Summary
1. Beginnings
With the words “Today a great work is beginning”, spoken by mossen Antonio Claret, gathered with five young priests in a cell in the Seminary in Vic on 16 July 1849 the existence of the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary began.
Claret did not act on the spur of the moment. He had been thinking for a long time about preparing priests to proclaim the Gospel and then bringing together those who felt animated by “a spirit like his”, in order to do with others what he could not do by himself. His experience as an itinerant missionary in Catalonia and the Canary Islands convinced him that people needed to be evangelized and there were not enough priests who were sufficiently prepared or zealous enough for this mission. But, as Claret acknowledged, it was not his own idea but a divine inspiration that caused him to start what seemed such a shaky enterprise. “How great can it be since we are so young and so few?” asked Fr. Manuel Vilaró, one of the priests gathered at the Seminary in Vic.
Had it not been for God the conditions surrounding the Congregation’s birth would have caused it to fail. Only 20 days after its founding, Fr. Claret received news of his appointment as Archbishop of Cuba, which he accepted despite his reluctance. The Congregation was left in God’s hands and under the guidance of one of the co-founders, Fr. Esteban Sala, who died in 1858.
Another of the co-founders, José Xifré, took over the directorship. Archbishop Claret, called back from Cuba to Madrid to be Confessor to Queen Isabella II, contrived to remain very close to the new Superior General and to all the missionaries. He attended the General Chapters. He edited the Constitutions, which the Holy See approved on 11 February 1870, a few months before his death. He provided guidance for the Institute, as well as contributing financial help for its needs. He also wrote his Autobiography for the good of the Congregation and at the order of the Superior General, who had once been his spiritual director.
The Congregation then suffered a new and difficult situation. With the coming of the Revolution of 1868, the Congregation was suppressed by the state and all the Missionaries had to seek refuge in France. Archbishop Claret also had to go there into exile where he died a holy death in 1870. This was also the time when the Congregation had its first martyr, Fr. Francisco Crusats. But the Founder had the great satisfaction of seeing new foundations spring up throughout Spain, as well as in Africa (Argel) and Latin America (Chile).
2. The Congregation’s Expansion
The generalate of Fr. José Xifré lasted 40 years, from 1858 to 1899. When he began his term of office, the Congregation had 1 house and 10 members. When he died, it had 61 houses and around 1,300 members.
Once the monarchy was restored in Spain in 1875, the Congregation was able to recover the houses from which it had been driven by the Revolution and began a period of expansion, not only in Spain, but also in Africa and America.
Special mention needs to be made of the missions of Equatorial Guinea, Cuba and Mexico. The Missionaries developed impressive apostolic, cultural and social work, often accompanied by extreme hardships for the Missionaries, costing some of them their lives. For example, of the 11 Missionaries that made up the first expedition to Cuba all but 2 died a few days after arriving on the island.
As membership in the Congregation grew, formation centers were needed and as the Congregation spread, juridical reorganization was required to assure good governance.
3. The First Half of the Twentieth Century
The process of growth and establishment was constant. The Congregation kept expanding into other countries and developing its ministry of preaching the Gospel, both in traditional ways (popular missions and spiritual exercises) and in new ones for the Congregation (parishes and teaching). Journals were founded and publishing houses opened, all consistent with the Claretian influence on the apostolate of the written word.
But trials and suffering were also part of these years. During the Mexican Revolution (1927) Fr. Andrés Solá died a martyr; and in the Spanish Civil War (1936) 271 Missionary priests, brothers and students recieved the palm of martyrdom, among them the 51 Blessed Martyrs of Barbastro. In 1949 all the missionaries were expelled from China.
4. The Congregation’s Second Century Begins
In 1949 the Congregation celebrated its first hundred years with 2,638 professed members and 160 novices. It was now international, present in 25 countries, and that same year a German, Fr. Peter Schweiger was elected Superior General.
The canonization of the founder Anthony Mary Claret on 7 May 1950 was a peak moment for the Congregation. Not only was this the acknowledgment of his personal holiness, but also the Church’s ringing endorsement of the work of the Congregation.
The celebration of the Second Vatican Council had great impact on the renewal of the Congregation, on a deeper understanding of Claretian identity in the Church and on new missionary efforts. The renewal process continues, reaffirmed year after year, and accompanied by the Congregation’s expansion in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Not only have new foundations been set up in various countries, but also new frontiers in ministry have been opened and new apostolic activities undertaken: centers for Bible study, renewed forms of popular missions, services specifically directed to religious themselves, concrete commitments on behalf of peace, justice and the safeguarding of creation, presence among the poor, the marginated and immigrants, promotion of the social communications media and of interreligious dialogue.
In 1999 the Congregation celebrated its 150th anniversary. As proof of its fidelity to its mission, an occasion both of anguish and glory, was the martyrdom of our Filipino brother Fr. Rhoel Gallardo in May 2000 as well as persecution, kidnappings and all kinds of violence that the Congregation has undergone in recent years all over the world.
As of 31 December 2001, the Congregation had 17 bishops, 2033 priests, 257 brothers, 598 professed students and 145 novices, from 63 countries, in 451 communities. |
