Being Missionary of St. Vincent Pallotti

PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
Being Missionary of St. Vincent Pallotti
Fr. Franco Todisco
THE CONCEPT OF ‘MISSIONARITY’ IN SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI
What is relationship between Pallottine activity, the Union of Catholic Apostolate, and
the concept of ‘mission’? Or, rather, what is the role and the significance of ‘mission’
in Pallottine activity?
1. THE MISSIONARY BACKGROUND OF ST. VINCENT
Pallotti was a child of a particular time, the Nineteenth century, which was a period
that saw a true missionary reawakening in spite of the various currents in society
such as the illuminist, revolutionary, Masonic, anticlerical and anti papal currents. Fr.
Vincent had a desire to work for the spreading of faith and the re-enkindling of charity
not only in the Papal States but also beyond them. The true motives for his evangelical commitment were very deep. In order to explain them clearly we had best divide
them into two groups: the external motives and internal ones.
The strong reawakening of Catholic missionary consciousness from the beginning of
the eighteenth century was due to several very important factors. First of all we must
mention the resumption of activities of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in 1801
which had been suppressed by Napoleon three years previously. In the following
years this Dicastery was fortunate to have had some charismatic persons with a
broad outlook as both its prefect and secretary, among these was Cardinal Mauro
Cappellari, who later became Pope Gregory XVI. The great merit of these persons
consisted in the elaboration of plans for the reorganization of the missions and which
made provision for, among other things, the nomination of bishops and the setting up
of local hierarchies, the foundation of seminaries and of missionary colleges and the
collecting of funds to be distributed to the missions.
Pope Gregory XVI, on being elected prefect of Propaganda Fide, gave a strong revival to the missions because he more than anybody else knew the missionary world,
its problems and its needs. It is not to be wondered at therefore, that under his inspiration, the missions experienced a re-birth. He himself encouraged and sent missionaries to those lands that were most in need of “labourers of the vineyard”. There
were many new missionary endeavours in nearby countries such as Albania, Greece,
Turkey and Egypt, as well as in those further afield, such as India, Madagascar, Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay and Australia.
The interest of the Pope in the missions reinvigorated also the missionary awareness
of the old continent of Europe and this was seen in the foundation of numerous religious Congregations both male and female, some of them had an explicit and exclusive missionary goal, among these were the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Marist Fathers and the White Fathers. In the period
between 1831 and 1846 a total of 114 religious congregations, of which 18 were
male and 96 female, were instituted1, amongst them were the Pious Society of the
Catholic Apostolate in 1835 and in 1838 the Congregation of the Sisters of the
1
Domenico Federici, Gregorio XVI, tra favola e realtà, Istituto Pagano di Arti grafiche: Rovigo 1948, p. 214‐
217; cfr. anche Francesco Moccia SAC, San Vincenzo Pallotti e le Missioni estere, appunti sul tema, in Acta SAC X (1980‐1983), p. 157. -1-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
Catholic Apostolate. In the countries that did not enjoy religious freedom the missionary programme of Gregory XVI consisted of the foundation of cultural and charitable
institutions, in this area the Lazzarists (the Vincentians) and the Jesuits stand out.
In this same period the female religious congregations also went into the mission
fields in a consistent manner, among these one of the more notable ones was that of
St. Joseph of Cluny in 1806.
The missionary spirit was further nourished by an increase in literature on the missions and accompanied by news from the great missionary explorers of Africa like
François Liberman (1802-1852), Guglielmo Massaia (1809-1889), Charles Lavigerie
(1825-1892), Blessed Daniele Comboni (1831-1881) and others, who opened the
way to new territory to be evangelized.
The nineteenth century was also the era of the laity who organized themselves to
support the missionary work in various ways. From amongst these many initiatives
we remember the Work of Propaganda Fide which was born in Lyons, in France, in
1822, and the Misssionsvereine of the countries which were of German culture and
German speaking. Pallotti was also inspired by these when he founded the Society of
the Catholic Apostolate in the 1830s.
