Our celebration of the Feast of St. Ignatius began with a 9:00 a.m. mass in our garden for Jesuits and the friends and families of Jesuits. About 13 Jesuits concelebrated the mass together with two priests and one deacon of the Dili Diocese. All remained after mass for merienda and conversation. In the evening we hosted Bishop Alberto Ricardo and priests of Dili at dinner.
We have accepted eight new candidates for the first year of our candidacy program. They will come to Casa Gonzaga in mid-September. Three are recent graduates of St. Joseph High School. Two come from Los Palos in the east.
There will be five Jesuits at the Colégio de Sấo José with the arrival of regent Eugene Koh (MAS) in late August. Eugene will be teaching Physics. Fr Quyen Vu is working very hard to improve the academic system in the school. The two regents Agus Tanudjaja (MAS) and Bert Boholst (PHI) are both doing very well. They will finish next April. The negotiation for a land for the new school continues.
Work on the school for poor children operated by the Amigos de Jesus progresses. Frs Joấo Felgueiras (POR) and Alves Martins (POR) estimate that work will be completed by early October.
In Railaku, Frs Bong Abad Santos (PHI), Sammy Dizon (PHI), and Joseph Phuong (VIE) continue to work hard at the center and also in 19 stations, plus a small clinic, feeding program, and high school. A Filipina nurse will come in October to replace the one who went home. The high school is now recognized as belonging to the parish of Ermera. The St. Paul de Chartres Sisters will take responsibility for the school as a way to train their young sisters.
Fr Bong Abad Santos is back in his home Province, the Philippines, from July 9 to August 10. He took his final vows on August 2.
Fr Peter Phuc (VIE), Bro Duong Tha (VIE), and Fr Lalo Lebron have several new and developing projects in Suai. They received a grant of $46,000 for five new wells in the villages near our community. We have a joint project with the St. Paul de Chartres sisters for dormitory for high school boys. The small “school” to teach literacy is operative. A large tractor has been shipped from the USA to be used for agricultural work. Fr Lalo is promoting better methods of agriculture in various locations.
Fr Ruedi Hofmann’s building project for a new location in Kasait (about 17 km to the west of Dili) for Casa de Producão Audiovisual also proceeds apace. He hopes the first phase will be completed by the end of the year.
