

The traditional veil worn by our sisters is a sign of their total consecration to Christ, and of reparation for the sins of the world.
(For more information on the sisters, please send in the form on page 14.)

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Chronicle of the Movement

August 1-24: A good number of young men participated in our third year of International Camp at our House of Priestly and Missionary Formation in Ajofrin, Toledo, Spain. They came from Germany, Austria, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, Hungary, England and Italy. Formation took place during World Youth Day (August 16-21). We were able to participate in the various meetings with Benedict XVI in addition to attending the other activities, such as concerts and expositions. The priests and brothers attended to the people who came to our missionary booth at the Vocational Fair that took place in the Retiro Park in Madrid. Some of our priests also spent part of their time hearing confessions. We are very grateful to those who participated this year in the International Camp for their joy and generous dedication to the different activities. We are already planning our InterSeminary in Ajofrin, Spain national Camp for next year, during which we would like to travel at least a part of the famous road to Santiago de Compostela. This year we offered the young men three weeks of fraternal life, prayer, sightseeing, sports and language study. For many of them it was a good chance to discover religious and missionary life and to motivate a possible commitment to the service of the poor. October 12: Each year on the solemnity of the Virgin of the Pillar, all our communities renew their vows. This year Brothers Mathias Brand (German) and Paolo Giandinoto (Italian) made their perpetual vows in our seminary in Ajofrin. Each year the number of Missionary Sister Servants of the Poor of the Third World increases, allowing us to strengthen our permanent missions in the High Cordillera. We have 98 Cuzco, Peru

Young men from different countries who were prepared in our House of Formation in Ajofrin, Toledo, Spain to experience World Youth Day in Madrid this past August

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sisters who silently care for hundreds old with third stage malnutrition, his of children who are crippled or suf- skin glued to his bones and his stomfer from incurable illness. Some of ach very swollen. We took him to the them endure a long agony because hospital where, after two weeks of there are yet hydration, he was able no remedies to to return to alleviate their suffering. the Home. He Others get is now a year better, thanks old and is beginning to to medications we are able to walk and degive them. velop like the This year other healthy the sisters rechildren. The misceived, among others, four sions of our new children Missionary Sister Servants of the Poor of the sisters are who were less Third World on the road to evangelizing the growing and than six months pueblo of Totora in the Andes Mountains strengthening. old when they Since June, came to us. Two of them were found the sisters in Rumichacha, Urubamba in the street. Francisco Xavier has a hold a day of Oratory for the children cleft lip and palate and was abandoned of the area where they play, learn the in a plastic bag. Lucia de Fatima is catechism and pray and prepare to rehydrocephalic and was abandoned in ceive the sacraments of Baptism and a public plaza in the district of Calca. First Communion. The community Juan Gabriel came to us when he was of sisters in Punacancha, in addition only 26 days old and weighed six to teaching and managing the Soup pounds. He didnt have the exterior Kitchen for the children there, also portion of his ears and during the take care of the people in the neightime he was with us hed been di- boring pueblo once a week. In total, agnosed with other disabilities. His the villages assisted by our missiondiagnosis was to be made clearer in ary sisters once a week are Pacca, August with the help of a team of Carhuis, Ccasacunca, Totora, Waylspecialists from North America but lay and Kirkas. God took him to Heaven on August 3, Every Saturday in our Laura Vimaternally attended to by our sisters. cua Oratory in Cuzco near the Saint When the priest said, Deliver your Teresa Home, we prepare more than soul to God Who has created you. . a hundred girls to receive First Com. Juan Gabriel soon delivered it up, munion and Conrmation. They also returning to the house of the Father have workshops for theater, singing with little suffering. The fourth child, and crafts. Jos Adolfo, arrived at ve months Our Lady of Peace soup kitchen

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December 12: Ordination to the Diaconate of our Peruvian Brother On this date, Msgr. Juan Antonio Ugarte, Archbishop of Cuzco, hon-

in Cuzcoha completed its rst anniversary and the young people there have learned ways of approaching God through prayer, especially the holy rosary, frequent reception of the sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist, and the value of a truly Christian life. Twice a week they have workshops for pastry making and baking. God has blessed our community of missionary sisters with many Peruvian vocations but also with two candidates from other countries, Serbia and England. This year, by the grace of God, we have received ve new postulants and twenty new aspirants who we hope may be faithful and bear fruits of great holiness.

