JAMSHEDPUR JESUITS Vol. 51 No. 8 JAMSHEDPUR, INDIA AUGUST 2003 Appointments By Father General OFFICIAL Fr. Adam Zak, 52, Assistant for East Europe and General Counselor Fr. Gregory Naik (Goa) Superior of the Curia Community, Rome Fr. Luis Orlando Torres, 59, General Counselor for the formation of Jesuits and also the Promotion of vocations to the Society Fr. Alfonso Gomez, 43, Provincial of Argentina Fr. Amritlal Toppo, 45, Provincial of Madhya Pradesh Fr. Oscar Horo, Rector of Loyola School, Jamshedpur By the Provincial of India:` Fr. Maurice Dullard SJ as the Tertian Instructor at Patna for 2003-2004, as Fr. R.C. Chacko s health is not yet stable. By the Provincial:
Sch. Manohar Kindo : Regency Rutungia Sch. Deepak Sanajay Ekka Pajikiri Sch. Kuldeep Minj Pajikiri : Regency- : Regency- Fr. Oscar Horo will be read in as Rector of Loyola School on 28 August during the Holy Eucharist in the Loyola community chapel. Father General has called Frs. Fabian Bhuinyan, Alex Mascarenhas and Francis Perumalil to final vows. They will make their commitment on 27 September 2003 at Loyola School, Jamshedpur. Provincial s Programme Aug 04 13 : Retreat at XLRI 16 17 : Visitation : Amda, Basahatu 18 19 : Visitation : Khuntpani, Chaibasa Parish 20 22 : Visitation : Lupungutu 23 24 : Visitation : Rengra 26 27 : Visitation : Tepasai 28 : Back to Tata 30 : Consult Lupungutu
Sep 02 05 : Visitation : Manresa House and RTC, Ranchi. 06 : Meeting with Bagaicha team : ATC, Namkum 07 : Meeting of Province Days Planning Commission : XLRI News from houses Amda: Greg went to Patna for the annual meeting of CHAI. Lawrence (who endured a heavy dose of sun stroke, in the last week of May while travelling by train through A.P. managed to reach Padanpur, Bhubaneswar and Jamshedpur) was safely led to Amda by his old friend Sch.Staney from Patna. And then there was the usual welcome reception with the sisters, with Paul Mathew (who was acting PP and acting HM) since Timothy was away to attend the funeral of his mother. A day after, Mike Tirkey joined us and shared with us his pioneering work project with the state govt. as the Singhbhum- Saraikela Coordinator of the All Jharkhand integrated Watershed Management Project. Mike has been chosen by the state govt. to participate in an international training program in WSM, organized by IIM Bangalore. Lawrence is the Superintendent of our hospital and as such goes there every morning, interacts with the inmates patients and administrators- and in the process, inserting himself in their milieu; he quietly spends the afternoon learning the alphabets of Hindi and the rudiments of Ho. in these parts, afternoons and evenings are still hot, with the proverbial power cuts to boot. We had an enjoyable outing to Lupungutu for the Birthday celebration of Boni Kujur. On the way we picked up Timothy and Paul and we were happy to meet so many of our Jesuit and diocesan friends in and around Chaibasa. Greg is getting our lands outside the compound wall ploughed so as to grow paddy and vegetables. There is every possibility of establishing an Herbal garden in
their Health Center, perhaps with the expertise of Tom Nelli. Lawrence Gynanarethina m De Nobili School, Digwadih In the mid-june Br.Amal arrived fresh and invigorated to take up his work as the sub-minister, Panneer s longstanding dream was thereby fulfilled. Panneer was busy repairing walls that had fallen during the severe storm that raged one night in mid-june accompanied by torrential rain. Woolsie has been carrying out land measurements, as there is land outside our walls. We need to claim these pieces of land lest others take them. A very risky job, indeed. Pius has been at the job in season and out. Under his direction Taru-mitra has planted saplings around campus. He has also done a commendable job in streamlining the movement of a large number of buses outside the school gate when the boys go home after school. Pius left for Delhi and the JEA meeting on 24 July. Sunny departed from our community on 5 July. He went on to do the final months of theology before he goes for ordination. We look forward to your return to DNS to put your hand to the plough once again. George Thana has things under control at the Junior School. He has re-introduced P.T. period for all classes at one go. Vijay Kachap successfully conducted his first terminal examination in the second week of July. He says a girl fainted during the exams. The reason is hard to ascertain.
