Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

Gratitude to Province / The Province Assembly / New Local Superior and Assistant Superior / Welcome, Father Martin and Father Anthony / Father Superior General Begins Canonical Visit to the Province of Saint Ann (USA)

The Province Assembly Prepares the SSS and Associates for the Next Year’s Provincial Chapter

On August 4-8, 2025, religious of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (SSS) gathered at the Provincialate in Highland Heights, Ohio (in the Diocese of Cleveland) to prepare for their 27th Provincial Chapter, scheduled for 2027. The theme of both the Assembly this year and the Chapter next year is from the Pope Francis Jubilee Year: Abound in Hope. And that we did as we began with our special liturgies, singing the Jubilee Hymn.

The Very Reverend Philip Benzy Romician SSS, Superior General, attended the assembly and gave two opening talks during the Mass and the first business session. He stressed the
final message of the November 2023 General Chapter and how we are implementing the theme/concept of the “Cenacle” into our province…

Photos: TOP – Father General addresses the Northeast Ohio Associates in an afternoon reflection

RIGHT – Group photo of the SSS men at Regina Health Center in Richfield, Ohio. (Left to right) Brother Michael Perez SSS, Deacon Joseph Bourgeois SSS, Brother Allen Boeckman SSS, Father Ernest Falardeau SSS, Father Paul Bernier SSS, and Father William Young SSS are pictured with Father Phillip Benzy Romician SSS, Superior General, and Father John Thomas Lane SSS, Provincial Superior

Father Superior General Begins Canonical Visit to the Province of Saint Ann (USA)

Mandated by the Church’s Canon Law and the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament’s (SSS) own statutes implementing the Rule of Life, General Superiors of the SSS visit the religious in each of the provinces and countries where we serve across the globe. Since being elected as Father General in November 2023, Philip Benzy Romician SSS (originally from India), has made visits to several provinces of the SSS. With the special events of the Province of Saint Ann’s 125th anniversary and the Province Assembly, preparing for next year’s Provincial Chapter, Father Benzy took the opportunity to spend August in the USA. He normally resides in Rome, but for 8 months of the year, he travels to the different SSS sites around the world.

After arriving from a canonical visit in Sri Lanka, Father Benzy quickly acclimated to the new time at the Province Assembly at the Provincialate in Highland Heights, Ohio.

Photo – The new president of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois, Father Salvatore “Enzo” DelBrocco CPS, greets us at the entrance of the “Pope’s Seminary”

Other stories:

>Gratitude to Saint Ann Province

>New Local Superior and Assistant Superior for the Northeast Ohio SSS Communities

>Welcome, Father Martin and Father Anthony, to the Province of Saint Ann

Articles continue – Read more in Grapevine 2025-20 pdf