Claretian Formation

General Superiors 

Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder. (See his biography)

Shortly after the foundation of the Congregation, he was appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. For this reason he had to leave the responsibility over the Congregation in the hands of one of the cofounders. However, he always continued being the last point of reference for the subsequent Generals. He attended all its Chapters and was concerned for its expansion, economic situation, approval of its Constitutions. At the end, shortly before he died, he explicitly made his profession in the Congregation at the hands of Fr. Joseph Xifré.

Stephen Sala, Cofounder: 1850-1858. (See his life)

He succeeded the Founder of the Institute when the latter had to go to Cuba as Archbishop of Santiago. His main task as Superior General was the consolidation and spiritual formation of the newborn Congregation. He transferred the community from the Seminary to the house of La Merced in Vic. The Congregation’s growth was meagre during this stage; it was composed of 12 Priests and three Brothers at the time of his death. The presence of Fr. Founder in Madrid was a relief for him. He died when he had in mind the foundation of the house of Gracia (Barcelona), at a time when he had been appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba.

Joseph Xifré, Cofounder: 1858-1899. (See his biography)

He has been called the second founder of the Congregation. He received it with only one house and 15 members; when he died, there were 70 houses and 1,782 members scattered throughout Europe, Africa and America. The legacy of his teachings still survives in his circulars, meditations and in his book “Spirit of the Congregation.” During his incumbency as General, the “Anales de la Congregación” and the long-lived magazine “Iris de Paz” were born. In his farewell to the Congregation before his death he wrote: “My dear Congregation: I have loved you as much as I could, till the end, and I will not forget you throughout eternity.”

Clement Serrat: 1899-1906

Was born in Gurbs (Barcelona) on 12 January 1832. He joined the Congregation ten years after it was founded. Fr. Claret, speaking with Fr. Xifré, complimented him with these words: “Xifré, take good care of this young man; he will be a treasure for the Congregation.” During his first years in the Congregation he actively devoted himself to the ministry of the Word. From 1869 on, he was assigned to positions of formation of young novices and professed and to government posts in the study houses of Thuir, Vic, Gracia, Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Cervera. Assigned by Divine Providence to attend to the still young Congregation and to strengthen it with his conscientious organisation, he was present in all the important meetings and government Counsels that were held ever since he joined the Institute. He held first the office of General Consultor, then that of Subdirector General and finally that of Superior General in 1899, as successor to Fr. Xifré. While the latter had inherited the traditions and the energy of the Founder, Fr. Serrat inherited his sensitivity, prudence and love. He directed the Congregation for six years and founded about twenty houses and seminaries, particularly in Africa and Latin-America. At exactly 10 o’clock in the morning of 6 January 1906, a bronchial cold, complicated with self-intoxication and shattering of strength, extinguished his existence in Segovia.

Martin Alsina: 1906-1922

He was born in Manresa on 4 September 1859. As a seminarian he was a serious, hardworking and zealous young man. He entered the Congregation at the end of his first year of theology. He was ordained priest in the year 1883. At an early stage his Superiors entrusted him with the task of formation. As a basis of the spiritual building he demanded from his formandi a great degree of loyalty and truthfulness. Simple, kind, serious and well balanced, he possessed innate leadership qualities. In 1894 he was appointed Superior of the Theology House of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. When Fr. Xifré died in 1899, Fr. Alsina was elected Subdirector General. In 1906, at Fr. Clement Serrat’s death, he was elected Superior General in the Chapter of Aranda de Duero. Later he was to be confirmed in this position in 1912 and to remain in it until his death in Zafra on 2 March 1922. He caused the Institute to expand greatly with some thirty foundations, most of then in the two Americas; he also accepted the difficult mission of Chocó. He gave a great impetus to the apostolate of the press through the foundation of publishing houses and important reviews such as “Ilustración del Clero” (now “Misión Abierta”), “Tesoro Sacro Musical,” “Commentarium pro Religiosis,” and several others in Latin-America. He made special efforts to propagate the veneration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Nicholas García: 1922-1934 and 1937-1949

He was born in Hormicedo (Burgos) on 23 December 1869. He was a postulant in Segovia. He made his first vows in Alagón (Zaragoza) on 16 December 1886. He was ordained priest in Santo Domingo de la Calzada on 13 May 1894. He was elected Superior General in Vic on 11 October 1922 and re-elected to the same office on 4 December 1937. He died in Rome on 24 February 1950. During his two periods as General, a total of 24 years, the Congregation grew by almost a hundred new foundations. He accepted the Vicariate of Darien, the Prelature of Tocantins, the mission of China; he emphasised the teaching charism of the Congregation, shaped its juridical structure, its propaganda and organisational techniques, and instructed its members with remarkable circulars loaded with doctrine. In his time the outstanding magazines “Palestra Latina” and “Vida Religiosa” came to life.

