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Silvano Marisa MS.     

Very Reverend Silvano Marisa was born in Boccialdo di Trambileno (Trento), Italy, September 27, 1946, the last of four children of Eugenio and Rosalia Bisoffi. At the age of eleven, while his parish was celebrating the centennial of the small La Salette Shrine within its territory, he entered the Apostolic School in Salmata (Perugia), where he began the usual course of classical studies; after which he entered the Major Seminary in Torino (Turin). After these courses, his superiors sent him to Corps (France) for a year's novitiate (1966-67) and then on to Lyons for philosophy studies. After spending a year at the Apostolic School in Salmata as "animator of students," he was sent first to Rome for Theology Studies at the Gregorian University and then to Naples where a new La Salette community had just been established in the area of Soccavo, in the diocese of Pozzuoli. He brought his theological studies to an end by earning a license in Biblical theology at the Faculty of theology of Southern Italy sect. Posillipo. December 16, 1973, he was ordained priest in the parish church of "Immaculate Mary of La Salette" on Romulus and Remus Street in Naples, which had been entrusted to the pastoral care of the La Salette Missionaries. After six years as a teacher of religion in the upper school of Naples, he was chosen to represent the Italian province at the General Chapter of 1982 in Rome; there he was elected to the General Council. He has lived out his priestly vocation in the diocese of Pozzuoli, in Rome at the parish of "Our Lady of La Salette," in Salmata and in Verona. He was first elected provincial superior of the Italian Province of La Salettes in 1989, and then reelected for two more terms in 1992 and 2004. He was elected Vicar General of the Congregation at the General Chapter of 2006. Then, on April 24, 2012, the General Chapter elected him to serve the congregation as Superior General.

 

Past  Superiors General       To see photos

2006-2012 R.P. Dennis J. Loomis

1994-2006 R.P. Isidro Augusto Perin

1988-1994 R.P. Ernest J. Corriveau

1982-1988 R.P. Eugene G. Barrette

1976-1982 R.P. Lionel R. LeMay

1970-1976 R.P. Emil Truffer

1964-1970 R.P. Conrad Blanchet

1958-1964 R.P. Joseph Alphonse Dutil

1946-1958 R.P. Joseph Imhof

1932-1945 R.P. Etienne-Xavier Cruveiller

1926-1932 R.P. Célestin Crozet

1913-1926 R.P. Pierre Pajot

1897-1913 R.P. Joseph Perrin

1891-1897 R.P. Auguste Chapuy

1876-1891 R.P. Pierre Archier

1865-1876 R.P. Sylvain-Marie Giraud

1858-1865 R.P. Pierre Archier

OUR CONGREGATION

1 Among the people of God we, the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, form a religious apostolic Congregation dedicated to the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Our Congregation is made up of priests and brothers bound together by the same religious vocation. We are defined by the Holy See as a clerical religious institute of Pontifical right.

3 By our baptism we are incorporated into the Church and share in its mission. By our profession of the public vows of poverty, chastity and obedience we are consecrated in a new way to this mission and we bind ourselves to live in a religious community which is a sign of the Kingdom.

4 Moved by the Holy Spirit who prompted the Son of God to experience our human condition and die on the cross in order to reconcile the world to his Father we resolve, in the light of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, to be devoted servants of Christ and of the Church for the fulfillment of the mystery of reconciliation.

5 Faithful to our origins we profess a deep love for Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church. In our apostolate we follow the example of the handmaid of the Lord who was made reconciler particularly at the foot of the cross.

6 We emphasize the profoundly evangelical values of prayer, penance and zeal contained in the message of Our Lady of La Salette which calls us to conversion. We strive to live them ourselves so that, by the witness of our lives as well as by our words, hearts may be opened to the Good News which it is our mission to make known to all.


OUR RELIGIOUS CONSECRATION

7 Christ is the rule of our life.

8 Through baptism, we participate in the mystery of his death and resurrection. Responding, freely and entirely, to his call, we choose to imitate Christ, chaste, poor and obedient. We are consecrated to God by our profession of the public vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Lived in intimate communion with Christ our consecration will lead us to a total availability for his service and for our neighbor.

