#parisforeignmissionssociety — Public Fediverse posts

Congregation of the Holy Spirit

Officially known as: the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. Or in Latin: Congregatio Beatissimae Virginis Mariae.

This is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are known as Holy Ghost Fathers. Or in continental Europe, & the Anglosphere, as Spiritans. Members use the postnominals: CSSp. Postnominals are letters placed after a person’s name to signify academic degrees, professional qualifications, awards, military decorations, or honorific titles (like PhD).

The order began in Paris on Pentecost Sunday, 1703. Claude Poullart des Places was a wealthy young lawyer who abandoned his social standing to become a priest. He wanted to form a religious institute for young men who wanted to become priests but were too poor to do so.

Unlike orders that focused on the elite, Claude was moved by the plight of “poor scholars.” HIs vision was a “proletariat” clergy. Priests assignments in hospitals, rural parishes, & overseas missions.

Claude was born on February 26, 1679 in the capital city of Brittany, France: Rennes. Claude was tutored at home before being enrolled at the age of 9-10 as a day student in the nearby Jesuit college of St. Thomas. Thus beginning his lifelong association with the Society of Jesus.

Graduating at 16, Claude studied at the University of Caen, Normandy. Before graduating at 22, with a Licentiate in Law from the Law School of Nantes. A licentiate in law is an individual holding an academic degree or professional certification. This is usually below a doctorate but above a bachelor’s, that authorizes them to practice law.

In 1701, Claude Poullart began his studies for the priesthood, as a boarder at the Jesuit College in Paris. His work grew quickly. The Order developed. However, Claude passed away at 29, or 31 depending on the source, of pleurisy after founding the order.

After the founder’s death, the order became fully organized. In 1765, the South American missions, in colonies such as China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand (Siam), & India under the support of the Paris Foreign missionaries arrived in Senegal, Africa.

Those in France served in various dioceses or alongside the de Montfont missionaries. This was due to the close friendship between Poullart & Louis de Montfont. The Order had trained 1,300 priests in the years leading up to 1792, when the seminary was suppressed by the French Revolution. The French Revolution saw the Spiritans have their property seized & many were executed or exiled to England, Italy, & Switzerland.

After the French Revolution only 1 member remained, James Bertout. He survived a series of hardships like being shipwrecked on his way to his destined mission in French Guiana, enslaved by the Moors, & a short stay in Senegal (where he had been sold to the English).

On his return to France, he reestablished the Order & continued its work. But he found it VERY hard to recover sufficiently from the effects caused by the Revolution.

In 1841/1842, Francis Liberman founded the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary (a.k.a. Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) This society is/was dedicated to serve mainly the emancipated black slaves in the French colonies. Particularly in Africa & the Caribbean.

In 1848, the Holy See asked Liberman to merge his relatively new society with the struggling Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Lieberman was made the 1st Superior General of the united groups. This effectively saving the Spiritan name & legacy.

Liberman’s approach to missionary work was revolutionary from the time. He instructed his missionaries not to “Europeanize” the people they served. Besides the missions in Africa, the society started missions in Mauritius, Reunion, & the Rodriguez Islands. In the Western Hemisphere, they had missions in Trinidad, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, & Amazonia.

The Spiritans arrived in the United States in 1972, fleeing the Kulturkampf (persecution of Catholics) in Germany. They found a home in industrial heartlands, particularly Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Order is known in the United States for founding Duquesne University in 1878. This university was originally established to provide an education to the kids of poor immigrants working in the steel mills. It grew into a major research institution. The university’s motto (Spiritus est qui vivificat, “It is the Spirit who gives life”) reflects the order’s charism.

By the early 20th century the organization into the following provinces: France, Ireland, Portugal, United States of America, & Germany.

On December 31, 1961, 20 Spiritans: 19 Belgians & 1 Dutch man, were unalived in Kongolo (in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) by government troops during the Katanga Secession Rebellion.

In Rome, on April 24, 1979, Pope John Paul II presided over the beautification ceremony for Jacques-Desire Laval. The 1st member of the Spiritans to be honored.

Today, there are about 3,000 Spiritans serving in over 60 countries. They’re often associated with schools & chaplaincy, & missionary work.

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Quote of the day, 23 June: St. Thérèse

I feel quite unworthy to be associated especially with one of the Missionaries of our Adorable Jesus, but since obedience entrusts me with this sweet task, I am assured that my Heavenly Spouse will make up for my feeble merits (upon which I do not rely in any way) and that He will fulfill the desires of my soul by making your apostolate fruitful. I will be truly happy to work with you for the salvation of souls; it is for this purpose that I have become a Carmelite nun…

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Letter 189 to Père Adolphe Roulland (excerpt)
23 June 1896

In 1896, seminarian Adolphe Roulland of the Paris Foreign Missions Society wrote to the Lisieux Carmel requesting a nun to support his missionary vocation through prayer. Mother Marie de Gonzague entrusted the request to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. In 1911, Fr. Roulland gave sworn testimony in her beatification cause. Reflecting on their spiritual bond and her promise to support his apostolate, he recalled one moment from his mission in China that he believed bore the unmistakable mark of her protection:

During a persecution, nearly 200 Christian women, both married and unmarried—many of them young—had taken refuge in my residence. While I was away, bandits prepared to descend on the house. Before setting out, they made one final invocation to their gods by lighting firecrackers in their honor. One of the fireworks ignited their own gunpowder: the explosion destroyed their temple, killing or burning many of the bandits; the rest fled in all directions. The alarm was raised; the Christian women and girls in my care were saved before they ever knew the danger. I did not for a moment doubt the protection of Sister Thérèse, who had promised to watch over me and my Christians, and to whom I commended the affairs of my mission each day. These events took place around 1904.

— Fr. Adolphe Roulland, M.E.P.
Testimony given 19 January 1911
Ordinary Process for the Beatification of the Servant of God Thérèse of the Child Jesus

Thérèse of Lisieux, S & Clarke, J 1988, General Correspondence: Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux: Volume 2 1890-1897. Centenary ed., Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: The featured image overlays a vintage portrait of Fr. Adolphe Roulland, M.E.P. (c. 1896), over a background of Chinese silk brocade.
Portrait: Public domain; photographer unknown. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Background textile: Chinese silk brocade by uinmine. Image licensed via Adobe Stock (Asset ID# 118830492), used in accordance with Adobe Express terms.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
If you could ask Saint Thérèse to intercede for something in our world today, what would it be?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#AdolpheRoulland #China #intercession #ParisForeignMissionsSociety #StThereseOfLisieux