The Spirit of God submitted Fr. Vincent to two elements in his life which were formative and missionary, one was his friendship with Tommaso Alkusci, professor of oriental languages in the Collegio Urbano of Propaganda Fide, and the intensely missionary atmosphere in that same College.
Alkusci wrote books and pamphlets that were to be circulated and distributed and he
taught languages to the future missionaries, his person remained deeply engraved in
the mind of Fr. Vincent so much so that he became the prototype of the lay apostle.
According to the statutes drawn up by Pallotti, the first section or class of the Union
of Catholic Apostolate, that of the Workers, was composed of priests who engaged in
sacred ministry, but also “… those lay Christians, zealous and able to comply with
the spiritual activity and goals of the Pious Association by editing printed religious
material which contributes to piety, and also those who teach foreign languages to
those who are being formed and instructed for the far distant missions”2, this is exactly what his friend Tommaso Alkusci was doing. Perhaps the reference to heretics
and schismatics as amongst the first to whom the activity of the Catholic Apostolate
was destined, was in some measure due to the presence of Alkusci in Vincent’s life.
During Vincent’s lifetime not only the missions among non Catholics depended on
the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, but also the Catholic communities in those
countries in which the majority of the population was Orthodox or Protestant, like, for
example, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Pallotti was official
spiritual director of the Propaganda Fide College from September 1835 to 18403 and
for another two years in 1848, following on the expulsion of the Jesuits from Rome4; it
was here that he came to know of the boundless missionary lands with their great
needs and in the face of this he could not remain indifferent, rather he immediately
sought to undertake some form of activity to be of help and he continued to have
ample opportunity to gradually grow in identifying himself with the mentality, spirituality and the difficulties of the small Catholic communities scattered throughout the di2
OOCC IV, 145‐146. Cfr. OCL III, p. 283. È opportuno sottolineare che, lasciando la direzione spirituale ai Padri Gesuiti, ai quali nel 1840 era stata affidata la direzione del Collegio, il Pallotti scrisse: « (...) non avendo ritirato giammai i dodici scudi mensili nel corso di tutti gli anni che fui nell’ufficio di confessore indegnissimo nel Ven. Collegio Urba‐
no, dico, dichiaro di averli lasciati a profitto delle SS. Missioni della V. Congregazione di Propaganda Fide». 4
Cfr. Martina G., Pio IX (1846‐1850), Università Gregoriana Editrice, Roma 1974, Miscellanea Historiae Ponti‐
ficiae, vol. 38, 221 ss. 3
-2-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
verse regions of the world. An sense of the unity and the universality of the Church
was very much present in the College, it was here that he entered into contact with
and deeply appreciated, the missionary world of diverse races, colours and languages. It was here that he further consolidated his missionary spirit and here he
would broaden the horizons of his apostolic zeal until they became universal.
2. THE MISSIONARY FRUITS OF FR. VINCENT
One of the first missionary fruits of Fr. Vincent, which was also prophetic because it
took place at the beginning of a new Catholic presence in the Far East, was the Appeal to Good Catholics, signed on December 4th 1833, feast of St. Francis Xavier,
one of the great missionary models for the students of the seminary of Propaganda
Fide. He appealed to all Catholics on behalf of a tiny Chaldean Catholic community in
Salmas, in Azerbaijan, which today is on the Iranian borders with Turkey and which
required help in the construction of a church and a school. The Congregation of
Propaganda Fide had already declared that is could not help finance these projects5.
3. A MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION AT THE ORIGIN OF THE UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE
Fr. Vincent left two diverse accounts of the origin of the Union. The first can be called
‘external’, official and in a certain sense, juridical, in that it limits itself to listing the
chain of events; the second one can be called spiritual or charismatic. Both accounts
share some common elements but differ with regard to the relationship with the event
and the time frame.
