Vic, España. On Saturday, November 4, the day after the memory of the death of Fr. Josep Xifré i Mussach, cmf, third Superior General of our Congregation, the members of the Province of Catalonia met together in Vic to celebrate the official closing of the “Year Xifré”. On February 17 and 18, this special time had been inaugurated around the figure of Fr. Josep Xifré, on the occasion of the celebration of the bicentennial of his birth.
We gathered in a hall of the Casal Claret, where Fr. Ricard Costa-Jussà, cmf, Provincial Superior of Catalonia, welcomed us, conveyed to us the greetings of Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, cmf, Superior General, and read a letter from Fr. Gonzalo Fernández, cmf, Vicar General, General Prefect of Spirituality and President of the Organizing Committee of the “Xifré Year”.
Then Br. Josep Codina, Prefect of the Apostolate of the Province of Catalonia and Coordinator of the Organizing Committee of the “Year Xifré”, read a text prepared by the CESC as a report and balance of that Year, in which, above all, the activities that have taken place in the Congregation around this event were highlighted.
After that, Fr. Carlos Sánchez, cmf, Director of the CESC, made a detailed presentation of the content of the section of the CESC website dedicated to the “Xifré Year”. Next, we celebrated the Eucharist in the Crypt of the sepulchre of Claret, in which we thanked the Lord for two special gifts: the “Xifré Year” and the recent beatification of the 109 Claretian Martyrs in the Basilica of La Sagrada Familia.
The Eucharist had a special symbolic meaning because we were in the place where our Congregation had its origins and because next to the sepulchre of Fr. Claret there are the remains of Fr. José Xifré and Esteban Sala and some of the beatified martyrs.
The original icon that presided over the beatification of October 21 in Barcelona was placed before the altar, and on the altar was the chest containing the relics of several of our martyrs, which was presented at the time of the beatification. Afterwards, we went to the Claret Spirituality House to share a fraternal lunch. We are offering the text of memory and balance of the “Xifré Year”.
