THE DISTRICT OF BRAZIL CENTRAL
Fr. Leo Gottenbos
HISTORY
The Dutch Spiritan presence in Brazil dates from 1946, when they took over the prelacy of Tefé, in the state of Amazonias, replacing the French Spiritans who founded the prelacy in 1887. They founded the District of Central Brazil in 1948 with the idea of getting vocations. the Junior seminary was started in Itaúna, in the state of MiNas Gerais, and later the noviciate in Teresóplis and the senior seminary in Divinópolis. In order to provide funds and get vocations the confreres took charge of several parishes in the region. The formation programme was wound up in 1968 and many of the formators took over parishes. It was in this period that several confreres left Amazonas for the Central District for health reasons.
1978 - for various reasons the year 1978 was of historical importance for the district. It was in this year that the first big Gathering of the Spiritans working in Brazil and Paraguay took place. Since then there have been 10 Gatherings with representatives from all the circumscriptions of Brazil and Paraguay taking part. It has been of great help in bringing together these same areas and in fomenting interest and support for formation. The superiors of the circumscriptions began to meet annually, and since last year twice a year. In the first Gathering we began to think about founding the Province of Brazil, which eventually came into being in 1991. The Brazilian members of our district then became members of the new province.
From that year onwards we began to get Spiritan vocations in the parishes of our district. The young men were sent to the Southern District (German confreres) and later to the seminary belonging to the Province of Brazil in Mangalot.
The composition of the members of the Central District in 1978 was as follows:
• 4 members belonging to Amazonas before the arrival of the Dutch.
• 2 members who received their formation in our seminaries. These are the present Bishops Dom Mário (Tefe) and Dom Moze (Cruzeiro do Sul)
• members of the Amazonas District who, for health reasons, had transferred to the Central District.
• members coming from Africa (Angola and French-speaking districts)
• members directly appointed by the Dutch province to the Central District from 1948 onwards.
At the moment 5 members of the Brazilian province, over and above the bishops, have been born in the Central District.
Present Situation
Due to the transfers to the Brazilian province, deaths and the return of confreres to Holland, the Central District has been reduced to 11 members. 4 are over 80, 4 are between 76 and 78, and only 3 are under 70, the youngest being 61.
How We Live the Rule of Life
Only 4 of the 11 members live in Spiritan community. The main reason for this was that, after the closure of the formation houses from 1968 onwards, the formators dispersed. Initially almost all lived in communities: Governador Valadares, Conselheiro Pena, Sete Lagoas, Matozinhos, Itaúna, Anápolis, Brazilia/Ceilandia and Belo Horzonte, or in nearby parishes where Spiritan communities existed. For some time there were regional meetings, most often to commemorate anniversaries. This still continues today.
With the ageing process, sickness and deaths, or confreres returning to Holland, the communities became weaker and were even reduced to one member. The parishes in Ceilandia and Governador Valadares got help from the Brazilian Province in the latter years.
The Dutch Spiritans of the Central District are concentrated in a few dioceses: Dvinópolis (3), Sete Lagoas (2) and Belo Horizonte (4), all neighbouring on each other, and in Governador Valadares (1). Every January we have a general meeting, and since last year another meeting of one day in the middle of the year. These are characterized by a spirit of fraternal and relaxed spirit. For the last few years we have had no big projects. Despite the advanced age nearly everyone tries to be useful, as far as possible, in some pastoral activity. So pastoral zeal has not been quenched. Only two confreres are parish priests, others work in pastoral situations, one as hospital chaplain and another in the college of Santana in Itaúna, our former seminary. Two members, for health reasons, no longer do pastoral work.
A peculiarity of Brazil is that many confreres, despite the fact they no longer live in Spiritan religious communities, live in parish communities, in the midst of the people, taking part in the life of the people, sharing deeply at a spiritual and fraternal level, through meetings, novenas, celebrations and special occasions.
How We Live the Chapters of the Circumscriptions and the General Chapters
I can assure you that we are greatly interested in the Congregation. This is expressed in financial solidarity, at the level of the district and individually. In our annual meetings we always try to have a day's reflection on themes related to our founders, or to religious and missionary life. In the last chapter, in January of this year, we used the document of the last General Chapter as a basis for our reflection. Certainly the themes of the UCAL (The Union of the Circumscriptions of Latin America) and of the Brazilian province will be reflected on in our future meetings.
Regional Cooperation with Other Circumscriptions
This cooperation goes back a long way and is excellent. Every year the superiors meet for several days to deal with subjects of common interest. About every three years there is a bigger meeting of Spiritans working in Brazil and Paraguay. The District took responsibility for the Province's noviciate in Ceilandia for 4 years (1984-87) and for the next four years provided the novice master. In 2006 the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Governador Valadares hosted the formation of the aspirants, paying for a large part of the costs. For 6 years a member of our district, Gilberto van Tol, was the provincial of the Brazilian province. Besides this, the district gives financial assistance to the confreres of Alto Jurua and Tefe every year.
Prospects for the Future
Due to age and to our small numbers the situation is one of transition. In a few years the district will cease to exist and the remaining members will probably join UCAL or the Brazilian Province. So the district has no big projects for the future, except that of bringing about the transition and taking as great care as possible of the older members.
Conclusion
The Central District gave its contribution to the Church in Brazil and to the Congregation in different ways. I am glad to say that four of our parishes were handed over to the Brazilian province, namely: Laguna (Copntagem), Our Lady of Glory (Belo Horizonte), Our Lady of Peace (Ceilandia) and recently Our Lady of Lourdes in Governador Valadares, all of which were founded by Dutch Spiritans.
I hope I have done justice to the actual situation of our district. In the meeting in Rome I can provide further clarifications.