Stan Kujur s brother, Tarcitius, expired on 13 July night. We received the information at 3 o clock at night. Stan and K.C. Anthony left at once to attend the funeral. K.C. had been Parish Priest of Stan s home parish. Many people came to greet K.C. Father Provincial and Bernard Bodra came to DNS on 2 July. The same evening Bernard was the main celebrant at the community Mass. The only thing missing were the drums and native Nigerian dances. Bernard was quizzed by all in the community during recreation and supper. K.C. Anthony sent a jeep load of plants along with Father Provincial on 23 July- for Chandankiyari. George Fernandes chaired the DNS Principals Meet on the Saturday of the 3ed week of July. The meeting was at Digwadih. After the meeting was over the Principals, vice-principals and Jesuit Community partook of a substantial meal thanks to Br. Amal. De Nobili Branch Schools To be typed The month was buzzing with various types of activities, some not very welcome. On 27 th June the workers of De Nobili, CMRI, unable to change their old habits, took procession from the school to De Nobili Bhavan, shouting slogans 'George Fernandes Murdabad! Thank God, so far I am still alive! However the administration of the school, going on the offensive, served them show cause notice for disturbing educational atmosphere. At present the things are quiet and let us hope they confine to be so. For the first time all the branch Schools had common exams for all classes, except for LKG and UKG. The overall impression was good and most felt that it is a step in the right direction. Being the first time there were some minor shortcomings, which we hope to rectify in future.
The annual Inter-Nobilian Football tournament was held at De Nobili School, Mugma. In all 8 teams participated. While DNS Mugma had to be content with second position, DNS FRI was the Champion all the way. George Fernandes, SJ Jesu Bhavan On 30 th June evening, ten young men, four for Delhi and six for Jamshedpur, arrived at the novitiate and began their probation. Almost all of them were affected by flu and malaria fever. The second years too suffered from the same with patience. The beadle was the last one to fall after serving the sick brothers with courage. Finally, the Master himself was victim of the disease and was down with severe pain in the lower spinal cord. With God s blessing everybody was up to his feet for the cassockday, which was on 24 July. This day began with the Holy Mass offered by the socius. The white cassocks created a solemn atmosphere of oneness in the Lord. Later during the day the first years proved that they are fully fit to be with seniors by defeating them in the football field with a margin of 4-1. Fr. Fabian went to the Ursuline Hospital, Konbir Noatoli, to be with his sick mother and sister-in-law who were admitted there. They are now better and back home. Sch. Xavier Tuti was here for a month and now in Dumka for better treatment of back pain. Our paddy fields still wait for much needed rain for the saplings to grow. PHOTO
Loyola School, BBSR The end of the last month was a transition period for the school. Tony P was given a fond farewell and Eric Cassel a warm welcome to the school. Many of the teachers broke down when the much-delayed news about the transfer of Tony P was officially announced on the last day of the five-day workshop for the teachers. The farewell message by the teachers and students brought out the many fold qualities of Tony P. They described him as a man of the Magis. His last few days in Bhubaneswar were spent mainly in attending farewell dinners. On June 28 many of the teachers and parents came to see him off at the railway station. Even the sky was so emotional that it gave way to heavy showers! Eric was welcomed with fragrant flowers, sweet smiles and words of expectations. He began on a good note, "change of principal, but not of principles"! His keen interest in academics keeps the teachers on their toes to be up to date in their teaching. In spite of regular pain in his left knee, he is seen making rounds on the corridors to ensure strict discipline throughout the day. On July 4, Eric s birthday was celebrated at many levels by students, staff and the Jesuit community here. "He is still young in heart", the teachers commented as they enjoyed the delicious birthday cake. Odd time transfers of our parents in the government sectors have forced several of our students to move out of Bhubaneswar rather reluctantly. Nevertheless, vacant seats are being filled up day by day. Preparations for Loyola Day are in full swing. Eric is taken up by the enthusiasm of the teachers and students.