Philip Maroto: 1934-1937

Was born in Garcillán (Segovia) on 26 May 1875. He entered the Claretian seminary of Segovia as a postulant and began his studies of Humanities, which he concluded in Barbastro. He made his Noviciate in Cervera and, after he finished his studies of Philosophy and Theology, he was ordained Priest in Santo Domingo de la Calzada on 13 May 1900. He was a professor in the University of San Apolinar in Rome. He was an outstanding canon lawyer and wrote one of the most interesting books of his time in his speciality: “La promulgación del Derecho Canónico.” His intelligence and his clairvoyance could not be overlooked and his name reached the highest dicasteries of the Roman Curia where his counsel and juridical know-how were insistently sought. He was the promoter and first director of the prestigious canonical magazine “Commentarium pro Religiosis.” He was appointed General Procurator in 1912 and Superior General in 1934. In Rome many people knew the Claretians only by the name of “Marotines.” Fr. Maroto was always a true religious. His obedience to the Superiors was exemplary. His position as General afforded him bitterness and worries. In Spain his children were being imprisoned and assassinated. Being an indefatigable worker, death caught up with him on 11 July 1937, with the pen in his hand at his work desk.

Peter Schweiger: 1949-1967

He was  born on 6 May 1894 in Trasching (Bavaria, Germany). Although he was a German, he was formed in the Claretian seminaries of the province of Catalonia and was ordained priest in 1920. He was a professor in the Roman Seminary and, since 1930, he held important posts in the Claretian communities of Germany. He was elected Superior General in the General Chapter of 1949 and reelected in that of 1961. During his incumbency important works were carried out, such as the International Colleges of Rome (Claretianum) and Salamanca. The great enterprise of the International Votive Temple of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome was completed. Magazines of renown like “Ephemerides Mariologicae” were founded. The Congregation was organised in various Visitorships, Viceprovinces and new Provinces. He brought the Congregation into new countries and intensified its traditional ministries, illumined by his motto, “Ad maiora et amliora.” He died in Spaichingen on 18 August 1980.

Anthony Leghisa: 1967-1979

Fr. Leghisa was born in Trieste with Yugoslavian nationality, from a Slovene-Austrian family. He made his first studies in the seminaries of the Claretian province of Italy, then he went to Spain to take up Philosophy and Theology in Zafra (Badajoz). Ordained priest in 1945, he taught in the boarding school of Don Benito. At his return to the province of Italy, he took up university studies in the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Rome. He was secretary of the magazine “Commentarium pro Religiosis.” During the period 1952-1960, when the communications of the main Yugoslavian Bishops with the Holy See were not easy, due to the Communist system, he was their official representative in the Roman Curia. He was general vice-assistant of the Union of Major Superiors of Italy (U.S.M.I.), director of the review “ALA” (Revista delle Religiose), organiser of the first Italian group of the Cordimarian Filiation, founder of the publishing house “Alma Roma,” General Postulator of the Causes of Beatification and Canonisation of the Institute and Provincial Superior of Italy. In addition to his vast knowledge in theological and juridical matters, he possessed a wide linguistic culture. The Special General Chapter of 1967 had entrusted him the difficult task of putting into effect the renewal of religious life demanded by the Second Vatican Council. This process was carried out all through Fr. Leghisa’s incumbency. During the years that the Congregation was under his leadership, great impulse was given to the missionary work and its expansion by fostering the practice of making the different missions dependent on the Provinces with greater personnel resources. He resigned from the Congregation in 1992.

Gustavo Alonso: 1979-1991

He was born in Santiago Temple, Province of Córdoba (Argentina) in 1931 from a Spanish father and an Argentinean mother. He entered the seminary of Rosario at the age of 11 as a result of Fr. Eduardo Garriga’s preaching. He was ordained priest in August of 1955 and was sent to Rome to study spiritual theology at the “Angelicum,” where he obtained the doctorate in 1957. He returned to Argentina as a professor of Theology. In 1967 he was appointed General Secretary of the Congregation. He returned to Argentina as Provincial Superior and became President of CICLA (Interprovincial Conference of Claretians of Latin America). He was elected Superior General in 1979 and reelected in 1985. During his incumbency the Congregation acquired a more universal character spreading mainly in Africa and Asia where the number of vocations grew constantly. Also during this period the new Constitutions and Directory were definitively approved and an intensive Revision of Positions in the Congregation took place. Fr. Alonso participated in the Synod of Bishops of 1990 and wrote several circulars, especially one on Formation.

Aquilino Bocos: 1991-

He was born in Canillas de Esgueva (Valladolid) in 1938. He entered the Congregation in the seminary of Segovia; was ordained priest in 1963 and subsequently took up higher studies in Psychology and Religious Life. He was  professor of Philosophy and Theology, formator of the Lebanese Missionaries (Maronites) and of the Claretian theologians in Salamanca and Madrid. He was also director of the magazine “Vida Religiosa” and subdirector and professor of the Institute of Religious Life in Madrid. He wrote several books on religious life, priesthood and Christian education. In 1980 he was elected Provincial Superior of Castile and in 1981 President of FERE (Spanish Federation of Teaching Religious). He was elected General Consultor in 1985, Superior General in 1991 and reelected in 1997.