Carl Tranter MSC

Nationality: British

Born: 10.12.65, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England.

Although born into an Anglican family, Carl was educated at Princethorpe College, the MSC Catholic Secondary School near Rugby, Warwickshire in England.  The day after his 18th birthday he was received into the Catholic Church by the School Chaplain in the College Chapel.  After initially taking up a management training contract with the Midland Bank (now HSBC), a couple of years later Carl entered the pre-novitiate of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Galway, Ireland in September 1986 where he studied Philosophy and Spanish at University College Galway.  His Novitiate year was also in Galway and he made his first profession of temporary vows on 21st September 1989. After three years pursuing a Bachelor of Divinity degree in Milltown Institute, Dublin, and a year's Post Graduate Diploma in Pastoral Leadership at All Hallows College, Dublin, he was ordained a priest in Princethorpe College Chapel on 17th July 1993.

Carl's first pastoral assignment was to parish ministry in the MSC-administered parish of St John the Baptist in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England.  In 1998 he was invited by the Provincial to pursue further studies in preparation for a new ministry of resourcing the Province's commitment to developing collaborative lay-clergy partnerships in pastoral ministry.  After two years studying at Boston College (USA) he graduated with an M.Ed..  He returned to the UK in 2000 and took up residence in the Princethorpe community from where he based his roving ministry of resourcing and supporting collaborative ministry, pastoral planning and lay formation across the MSC Irish Province.

Carl enjoys the theatre, poetry, music and photography.  He is also a keen English cricket fan!  He speaks French and some Spanish and has benefited from numerous opportunities of serving the MSC Congregation by providing simultaneous translation at international Conferences and Chapters.  He is deeply committed to developing closer ties between the MSCs in Europe and is very excited about the possibilities the European Community project affords to explore new ways of being missionary in the heart of Europe.

carl@msceurope.co.uk
 

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Mark Van Beeumen MSC

Nationality: Belgian

Born: 26.08.68, Kontich, near Antwerpen (Antwerp), Belgium

Mark studied Electronics in secondary school and afterwards worked for a few years as a handyman in a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium. He came to know the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1992. While he was searching for a meaning in his life he found that the MSC-spirituality gave answers to the questions arising within him and in 1993 he decided to join the congregation.

Mark studied Philosophy for two years in the Diocesan Seminary of Brugge (Bruges) before travelling to Ireland to do his novitiate in Dublin, while there was a common novitiate for all European MSC novices. For his Theology studies he attended the Diocesan Theologicum in Mechelen (Malines) in Belgium. After theology he went on two years mission insertion in the Fiji Islands. The first year he lived and worked in Chevalier Hostel, a hostel for street kids in Suva, the capital. He also worked part-time in the hospital chaplaincy.  The second year he helped out in a rural parish, named Napuka, far away from cities and luxury. When Mark returned to Belgium he was awarded an MA in Pastoral Theology at the University of Leuven (Louvain). He took final vows in the MSC Congregation on the 20th July 2002.

In  September of that year Mark was appointed to an inner-city project in Brussel (Brussels), where he lived and worked in a deprived neighbourhood, together with Fr. Dirk De Vis MSC. He split his time working in ‘Puerto’, an organisation where social assistance was given to the homeless, and in a project working with the people living in the neighbourhood.

Twice a week he also helped by cooking in two local organisations which worked with the homeless. He found it to be an easy way of connecting with the people.

Mark was ordained a Deacon on the 15th February 2002, and ordained Priest on the 16th October 2004. While priesthood is important to him, he tries foremost to live out his primary two vocations: being human and being a Missionary of the Sacred Heart.

For many years he has been involved in youth ministry within the MSC congregation, for youngsters between 17 and 22 years of age. Twice a year he has assisted in organising an MSC Youth Weekend, in which the young people took time to explore a particular topic. Each summer a youth camp was also held.  Last August (2005) the group went to Cologne, for the World Youth Day.

Mark likes nothing more than working with people. He believes that the heart of life is fundamentally about relationships; with oneself, with others and with God: “Without relationships we die”. He considers himself to be a very fortunate man, who has been able to turn his life's passion into his work.

mark@msceurope.co.uk
 

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Ton Zwart MSC

Dutch Province

Nationality: Dutch

Born: 04.07.42, Haarlem, The Netherlands.

After the minor seminary of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Driehuis he entered the noviciate of the MSCs at Berg en Dal in 1960. He made his first profession of religious vows on the 21st September 1961. He took his Perpetual Vows three years later.  He was ordained priest in Tilburg on the 9th September 1967.

His first assignment after his pastoral year was the Philippines. He went by boat and arrived in Manila on the 10th December 1968. The following year he took up three years of sociological studies at the Asian Social Institute. His assignments afterwards included research for the Social Action Centre of the Diocese of Butuan, notably Justice and Peace documentation, and for the MSC society in the Philippines. The last 8 years of his stay in the Philippines were given to parish work. He returned to the Netherlands in November 1991.

After trying his hand for a short while at industrial ministry in Rotterdam he was elected Provincial Superior of the MSC in the Netherlands. He fulfilled that function for twelve years, from 1993-2005.

Ton considers himself foremost a religious and a missionary. As such he desires to make ample room for God in his life and to share his search for God, as far as possible, with others, whoever they are.

Ton loves walking, not just for the sake of health but also for the sake of taking in everything of interest, nature and culture.

ton@msceurope.co.uk
 

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