a) The first account
The first account is that which is followed in almost all of the biographies:
- 9th of January 1835: after the celebration of Mass during the Octave of the Epiphany, Fr. Vincent received the inspiration of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, but he
kept it secret;
- some of his collaborators decided in January of 1835 to print the Eternal Maxims in
Arabian and to send them to the Orient, they consulted the printing press of Propaganda Fide regarding the cost of this;
- Giacomo Salvati unexpectedly collected the relevant sum of money (400 scudi),
this all took place before the end of March 1835;
- the collaborators suggested that a group be established which would be responsible for the administration of the alms which had been collected;
- Fr. Vincent then instituted the Union of Catholic Apostolate along the lines of the
inspiration of January 9th 1835;
- the approvals followed on, first the Diocesan approvals on April 4th 1835 and on
May 29th 1835 and then, Pontifical approval on July 11th 18356.
5
Cfr. OCL I, 413‐ 415. In questo Appello conviene sottolineare due aspetti. In primo luogo fu indirizzato a «…quanti sono nel mondo i buoni cattolici», ossia un invito a tutti membri della Chiesa, senza distinzioni. Inoltre don Vincenzo si richia‐
mò alla devozione dei fedeli all’Immacolata Madre di Dio, poiché si trattava di sostenere quanti avevano abbandonato l’eresia Nestoriana: «Si spera che specialmente i divoti dell’Immacolata Madre di Dio s’impegneranno con zelo instanca‐
bile a procurare sollecitamente copiosissimi mezzi». Per la prima volta don Vincenzo si rivolgeva a tutti i cattolici per chiedere loro di contribuire alla propagazione della loro fede e mise questa sua prima iniziativa a carattere universale sotto la protezione della Madonna. L’episodio si può ritenere il primo seme dell’Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico. 6
Cfr. Cfr. OOCC III, 1‐2. Don Vincenzo attribuisce ad alcune persone comunitariamente ‐ i suoi collaboratori ‐ la decisione di fondare una Pia Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico. Qualcuno ritiene che l’idea di fondare una -3-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
In this account everything, or almost everything, would have taken place after
the illumination, or enlightenment, that Pallotti received on January 9th 1835.
b) The second account
The second account which is more spiritual or charismatic, is found in a text of September 1840, Nella mia morte(On my death)...7, which was written almost six years
after the event of 1835 but which remained unknown for many years. In this text Fr.
Vincent declares to his confreres that the beginning of the Union of Catholic Apostolate went back to the year 1834: “Our Lord Jesus Christ … deigned that I belong to
the pious Society of Catholic Apostolate from its very beginnings … in the year 1834,
privately, initially among a few (persons): afterwards, in 1835 it was approved with a
Rescript first of all from his Eminence the Cardinal Vicar”.
The Union to which he refers in this text, which was written after the approval and
after the suppression by the Pope, is called the pious Society of the Catholic Apostolate, and would therefore have existed as a private group in 1834 and was approved
only in 1835. If this were true, the collection made by Salvati and the conversations
on the convenience of creating a group which would take responsibility for the monies collected and for the administration of it in order to help the missions would have
taken place in 1834. The divine inspiration that enlightened and moved Fr. Vincent to
found an association of Catholic (universal) Apostolate would have come on January
9th 1835. He complied with this and extended the goals of the inspiration little by little
in successive texts, to the missionary association (of Propaganda Fide) which had
been created shortly before this, which accepted them.
In the second account, the succession of events would, therefore, have been the following:
- collaborators of Fr. Vincent in 1834 proposed to help the missions by printing the
Eternal Maxims in Arabian in order to send them to the Orient, they consulted the
printing press of Propaganda Fide regarding the cost and Salvati made the collection;
- the advantage of officially establishing a group which would be responsible for the
donations which were collected for the missions;
- 9th January 1835: a divine inspiration to Fr. Vincent to found an association of
Catholic or, universal, Apostolate;
- the transmission of this to the group and their acceptance of it;
- the approvals, firstly Diocesan approvals of April 4th and May 29th1835 and then
Pontifical approval on July 11th 1835.
