CONGREGAZIONE DELLO SPIRITO SANTO. – It was founded in Paris on 20 May 1703 by Claudio Francesco Poullart des Places. While still a layman, he came to the aid of his poor fellow students, gathering them around himself with the help of several companions. This was the first community of the Seminary of the Holy Spirit. The young men were to be trained to occupy humble positions, for which it is not easy to find suitable 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, although requested by many dioceses in France, preferred the colonies and mission territories. They therefore went to Canada and the Far East, where they collaborated with the Society of the Foreign Missions of Paris. They were also entrusted with the Apostolic Prefecture of Guyana in South America. In France they were sought after to direct several large diocesan seminaries. Suppressed by the Revolution, the Congregation was reconstituted in 1816, but at first it had difficulty providing sufficient and well-trained personnel for the French colonies, where they had been invited by the Government and the Congregation of Propaganda Fide.
In 1841, near Amiens, the novitiate of a small society of missionaries destined for ministry among the Negroes was opened. Fr. Francesco Libermann had been its founder. Born at Saverne in Alsace to a rabbi, and himself destined for the same office alongside his father, in 1826, at the age of 24, he converted to Catholicism and was preparing for the priesthood at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice when an illness prevented him from continuing for 12 years. Nevertheless, he wished to support the desire of two confrères originally from the colonies, who wanted to go to the aid of the Negroes and slaves of their countries. With this purpose Libermann went to Rome, and in 1840 the Congregation of Propaganda Fide granted him permission to begin this apostolic work, to which he gave the name Congregation of the Heart of Mary. From 1841 to 1847 the young Congregation succeeded in recruiting numerous candidates, sending missionaries to Africa, where they encountered the priests of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Because of their differing methods (the latter did not live in community and did not observe poverty), friction arose not only in the missions but also in France itself. Both Congregations stood to gain from a possible union. Indeed, by decree of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide dated 10 September 1848, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit was incorporated into that of the Heart of Mary. Later the question of the vows and the title was regulated as follows: «Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary», of which Fr. Libermann became superior general until his death (1852). From then on the Congregation grew in numbers and activity. Regular provinces were subsequently established in France, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the United States, Belgium, Holland, England, Canada, Poland, and Switzerland, thanks above all to appeals from 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 were given free rein in West Africa around 1853, when missionary congregations still did not exist. They founded the first apostolic vicariates in East Africa (Zanzibar and Zangubar), and moved to conquer Central Africa (Congo and Angola). These territories have been divided as numerous missionary societies subsequently emerged.
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit is today a congregation of pontifical right with simple vows, composed of religious priests and coadjutor brothers. The provinces are closely linked to the central authority 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 4,216 professed religious, including 33 bishops, and is divided into 11 provinces, 34 mission districts, and more than 360 communities or residences. Its spirit and purpose are principally apostolic. Everything is directed toward the Foreign Missions, without in any way neglecting other works that Providence reserves for Christian countries. For this reason it accepted and continues to retain the direction of the French Seminary in Rome, built at its own expense in 1853.