Letter of Br. Ramon Bereicua Basauri from Japan to Br. Giovanni Bigotto, Postulator General

A grace obtained by the brother François

Dear Brother Bigotto,

You must be waiting for this report which should have been in your hands long ago. I hasten to include some initial details of a letter sent by Mrs.

Cheryl Yamamoto. In it you will find what happened to her daughter Naomi Yamamoto who is a student at our school. Her mother is also the nurse at our school.

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Dear Bro. Ramon,

I am so sorry for the long delay for the response. I was trying to get all the information together before I wrote it. I will write the dates and times.

Naomi came to school as usual and after school was, over left the school grounds to return home. While at school Naomi had complained of a headache.

On the way home she just sat on the floor at the railway station saying she had a cramp in her legs. Later in the evening she complained of severe back pain and of not being able to feel her legs and hands. I took her to an emergency hospital but they could not find anything wrong. All through the night sher cried that her back was hurting and that she was in pain. I took her to another hospital and they, too, could not find anything wrong. On May 19th 2006 at the Osaka City General Hospital, one doctor had an idea of what must be wrong. By this time Naomi could not move her body nor her hands and legs. She was paralyzed. The hospital did an MRI and found she had Transverse Myelitis or a cancer on the spine but as the symptoms were so suddened it may not be cancer. Naomi was on very strong pain killers and steroids. She was on lots of drugs and the doctors did say that even when she got better after the acute stage that she would be paralyzed. I prayed and prayed and Naomi was on so many prayer groups asking for the mercy of God and many novenas asking for the power of healing. Then Brother Ramon asked me to join him in a special novena to Brother Francois to obtain a cure. I did the novena and the prayer for her and so I firmly believe that the power of prayer is the cause of her present health. Naomi still has scar tissue on her spine and suffers from some mild paralysis but she is back at school leading a normal life. I want to acknowledge the miracle of healing to be recognized as a miracle. Please do tell me just where I must write to get the healing be a miracle attributed to Brother Francois. May God bless you all and THANK YOU for all the prayers.

Yours very sincerely in Christ,

Mrs Cheryl Yamamoto

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Dear Bro. Bigotto, for me this is certainly an extraordinary cure due to Brother Francis. I dont know whether it makes a miracle but to see the little girl back at school leading almost a normal life is a sign for all of us that Brother Francois is eagerly wanting to grant us favours from heaven.

Lets continue praying to him. Best regards to one and all at EUR.

Sincerely in J.M.J.

Bro. Ramon Bereicua Basauri fms

The names of our confrères in the wall of the Just

The just of France enter the pantheon

It is written in letters of stone on the front wall of the Pantheon: “To great men, the grateful homeland.” The Just of France, who contributed to the rescue of numerous Jews at the worst moment of the night of consciousness, deserves this recognition of the Homeland.

On the 18th January, by unveiling a plaque in the crypt of the Pantheon, the President of the Republic gave them their legitimate place with the great men of our country. This tribute, highlighted by the installation of photos and films produced by Agnès Varda, follows by a few months the inauguration of the Wall of the Just, on the 14th June 2006, at the memorial of Shoah (17 r. Geoffroy l’Asnier, Paris 4°). On this wall are engraved the names of 2646 “Just” from France who saved Jews during the Second World War. We read there the names of our confrères: André BAGNY (Brother Louis), l’Arbresle; Brother François ANGYAL, Budapest; Brother Jean Baptiste BONETBELTZ, Budapest; Brother Bernard CLERC, Budapest; Alexandre HEGEDUS (Brother Joseph), Budapest; Brother Albert PFLEGER, Budapest; Brother Louis PRUCSER, Budapest, Ferdinand FISCHER, Budapest et Ladislas PINGICZER, Budapest. These names are also found in the Garden of the Just, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

This information is taken from the small volume “France honours its just” which has just appeared.

The text of the plaque in honour of the Just: “Under the cope of hatred and of night fallen on France in the years of occupation, some lights, in their thousands, refused to be extinguished. Named Just among the Nations or remaining anonymous, women and men of all origins and of all conditions saved Jews from anti-Semitic persecutions and extermination camps. Braving incurred risks, they incarnated the honour of France, its values of justice, of tolerance and of humanity.”

Mrs Simone Veil, whose family underwent so many trials, could, better than anyone, measure the courage of those who were against the situation: “The Just are not men and women by chance, even it is sometimes only necessary for one meeting, one circumstance to precipitate destiny.

