October 19, 2020

300-year mission of the Passionist community endures in local ‘Chalice’ Mass

REGIONAL
By Rebecca Drake

 

SPRINGFIELD – It has been 300 years since a young, devout Italian man responded to God’s call to form a religious community to promote the love of God through the Passion of Christ.

Born in Northern Italy in 1694, Paul Danei and his brother, John Baptist, founded the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, a community with a focus on contemplative prayer and spiritual guidance, helping people to know the compassionate love of God. The brothers were ordained to the priesthood in 1727 and Paul soon became one of the most popular preachers of the time.

When Paul died in 1775, he left a congregation of 180 Passionist fathers and brothers, and a monastery of contemplative Passionist sisters. He was beatified on Oct. 1, 1852 and was canonized as St. Paul of the Cross on June 1867 by Pope Pius IX. His feast day is Oct. 19.

Presently, the worldwide Passionist community includes more than 2,000 priests and brothers, and thousands of women religious and lay people ministering in 52 nations. They are known for their preaching, retreats, study and research, and for their ministry in communications media.

And here in the Springfield Diocese, Passionist Brother Terrence Scanlon has been the “face” of the Passionist ministry as the longtime host of the “Chalice of Salvation” television Mass, along with longtime “Chalice” assistant Marie Renaud.

Brother Scanlon was the altar server for the very first “Chalice” Mass in 1957. As a teenager, he also worked in the kitchen at the former Passionist Monastery in West Springfield.

“You would hear the prayers and the Masses,” recalled Brother Scanlon of his time working at the monastery. He would often go to pray with the priests and brothers after his work shift was done and he eventually was one of 19 boys in a Vocation Club. He cited Father Fidelis Rice, the founder of the “Chalice” Mass broadcast, as a major spiritual influence.

Along with his friend and fellow Vocation Club member Edward Hall, Brother Scanlon joined the Passionist community in Pittsburgh in 1962. Both are now members of the community’s St. Paul of the Cross Province, which covers the eastern parts of the United States and Canada.

After serving the community in Pittsburgh for nearly 20 years, Brother Scanlon returned to the Springfield Diocese in 1981 to work at the Passionist Radio and TV Center in West Springfield. At that time, the “Chalice of Salvation” Mass was broadcast from local station Channel 22 on Provin Mountain in Feeding Hills.

The Passionist Monastery in West Springfield closed in 1993 after 68 years of ministry there and, like many religious congregations throughout the world, the Passionists have experienced a decrease in vocations in recent years. But as they celebrate their 300^th anniversary, with the theme “Renewing Our Mission” and a new icon of St. Paul of the Cross, members are committed to finding new ways to evangelize and to discern God’s plan for the future.

And during this year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Springfield Diocese’s “Chalice of Salvation” broadcast, the enduring legacy of the Passionists, has become even more vital to Catholics in western Massachusetts.

According to Catholic Communications executive director Mark Dupont, “There has been a two-fold increase in ‘Chalice’ viewership and while there were more (viewers) in March and April, the viewership is still double compared to this time in 2019.”

 

Dupont also noted that viewer inquiries have tripled, including requests to list names in the “Chalice” Book of Remembrance and those having special birthdays and anniversaries.

Commenting on Brother Scanlon’s long tenure as host, and the spiritual need for the television Mass, Dupont said the “Chalice of Salvation” has been “a generous gift from the Passionist Community to the diocese.”

Reflecting on his vocation as a Passionist, Brother Scanlon said he was first attracted to the community’s mission to be present to the community and its reverence for the word of God. “There was an atmosphere of quiet reflection,” he said, “and truly a sense of brotherhood working in community.”

And through his ministry as “Chalice” host, Brother Scanlon said he is committed to reaching out to viewers through phone calls and, when the pandemic crisis passes, to return to making visits to local nursing homes to share the Passionist message of love revealed in Christ’s passion and resurrection.