tvc.dsj.org | February 19, 2019
COMMUNITY
3
Getting to Know Some of the Religious Communities in the Diocese of San Jose
By Liz Sullivan
Like patches on a quilt, each is
unique, yet sharing a common thread:
such are the religious communities
of women and men in the Diocese of
San Jose.
In addition to the Diocesan priests
and deacons who live and work here,
there are 29 religious communities of
women and 13 of men who either live
or work in the Diocese of San Jose.
Among the many communities
ministering in the Diocese are: Institute
of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest; In-
stitute of the Brothers of the Christian
Schools and the Sisters of Notre Dame
de Namur.
Canon Raphael Ueda, along with
a seminarian, are the representatives
of the Institute of Christ the King and
works at Immaculate Heart of Mary
Oratory at Five Wounds Church in
San Jose.
Here’s a description of his congrega-
tion and the ministry they are serving
in the Diocese.
“The priests of the Institute of Christ
the King, a society of apostolic life of
Pontifical Right, have since 2013 been
entrusted by Bishop Patrick McGrath
to staff the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Oratory at Five Wounds Church, which
serves as the center of the Extraordi-
nary Form of the Roman Rite for the
diocese,” said Canon Ueda. “We offer
a Mass and confessions every weekday
and offer three Masses on Sundays. Our
community is a decent size of about 200
people, but I believe it is very alive and
prayerful. To foster the necessary har-
mony between the spiritual, social and
cultural life of the faithful, we offer cat-
echism classes for children, teenagers’
groups, a young adult group, and the
Sacred Heart Society for lay Catholics.
We also have regular coffee social
hours and monthly Birthday cel-
ebration on Sundays. Silicon Valley is
known for its diversity of cultures, and
the people of the Oratory come from all
over the diocese and are composed of
very diverse ethnicities.”
For the 11 Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur in the Diocese of San Jose, the
connection to the Santa Clara Valley
goes back more than 150 years to the
early days of California.
The order of Institute of Brothers
of the Christian Schools has three
religious men who call San Jose home.
According to Brother Chris Patiño,
FSC, Director of Vocation Ministry,
District of San Francisco New Orleans:
“The De La Salle Christian Brothers
are a religious order composed solely
of vowed Religious Brothers dedicated
to the “human and Christian education
of the young, especially the poor,” he
said. “With more than 3,000 Brothers
worldwide, the Christian Brothers are
the largest order of religious brothers
in the Catholic Church.”
Brother Patiño continued: “The
Lasallian Catholic educational mission
is present in 78 countries around the
world, with Brothers and their Lasal-
lian Lay Partners serving more than
1 million young people. Founded in
1680 by Saint John Baptist de La Salle,
Patron Saint of Teachers, these vowed
religious men live their consecration
in community and through their evan-
gelizing educational mission. In the
East Bay/San Jose area, the Brothers
and Lasallian mission are present at
the following educational ministries:
Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High
School (Oakland), De La Salle High
School (Concord), Saint Mary’s College
High School (Berkeley), Saint Mary’s
College of California (Moraga), and
La Salle Vietnam House (San Jose).”
On February 16, the Diocese held
its annual Celebration of Consecrated
Life Mass at Bellarmine College Prep.
More than 40 men and women religious
celebrating jubilees were honored by
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, Bishop Os-
car Cantú and Bishop Carlos Sevilla.
Stay tuned for the March 5 issue of
The Valley Catholic for pictures and a
report from the Mass.
Settling in at Mundelein Seminary
By Liz Sullivan
It’s been a year-and-a-half since
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath announced
that seminarians in the Diocese of San
Jose would attend Mundelein Seminary
(also known as the University of Saint
Mary of the Lake) in the Archdiocese
of Chicago.
As the seminarians endure their
second winter in the Midwest, there is
a sense of a stronger bond among the
11 men currently studying there.
“Being at Mundelein has brought
us, Diocese of San Jose seminarians,
closer to one another, thanks to our
weekly “diocesan brothers nights”
(every Thursday) that provide us with
the opportunity to pray together as
seminarians of one diocese, and to
have fellowship with one another,” said
Robain Lamba, a Theology 3 seminar-
ian, who is expected to be ordained a
transitional deacon in July. “Spending
time with, and getting to know better
the men with whom, God-willing, I
will be ministering in the same presby-
terate, have strengthened my vocation.
The relationship we have now within
the seminarian group is a small step yet
crucial toward fostering priestly frater-
nity and forming powerful presbyteral
unity in the future.”
Since the creation of the Diocese
in 1981, seminarians had been sent to
Saint Patrick’s Seminary and Univer-
sity in Menlo Park. Prior to the Diocese
ordaining two priests, Father Gabriel
Lee and Father Khoa Vo in 2017 the
Diocese hadn’t had a priestly ordina-
tion since 2014.
In the interim, Bishop McGrath
convened a special committee headed
up by Monsignor J. Patrick Browne to
look at the needs of the Diocese while
also conducting a national search for
the seminary that would best address
those needs.
In February of this year, the Bishop,
with the recommendations from the
committee, made the decision to send
the eight seminarians to Mundelein,
57 miles northwest of Chicago. It was
originally founded in 1844; reopened in
1921, the seminary serves 46 dioceses
from eight different countries. The
seminary is named for Cardinal George
Mundelein, who led the Archdiocese
from 1916-1939.
Cardinal Mundelein did succeed in
establishing a place with world-class
expertise in theology, liturgy and
pastoral formation with past rectors in-
cluding now-Bishop Robert Barron and
current professors like Dr. Scott Hahn.
“Studying with more than 200
other young men is an affirming and
inspiring experience. I am moved to
see these young men from all around
the country dedicate their lives to
Christ and see their faith increase my
Robain Lamba
Manuel Barrios
faith,” said Manuel Barrios, Theology 1
seminarian. “Thanks to their example
and the formation faculty, I believe I
have grown spiritually and pastorally.
I look forward to one day, God willing
as a priest; to bring with me what I’ve
learned in the seminary back to the
people of San Jose.”
The weekend of February 8-10 saw
34 men participate in a Men’s Discern-
ment Weekend at Saint Lawrence Par-
ish. On June 1, the Diocese will ordain
John Hoang and Victor Trinidad to the
priesthood; the third straight year for
priestly ordination.
Lamba added something everyone
who has experienced a Midwest winter
or two can appreciate.
“Being at Mundelein has also in-
creased in us a deeper longing for our
home diocese, the Diocese of San Jose,
and a better appreciation of Santa Clara
County weather,” he said.
For more biographies and ways to
support our seminarians please visit,
www.dsj.org/vocations/vocations-
office/meet-our-seminarians or email
[email protected].
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