What they have in common, is this part of humanity, this part of madness even faced with danger, that ensures that nothing resists the call of the other, neither interest, nor fear, nor selfishness. By sheltering children in their houses or in their farms, by opening their churches or their convents to entire families, by organising escapes from internment camps (…), these citizens saved thousands of Jews.” 14th June 2006

Tsunami Strikes a Marist School

Tsunami in Solomon Islands

At 07.40 (local time) on the morning of Monday April 2nd, a severe earthquake occurred in the Solomon Islands. At a strength of about 8 on the Richter scale, it was centred 45 kilometres from the Island of Gizo in the north of the Solomon Islands.

About 25 kilometres across the water, north-east from Gizo, at Vanga Point on Kolombangara Island is located a Marist school community. [See Photo]. It consists of St.Dominic’s Rural Training School, Vanga Teachers College, and the St. Marcellin Primary School, opened only in 2006. It is a community of about 260 people, students, teachers and their families, a part of the Marist District of Melanesia.

The tsunami that resulted from the earthquake caused the sea to rise about four metres. Fortunately, there was no loss of life at our school. The school’s supply boat fortunately was at sea at the time, and escaped destruction. The school’s wharf has been destroyed, as well as some damage to buildings. There have been subsequent earth tremors, some as big as 6.7. In addition to causing further damage to already weakened buildings, they are causing much anxiety for the people.

The situation of our school was fortunate in that much of the school is built on high ground back from the sea shore. Many villages in the region are not so fortunate. When a village is located on a small tropical atoll which is barely above sea level, there is no high ground to which to escape. Latest reports have the death toll at 22 people, with over 5,000 made homeless. Because communications to, and within the region, are poor, it is expected that the loss of life will increase much higher. For a country with limited resources, the tsunami is indeed a disaster.

The General Administration, acting through BIS, is in contact with the Brothers at Vanga Point to see what assistance will be required.

In this Holy Week, as we journey with the Suffering Jesus, in solidarity we journey also with the suffering people of the Solomon Islands.

Provincial Assembly “One Heart, One Mission”

Province of West Central Europe

On the weekend of the 23rd – 25th February, the Provincial meeting of “One Heart, One Mission” was held in the Benedictine Monastery of Rixensart (Belgium). Nineteen brothers and laypeople were able to be present: fifteen delegates of local groups as well as three members of the Provincial Council and a translator.

During some months in the five countries of our Province there were about one hundred and twenty people in eleven local groups which met and shared their reflection on the Marist Mission. The Provincial meeting allowed the participants to share openly about the discoveries and convictions of each of the groups and to express recommendations for the future of the Marist Mission.

The times of prayer and conviviality as well as the welcome offered by the sisters helped us to feel at ease and to have a joyous experience of being part of one same family.

All were unanimous in saying how the local phase was for them enriching; many were impressed by the extent of the Marist mission throughout the world and, still more, were profoundly touched by the currency of the charism of Marcellin Champagnat.

During this assembly, we were able to see the diversity of expressions of the Mission with young people: in the school or parish context, that of former students and of Marist Fraternities, or still other structures such as boarding schools, accompaniment of young adults in difficulty or animation of retreats. Each time the need was stressed for a presence of attentive adults to arouse life and to open new pathways for young people. Marcellin’s faith in God and his confidence in Mary appeared to us as bases on which we are called to “build a house” for all young people, a space where each can find his or her place.

A true partnership, brothers and laypeople together in the mission, was highlighted as an important challenge, as much as a richness to promote at all levels. This supposes a new type of relationship where each person gives and receives, where real co-responsibility is experienced.

We felt the urgency to offer the charism of Champagnat to all the participants in the Marist mission, in particular to the young teachers who work in the schools where we are still present, to the members of Fraternities and to the parents of the students. We expressed the need to put in place formation programmes in order to share our richness.

Though sensitive to the needs of developing countries and to the Mission Ad Gentes project in Asia, we remain convinced of the need for “Marists” in Europe where the distress of young people is manifested in a spiritual and affective vacuum. But, at the same time, the education of young people in solidarity and justice has been revealed to be a value to be encouraged, as a bridge to be built between our affluent countries and the developing countries. There also everyone has something to give and to receive.

These are some of the subjects that were covered and about which the participants were enthusiastic. At the end of the meeting, we left full of gratitude for the very fraternal climate of the meeting and the encouragement received to live the mission with a new impetus. Already we are looking to the European meeting which will take place in Spain next July, before that of Brazil where delegates from the entire Marist Institute will gather in September.

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