Loyola had the company of several guests and visitors in the last few weeks. Pius Fernades dared the heat to spend a couple of days here helping Eric to brush up his driving skills on the Sumo and Hero Honda. Thanks to the encouragement of Pius. Eric is back on the Bike after 20 years! Fr. Augustine Topno from Chakradharpur was here last month to pursue his migration certificate from the University. Br. Wency spent two fruitful days training the school choir to sing Soldier Saint in preparation for the feast of St Ignatius. The response was so overwhelming that he felt emboldened to teach it to every class! Thanks, Wency, for adding one more hymn to our repertoire! In spite of his short and busy schedule at Bhubaneswar, Provincial James Kalapura took some time out to visit Loyola on 17 and 19 July to encourage the team here. The Jam-Nigywala, Bernard Bodra, who accompanied James, seems to have been impressed by the building here. He was seen capturing the building from all possible angles in his digital camera! Along with his teaching and administration, Vally is busy supervising the last phase of the building work. The new Basketball Court and the Football posts are under construction. The standby tube well promises abundant water. Even though completion of the junior block is expected before the feast of St Ignatius, the financial constraints and the slow moving mechanism of the workers seem to cross the deadline as usual!! Vally Mendonca Loyola Jamshedpur On July 6, Vatta accompanied a small group of Alumni Doctors to Dalbhumgarh to conduct a Medical Camp for the villagers of that area. The doctors examined about three
hundred patients of all kinds and gave them free medicine. Saby had the privilege of attending a two-day workshop on Excellence in Education, which was organized by the TATAs for the school principals of Jamshedpur. Loyola lost Veenit Soni of Class 11 who died of a motor bike accident on his way home from a study centre. Fr. Bernard Bodra came from Nigeria and Fr Charles Borges from Loyola Baltimore, both on a home visit, stopped for a few days at our community and then went on visiting other places in the province. Bro. Maxim D mello from Mumbai stopped at Loyola on his way to Ranchi for the Brothers meeting. He spoke to the candidates on Effective Leadership in Religious Life and Life as a Lay Person. On the 1 st Sunday of July, Manoj, the assistant Coordinator of JYOTI, accompanied the teachers and a group of students from Andhra Association School to visit Holy Cross School, Tuidungri. There they received the poor students from the nearby villages and distributed notebooks and other materials for their use. This gesture of kindness was highly appreciated by the villagers and the school authorities. C. Gautam LCE After a prolonged period of uncertainty and anxiety with regard to the affiliation of the college, the recent outcomes of the court case have brought a sigh of relief to all who are associated with the college. The Ranchi University to which the college has been affiliated exceeded its jurisdiction and arbitrarily "de-affiliated" the church administered B Ed colleges under the university including Loyola College of Education on May 8, 2003. These were the only B Ed colleges operating in
Jharkhand State. The college authorities tried their best to settle the issue amicably with the university. Disappointed by the negative attitude of the university they had to knock the doors of the Jharkhand High Court in March 2003. 0n July 18 th the Hon ble High Court disposed off the writ application by the colleges as Ranchi University withdrew the impugned notification of de-affiliation. The court also directed the university to conduct the pending B Ed examination of batch 2001-02 and 2002-03 within three months of the order. We are deeply grateful to our own Jesuit advocate Fr. K. M. Joseph, SJ of Patna Province for his concerted efforts and invaluable services as well as to all our friends and well-wishers for their prayers and support. Throughout all these difficult times Victor kept his cool and remained very optimistic. The entrance test for the admission of the fresh batch was held on July 26, 2003. Earlier in May Victor attended the JEA and AIACHE meetings in Goa and Bangalore. Gilbert organized two 12 days workshops for 2 nd year and 1 st year B Ed students of IGNOU in the college. Tarunoday, Ranchi This year Tarunoday enjoys the company of forty-six Jesuits of which seventeen are first year theologians, the biggest number Tarunoday ever had. The year began with a weeklong orientation program for the first years conducted by the staff, which was followed by an inspiring retreat directed by Fr Barry from Hazaribagh. During the orientation Fr Ignatius Tete, our superior, made us feel at home with his welcoming tone. Fr Tom Venad, RTC Director, highlighted the RTC thrust in South Asian Assistancy, particularly in Ranchi. Two women religious and a few lay persons were invited to share their experiences and expectations of priests today.
Their genuine openness put us on the right track to priesthood. On 5 th July, the inauguration of academic year 2003-04 began with the Eucharistic celebration. The main celebrant, Fr C R Prabhu, shared his experiences and reflections on the theme Finding God in Jal, Jungal and Jameen. Fr Hans Hendricks from Hazaribagh gave the inaugural address. A number of guests were invited for this occasion, including Mr Benjamin Lakra, the first Adivasi Accountant General of Jharkhand. On 12 th July, the five Provincials of Central Zone and the members of BAGAICHA came for a day for their annual meeting. Please note the change in telephone number of Tarunoday 2450304 Tepasai The month of July witnessed Fr. Tony Bara and Sch. Anil Dang busy with school examination. They also kept themselves busy in beautifying the garden, greening up vegetables for the hostel and feeding the children with jackfruits. More than 35 boys and 16 girls were affected by the viral fever epidemic and suffered from cold and cough. Sr. Suzy and Anil managed to control this situation within four days time. Sunil and George are busy with the catechists and the village programme together with Sr. Pushpa. Sunil is organizing a "khasi" football tournament for the village youth of Tepasai and the nearby villages, and the final is scheduled for the 15 th of August. We are thankful to Vatta for the VCD
player and the new TV generously given by James Klapura s brother for the hostel. Through Vatta we will have a phone connection soon. As the preparation for the feast of St. Ignatius, the hostel kids are using their musical intelligence every evening. XIMB Abe is busy trying to raise funds and get speakers for the 15 th annual convention of the Association of the Indian Management Schools to be held at XIMB from August 22-24. The theme of the convention is Corporate Citizenship: Challenges for Business and Management Education. We expect about three hundred delegates and directors of various Business Schools. The office of the Bhubaneshwar Chapter of the National HRD network is established at XIMB. All the National HRD network activities of this region will now be organized from XIMB office. XIMB-CENDERET has prepared a complete database on the nature and extent of vulnerability of the food insecure households in Kalhandi, Bolangir and Nuapara districts for undertaking appropriate corrective measures. With the help of NGOs, CENDERET has already established Grain Banks in 59 most vulnerable villages. Panchayat level people s institutions have supported this project. XIMB has started a multi-crore project, called "Project Water". It is a collaborative effort between XIMB and Central Institute of Fresh water Aquaculture (CIFA) and funded by India-Canada Environment Facility. This project uses natural system of duckweed and fishponds (aquaculture based sewage treatment) developed by CIFA. The project includes various micro enterprises like horticulture, floriculture and pisci-culture. This pioneer project aims to contribute to India s capacity to promote environmentally sound development of land and water.
