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The Assumption of Mary
On August 15 the Church celebrates the feast of
the Assumption of Our Lady. Together with St
Paul, Mgr Joseph De Piro chose Mary Assumed into
Heaven as the patroness of our Missionary
Society.
Here we list the times when our Founder referred
to Mary’s Assumption in relation to our Society.
In 1909 De Piro was preparing for the foundation
of his Society. On 1st August of that
year he prepared a draft of the formula to be
read by the future members as they pronounced
their religious profession. Here he made
reference to Our Lady. He actually called her:
"Beata Vergine Assunta in Cielo".
On 12th June 1910 Archbishop Peter
Pace opened and blessed the first House of the
Society, in Mdina. During his welcoming speech
to His Excellency the Founder again refers to
Mary: "Madre Nostra Maria Assunta in Cielo",
De Piro mentions her again in his intervention
during the Society’s Council meeting of 17th
April 1928. Here the Founder invited his
assistants, Frs Joseph Spiteri and Michael
Callus, to discuss the opening of a novitiate
for the Brother Catechists at St Joseph’s
Institute, Malta. On 4th August 1928
the Servant of God and his General Council chose
the 15th of August, Feast of the
Assumption of Our Lady, as the day for the
opening of the new novitiate. This was to be
dedicated to the "Beata Vergine Assunta". In the
Acts of this meeting, the Secretary of the
Council added that Mary Assumed into Heaven was
the "Patrona Principale della Compagnia". De
Piro himself approved and signed these Acts.
In the following Council meeting, on 11th
August 1928, the Founder asked his assistants to
discuss the opening of a boarding house, for the
aspirants of the Society. This was to be housed
at the B’Kara Oratory. The name of this Centre
was not determined during that meeting. In the
Council meeting of 15th February 1929
this house for aspirants was clearly referred to
as the "Educandato Santa Maria". The Maltese
title 'Santa Maria' refers to Mary's Assumption.
In the "Saint Paul: Almanac of the Institute of
the Missions", De Piro showed more than once
that the members celebrated annually the feast
of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven,
- "… in the chapel we celebrate her
feast under the title of the Assumption, a title
which has brought new graces on the Institute."
- Ten years later he writes again: "In
our Missionary Institute we also tried to offer
flowers to Our Lady by means of a literary
academy among the students who are housed there
(at the Oratory, B’Kara). We concluded with a
resolution to make heard our small voice to the
Bishop to place another pearl in the crown of
Mary Our Most Holy Mother through the dogmatic
definition of the glorious Assumption of Mary
..."
A year later, reflecting on this occasion, he
added: "Therefore we too chose her as our
most cherished patroness, we who since the
beginning of the Institute felt Mary’s help.
Since the Institute had its beginning in the
island of Saint Paul, we felt that we could not
do better than venerate her under a very ancient
custom in Malta when, under the title "Santa
Marija" her assumption into heaven is celebrated
throughout the whole place.
And when in the course of development of the
Institute we came to open the Boarding house at
the Oratory of B’kara, we could not find a
better name than that of Santa Marija. We also
dedicated the first academy we held at the
Boarding House in honour of the Blessed Virgin,
since it was also the year of the centenary of
the Council of Ephesus. Before concluding that
very dear meeting we adopted a resolution to ask
the Bishop, in our smallness, to ask the Pope to
advance the dogmatic definition of the
Assumption of the Blessed virgin , how and when
he sees it fit.”
Tony
Sciberras mssp |
