Xaverian Brothers
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Congregation of the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier | |
Abbreviation | C.F.X. |
---|---|
Formation | 1839 |
Founder | Br. Theodoor Jacobus Rijken, C.F.X. |
Type | Lay Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right (for Men) |
Headquarters | 4409 Frederick Ave., Baltimore, MD 21229, USA |
Membership (2019) | 163 [1] |
Superior General | Br. Daniel Skala, C.F.X. |
Website | xaverianbrothers.org |
The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by
History
At age 34, Ryken went to North America, where he served as a
Founding
When Ryken returned to the United States in 1837, Bishop Joseph Rosati of the Diocese of St. Louis, Missouri, persuaded him that the children of Catholic immigrants were in even more need of instruction than Native Americans. The bishop encouraged him to found a congregation of laymen to teach all classes of youth. Six other bishops sanctioned his plan to bring religious teachers to the United States.[2]
Ryken went to Rome to receive the permission and blessing of Pope
On June 15, 1839, Ryken, then 42 years old, settled in a rented house on Ezelstraat in the centuries-old city of Bruges, Belgium. For five days he waited for the arrival of the two companions who had promised to join him in his undertaking: a weaver and a tailor. His companions proved to be less dedicated and resilient than he and he needed a year to recruit better suited candidates. He and his colleagues soon opened two primary schools in Bruges, and some of the Xavieran Brothers were sent to a normal school at Sint-Truiden for professional teacher training.[3]
By 1841, the community had grown beyond the space available in the little house on Ezelstraat; with a loan from a sympathetic banker, Ryken purchased a large estate in a neighboring section of Bruges called "Het Walletje", for the moat that surrounded it. A boys' sodality was opened at Het Walletje, followed shortly by a primary school in the same place; the work of catechizing was taken up at the Church of Notre-Dame, and some attention was given to the training of deaf-mutes. The brothers' first grammar school was opened at Bruges in 1844 and in the following year a second school was established.[3] The Xaverian Brothers began to attract candidates from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Ireland and France.
In 1848, a colony of brothers went to England to open schools in parishes in Bury and Manchester. Eventually, they opened Clapham College, London and the boarding schools of Mayfield College and its associated preparatory boarding school at Foxhunt Manor, in Sussex. Mayfield College closed in 1999 because of the lack of entrants to the order.
Troubles and resignation
For the rest of his superiorship, Ryken would be burdened by the loan he took in order to purchase Het Walletje. In addition, he was not a very good administrator, and his institute had a crisis at the Mother House in Bruges. Ryken was asked to tender his resignation by
Before his death on November 26, 1871, at age 74, Ryken attended the first general chapter of his institute in Bruges in 1869. By this time the institute had cleared its debt and the number of brothers had increased from 58 in 1860 to 133. They had nine well-established communities working among the poor in Belgium, England, and the United States.
Mission to the United States
In 1853
In 1864, Spalding, then
By 1900, the Xaverian Brothers had opened schools in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Rosary making
A small
Controversy
Following a Pennsylvania Grand Jury ruling in 2019, an internal Xaverian Brothers investigation revealed 34 brothers credibly accused of sexually abusing school children.
Affiliated schools
Previously affiliated schools
St Francis Roman Catholic Grammar School | Hartlepool, England | n/a |
St Joseph Preparatory School | Bardstown, Kentucky
|
1911-68 |
Leonard Hall Jr. Naval Academy | Leonardtown, Maryland
|
n/a |
Mayfield College | Mayfield, England | n/a |
Mission Church High School | Boston, Massachusetts | 1925-68 |
Flaget High School | Louisville, Kentucky | 1942-74 |
References
- ^ Annuario Pontificio 2019 (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana), 1422.
- ^ a b c Kuppel, William. "Theodore James Ryken." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 August 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c Kuppel, William. "Xaverian Brothers." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 17 August 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Xaverian Brothers". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- Xaverian Brothers Official website
- Living the Charism The Brothers' blog site with articles, communications, videos, news, etc.
- Xaverian Brothers in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
- General Archives of Xaverian Brothers in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
- Belgian Archives of Xaverian Brothers in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures