Claretian Formation

SERVANTS OF THE WORD (1991-1997)

The General Chapter of 1991

Servants of the Word (SW) was the title of the document of the XXI General Chapter. It summarised the key to understand the near future of the Claretians. In view of the challenge implied by the fact that two thirds of humanity do not know Christ, the response of the Claretians was: let us be hearing servants of the Word. All this in the unity and diversity of a new face of the Congregation, more varied as regards races, languages and latitudes. For the first time a Chapter gave orientation to the Congregation in keeping with its different continental geographical situation. The New Evangelisation really had in the Congregation a new face, a new impulse, a new method. In this Chapter Fr. Aquilino Bocos, a Spaniard, was elected Superior General.

The Beatification of the 51 Martyrs of Barbas­tro

Seeing the 51 martyrs of Barbastro on the altars on 25 October 1992 was a privilege and an unparalleled motive of thanksgiving for the Congregation. They were the Claretians who were shot in Barbastro during the Spanish civil war of 1936. With their generosity and their missionary dream, which they themselves could not make into reality, they had been a source of inspiration for many acts of heroism. Almost all of them died young, all conscious of their martyrial epic. 

Eastern Europe Opens up

After the General Chapter, the Congregation fixed its gaze on the new missionary possibilities of Eastern Europe. The presence of the Province of Poland in Byelorussia began to consolidate starting in 1991. In 1992 a foundation was definitively made in Krasnoyarsk (Siberia), and in 1995 in Praga (Czech Republic). In 1996 the missionary activity of the Congregation extended to Slovakia with the help of the Polish Province.

Circulars of Fr. General

During this period Fr. General has addressed five circulars to the Congregation. The first was entitled: “Missionary witness of our martyrs” (1992) and was written on the occasion of the beatification of the martyrs of Barbastro. The second was published in 1994 with the title “Towards a renewed missionary commitment.” Fr. General points out in it the challenges of the future, and encourages the Congregation to open up with docility and generosity to the new impulses of the Spirit. The third circular was written in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the approval of the Constitutions. The fourth, entitled “On the road toward the year 2000” (1996) he urged the Congregation to accept the invitation of the Holy Father to prepare for the Jubilee of the beginning of the third millennium. In 1997 he wrote a circular on “The Missionary Brothers” and in 1998 another one entitled “Heritage and Prophecy,” on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation.

During these years the “October letter,” which Fr. General addresses to the Congregation on the occasion of the feast of St. Anthony M. Claret, has also become traditional.

New General Projects

One of the most salient projects in the Congregation these years was the “Word-Mission” Project, which is a process of reading, reflection, community sharing and prayer around the Bible. It was promoted by the General Prefecture of Apostolate, prepared by an international commission and presented in six volumes.

The commentaries on the Constitutions, called “Our Project of Missionary Life,” in three volumes, are the work of various members of the Congregation.

“Claretian Missionaries,” a work in two volumes by Fr. Jesus Alvarez, is an attempt to approach, from the viewpoint of history, the charismatic roots, the spirit and ideal of the Congregation.

During the six-year period the General Plan of Formation was concluded. It was promoted from the General Prefecture of Formation, with the help of an international commission. This plan has been gradually adapted to each Province by means of the Provincial Plans.

A third project that has been promoted during this period, but not set in writing, was the organisation of missionary experiences in mission zones, open to all the members of the Congregation. The first was implemented in the Philippines and Japan (1994) and the second in India (1996).

The “Heart of Mary” School of Formators inaugurated in 1996 was born with the purpose of forming formators and facilitating the assimilation of the basic lines of the General Plan of Formation.

In addition, the Encounters of Claretian Renewal continue in Vic and Rome and Workshops of Evangelisation continue being held at congregational level: urban evangelisation, inter-religious dialogue, etc.

Mission Procures and PROCLADE

Among the initiatives of this period we should emphasise the promotion of the Mission Procures in the economically stronger Provinces and the General Procures of Rome and Madrid, to support missionary projects in poorer zones. In Spain these Procures took the official form of NGO PROCLADE (non-government organisation Claretian Promotion for Development).

