Compassion: Meet Fr David Cinquegrani C.P.

Meet Father David

"WHATEVER IS TRUE, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Father David Cinquegrani, C.P. loves this text from Philippians and tries to follow St. Paul's advice not just in his own life but also by bringing a little loveliness, graciousness and excellence into the lives of others.

A Passionist since 1992, Father David is Retreat Director of Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford, CT, the largest parish based retreat center in the United States. He is also chaplain and a member of the music faculty at St. Joseph College, also in West Hartford. He is a gifted preacher and an able administrator, but his great love is music. A former devotee of Aerosmith, Fr. David acknowledges that all music has value. "I find that music has the ability to create an atmosphere of prayer and meditation and enables us to experience the presence of God."

He has made retreats at Holy Family come alive with music. At Christmas and Easter people flock to the retreat house to listen to the beautiful music performed by the music ministry in concert. During his years as a Passionist, Father David has produced and directed three recordings of choral music by the Passionist Community. Each of these recordings has been a labor of love and the priest-director has been involved with every step of the proces: from the composition of the music through the meticulous work of editing and mixing. This fall he has released a fourth recording, this time, of instrumental music.

"Instrumental music", he says, "can open the heart and mind without the specific suggestion of text to direct our thoughts. It paints a back-drop for the spiritual journey to unfold." This collection of instrumental music composed and performed by members and associates of the community is presented as the Passionists celebrate 150 years in North America.

St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists desired that his followers keep alive the memory of the Passion of Christ. Father David hopes that this collection will help people recall Christ's love and accompany humanity's journey into the heart of God.

also in this issue:
The Johannesburg Summit, 2002 • The Catholic Church and the United Nations
The U.N. at a Glance • Passionists at the United Nations
Security at the Security Council, 1947 • home page for this issue • act with Compassion
directory of past issues

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