Spiritan Life And Mission Since Vatican Ii

The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) called for the renewal of all religious institutes in the Catholic Church. The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) responded initially under the leadership of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Different interpretations of Vatican II caused divisions culminating in Lefebvre’s departure from the congregation. From this difficult starting-point the Spiritans sought to redefine themselves in creative fidelity to their founding intention, the spirit of Vatican II, and the “signs of the times.” Spiritan Life and Mission since Vatican II recounts this journey of renewal in three parts: the Spiritan world before Vatican II and the election of Archbishop Lefebvre as superior general in 1962; the “ad experimentum” period culminating with a new rule of life in 1986; and the implementation of this new rule as interpreted through inter-congregational discourse, particularly the general chapters of 1992, 1998, and 2004. The development of thinking on the church’s mission and the congregation’s rediscovery of the founding charisms of Claude Poullart des Places and Francis Libermann provide the parameters for this positive interpretation of the Spiritan journey of renewal. Its evolution in the third millennium into a multicultural, international missionary community of some three-thousand members from over sixty countries in service of the Missio Dei bears testimony to this.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called for the renewal of all religious institutes in the Catholic Church. The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) responded initially under the leadership of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Different interpretations of Vatican II caused divisions culminating in Lefebvre's departure from the congregation. From this difficult starting-point the Spiritans sought to redefine themselves in creative fidelity to their founding intention, the spirit of Vatican II, and the "signs of the times." Spiritan Life and Mission since Vatican II recounts this journey of renewal in three parts: the Spiritan world before Vatican II and the election of Archbishop Lefebvre as superior general in 1962; the "ad experimentum" period culminating with a new rule of life in 1986; and the implementation of this new rule as interpreted through inter-congregational discourse, particularly the general chapters of 1992, 1998, and 2004. The development of thinking on the church's mission and the congregation's rediscovery of the founding charisms of Claude Poullart des Places and Francis Libermann provide the parameters for this positive interpretation of the Spiritan journey of renewal. Its evolution in the third millennium into a multicultural, international missionary community of some three-thousand members from over sixty countries in service of the Missio Dei bears testimony to this.

World and church have changed so much since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). With each change, religious congregations have had to review and update both their charism and mission, with ever new emphases in spirituality and mission. The 122 letters of the post-Vatican II superiors general of the Spiritans give some idea of the paths traced by missiology during the period. They offer a chronicle of missiological thinking through the turbulent time of crisis in the 1960s and early 1970s, and the gradual reclaiming of the Spiritans’ essential charism of the evangelization of the poor, but in a very changed world and a very changed church.

TOPICS IN THE BOOK Factors Influencing Vocation to Brotherhood in Holy Cross Congregation District of East Africa Indigenous Culture and Western Christianity: An Assessment of Wimbum Experience with the Baptist Mission, 1927-2008 Philosophy of Religion and Religious Pluralism from Biblical Perspective and Their Implications for Christian Education The Nexus between Traditional African Belief and Pandemics: The Manifestation of Nyawawa Spirits amidst the Spread of Corona Virus in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kisumu, Kenya Oral Theology: An Alternative Theological Model for African Theology Spirit Possession in Evangelism

Presents the rich spirituality that Vatican II offers to all the faithful, a spirituality that has been widely neglected.