The New Rochelle Province was blessed on August
16 with the perpetual profession of Bro. Wilgintz Polynice, SDB, and the first
profession of Bro. Rafael Vargas, SDB.
The Rite of Religious Profession was celebrated
during Mass on August 16 in the chapel of the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, N.Y.
Fr. Tom Dunne, SDB, provincial, presided and preached. Thirty-one priests,
almost all of them Salesians, concelebrated, and a large congregation of
Salesian brothers, sisters, and Cooperators participated in addition to the
families and friends of Bros. Wilgintz and Rafael.
Bro. Jean Wilgintz Wilgintz, 41, made his first
profession as a Salesian on August 16, 2007, at Port Chester, N.Y., where he
had made his novitiate. He was born at Fonds-Parisien, Haiti, in 1973 and
immigrated to the U.S. in 1998. He was a member of St. Joseph’s Parish in
Spring Valley, N.Y., before entering the Salesian candidacy program in Orange,
N.J., in 2004. He was attracted to the Salesians because “they walk with the
poor and embrace everyone without discrimination.” After his immediate
postnovitiate formation in Orange, he did his practical training at the Don
Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw in 2011-2013, and then returned to Orange to
begin theological studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange.
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| Holding a candle lit from the paschal candle, reminding everyone of Baptism's infusing us with the light of the risen Christ, Bro. Wilgintz pronounces his perpetual vows. |
Bro. Rafael Ramon Vargas, 22, is a native of
Fair Lawn, N.J., and is the son of Rafael and Carmen Vargas. He is a graduate
of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., and was a parishioner of St. Therese Church
on Paterson’s East Side. While he was at DBP, he was particularly influenced in
discerning his vocation by Frs. Jay Horan and Steve Ryan. He entered the
Salesian candidacy program at Orange in August 2010 and did his prenovitiate
year in Port Chester in 2012-2013. Fr. Bill Keane guided him through the
novitiate year in Rosemead, Calif., for the last year.
Bro. Rafael professed as a coadjutor brother and
will work toward a B.A. in Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University while
continuing his Salesian formation at Orange. He would like eventually to make
pastoral counseling his specialized ministry for the young.
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| Literally backed by his parents, Bro. Rafael Vargas makes his first profession of vows as a Salesian of Don Bosco. |
Bro. Rafael describes his hopes for these
postnovitiate years thus: “I hope that I can truly live out being a true
Salesian. To truly be committed to my community, to the young, and to living
out the vows. I hope that in my studies, ministries, and in all the other
things I do I may be able to do it with great passion and zeal. These next few
years are a time to grow and learn, so I’m ready to go for it full force.”
Fr. Tom Dunne received the vows of both
brothers. In his homily he noted the connection between Baptism and religious
consecration—a connection brought out explicitly in the Rite of Perpetual
Profession through the use of the paschal candle and references to “the light
of Christ.” Both Baptism and religious profession are responses to God’s loving
call to a disciple, who in turn seeks a more intimate union with God.
The response of the professed Salesian, Fr. Tom
said, includes reflecting on the call and deepening the union, striving to live
“the grace of unity,” doing everything—prayer, ministry, study, community
living—with love and without limits of time or degree.
The readings that Bros. Wilgintz and Rafael
chose for the day were Jer 1:4-9, Phil 4:4-9, and Luke 4:16-21. Fr. Tom pointed
out that religious life, like the readings, takes one in a counter-cultural
direction. The Salesian speaks for the poor and those on the margin of society.
He proclaims a message of Christ crucified, which is an embarrassment to the
world. The practices, activities, and expertise that he brings to community and
apostolate are not enough; he needs a heart rooted in divine wisdom.
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| The perpetually professed confrere is presented with a cross stamped with the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. The newly professed receives a medal of Don Bosco and a copy of the SDB Rule. |
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