Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort Seminary
8 rue du Docteur Picard - 49640 Morannes sur Sarthe
sajm.secretariat@gmail.com


Dear Friends and Benefactors,

This letter replaces bulletin #12 of the Seminary which should have been published before Christmas. Indeed, our dear Seminary is quite tried at the moment: you have probably learned that Bishop Faure, who has been suffering from the virus, has been hospitalized since November 24. A seminarian, a layman who helps at the seminary and Father Trincado also caught it, but they are cured; a German nun who joined our Oblate sisters had to be hospitalized for a few days; one of the people who takes care of the bulletin is also hospitalized. We entrust them all to your good prayers at the Crib: may the grace of Advent and Christmas enlighten all our souls.

At the beginning of June, the Bishop went to Switzerland to join in the joy of our Swiss friends who were celebrating the 60th anniversary of the priesthood of Father Pierre EPINEY, parish priest of Riddes/Ecône since 1967; he supported and encouraged Archbishop Lefebvre a lot in the beginning of the seminary of Ecône.

Since his ordination to the priesthood in June, Father Chirico has gone twice on mission to Switzerland, to learn and grow alongside Father Epiney and to strengthen his priestly community for a few days. He celebrated Holy Mass, confessed, and gave some conferences on Padre Pio. He was to return to Riddes to preach a retreat at Christmastime, but the absence of Bishop Faure made his presence at the seminary imperative, and did not allow him to participate in this apostolic work.

In July, our Oblate sisters went to assist Father Grenon, from Riddes, for a ten-day camp for girls in the Alps in the south of France. Mr. Perez [seminarian] was responsible for the long hours of driving to Morannes and the French-Swiss border where the camp was held.

At Nazareth (the name of the house of our Oblate sisters), work went well during the summer, thanks to the hard work of a parishioner who specializes in construction work
renovation, and thanks to the help of seminarians and a young parishioner. A tiny but beautiful oratory all of stones and wood, was the fruit of their hard work, and, on September 15 on the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, the patronal feast of the Oblates of the SAJM, Bishop Faure was able to celebrate the first Mass there and install the Blessed Sacrament in the home of the Sisters. What a joy for the Oblates to have Our Lord Himself in their midst! Thank you again to all of you who so generously contributed to the purchase and and renovation of this little convent. From now on, the daily Holy Mass is celebrated in Nazareth by Fr. Chirico, and the Divine Office is recited by the Sisters.

On September 23, a German nun knocked on the door of Nazareth to ask to share the life of our Oblate sisters. God's ways are inscrutable and marvelous that led her to make this decision. She will receive the habit of the Oblate Sisters of the SAJM as soon as His Excellency returns. Then, at the end of October, two young girls came forward to discern their vocation away from the world. They follow a strict rule of life which allows them to evaluate the demands of religious life. So there are five of them, now at Nazareth. Blessed be God! We turn to St. Joseph with confidence that he will provide them with their daily bread and help us to meet the maintenance expenses, especially the repair of the roof of the outbuilding, which will allow us to consider additional rooms in the attic of this large building.

At the beginning of September, Father Bruno OSB preached the first retreat of the year. We welcomed three new French seminarians; several others would have liked to come from abroad, but had to give up because of administrative constraints; a New Zealand aspirant is accompanying Father Mc Donald in his apostolate in New Zealand. At the end of September, Bishop Faure went to the Czech Republic and Austria, at the request of Fr. Fuchs, to administer the sacrament of confirmation to twenty-seven candidates and to bless a new chapel.

Due to the restrictions on freedom of travel caused by the Covid event, a seminary was opened not far from the Benedictine monastery of Bishop Thomas Aquinas and under his direction. It already welcomes six candidates. These seminarians will be incardinated into the SAJM. For the sake of these seminarians, Bishop Faure has made the sacrifice of sending Rev. Mr. Nass, a deacon, back to Brazil. Rev. Mr. Nass should be ordained a priest in France in 2022. He assures us that regularity and piety reign in the seminary. Rev. Mr. Nass will be ordained, God willing, on March 19.

This year, Bishop Faure decided that, for the formation of new seminarians, the year of spirituality would be held in Morannes. The courses are given by Frs. Trincado, Chirico and Perez. The other seminarians continue to follow the courses of philosophy and theology at the Convent of Avrillé, with our Dominican friends.

Unfortunately, the ordination of two sub-deacons, scheduled for December 24, will have to be postponed, pending the recovery of Bishop Faure, whom we recommend to your fervent prayers.

Dear Friends, we count on your spiritual and material support so that the work of the seminary will emerge from this ordeal more fervent and even more confident in divine Providence.

The midnight mass at the Seminary will be celebrated for the intentions of all our Friends and benefactors. May our divine Savior bless you all abundantly on this holy night,
as well as your families and all those who are dear to you!
___________________

Note from the bursar: We will have to honor a part of the hospitalization expenses of our sick. May Saint Joseph help us! A very big thank you to all who have supported us this year with their donations, without which we would not have been able to continue to provide this priestly formation for future priests of Catholic Tradition. We pray for you every day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and during the rosary that closes the work day. Our gratitude to you knows no bounds.

Our two associations can issue a tax receipt (to be requested at the time of the donation, by mail for the checks or by e-mail for the transfers - by indicating your postal address + date and amount of the transfer). This receipt entitles you to a tax reduction of 66% of the amount of the donation. The secretariat can give you details.  The association Séminaire SLMGM can also receive legacies free of tax.

Address for sending checks:
8 rue du Dr Picard, 49640 Morannes-sur-Sarthe.

OPERATION OF THE SEMINARY :
Order for checks: Assoc. Friends of Mgr Freppel
IBAN : FR76 1790 6000 3296 3760 87 68 694
BIC : AGRIFRPP879

FORMATION OF SEMINARIANS - MINISTRY OF PRIESTS - WORSHIP
Order for cheques: Assoc. Seminary of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort
IBAN : FR 76 1027 8394 2500 0215 2810 145
BIC : CMCIFR2A