Claretian Formation

FR. NICHOLAS GARCÍA’S FIRST MANDATE (1922-1934)

Main Internal Events

On March 2, 1922, after strenuous work for the good of the Congregation, Fr. Martin Alsina died in Zafra, leaving a wide, hope-filled prospect for the future. In October of the same year the XII General Chapter was celebrated in Vic. A new Superior General was elected in the person of Fr. Nicholas García, who would rule the Congregation for many years. In this General Chapter, the Constitutions were adapted to the new Canon Law that had just been promulgated in 1917, the observance of the Congregation was revised, the transfer of the General Quarters to Rome was recommended, and matters on liturgy, missions, seminaries, etc. were discussed.

In 1923 the Provinces of Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Guinea, Colombia and USA were created. On July 16, 1924 the Constitutions, adapted to the new Canon Law, were definitively approved and the CIA (Particular Law of the Congregation) was published. That year the Diamond Anniversary of the Congregation was celebrated and its prestige grew more and more among the bishops and the Roman Curia.

Mission to Russia

The Holy See organised in 1922 a charitable mission to bring material help to remedy, as much as possible, the hunger and its disastrous effects in Southern Russia. First, the Nuncio of His Holiness in Spain and, later, the Secretariat of State appealed to the Congregation asking for its co-operation and personnel for the Pontifical Mission. The Superiors, always eager to support the desires of the Holy See and thankful for the honour shown to the Congregation in asking it to participate in such important work, generously offered their resolute co-operation and presented to the Holy See Frs. Peter Voltas and Angel Elorz. They joined the Pontifical Mission and went to Russia where they heroically worked in helping those in need.

The International Votive Temple of Rome

On 15 July 1925 the construction work of the international votive temple was started in Rome, in the Parioli area. The idea of this grandiose monument came from Pope Pius XI who, in his desire that the Immaculate Heart of Mary should have in the Eternal City a Temple worthy of the capital of the Catholic world, entrusted the task to the sons of Fr. Claret. There were great difficulties, because the land was not apt to support such an enormous weight, but the Popes sustained the work with their encouragement.

The Codex Iuris Additicii (CIA)

The usually called CIA was a compilation of all the ordinations and dispositions given by the General Chapters and Governments until the General Chapter of 1922 inclusively. Later on, it had three editions with their respective revisions and adaptations (1925, 1940 and 1953). In 1955 it was given the name of Epítome del Derecho Adicional in its Spanish translation.

New Persecutions in Mexico

In Mexico, a journalist attributed to the Archbishop of the capital, Msgr. Joseph Mora y del Río some declarations, according to which he had protested against some evil laws, oppressive of the Church. As a consequence of that, the Government, based on the prevailing Constitution, ordered the deportation of 18 foreign priests. Most of them were Spaniards and four of them Claretians. A victim of this persecution in 1927 was Fr. Andrew Solá, whose cause of beatification is only waiting for the beatification date to be decided upon.

The Ordo Studiorum Generalis (O.S.G.)

The Chapter of 1922 had asked for a new ordination of studies in the Congregation. A commission worked on this matter until 1929 when Fr. Nicholas García promulgated the book that came to be known as OSG. This plan of studies gathered, in addition to the orientations of the Chapter, the proposals of the Congregation, channelled through the Prefectures of Study, and other documents of the Holy See, of Religious Institutes and Congregations, of Seminaries and Church Universities. The OSG was in vigour in the whole Congregation until its adaptation in 1959.

The Well Instructed Novice

The passing of time, the publication of the new Code and the development of our particular law demanded that a new original and specifically Claretian work be published for the novices, which would pick up the original charismatic spirit of the Founder. Thus the idea of the treatise El Novicio Instruido [The Well Instructed Novice] was born. It was written by Fr. Raymond Ribera in 1931. The work has abundant references to the Word of God, the Heart of Mary and the Congregation.

Mission in China

In 1928 the Holy See offered the Congregation the direction of the Central Seminary of Kaiffeng in China. In October of 1929 Fr. Anastasio Rojas and his companions embarked for Shanghai. In 1933 new missionaries left to take charge of the Vicariate of Wuhu. The Congregation lived a moment of missionary euphoria through the letters that were being received. In 1937 the Apostolic Prefecture of Tunki was created and entrusted to the Congregation. Fr. Joseph Fogued was made first Apostolic Prefect. There were great difficulties: the language, the scorn with which they treated foreigners. Everything was neglected. But our missionaries immediately began to reconstruct the Christian community. It was the first time that Asia opened up to our missionaries. This adventure would not last too long, since they were expelled in 1949 by the Communist revolution.

Beatification of Fr. Claret

On 25 February 1934 the first fruit of the efforts of the Claretians was obtained when they saw their Founder beatified. Many were the decrees, discourses and congratulations that came from everywhere immediately after Fr. Claret’s beatification. But the most expressive of all was, no doubt, the allocution of Pope Pius XI and the words he addressed on several occasions to the people and to the Congregation on this particular event. Some of them: “Congratulations to Spain… for this hero of holiness who so well knew his Spain, to which he consecrated his entire life under all circumstances, even in the midst of the turbulence and dangers of the preludes of a revolution.”

Foundations increase

It would be impossible to continue taking note of the many foundations in the Congregation in this and subsequent periods, but it is worth mentioning some of the more important ones.

In December of 1923 the first Claretian missionaries arrived in Venezuela, concretely to San Fernando de Apure and San Casimiro, diocese of Calabozo. That same year a foundation was established also in Panama and in Santo Domingo, the first in the Dominican Republic. In 1925 the Vicariate of Darien in Panama and the Prelature of San José de Tocantins in Brazil were accepted. That year, two Bolivian dioceses were given to two Claretians: Frs. Abel Antezana and Raymond Font. In 1925 the Vice-Province of Peru was erected. In 1927 the first foundation in El Salvador (San Salvador) was opened, and that same year the houses of São Tomé and Príncipe were founded.

In 1924 the house of Spaichingen was founded, followed by others in Germany and Poland (Miedary 1932), and the first German Visitorship was founded in 1932. Some of its members went also to evangelise in America.

In 1930 the Province of Italy was created.

In 1935 the professed members of the Congregation were 2,435, plus 134 novices and 821 postulants, with 204 houses.