Congregation of the Holy Spirit

CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. - It was founded in Paris on 20 May 1703 by Claude François Poullart des Places. The latter, still a layman, came to the aid of poor fellow students, gathering them around himself with the help of some companions. This was the first community of the seminary of the Holy Spirit. The young men were to be trained to fill humble positions, for which it is not easy to find candidates. This praiseworthy initiative received the sanction of the Holy See in 1824. Until the French Revolution the students of the seminary of the Holy Spirit, though sought after in many dioceses of France, preferred the colonies and the mission fields. They therefore went to Canada and to the Far East, where they collaborated with the society of the Foreign Missions of Paris. The apostolic prefecture of Guiana in South America was also entrusted to them. In France they were sought after for the direction of certain large diocesan seminaries. Suppressed by the Revolution, the C. was reconstituted in 1816, but at first it struggled to provide sufficient and well-formed men for the French colonies, where they had been invited by the Government and by the Congregation of Propaganda Fide.

In 1841, near Amiens, the novitiate was opened of a small society of missionaries destined for the ministry among the blacks. Father Francis Libermann had been its founder. Born in Saverne in Alsace, to a rabbi, himself destined for the same office alongside his father, in 1826, at the age of 24, he had converted to Catholicism, and at the seminary of St. Sulpice he was preparing for the priesthood, when an illness prevented him for 12 years from continuing. Nevertheless he wished to second the desire of two confreres native to the colonies, who wanted to go to the aid of the blacks and the slaves of their countries. With this intent Libermann went to Rome and in 1840 the Congregation of Propaganda Fide granted him permission to begin this work of apostolate, to which he gave the name of Congregation of the Heart of Mary. From 1841 to 1847 the young Congregation succeeded in recruiting numerous members, sending missionaries to Africa where they met with the priests of the C. of the H. S. Because of the different methods (the latter did not live a common life and did not observe poverty), friction had arisen not only in the missions but also in France itself. The two Congregations stood to gain every advantage from a possible union. And indeed by decree of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, of 10 Sept. 1848, the C. of the H. S. was incorporated into that of the Heart of Mary. Later the question of the vows and of the title was settled in: "C. of the H. S. under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary," of which Father Libermann became superior general until his death (1852). From then on the C. grew in number and in activity. Regular provinces were established successively in France, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the United States, Belgium, Holland, England, Canada, Poland and Switzerland, thanks above all to the appeals of the mission countries, in need of apostolic workers. The missionaries of the Holy Spirit were thus at the beginnings of the revival of the African apostolate in the 19th century and had a free field in West Africa around 1853, when missionary congregations did not yet exist. They founded the first apostolic vicariates in East Africa (Zanzibar and Zangubar), and set out to conquer Central Africa (Congo and Angola). These territories have been divided, thanks to the arrival of numerous missionary societies.

The C. of the H. S. today is a congregation of pontifical right with simple vows, composed of religious priests and of coadjutor brothers. The provinces are closely bound to the central power of the superior general, elected for 12 years, who in turn appoints the provincial superiors and the other superiors of the communities. At present it has more than 4216 professed religious, of whom 33 are bishops, and is divided into 11 provinces, 34 mission districts and more than 360 communities or residences. Its spirit and its aim are principally the apostolate. Everything converges toward the Foreign Missions, without at all neglecting other works that Providence reserves in Christian countries. It is for this reason that it has accepted and is careful to retain the direction of the French seminary in Rome, built at its own expense in 1853.

Augusto Brault