On Friday, September 4^th, 2026, Fr. Mauro Loda returned to Rome after attending the Assembly of the Delegation of Spain-Morocco. 

Fr. Fabien Kalehezo T’Chiribuka will be back in Rome after a visit to the confreres of the Circumscription of Cameroon. His return is scheduled for Monday, September 7^th, 2026. 

Fr. Franciscus Xaverius Sudarmanto will be back in Rome after a visit to the confreres of the Circumscription of Indonesia. His return is scheduled for Monday, September 7^th, 2026. 

From September 8^th to October 2^nd, 2026, all members of the General Direction will gather for the 11^th General Council meeting. Items in the agenda include: reports on the visits to the circumscriptions; reports on the G.D.’s participation in conferences and assemblies of the circumscriptions; personnel and assignments; admissions to Perpetual Professions; admissions to candidacy for Holy Orders; review and planning of the Convegno per i responsabili delle Case di Formazione (Initial formation) in Parma, October 2026.

The biographical sketch of our late confrere Fr. Valerio Anzanello has been posted on the General Direction’s website. Fr. Alessandro passed away on July 11^th, 2026, at the Regional House in Izumisano, Osaka, Japan. The urn containing his ashes was placed in the Xaverian Cemetery in Izumisano.

Special thanks to Fr. Gabriele Ferrari for compiling the biography. We would also like to thank Fr. Gian Paolo Succufor designing the layout.

https://dg.saveriani.org/es/comunicazioni/pubblicazioni/in-memoriam/item/profilo-di-p-valerio-flavio-anzanello-sx

“Remember that on September 12^th you will celebrate 70 years of religious profession. You do remember that, don’t you?” A friendly voice delves into memories and celebrations. We live one day at a time, that is, focusing on the present. There is neither past nor future. Today… days, months, years… and so time continues to flow. Dear friend, I’m allergic to math. 

70 years: a story, a whole lifetime. A life like any other, with its failures and successes, its ups and downs, its moments of optimism and pessimism… While one voice – a voice that is always faithful – follows you and is always by your side whispering to you with love and mercy: “Take heart, do not be afraid – it is I; I am not a ghost – it's I.” And so you get back up – or rather, He lifts you up and walks with you  –  until the next you fall. 

How many of us were present on September 12^th, 1956, in San Pietro in Vincoli? Quite a few. How many of us are here now? I won’t mention any numbers or names, because I might leave someone out, and that person might regret my oversight. Some grew weary and stopped along the way. He chose to go to the Father’s house, and there he lives happily, rejoicing in the presence of the Holy Trinity.

How many of us were there? Quite a few. Yet, not so many as to justify tearing out the page of the Gospel that reads: “The harvest is ripe, but the workers are few.” There will always be few. And we suffer because of this. And we set out again, limping along – not out of spiritual weakness; the years pass and leave their mark. Then another friendly voice comes to encourage you: “Take heart, don’t be afraid –. Can’t you see that I, your Mother, am by your side?” We have a journey ahead of us, but perhaps the destination is near. And as the days go by, a refrains echoes with the words of Pope Leo: “I am a priest, a simple priest. I do not perform miracles…” (Rafael Piras s.x.)

“Go and offer your life”: this is a summary of the life plan that our three sisters – Olga Raschietti (83), Lucia Pulici (75) and Bernardetta Boggian (79) – tried to live out in their vocational and missionary journey. For us Xaverian sisters Missionaries of Mary, commemorating the anniversary of their violent death (September 7^th and 8^th, 2014) means celebrating the triumph of life – a life given to God in service to our brothers and sisters until the very end. Through their martyrdom, they acknowledged and celebrated the Lord’s faithfulness even in the most sad and obscure situations which may suddenly hit us. 

For us Xaverian Sisters - Missionaries of Mary, and for those who knew them, the witness of Olga, Lucia, and Bernadetta remains a living human and Xaverian testament: a call to give one’s life in the simplicity of daily existence, with a smile, an attentive gaze that welcomes everyone without judgment, a hand extended to those who are most vulnerable, and an authentic and simple word, spoken with the fervour that springs from faith in the Lord Jesus. This is a life that celebrates the “Glory” – that is, the “weight”, the constant presence of God in the existence of his children  – and brings hope to those who are alone, far, poor and rejected. 

Is this not what the Lord told us? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). We therefore have every reason to thank the Lord for His faithfulness in the lives of our sisters and in those of many other missionaries who were willing to lay down their lives so that the kingdom of God – a kingdom of love and justice – might flourish on earth. (Doriane Kadji m.m.x.) 

(Italian investigators are closing in on those responsible for the murder of the three Xaverian sisters. – Below, the links to two Italians newspapers: )

https://www.corriere.it/cronache/26_agosto_27/tre-suore-uccise-burundi-delitti-1beef228-8b3b-4507-90c5-d1b4b0e1fxlk.shtml

https://www.gazzettadiparma.it/cronaca/2026/08/28/video/suore-trucidate-in-burundi-riaperta-l-inchiesta-nuove-testimonianze-964215/

Olga, Lucia, Bernardette, God chose you to be His witnesses is the title of a song composed by the Xaverian sister Missionary of Mary Jacqueline Marie Niyitangavyose to honour the life and witness of the three sisters murdered at the parish in Kamenge, Bujumbura, Burundi (September 7^th and 8^th, 2014). 

The Star of the World Choir in Nyambujye (one chapel of the parish in Kamenge) has made an audio recording of this song. Our confrere, Fr. Cassien Nshimirimana, has created a videoclip to accompany the recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTlq5rA0b0M

On Monday September 1, 2026, in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chanceline MILENGE IRAGI passed away. Mrs Chanceline is the sister of our confrere Kizito MILENGE KISHINGANINE, a member of the Douala Xaverian community in Cameroon. Email: [email protected]

On Friday, September 4, 2026, Mrs. Teresa Mastrotto, mother of our confrere Fr. Sergio Boscardin, passed away in Arzignano (at a nursing home), Vicenza, Italy. She had just turned 104. Fr. Sergio Boscardin is a member of the Xaverian community in Vicenza, Italy: [email protected]