George Joseph, doing Ph.D. in Organizational Behaviour, joined the community for three months in order to make use of XIMB library for literature review. "XIMB library facility is superb and sitting in my room, I can access all books and articles written in OB area", says George Joseph. Wish you all success in your Ph. D. study. Oscar has assumed office of the treasure of the Orissa Jesuit Society. He scoters every morning to Loyola Bhavan to attend office. Principal Bene Kichingia of Loyola School, Baripada met with a minor accident and fractured his leg just after he returned from the Brothers meeting in Bangalore. Clement stepped in to keep the school going during his absence. Besides Clement and Bene, the school has four teachers. They have now nursery, KG and I. Classes are held in thatched roof sheds. Jesurajan comes weekends to teach managerial communication to our PGP I students. Because of his popularity as a communication expert, there was a strong appeal from PGP II and PGPRM students to Raj to take the same course for them too. However Raj had to turn down their request due to lack of time. VIPs James and Wency made brief visits to XIMB. XLRI CL George
After about months of summer vacation, the campus has again bounced back to life. There are about 185 freshers and 120 seniors on campus now. This year the intake of Business Management students have doubled from 60 to 120; while the number of PM & IR students remain the same (65). The number of Christian students have gone up from 32 last year to 54 this year. There are seven tribals among the 65 first year PM & IR students. The new Gents Hostel should, hopefully, be ready by August 15, 03 to accommodate the additional batch. There were 27 priests for the second MDP on Stewardship Skills Programme: 5 of them being our own Jesuit Province men and 3 from Jamshedpur Diocese. Bishop Felix Toppo, SJ inaugurated the programme on July 21, 03. Bishop Felix was also the main celebrant on July 31, 03 the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola. James Santanam is recuperating from the Knee jerk experience he had while playing football with the campus kids. With the support of the Town Services Division Of Tata Steel and the help from the Police administration, the auto rickshaw parked in front of XLRI entrance gate and the pan shops located there, have been relocated. So, in future, you might have an empty tomb feeling when you enter XLRI campus. The old MDP residence rooms, institute reception and the Tata Auditorium have a new interior look. You may experience the difference the next time you visit us. Augustine Ezhakunnel
courses Retreat for Priests at UPASANA, MANGO 08 13 Sep. ------- By Fr. Van SJ 27 Sep.- 02 Oct. ------ by Fr. C.R. Prabhu 12-17 Oct. -------- By Fr. Carl Dincher SJ 17-22 Nov. ------- by Abp. Henry D Souza Across the river Fr. Wargiss Kappammottil (PAT) died on 28.06.2003 at Nairobi. 86/63 Fr Ubaldo de Sa (Goa) died on 17.07.03 at Panjim. 86/67 Fr. Louis Raj Gnanadickam (Mdu) died on 25.07.2003 at Chennai. 89/62 Mrs Susanna mother of Fr Timothy Kiro and Sch Roshan Kiro died on 01.07.03 at Jampani. Fr. Stan Kujur s brother Tarcisius died in Soso on 13.07.2003. Fr Paul Tharaniyil (83) uncle of Fr James Tharaniyil died on 02.07.03. Fr Sushil Ekka s cousin and son were killed in a lightening in Mandar on 12.07.03. Fr Mathew Areeparambil s brother died on 1 st July, 03. Province office Secretary, Mrs B. Engineer s mother died in Mumbai on July 21, 03.
May the Risen Lord grant peace and life to all our departed brothers and sisters. Anniversaries 18 Aug Fr Kenneth M Judge 28 Aug Fr John E Holland BACK