MISSIONARY BENEDICTINE SISTERS OF TUTZING B U L G A R I A D I S T R I C T Newsletter BDN # 16 Sept-Dec 2020 The Sorrowful Mother – Sep 14 The feast day of our parish is one of the festive days of the year which not only Catholics in our region join with us to celebrate but also the Orthodox, Muslims and others. This year it was an equally beautiful day with the celebration of the Eucharist followed by a meal with our guests and thereafter some entertainment. Being a Benedictine Parish there is always the question, “Why the Sorrowful Mother? What connection do you have with this title of Mary?” The answer is that, originally the parish was built and belonged to the Passionists. With the mention of the Passionists, the Sorrowful Mother fits in well. Below is a beautiful history of how it came to be. The Church of the Sorrowful Mother of God is a parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Monastery of the Benedictine Sisters in the village of Tsarev Brod, Shumen region. At the end of the 19th century, Prince Ferdinand I invited German settlers from Bavaria and the Hungarian Banat to Bulgaria to develop modern agriculture. In 1899 a large group of German families settled in the village of Endje (since 1934 - Tsarev Brod). Their parish priest, Father Franz Krings, Passionist (+1927), built the Church of the Sorrowful Mother of God, consecrated in 1910. In 1914, the first Benedictine sisters came to Bulgaria to form the monastery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father Karl Raev was appointed to the parish in 1927 and worked here until his transfer to Tarnovo in 1931. In 1934 the seat of the parish was renamed Tsarev Brod. Many German families migrated back to Germany during World War II. From December 27, 1947 until his death in 1988, Father Yosif Krivchev, the first Bulgarian Conventual, was a parish priest in the church and chaplain to the monastery. BULGARIAN DISTRICT NEWSLETTER | Issue# 16 2 Called home to God– Sep 19 On this day our Bishop, Monsignor Petko Hristov, was laid to rest in the Cathedral of St. Paul of the Cross in the city of Ruse. Monsignor Petko had been sick for quite a long time but still continued to administer his service to our dioceses with the help of other priests. He died just a few days before his 70th birthday. Monsignor Petko Hristov was a Franciscan Conventual priest before he was solemnly ordained on January 6, 1995 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nikopol whose seat was in the city of Ruse. For the time being we wait in prayer and hope to get another bishop for our diocese. A new missionary to Bulgaria – 21 Oct What a great joy for the Zarev Brod community to receive Sr. Abraham Kang from Seoul priory! After the temporary closure of the Sekirovo community in July 2020 the 2 sisters from there joined the 3 sisters in Zarev Brod community and it became a community of 5. At the end of August 2020, Sr. Leticia, after her 15 years of service in Bulgaria returned to the Philippines so we remained 4 and felt a bit incomplete. With the presence of Sr. Abraham we are again a full house and we thank the Seoul priory for their generosity. During our first recreation time together Sr. Abraham told us, “On the way from Namibia just when I was looking forward to be back and serve in my country, I received the request to come to Bulgaria”. We are very grateful for this sacrifice of Sr. Abraham and above all we are inspired by her zeal for mission. Even at the age of 67 she is ready to immerse herself in a new culture and learn a new language. Also, having experienced life in several other communities in our congregation, Sr. Abraham has a great wealth of wisdom to share with us here in Bulgaria and we remain thankful for her presence among us. BULGARIAN DISTRICT NEWSLETTER | Issue# 16 3 All saints day - 1st Nov Our Sunday service on this day began at the graveyard which is around 10 minutes walk from our convent. The service was in honor of all the Saints as well as a commemoration of the dead. The graveyard is divided into 3 sections, one for the Catholics, the other for the Orthodox and the third for Muslims. The Catholics’ section is the smallest since the Catholic denomination makes up only 1% of the Bulgarian population. In this section, our 14 Missionary Benedictine Sisters are buried. These are Bulgarian and German sisters who survived the Communist era. For a period of around 40 years, the sisters were confined to the attic of the monastery as the rest of the building was taken by the government and converted into a hospital. Volunteering as medical assistance to the hospital guaranteed their stay as a community thus enabled the survival of our congregation in Bulgaria. We are thankful to God that the last of the Bulgarian Sisters is not Sr. Bernadetta who was buried in this cemetery in 2018 but that, despite the slim chances of vocations in Bulgaria, we have Sr.Nadya now preparing for her perpetual vows in Ndanda Priory Tanzania. Christmas preparations - Nov In the advent season as we prepare our hearts to be beautiful mangers for the birth of the Messiah, we also prepare gifts for the various people we have journeyed with in the course of the year. Among these are our parishioners, co-workers, the institutes organizations that offer services to us, neighbours, friends and most importantly the elderly people in our village most of whom live alone. Among these people, the most significant this year was the group of building workers who in August took over the renovation of our monastery. These are a combination of youth, middle aged and elderly Turkish men; all being Muslim and not only working day after day in the monastery but also interacting with us and sometimes participating in our activities, gives the precise example of the peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims in BULGARIAN DISTRICT NEWSLETTER | Issue# 16 4 South Eastern Europe. We have a lot of confidence in this hard working group that they will finally finish this renovation that has, regrettably, taken more than seven years. Touched by the Grace of God – 20 Dec By Sr. Maria Agnes On this day the community of Zarev Brod rejoiced in the occasion of the first communion of Deborah Irma Martignon. Amidst restrictions of Covid -19 the sisters’ community, Irma’s family and a number of parishioners happily gathered around the Lord’stable on that sunny afternoon in celebration for the said event. Born on August 25, 1981 in San Dona di Piyave, Venetia Italy, Irma spent her first five years in the country hence, her being conversant with the Italian language. Her mother, who is Bulgarian, came back with her in Bulgaria when she was still a little girl. Together they settled in Kaspichan, a neighboring village to Zarev Brod. Irma had not been a practicing catholic although she received baptism from the Catholic Church in Italy at two months old. She knew though that there is a Catholic monastery in Zarev Brod but never thought to visit, inquire or join us in our celebrations of the liturgy. She was happy and contented with her life as a pharmacist and as a single mother took care of her only son, Boril and her mother Tzveta. But God never missed to make His presence be felt by her. Irma’s story goes that once she went to Pirin, the 2nd highest mountain in Bulgaria with her son for hiking. When in the middle of their journey, suddenly a thick fog descended the mountain and enveloped them. There was zero visibility, no sound could be heard, just a great silence. She was not even sure if there were other hikers around the area from whom she could ask for help. It was a scary moment for her knowing that she couldn’t do anything to save her son if ever something bad happened to both of them. It was a life threatening moment but at the same time it was the moment of her life where she found solace in her faith. She begun to pray the Our Father the way she never prayed before. She had barely finished her prayer when the thick fog slowly started to disappear. Eventually, their path got cleared of the fog and at that same instant she heard a foreigner’s voice directing her attention to the rainbow in the sky. That was the very moment she felt the reality of God’s saving presence, the moment when she really felt the nearness of God protecting her and Boril. Retracing back their steps down the mountain Irma made a quick response to God’s action in her life by paying a visit to our monastery. She inquired for the possibility of receiving the first Holy Communion. It was her first humble step of deepening her journey of faith. Every Saturday or Sunday from August to December she then came to the BULGARIAN DISTRICT NEWSLETTER | Issue# 16 5 monastery for catechetical instructions. She actively participates in our liturgical celebrations by learning songs as well as taking readings. Gradually, she has been able to integrate herself in the life of the parish in Zarevbrod.