Community of Catholic priests
Congregation of Missionary Sons
of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Herb_CMF.jpg/175px-Herb_CMF.jpg) Coat of arms of the Claretians
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Abbreviation
| CMF
|
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Nickname
| Claretians
|
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Formation
| 16 July 1849
(174 years ago)
(
16 July 1849
)
|
---|
Founders
| Antonio Maria Claret
,
C.M.F.
Esteban Sala, CMF
Jose Xifre, CMF
|
---|
Founded at
| Barcelona
,
Catalonia
,
Spain
|
---|
Type
| Clerical
religious congregation
of
pontifical right
for men
|
---|
Headquarters
| Via del Sacro Cuore di Maria 5,
Rome
,
Italy
|
---|
Membership
(2020)
| 3,034 members (2,239 priests)
|
---|
motto
| Latin
:
Silii Ejus Beatissimam Predicaverunt
English
:
His disciples preached the Beatitudes
|
---|
Superior General
| Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, CMF
|
---|
Main organ
| Commentarium pro Religiosis et Missionariis
|
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Parent organization
| Catholic Church
|
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Website
| claret
.org
|
---|
The
Claretians
, officially named the
Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(
Latin
:
Congregatio Missionariorum Filiorum Immaculati Cordis Beatae Mariae Virginis
; abbreviated
CMF
), is a
Catholic
clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was founded on July 16, 1849, by Fr. Antonio Maria Claret y Clara, C.M.F. They are active as
missionaries
worldwide, in 70 countries on five continents. The number of Claretian priests and brothers is at more than 3,000.
[
year needed
]
[1]
The Congregation has a particular devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
[1]
and members have published extensively in
Mariology
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The Congregation of the "Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" was founded by Anthony Mary Claret on July 16, 1849, at the seminary in
Vic
, in the province of
Barcelona
,
Catalonia
,
Spain
.
[3]
Claret had been thinking for a long time about preparing priests to proclaim the
Gospel
and bring together a group of priests who shared his vision to accomplish the work he could not do alone. Through his missionary work in
Catalonia
and the
Canary Islands
he was convinced that people needed to be evangelized and there were not enough priests who were sufficiently prepared or zealous enough for this mission. Only 20 days after the CMF's founding, Claret received news of his appointment as Archbishop of
Cuba
,
[3]
which he accepted despite his reluctance. The Congregation was left under the guidance of one of the co-founders, Esteban Sala, who died in 1858. Another co-founder, Jose Xifre, took over the directorship.
[4]
Under his leadership the Congregation established its first mission in Equatorial Guinea.
San Antonio Maria Claret
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 went into exile there.
[3]
He played a major role editing the Constitutions, which the
Holy See
approved on February 11, 1870, only a few months before his death. At this time the institute had its first martyr, Francisco Crusats. Archbishop Claret, the founder, had the great satisfaction of seeing new foundations established throughout Spain, as well as in
Africa
(Argel), and in
Latin America
in
Mexico
,
Chile
, and also, in the
Philippines
.
[5]
The missionaries often faced extreme hardships. Of the eleven that made up the first expedition to Cuba all but two died a few days after arriving on the island. During the Mexican Revolution, Andres Sola died a martyr; and in the
Spanish Civil War
, 270 missionary priests, brothers and students were killed. Among them are the "51 Blessed Martyrs of Barbastro", members of the Claretian community at the seminary in Barbastro, Spain who were executed in August 1936, including nine priests and five brothers. Two were spared as they were foreigners from Argentina.
[6]
These 51 Claretian Martyrs were the companions of the 18 Benedictine Martyrs of El Pueyo, Barbastro. They were beatified by
Pope John Paul II
on 25 October 1992, and are commemorated on 25 October.
[7]
The relics of all fifty-one martyrs are kept at their original seminary in Barbastro, which now functions as a museum and chapel.
From 1949 to 1952 the missionaries were banned in China. In 1973 through the instrumentality of Fr Christian Ihedoro, the Congregation came to Nigeria.
[8]
In May 2000,
Rhoel Gallardo
was murdered by Islamic separatists in Mindanao.
[5]
Publications
[
edit
]
The Congregation has an academic publishing company,
Editiones Institutum Iuridicum Claretianum
(Ediurcla), based in Rome.
[9]
Their journal
Commentarium pro Religiosis
has been appearing since 1920, from 1935 as
Commentarium pro Religiosis et Missionariis
(abbreviated
CRM
, ISSN 1124-0172).
A number of Claretian publishing houses are united in the Claret Publishing Group, including Misioneros Claretianos (
Sevilla
), Editorial Claretiana (
Buenos Aires
), Misioneros Claretianos (
Madrid
), Claretian Communications Foundation Inc. (
Quezon City
, formerly Claretian Publications, established 1981
[10]
) Claretian Publications (
Bangalore
[11]
) and Congregation Des Missionaires Claretians (
Yaounde
).
[12]
The Claretians of the
United States
and
Canada
also operate Claretian Publications and the
U.S. Catholic
magazine.
[13]
By location
[
edit
]
ECLA - Europeans Claretians
[
edit
]
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
Buckden Towers
The community established the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hayes in 1912 to offer services to Spanish speaking immigrants in the London area. The parish ministry continues to serve the different immigrant communities that pass through Hayes.
Buckden Towers
was left by a Mrs Edelston to the diocese of Northampton. It served as the Claretians Junior Seminary until 1965. Parish work was undertaken in the area, especially in the American Air bases at Chalveston, Alconbury and Molesworth. Then in 1969 the diocese of Northampton asked the Claretians to make Buckden Towers a parish under the title of St Hugh of Lincoln. The parish has grown in numbers and the Bishop of East Anglia asked the Claretians to take over the parish of St Neots as well in 2011.
