Posted on 09/27/2010 5:42:18 AM PDT by markomalley
Cuneo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Fr. Andrea Gasparino, founder of the Contemplative Missionary Movement Fr. de Foucauld, passed away on Sunday 26 at around 6 am. He was 87 years and had suffered from worsening health conditions for the past month. He remained conscious and lucid until the end.
The community was founded as a Boys Town in Cuneo in 1951, to help orphaned children and homeless. The community’s work was greatly helped by the inclusion of consecrated sisters in 1955. In the 1960s, it opened its first missions in Brazil, Korea, and Madagascar, and today has spread to Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Russia and Albania. Having recognised itself in the principles of contemplation and mission expressed by Fr. de Foucauld, the community is now called the Contemplative Missionary Movement Fr. de Foucauld.
The funeral will be held Tuesday, September 28 at the Church of the Contemplative Missionary Movement Fr. de Foucauld. Fr. Gasparino had asked for the following words to be written in his tomb "prayer and love obtain the impossible", the spiritual message that has always guided his work and his community.
About the order he started (from EWTN):
A ZENIT DAILY DISPATCH
Here is the description of the Missionary Contemplative Movement "P. de Foucauld" which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. * * * Official name: Missionary Contemplative Movement "P. de Foucauld"
Identity: The purpose of the movement is contemplation in serving the poor, and is made up of fraternities whose members, men and women, live the contemplative dimension in the form of small monastic communities among the poor, with whom they share their lives, to be a sign of God's love among them, and to bring the love of Christ and the gift of prayer to them.
Headquarters:
Begin as a Group That Helped Street Children
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUNE 2006 (ZENIT)
Also known as: Centro Missionario "P. de Foucauld"
Established: 1951
History: The movement has its origins in a community to help street children founded in Cuneo as "Boys' Town" by Father Andrea Gasparino in the 1950s. The diocesan authorities issued their first approval in 1983. On June 14, 1990, the Pontifical Council for the Laity issued a decree recognizing the Movimento Contemplativo Missionario "P. de Foucauld" as an international association of the faithful of pontifical right.
The brothers and sisters receive their formation through a trial period lasting two years preparing them for their vows. Before they are sent to missions in the Third World, the consecrated members undergo a further six-year formation period.
Organization: The movement is governed by an executive council made up of two brothers and three sisters. In addition to the consecrated members, there are also the fraternity of families, friends and sympathizers.
Membership: The movement comprises 40 fraternities and is present in 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
Works: The movement manages canteens for the poor in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh; a workshop to train people to produce jute articles in Bangladesh; and people's schools and sewing schools.
Publications: Lettere dalle missioni, published every two months
Web site: www.centromissionario.org
Movimento Contemplativo Missionario "P. de Foucauld"
Corso Francia, 129
12100 Cuneo - Italy
Tel. (39) 0171-491-263 — Fax 0171-344-033
E-mail: cittildeiragazzi@centromissionario.org
© Copyright 2006 — Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]
ZE06061825
RIP.
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