9 Drawn by Christ, we follow him in the way of chastity, vowing our person to God in perfect continence and celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom. In doing so we choose to give the Lord our preferential love in return for the great love with which he first loved us, and to witness to the Kingdom that is to come, where he will be all in all. We likewise continue to develop those affective powers which the Lord has placed within us so that, through relationships that are selfless and sincere, deeply human and open, we may become channels of the compassionate love God extends to all.

10 Desiring to be poor like Christ and in the tradition of the Apostles who left everything to follow him, we aspire to attain a spirit of evangelical detachment. Placing our trust in the Father's Providence, we want to be free from excessive concern for the things of this world in order to seek first the Kingdom and provide an effective response to the "cry of the poor". By our vow we relinquish the right to use and dispose of material goods independently of our superiors. We pledge to live simply and modestly and to share as brothers our talents, our time and the fruits of our labor for the sake of our common mission.

11 Walking in the footsteps of Christ, who became obedient even unto death on a cross, we live in profound communion with the saving will of the Father, submitting our entire life to it, This will is made known to us through the Church, our Congregation and our superiors; but we must also make every effort along with our brothers to discover it in the concrete circumstances of our life. By our vow we oblige ourselves to obey our lawful superiors when they command according to the constitutions, and to obey the Supreme Pontiff as our highest superior.

12 By our consecration we commit ourselves to a fraternal life which is approved by the Church and in which we share a common ideal. In observing our three vows we gain the freedom needed to give ourselves completely to our religious family and its apostolic endeavors. Our witness in complete truth to the primacy of the evangelical values hinges on the sincerity of our efforts to fulfill this ideal in company with our brothers.

13 Our life of religious consecration finds its inspiration in Mary, "whose life is a model for all" and whose unceasing intercession supports our efforts. Conscious of the challenge which the Apparition of the Lord's Handmaid continues to put before us, we resolve to devote ourselves entirely, as she herself did, to the person and work of her Son.


OUR COMMUNITY LIFE

14 In response to the call of God and in fulfillment of the prayer of Christ "that they may all be one... so the world may believe...", we pledge to live out together our apostolic vocation of reconciliation. Joined in the same faith, in the same hope and animated by the same Spirit, we form one mind and one heart in one religious family.

15 United through baptism, the profession of the evangelical counsels, our veneration for Mary, Reconciler of sinners, and the mission of our Congregation, it is as a community that we bear witness in the world to God's presence among us and to the Gospel's power to gather people of every language, race and nation into communion with one another.

16 In a genuine spirit of love, each one of us is responsible for the vitality of the community in which he lives, achieving personal fulfillment through active participation in a common effort to create a climate of truth, trust and cordiality.

17 The love for Christ that we share and our commitment to a single mission call for solidarity in our apostolic tasks.
We are impelled, therefore, to unite our efforts for the building up of the Kingdom of God.

18 Accepting, loving and forgiving one another in a spirit of Christian charity, we make every effort to assist one another even in the minor details that make up community living. We devote special care to our sick, infirm, and aged brothers, and provide for their every material, moral, and spiritual need. We faithfully remember our departed to the Lord by observing the prescribed suffrages.

19 Convinced that our personal faith life and that of the community are mutually enriching, we come together regularly to pray. Community prayer, especially the Eucharist, is the chief source from which we derive the faith and love we need so that we may be united as a community and carry out our mission.

20 To strengthen further the fraternal ties that unite us, we take advantage of those moments together that manifest human friendship and give tangible expression to our fellowship.

21 Our communities must be a living sign of Christ's love. They are open, and extend a warm welcome to all. Our hospitality thus reflects the desire we have to share our life and be of service to others, and the joy we experience in doing so.


OUR APOSTOLIC LIFE

22 Our Congregation is called to be a sign and instrument of the work of Reconciliation accomplished by Christ and with which Mary, as she reminds us in her Apparition, is so closely associated.

23 Drawing our inspiration from the message of Our Lady of La Salette, we dedicate ourselves to:

- the reconciliation of sinners and the liberation of all people through submission to the will of the Father;

- the awakening and deepening of faith among the People of God so that every human reality may be illumined by the light of the Gospel;

- the proclamation of the Good News where it is not yet known;

- the promotion of mutual understanding among religions and their coming together in charity and truth;

- the struggle against those evils which now compromise the salvific plan of God and the dignity of the human person.