[14]
In 1997 the Claretians took over the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual parish of St Josephs, Leyton, Brentwood diocese.
[15]
MICLA - Claretians Missionaries of America
[
edit
]
United States
[
edit
]
California
[
edit
]
Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF
The Claretians came to
Southern California
by way of Mexico in the early 1900s, working in
Los Angeles
inner city missions. Since 1908 the Claretians have operated the historic
La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles
in
Pueblo de Los Angeles
near
Downtown Los Angeles
, as well as
Mission San Gabriel
, one of the original
Spanish missions in California
.
[16]
One noted member of the Claretian community in the Los Angeles area was Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF, born in Spain, who arrived there in 1930. He spent nearly fifty years in various position of the congregation in the
American Southwest
, but mostly Los Angeles. He became known as a man of deep faith, who touched thousands in his ministry and is considered by many as a
mystic
. The cause for his
canonization
is under consideration by the congregation, after hundreds of requests prompted the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
to refer the matter to them.
[17]
From 1952 to 1977 The Claretians also served from the Theological Seminary of Claretville and Immaculate Heart Claretian
novitiate
, on the former King Gillette Ranch in
Calabasas
, located in the
Santa Monica Mountains
of rural western
Los Angeles County
. The Thomas Aquinas College was also here from 1971 until moving to a permanent campus in
Santa Paula, California
in 1975. The land and structures are now part of
Malibu Creek State Park
.
[18]
The Claretians returned to their original
Southern California
location, the Dominguez Seminary near the
Dominguez Rancho Adobe
of
Rancho San Pedro
, in
Rancho Dominguez, California
near
Long Beach
.
Our Lady of Guadelupe church, South Chicago, Chicago
National Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago
[
edit
]
The national shrine of
St. Jude
was founded by James Tort, CMF, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in
Chicago
,
Illinois
,
United States
. Many of Tort's parishioners were laborers in the nearby steel mills, which were drastically cutting back their work forces early in 1929.
[19]
Tort was saddened to see that about 90% of his parishioners were without jobs and in difficult financial situations.
In an effort to lift the spirits of his parishioners, Tort began regular devotions to Saint Jude. The first
novena
honoring the saint was held on February 17, 1929.
[19]
During the Depression of the 1930s and during World War II, thousands of men, women, and children attended novenas at the shrine and devotion to the patron saint of desperate causes spread throughout the country.
[20]
In South America
[
edit
]
The Claretians divide their territorial presence in South America into provinces:
- Province of Colombia-Venezuela.
- Province of Colombia-Ecuador.
- Province of Brasil (Brasil, Mozambique).
- Province of Peru-Bolivia.
- Province of San Jose del Sur (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay).
ASCLA EAST- Asian Claretians East
[
edit
]
In the Philippines
[
edit
]
After the end of World War II, the Claretians arrived in the Philippines and took over Sta. Barbara Parish, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan upon the invitation by the late Bishop Mariano Aspiras Madriaga, D.D. of the then Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. The first Claretian missionaries in the Philippines were Fr. Raymond Catalan, CMF, Fr. Arcadio Hortelano Martin, CMF and Fr. Thomas Mitchell, CMF. Through the years, the Claretians were able to establish different institutions like Claret Schools of Quezon City and Zamboanga, Claret College of Isabela, Claretian Publications Philippines (now Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.). Likewise, they managed mission areas especially in Mindanao.
[21]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Who is a Claretian?", St. Thomas Province of the Clarentians
- ^
O'Carroll, Michael.
Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary
, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2000
ISBN
9781579104542
- ^
a
b
c
claretiansusa.org/the-congregation/ "The Congregation", Claretian Missionaries-USA
- ^
"About us", The Claretian Missionaries, Rome
- ^
a
b
"The Beginnings", Claretian Missionaries, Sri Lanka
- ^
Valderrabano cmf, Jose Felix. "The Martyr Seminary"
- ^
Bunson, Matthew et al. "Martyrs of Barbastro, Blessed",
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints
, OSV Publishing, 2003
ISBN
9781931709750
- ^
"
"History", Claretian Missionaries, Delegation of West Nigeria"
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-02-06
. Retrieved
2016-01-25
.
- ^
ediurcla.it
- ^
claretianpublications.com
- ^
claretianpublications.org
- ^
bibleclaret.org
- ^
"Publishing | Claretian Missionaries?USA-Canada Province"
.
www.claretiansusa.org
. 2013-05-20
. Retrieved
2021-12-12
.
- ^
St. Joseph and St. Hugh, Catholic Parish of St. Neots and Buckden
- ^
Claretian Missionaries, United Kingdom and Ireland
- ^
Arnold, Richard J.,
San Gabriel
, Arcadia Publishing, 2013
ISBN
9781467130615
- ^
Levy, Francis X.,
Aloysius
, Llumina Press, 2013
ISBN
9781605949970
- ^
Guide to King Gillette Ranch
Archived
November 8, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
"History of the Claretians and the National Shrine of St. Jude", National Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago, Illinois
- ^
Orsi, Robert A.,
Thank You, St. Jude: Womens Devotion to the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes
, Yale University Press, 2014
ISBN
9780300162691
- ^
"Claret Philippines"
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Claretians
.
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Male
and
female
| | Coat of arms of Vatican City
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Male
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Female
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