New Provinces

Two new Provinces were created in the Congregation in 1994: Poland and Madras (now Chennai). The first originated from the mission works of the German Province in Silesia about 1932. In 1982, in view of the abundance of vocations, it was elevated to the rank of Independent Delegation and later on, to that of Province.

The Province of Chennai (Madras) arose from the drastic increase of vocations in the Tamil Nadu region. Thus it was segregated from the Sri Lanka Delegation Dependent from Germany, and became the second Province of India, after that of Bangalore.

Restructuring of Organisms

In 1994 the Province of Castile gave up the missions entrusted to it in Panama and Honduras. In this way it collaborated in the new restructuring of the Province of Central America that would be carried out in 1995, when all its congregational organisms were reintegrated into it, including the USA mission of Izabal in Guatemala.

In April 1995 the Provincials of Germany, Italy and Canada opted for the creation of a Confederation of French-speaking Missions of Africa, integrating the missions of Zaire, Gabon and Cameroon.

Centennial of the Provinces of Catalonia and Castile

In September 1895 the first division of the Congregation was made, and the Provinces of Catalonia and Castile were created. On the occasion of the centennial of this event, both Provinces had special celebrations in Sallent and Segovia respectively.

Synod of Consecrated Life

In the year 1995 the Synod for Consecrated Life was celebrated in Rome. The Claretian Missionaries had an important role both in the preparation and in the realisation of the Synod. These are the names of those who participated in such memorable event: Fernando Sebastián, Aquilino Bocos and Matthias Augé. Abilio Pina Ribeiro also participated as auditor.

First Visits to China

From March 18 to 23, 1995, the long awaited visit to the old mission of the Claretians in China, the Vicariate of Tunki, took place. It was done by several members of the community of Taiwan, founded for the purpose of learning Chinese and preparing us for the eventual return to China. They still met some old Christians who remembered the first Claretian missionaries and who had undergone more than 30 years’ imprisonment and forced labour for the sake of their faith. The mission house had become a hotel. The human remains of the two missionaries that died in the mission, Frs. Joseph Sánchez and Sebastian Soler, still lay beside the Heart of Mary chapel

In July 1995 a new visit was made to China, this time from Korea. For fifteen days, two Claretian brothers and 30 Korean Christians visited the autonomous zone of Jilin.

In October of this same year, two more missionaries of Taiwan visited the zone again.

Delegation of Syro-Malabar Rite

In 1996 a new Delegation was born, of Syro-Malabar rite, dependent from the Province of Bangalore (India). It is made up of three houses and several parishes. The aim is to be able to offer to the Claretians who belong to the Syro-Malabar Church the possibility of having a juridical structure that will allow them more fully to express their ritual identity and contribute to the development of the Congregation in that Church.

New Foundations in Africa

Some new foundations worth mentioning because of their importance in this period were Tanzania and Uganda (1995) and Ghana (1997). Also the houses of Libreville, in Cameroon (1995) and Lubango, in Angola (1997) were founded. In the section on the Missions a more detailed information about them is given.

Ecclesial Appointments

In this period several members of the Congregation were promoted to the episcopacy: Fr. John Matogo, Bishop of Ebebiyin (Equatorial Guinea) in 1991, Fr. Peter Olmedo, Bishop of Humahuaca (Argentina) in 1993 and Fr. Angel Garachana, Bishop of San Pedro Sula (Honduras) in 1994.

In 1993 Fr. Fernando Sebastián was transferred from Archbishop Coadjutor of Granada to Archbishop of Pamplona (Spain), Fr. Manuel Revollo from Auxiliary Bishop of Cochabamba to Auxiliary to the Military Ordinary of Bolivia in 1993, Fr. Plácido Rodríguez in 1994 from Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago to Bishop of Lubbock (USA) and Fr. Luis Gutiérrez from Auxiliary Bishop of Madrid to Bishop of Segovia in 1995. In 1998 Msgr. Joseph Saraiva was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the causes of the Saints.