In these various apostolic commitments we stress the incomparable role Mary fulfilled in salvation history and which is still hers in the life of the Church.

24 As disciples of Christ we live in communion with him. As his apostles we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, as he was, for the fulfillment of the
Father's loving design. Our life, like Christ's, comprises both prayer and apostolic activity in our service to people for the Kingdom of God.

25 Christ came to bring the Good News of freedom to all people while turning in a special way to the poor and the oppressed. Mary, at La Salette, while speaking to the lowly and the humble made her message known to all her people. We also direct our mission to the People of God as a whole, while turning more willingly in our apostolic endeavors towards those the world looks down upon and towards those who are alienated from God and the Church.

26 Responsive to the needs of the universal and local Church and in conformity with our charism, attentive to the signs of the times and after prayer and discernment, we generously undertake those apostolic tasks to which we believe Providence is calling us. We also willingly evaluate
our ministries and regularly renew our apostolic methods, adapting them to present needs and the requirements of our working conditions.

27 Through the different ministries and works we are called to engage in, all of us, Fathers and Brothers, share in the mission of Reconciliation the Church has entrusted to the Congregation.

28 To provide more effective service we work in close collaboration with the laity, the diocesan clergy and other congregations, under the authority of the Bishop and in keeping with the pastoral guidelines of the local Church.

1846 September 19: the Apparition of the Virgin Mary at La Salette. September 20: the first written account (the Pro narrative).

1847 Winter of '46: the famine, begun in 1845, now rages through Europe. Controversies in the press. Major inquiries about the Apparition - Logier, Bez, Long, Lambert - are set forth. September 19: at least 30,000 pilgrims go to the Mountain.In November and December, the bishop presides over the eight meetings of the canonical investigation commission on the truth of La Salette.

1848 Revolution in France: uprisings throughout Europe.

1849 Already 15,000 pilgrims have been inscribed into the Confraternity of Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler.

1850 On September 25, Maximin meets the Curé of Ars.

1851 Controversy arises over the "Secrets" given to the children. Bishop de Bruillard publishes the Doctrinal Statement of September 19: the Apparition is authentic; public worship is authorized; a church will be built on the site of the Apparition.

1852 The bishop's second Doctrinal Statement, dated May 25.Laying of the cornerstone of the church. A community of diocesan missionaries, called the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, is founded.

1853 Bishop Ginoulhiac publishes a Doctrinal Statement confirming Bishop de Bruillard's decisions and refuting objections by the opposition.

1858 February 2: Fathers Albertin, Archier, Berlioz, Basson, Buisson and Petit take their first vows in the bishop's chapel.

1860 Father Sylvain-Marie Giraud takes first vows. An experienced spiritual author he is named master of novices.

1865 Father Giraud, elected superior general, seeks to foster a genuine religious spirit within the community. He launches the French periodical "les Annales de Notre-Dame de La Salette".

1869 First Vatican Council begins.

1871 September 17: first La Salette Sisters Congregation is founded.

1875 March 1: Maximin Giraud dies at Corps.

1876 Bishop Fava asks the Missionaries to write new Constitutions. Father Archier is elected Superior General. Father Jean Berthier establishes the first apostolic school in Corps.

1877 Pope Pius IX invites Bishop Fava and Father Henri Berthier to seek Vatican approval of the Constitutions.

1879 Fathers Archier, Buisson, Henri Berthier, Jean Berthier, Perrin and Chapuy are the first to take perpetual vows. The Missionaries of Our lady of La Salette assume responsibility for a mission in Norway for a period of ten years. August 18: the Institute is canonically approved by Rome. April 20-21: Our Lady of la Salette is crowned and the Basilica is consecrated.

1880 Departure for Norway (2 fathers, 2 Brothers, 7 students in theology). In France, laws against the Congregations are passed.

