Missionaries of La Salette
Missionarium Saletiniensis (Latin) | |
Formation | 1852 |
---|---|
Founder | Philibert de Bruillard |
Founded at | La Salette, France |
Purpose | Dedicated to making known the message of Our Lady of La Salette |
Headquarters | Motherhouse Rome, Italy |
Region | North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. |
Superior General | Silvano Marisa |
Post-nominal initials | MS |
Parent organization | Roman Catholic Church |
The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette (M.S. - Missionarium Saletiniensis) are a
Description
Statues from the site of the apparition in the tiny mountain village of La Salette, in the commune of
bears a small hammer and pincers on either side of the cross as worn by Our Lady. The hammer traditionally symbolizes the instrument that crucified Christ and the pincers symbolize the instrument that removes the nails. The crucifix was adopted by the La Salette as their distinctive symbol.Worldwide, the
In
History
The La Salette religious congregation traces its origin to a reported
The Missionaries of La Salette were founded in 1852 by
Finding it hard to recruit from the secular clergy, the congregation founded an Apostolic school or missionary college in 1876. After a six-year classical course, students enter a novitiate where they study the vows and religious life obligations. After profession of their first simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, they enter the scholasticate in Rome, to complete their philosophical and theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University.[3]
In 1892, after pursuing possible bases in
In 1902 they were received into the Diocese of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada and also into the Archdiocese of New York.At the request of Archbishop Langevin of St. Boniface, Canada, a few members were sent from the mother-house in Hartford to establish themselves in West Canada with headquarters at Forget, Saskatchewan from where they served in four parishes. In 1909 the missionaries deemed their institute sufficiently developed, owing to additional foundations in Belgium, Madagascar, Poland, and Brazil, and the superior general petitioned the Holy See to approve their constitutions. The request was granted 29 January 1909.[3] Restrictions against religious institutes in France were lifted in 1914, and a number of the congregations's members served in World War I, with fifteen losing their lives.
In North America the institute spread their parish work throughout the United States and Canada. The North American mission first established a province based in Hartford in 1934. Three more province establishments followed at Attleboro (1945),
The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette was opened in Attleboro, Massachusetts in 1953. The shrine is known for its Christmas Festival of Lights but also offers daily programs and events throughout the year.[1]
Vows
As members of a religious congregation the La Salettes embrace the evangelical counsels, taking the three traditional religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty means that all possessions are held in common and that no member may accumulate wealth. Chastity means more than abstaining from sexual activity and its purpose is to make the religious totally available for service; it is also a sign that only God can completely fill the human heart. For a member of a religious congregation, obedience is not slavishly doing what one is told by the superior but being attentive to God’s will by prayerfully listening to the voice of the person in charge. Ultimately, these vows are lived out within a community and bolstered by a relationship with God.
Religious Formation
In the initial stages, those interested in joining the congregation have several meetings with a La Salette priest, usually with visits to a community. Young adults aged 18 and over, meet regularly to share their experiences of God and what he may be calling them to become. During this time the members of the congregation share what it is like to be a
Novitiate
If the candidate wishes to pursue his vocation to join the La Salettes he may enter the novitiate which is the time for preparing to take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The novitiate year is crucial, for it is then “...that the novices better understand their divine vocation, and indeed one which is proper to the institute, experience the manner of living of the institute, and form their mind and heart in its spirit, and so that their intention and suitability are tested.”[5] Thus, the novices are given the opportunity for longer periods of prayer and spiritual reading as well as silence in order to reflect on the vocation God is offering and nature of their response. The spiritual development of the novice is of particular focus, especially through spiritual direction. During the novitiate the history and Constitutions of the Congregation are studied in depth.
A simple profession is made at the end of the novitiate and the person officially becomes a member of the congregation for “By religious profession, members assume the observance of the three evangelical counsels by public vow, are consecrated to God through the ministry of the Church, and are incorporated into the institute with the rights and duties defined by law.”[6]
Post Novitiate
After the novitiate, the new members of the congregation continue their studies; those called to be brothers pursue a relevant course. Those men called to serve the
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Our History". National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. Attleboro, Massachusetts. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ P. Jean Stern, Philibert de Bruillard (1765-1860), l’évêque de Grenoble qui approuva La Salette. Editions du Signe, Strasbourg, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Missionaries of La Salette". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon. Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History [4 Volumes]: 5,000 Years of Religious History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. p1587
- ^ vatican. a/archive/ENG1104/__P25.HTM Code of Canon Law 646
- ^ ENG1104/__P26.HTM Code of Canon Law 654
- ^ Canon 657.2