DIOCESAN WORKER PRIESTS. – They were founded by Manuel Domingo y Sol, a priest of the diocese of Tortosa, in 1881, for the direction of the « S. José » colleges which he had established in several cities of Spain and of the diocesan seminaries.
The D. W. P. have the spirit of a religious congregation, without losing the character of secular priests, so as to be in perfect harmony with the clergy whom they are to form. The novelty of such a juridical conception gave rise to certain difficulties, which the founder succeeded in overcoming with great prudence. On 2 February 1884 the « Hermandad » received the approval of the bishop of Tortosa, and on 1 August 1887 Leo XIII issued the decree of praise.
On 1 August 1927 Pius XI definitively approved the Institute and provisionally its constitutions, which subsequently received definitive approval on 23 March 1933. At the proposal of the General Chapter of July 1951, the Holy See, by a decree of 8 December of the same year, enrolled the « Hermandad » among the secular institutes in accordance with the constitution Provida Mater. At present the D. W. P. number 142, with a formation house in Salamanca and a house for aspirants in Buenos Aires; they direct 20 seminaries in Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru, as well as the Spanish College in Rome for the formation and education of clerics sent by the Spanish bishops. They are also entrusted with the temples of the Reparación in Tortosa and Valencia, the « Pio XII » University College in Valencia, and the Hispano-American Major College of Salamanca. They publish the journals El Congregante de S. Luis (Tortosa), Sigueme (Salamanca), and La Reparación (there).