The Feast… prepared… by Providence

We lived this experience in the reality of our parish of Tavannes CH on the commemoration of the bicentenary of the birth of our venerable and beloved father Gregory.

For some time, we have been asking ourselves the question of how and when to live this moment of ecclesial and congregational life which is so important and meaningful for us. How to make the parish community, which still has difficulty in reconstituting itself after the pandemic, to participate and be interested? Divine Providence comes to meet us, traces the path and guides us lovingly.

The date? Solemnity of Corpus Domini: feast of the Eucharist! The Eucharist that he loved so much, from which he drew courage, fidelity, prudence, humility and a spirit of sacrifice.

The parish priest, Hilaire Mitendo, enthusiastically supports the initiative and proposes that during the procession with the Blessed Sacrament, one of the four stops be dedicated to Father Gregory.

Preparations and awareness are in full swing; we sisters work with alacrity so that the feast is an opportunity to make our founder known and loved. Many people collaborate so that everything contributes to praising Jesus in the Eucharist and at the same time, the figure of Father Gregory is made known and he, Father Gregory, is the main actor throughout the preparation phase. "Father Gregory we need many flower petals, flowers to decorate the four altars that are used for the procession ..., we need ears of wheat ...,” Here he is making himself present through Providence. We go to the valley's supermarkets to ask for flowers, we explain what they are for (this also becomes evangelization) and on Saturday evening, the eve of the celebration, the managers of the supermarkets present us with carts full of flowers: we have the joy of seeing the baskets full of fragrant and multicolored petals. We knock on the doors of friends who with great generosity and joy tell us to pick as many roses as we want. The hands of Benedetta, the girl who accompanies us in the project, are full of crashes provoked by having cut so many roses with scissors: "Here is Benedetta, in the future, when you are older, you will know how to do it and how beautiful it is to contribute to give glory to Jesus in the Eucharist !!!"

And the flowers for the altars? Here is the Montavon family traveling with care along the "Clos du Doubs" to catch "the Queen of the forest". "Father Gregory we need about seventy ears of wheat" for the offertory moment ... here is the farmer we contacted arrives early Saturday morning with a bunch, happy to contribute to the feast.

Sunday morning everything is ready, we celebrate Jesus in the Eucharist and his humble and faithful servant. Holy Mass begins with the procession. First Communion children dressed in white dress spread the flowers with veneration, the assembly, accompanied by two guitars, sings and praises the glory of the Lord, the altar boys reverently carry the incense, and the parish priest carries the monstrance with deep devotion. Great and profound is the participation of the faithful who came from the three parishes for the solemn celebration. Everything takes place in an atmosphere of prayer, recollection, and praise. At the fourth stop, we sisters briefly introduce Father Gregory, a man of incomparable human and spiritual greatness and total trust in Divine Providence.

At the end of the Holy Mass all the participants receive, a short biography and prayer to Father Gregory, then we all meet in the parish hall for the projection of a power point illustrating our beloved Father Gregory. Then the well-deserved refreshment.

Participants are astounded and amazed by the heroism of our Founder, his fidelity, his unshakable faith and his filial abandonment to the divine Providence. Several people approach us to get more detailed information on the life of the venerable father and of our congregation and intend to have recourse to him in prayer.

With immense gratitude, we can sing the wonders of Providence.

Praise and glory to you Lord Jesus who made us live an intense moment of ecclesial and congregational life!!!

The sisters of the “Saint Jean XXIII” community of TAVANNES

Testimony of Mr. Bernard Füeg - president of the parish assemblies.

On Sunday June 2022, at the parish of Tavannes, the faithful commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of the venerable Father Gregory Fioravanti, founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

A celebration, that of this Sunday, organized with care and love by the parish priest Fr Hilaire Mitendo, by Sister Beniamina, Sister Deepthi, Bernard Koller, co-president of the Parish Council, the deacon Gaby Noirat, the pastoral animator Jean-Louis Crétin as well also our  artistic sacristans Linda and Sandy Müller and the gifted   altar boys.

This anniversary was "merged" well with the procession and the Holy Mass of Corpus Domini. An exceptional moment of recollection, where the Holy Spirit blew like a gentle breeze that settled magnanimously and in a solemn way on all the participants.

In fact, each participant, through prayers and the expression of a radiant face, with solemnity and profound conviction, expressed his faith in the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was a moment that truly unique, gratifying and with full of gratitude.

The beautiful idea of involving the children of the First Communion, the "Santa Cecilia" choir, the organist, two guitarists, Jean Louis and Diego Polato, as well as the children of the choir led by Sister Beniamina contributed much   making this ceremony a magnificent religious event.

As a wonderful gift then: a radiant sun cheered us up and a panel of flowers rich in colors, as if it were a carpet, crowned and colored this historic moment for our church.

To complete and enhance the bicentennial event, in the parish hall, there was a power point presentation that the sisters had prepared. It indeed gave a magnificent retrospective on the life and spiritual journey of the venerable Founder and the work he began, starting right from its institution to this day.

The joy, the good humor, the smiles and the pleasure of being together are evident in everyone and especially in those who spent their childhood at the nursery school: a joyful sharing of anecdotes, of splendid and nice memories, lived with the sisters.