Il seminario del Pime «Vidya Bhavan» di Pune in India ha celebrato nelle scorse settimane i 25 anni dalla sua inaugurazione, avvenuta il 6 gennaio 1994.
Venticinque anni durante i quali numerosi giovani indiani hanno compiuto qui alcuni momenti importanti della loro formazione all’apostolato missionario tra cui gli studi filosofici e l’anno di spiritualità. Per festeggiare questa ricorrenza si sono recati a Pune il superiore generale del Pime, padre Ferruccio Brambillasca, e padre Gabriel Amal Costa delegato per la formazione nella Direzione generale del Pime.
La giornata è stata scandita da una celebrazione eucaristica presieduta da padre Brambillasca insieme al superiore regionale del Pime per l’India padre Vijay Kumar Rayarala e alla comunità del seminario guidata dal rettore padre John Baskern. La festa è poi proseguita con una serata di animazione proposta dai seminaristi alla comunità locale, durante la quale è stata rappresentata la vita del beato Giovanni Battista Mazzucconi, primo martire del Pime, insieme ad alcuni canti e danze della cultura locale. La festa è stata anche l’occasione per ringraziare tutti quanti hanno permesso di far nascere e hanno sostenuto il seminario «Vidya Bhavan» in questi anni.
Qui sotto una cronaca in inglese e alcune immagini delle celebrazioni inviate dalla comunità del seminario
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To mark the 25th year of our Seminary PIME Vidya Bhavan, we as the community held 10th Feb as the day of celebration of Silver Jubilee. The seminary which was inaugurated on 6th January 1994 by the then Bishop of Pune, Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza completed its 25th year on 6th January 2019. Since the foundation of the seminary, several batches have completed three important steps of their formation journey i.e., philosophical studies, the year of spirituality and the year of regency, guided by the formation curriculum of this community.
The day of celebration began with the Holy Eucharist, celebrated by Fr. Ferruccio Brambillasca the Superior General, with the concelebrants, Fr. Gabriel Amal Costa, the councilor in-charge of formation of the institute, Fr. Vijay, the Regional Superior and other confreres working in India. In the homily, Fr. Ferruccio emphasized the missionary nature of the institute, which the seminary must inculcate in the minds of the young seminarians who undergo formation in PIME Vidya Bhavan. He emphasized that while the philosophical studies are important, they cannot be the sole aim of the formation community in Pune. He congratulated the community, Fr. John Baskern (Rector), Fr. Jeevan Kumar (vice rector) and Fr. Bhaktinath Sobhanayak (the spiritual director) and all the seminarians of PIME Vidya Bhavan for making it a special day and thanked all those who rendered their service as formators in PIME Vidya Bhavan.
A cultural programme was held in the evening in the seminary premises. The event had various persons as guests. We had the presence of Fr. Selva Rathinam SJ, the president of Jnana-Deepa Vidya Peeth, the Superiors of religious communities nearby, the Professors, the seminarians and nuns from different formation houses in and around JDV Campus. We began with a brief thanks-giving prayer service followed by various cultural events such as a skit based on the life of Bl. John Mazzucconi, a thematic mime, a folk song, the cultural dance called kolattam. We have felicitated the guests at the event. Fr. Ferruccio, as the chief guest, addressed the gathering. In his brief speech, he remembered the days in which he himself served in the seminary as the spiritual director. He took the occasion to thank several people whom he personally knew esp., the professors at JDV.
It was a fitting occasion for us the community members to thank all the people who had been instrumental in running the formation house from the moment of its construction, the list included all the previous rectors, spiritual directors, and the co-workers. We, in a special way, thanked the Holy Cross Fathers for having given a part of their campus land for the building of the seminary. A dinner was hosted at the end of the cultural programme.
The seminary of PIME Vidya Bhavan stood as a symbol of God’s blessings and the continuity of His work of evangelization.