1881 Laws take effect against religious schools. The major seminary is moved to Switzerland.

1892 Fathers Pajot and Vignon find haven in Hartford, CT. The North American experience begins.

1896 A La Salette house of studies is founded in Rome. The number of La Salette Sisters increases to 150.

1899 French La Salettes begin to minister in Madagascar and the Canadian Northwest (Saskatchewan).

1900 In France, "The Law of Associations" is passed. The General Council chooses exile to Tournai, Belgium.

1901-02 The General Administration moves to Switzerland, then to Italy (Salmata) The five first la Salette Missionaries in Poland (Kraków).

1902 Father Clément Moussier leaves from the United States to open a mission in Brazil.

1902 Five  young missionaries from Switzerland leaving for Poland

1904 Mélanie Calvat dies at Altamura (Bari, Italy).

1905 Law of separation of church and state in France.

1914-18 First Worid War. French religious are allowed to reenter France.

1921 American La Salettes join their French brothers in Madagascar (Antsirabe)

1926 Final approval of the Constitutions by Rome.

1921 American La Salettes found the mission of Morondava, Madagascar.

1934 The Congregation is divided into provinces: France, Poland, Brazil, and the United States, where Our Lady of Seven Dolors, in Hartford, CT becomes the first U.S. province.

1935 La Salettes from Poland found a mission in Argentina.

1931 La Salettes from the Hartford Province found a mission in Arakan, Burma.

1938 La Salettes from Switzerland and Liechtenstein become a province.

1939-45 World War II.

1943 Bishop Caillot recalls the Missionaries of La Salette to pastoral service at the Shrine, cradle and motherhouse of the Congregation.

1945 The province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is established in Attleboro, MA.

1946 La Salettes from Switzerland found a mission in Angola. Centennial celebration of the Apparition. Marian Congress in Grenoble and at La Salette.

1948 La Salettes of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Province (Attleboro) found a mission in the Philippines.

1961 The province of Mary Queen is established in St. Louis, MO.

1962 Second Vatican Council begins. Various La Salette foundations in Italy form a new Province: Mary Mediatrix.

1967 A fourth U.S. province, Mary, Queen of Peace, is established in Olivet, ll. La Salettes from Hartford go to Argentina.

1968 Two new provinces are established: Our Lady, Mother of Hope, in the Philippines and Mary, Mother of the Church, in Antsirabe, Madagascar.

1976 The mission in Burma is closed due to persecution and legally enforced attrition.

1985 Renewed and updated after the Second Vatican Council, the Constitutions are approved by Rome.

1988 In Madagascar the province in Antsirabe and region in Morondava merge to become one province. La Salettes from India, educated in the Philippines, open a mission in their homeland (Kerala, India).

1990 La Salettes from Poland begin new works in Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

1991 La Salettes from Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia open a common novitiate in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

1995 .. 96 The 150th anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady at La Salette. A year of celebration throughout the world.

2000 The four La Salette Provinces in North America (Milwaukee, Hartford, Attleboro and St. Louis) restructure into a new Province: Mary, Mother of the Americas.

2001 India is established as a region.

2002 150th anniversary of Bishop Philibert de Bruillard's pastoral letter of 1852 that led to the founding of t the Congregation of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette.

2006 India becomes a Province

2007 Angola founds a mission in Namibia

2012 Angola is established as a Province

2012 Unification of the Swiss and Polish provinces

Before Bishop Donald Pelletier, M.S, retired as Bishop of Morondava, Madagascar, he went for one last pastoral visit to the district of Mandabe, where for many years Fr. George Repchick (+1998) ministered lovingly to the people. Bishop Donald writes:

"I just returned from a five-day visit to Mandabe. The road has not gotten any better since the times we traveled it together years ago. How many years is it now – 5 or 6 – since the approaches to the bridge at Dabara were washed away? The bridge still sits in the middle of the river with no way to get on it. Meanwhile we have to plow through about two miles of shallow water and deep, fine sand to get across.

"As always it was a very sentimental trip as I can't but think of George and pray for him when I am there. An enlarged photo of him adorns the back wall of the church. Fr. Richard – an Italian priest incardinated into the diocese and who is presently director of that missionary district – says that George's presence is still vividly felt. I am amazed to see the continual growth of this Christian community. I think it is the district that has shown the most progress and growth in the last six years.