Persecution Does not End

Several places and persons have suffered the effects of violence during this period.

In December 1991, in the mission of Juanjui (Peru), 350 terrorists of the revolutionary movement Tupac Amaru seized the city of about 30,000 inhabitants, with great display of weaponry. Five at least were killed, and the house of the missionaries was burned.

About that same time violence in Zaire intensified, and the Institute of Philosophy of Kinshasa, where our seminarians were studying, was ransacked. As a consequence, the fifteen non-Zairian students had to go to Yaoundé (Cameroon). A little later some of the formators also had to go.

On April 4, 1992 a Moslem threw a grenade inside the small church where the Eucharist was being celebrated in one of the missionary centres of Basilan. Only 17 out of the 500 persons present were wounded. On March 18, 1993 Fr. Bernard Blanco was kidnapped in the same mission; on May 6, after a bizarre escape, he was able to reach safety away from the Moslem rebel groups. In March 1993, the “Claret School of Tumahubong,” one of the four secondary schools of the Prelature of Isabela, was razed to the ground by criminal hands. In March 1996, two bombs exploded in the churches of San José and San Antonio Mª Claret when the liturgical celebrations were going on. There were no victims.

In the mission of El Estor (Guatemala), the missionaries also experienced threats and judicial persecution towards the end of 1994, due to the social and education work they were doing in more than 70 villages in the area.

In May 1995, a bomb exploded in the Guadalupe Church of the Claretians in Managua (Nicaragua). Neither the cause nor the author of this attack, which caused serious damage in the church and surroundings, was ever known.

The situation of Equatorial Guinea in these years has had a repercussion in the missionaries, some of whom have been imprisoned and tortured, accused of campaigning for the opposition.

In 1997 the situation that was deteriorating in Zaire became worse. The repercussions were especially important in the formative structure.

In the zone of Quibdó (Colombia) the hardships of the people, harassed by the paramilitary, have continued. In this harsh situation they have been at all times accompanied by the Claretian missionaries, in spite of the danger.

Barbastro, a Place and a Symbol

After the beatification of the martyrs, Barbastro has become a place of pilgrimage for the Congregation and for the Church in general. The creation of the museum and the construction of the Crypt where the martyrs are buried, a work of Fr. Cerezo Barredo, have greatly contributed to highlight the place. Various biographies have also been published and their name has been given to several churches, as their patron saints, in the different continents.

Artists of Universal Renown

Although their trajectory does not belong to this period, but all of them have reached, in the course of the years, artistic maturity. We just emphasise four personalities, two in the field of painting, one in sculpture and one in music: Maximino Cerezo Barredo, Peter Beruete, Segundo Gutiérrez and Luis Elizalde.

The New Economy

We can say that these years, through the efforts of the General Economic Council and the expert visitations, a new style has emerged regarding the congregational use of economy, an economy essentially based on putting it at the service of evangelisation, keeping in mind the commitment to poverty and a sense of solidarity. For this purpose several avenues have been created, such as the Aid Fund and the Claretian Cultural Fund.

The Institute of Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA)

In June 1997 the Institute of Consecrated Life in Asia, was inaugurated in Manila, under the Pontifical University of Santo Tomás. The aim of this Institute is to offer its services to young religious not only in the Philippines but also in the whole of Asia. In the ceremony more than 1,100 religious participated from 106 congregations. A considerable number of religious from other Congregations collaborate as professors.

Claretians in Internet

The year 1997 has been marked for the Claretian Missionaries by their entrance en masse in the world of communication, internally and toward the outside, through Internet. The possibilities open toward the future are unforeseeable and the Claretians all over the world are preparing to integrate this privileged means in their missionary task.

Statistics (1997)

At the moment of the celebration of the XXII General Chapter the number of Claretians rose to 2,894, of which 18 were Bishops, 1981 Priests, 2 permanent Deacons, 488 Students, 271 Brothers and 134 Novices. 1,093 are Spaniards, 309 Indians, 171 Nigerians, 160 Colombians, 124 Brazilians and the other nationalities are under 100 members.