ored us with his presence by presiding at the Ordination Mass of our Brother Ral Gonzles to the diaconate. God has granted us the blessing of this rst Peruvian vocation of men. His parents and relatives came from Lima for the ordination as well as many boys from our school and orphanage. May God increase the number of vocations for the good of the Church and of the poor who wait for the Eucharist in their villages in the High Cordillera! Five young men from various countries are experiencing a year of missionary spirituality in our City of Boys. May God grant them the gift of a missionary vocation!

On this date, Father Giovanni Salerno celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood surrounded by the priests, brothers, sisters, families, contemplatives and oblates, all of whom have been attracted by his example of delity and surrender to the service of God and the poor and who are continually helped by the multitude of benefactors and dear friends who make possible our living out our missionary vocation within this charism. Thank you, Father Giovanni, for obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit and thus making it possible for us to receive Him!

December 23: 50th Anniversary of Priesthood

Father Ral Gonzles (Peruvian), Missionary Deacon Servant of the Poor of the Third World

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Important Announcements

Available from our House of Formation in Ajofrin, the pocket book edition in Spanish and Italian of: The Imitation of Christ Specially prepared by the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World. These editions are now available in Spanish, Italian and French.

The 2nd English edition of the book On Mission with God in the Andes, gathering 36 years of the missionary experience of Fr. Giovanni Salerno, is in preparation. This 2nd edition will include new Memories and Reections. The 1st edition has had great success and has been translated into Spanish, French, English, German, Hungarian, Polish and Portuguese.

House of Priestly Formation Holy Mary Mother of the Poor Carretera Mazarambroz S/N 45110 Ajofrn (Toledo) Spain
We invite you to visit the ofcial website of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World: www.msptm.com

Please mail your request to:

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To New Readers
If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please send us the form below, using the return envelope in the center of this newsletter. We can also mail you extra copies of the newsletter for you to distribute to your family members, local parish, or youth group, and thus you can help us spread this message for the good of those who suffer in the Third World.

PLEASE PRINT Name _____________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City _________________________ State _______ Zip Code_________ Country __________________________ Email ___________________ Please mail me # _______ copies of the Newsletter.

Do you know others who would be interested?

Name _____________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City _________________________ State _______ Zip Code_________ Country __________________________ Email ___________________ Name _____________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City _________________________ State _______ Zip Code_________ Country __________________________ Email ___________________

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Special Announcement
The Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma have graciously volunteered to assist with the work of the Movement of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World. Thanks to their wonderful generosity, the administration for the Movement in the United States is moving from our Cannonsburg, Michigan location to the Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma. We are very grateful for this new blessing for the Movement and for the assistance of the monks. Please note that future donations should be sent to: Missionary Servants of the Poor 5800 West Monastery Road Hulbert, OK 74441

Father Abbot Philip Anderson of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey and Father Giovanni Salerno

This newsletter and all the material we publish are completely free of charge and always available to all who ask, thanks to the generosity of a benefactor who believes in our charism and in this way collaborates in the spreading of the Kingdom of God. Please dont hesitate to request the sending of our publications so other persons may get to know the charism of the Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World.

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Merry Christmas!

Opus Christi

Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World

Foundation for the Annunciation Monastery of Clear Creek 5804 West Monastery Road Hulbert, OK 74441

For Unto Us a Child Is Born; For Unto Us a Son Is Given.

Salvatoris Mundi

Friends of the Missionary Servants of the Poor Foundation 5800 West Monastery Road Hulbert, OK 74441 USA 616-691-7909 info.ocsm@gmail.com

United States:

Misioneros Siervos de los Pobres del Tercer Mundo PO Box 907 Cuzco Peru Tel/Fax 51-84-307-093 email: sptmcuzco@hotmail.com www.mstpm.com

Per: