CLERICS OF SAINT VIATOR. — A religious congregation founded in 1823 by the priest Louis Querbes (1793–1859), parish priest of Vourles near Lyon, for the purpose of teaching and the sacred ministry. It was approved by civil authority in 1830, by ecclesiastical authority the following year, and definitively by the Holy See in 1839. The congregation is composed of catechists (religious teachers) and assistants (lay brothers). The catechists are assigned to teaching; they may be priests or not, but they profess the same rule and enjoy the same privileges. The offices of higher superiors and novice masters are reserved to priests. Catechists may serve as local superiors, members of the general council, and provincial councils.
They are established in Belgium, France, Spain, Canada, the United States, China, and Japan, with primary, secondary, and university schools. The priests also animate parish and seminary life. The institute today numbers 1,500 professed members, of whom 350 are priests, and educates 22,000 pupils in its schools.