The fundamental differences between the first and second accounts are in the time
scale and the role of the inspiration. In the first account the inspiration precedes and
is the very root of the entire foundation; in the second account it defines the spiritual
and ecclesial ‘form’ of a pre-existing human reality or construct. Today there is a propensity to hold that the second account is the more probable one, not only because
Fr. Vincent himself gave it, but also because it affords greater time and space to the
ideas, the proposals and their implementation, while in the first account the events
seem to have taken place too quickly one after another.
The new association, which in all probability did not have a name, set out to collect
donations not only for the missions but also for the formation of future missionaries to
7
Pia Unione per la raccolta e la gestione di elemosine per le missioni sarebbe opera solo di don Vincenzo e che egli l’attribuisca invece per umiltà ad un gruppo; per altri il gruppo sarebbe una realtà storica. OOCC III, 23‐24; OCL VII, 225‐232. -4-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
be sent among the non Christians, the heretics and the schismatics8, probably coinciding in its first flowering with the various contemporary missionary initiatives in
Europe, those of the Propaganda Fide in Lyons and in Paris and the Missionsvereine
of the German speaking countries. It is also possible that the idea was born out of a
conversation with a group of persons and may have been suggested by Alkusci, or
Alkusci and Melia together. In fact it comes down to extending Pallotti’s Appeal to
Good Catholics in favour of the Chaldean Church, to the missions in general. The
project to print the Eternal Maxims in Arabian and to send them to the Middle East
would have been born in this manner. The printing press at Propaganda Fide was
consulted regarding the cost, Salvati unexpectedly collected the 400 scudi necessary, and in order to avoid suspicion, the group saw the need not to leave the administration of the money which had been gathered in the hands of one person and
so officially formed a group. Meanwhile Fr. Vincent had received on January 9th
1835, the inspiration which in all probability he kept secret while waiting for a sign
from God to reveal it and to implement it. He told of the experience towards the end
of March 1835 and the group converted or changed from collecting donations for the
mission and the missionary seminaries into the Union of Catholic Apostolate. In this
second hypothesis the thinking of Fr. Vincent to attribute the idea not to himself but to
a group would not have been inspired by humility but would be the historical truth.
This exclusively missionary origin of the Union continued to profoundly influence its
development9. Later Pallotti slowly extended its scope or range of activities to the
whole Church10.
In both chronological accounts it is clear that the origin of the Union of Catholic Apostolate was missionary: the Spreading of the Faith giving rise to a desire to consecrate
oneself to reviving faith and charity amongst Catholics.
4. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MISSIONARITY IN THE PALLOTTINE FOUNDATION11
4.1. Premises
In Pallotti’s time a systematic theology, or science, of the missions did not exist, nor
8
OOCC IV, 314‐315: «In principio fu ideata la Pia Società per procurare la moltiplicazione dei mezzi Spirituali, e Temporali necessari, e opportuni alla propagazione della S. Fede». 9
Nella notizia informativa sull’Apostolato Cattolico, scritta poco dopo l’approvazione di Gregorio XVI, si dice che «la Pia Unione ha per istituto [=scopo] primario la propagazione delle fede», per cui quello suo principa‐
lissimo è la promozione dei collegi per la formazione dei futuri missionari, cfr. OOCC IV, 198‐199. 10
Nell’Appello a chiunque ha zelo, maggio 1835, già si parla non solo di elemosine ma del contributo del ministero eccle‐
siastico e delle attività personali, cfr. OOCC IV, 124 n. 7; Negli Statuti, composti qualche mese dopo sempre nel 1835, co‐
loro che contribuivano con il ministero e con l’opera personale passarono a formare la prima e principale sezione dell’Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico, cfr. OOCC IV, 145; più tardi, nella Notizia del 1836, don Vincenzo sottolineò che la sua Unione, distinguendola dalle iniziative francesi e tedesche, si prefiggeva anche di risvegliare e conservare la fede e di sostenere le opere pie nella Chiesa con la maggiore ampiezza possibile di mezzi, includendo «…tutte le opere della carità cristiana»; OOCC IV, 259‐260: «…fu veduto che per ottenere più compitamente la moltiplicazione dei mezzi pe’ la propa‐
gazione della S. Fede, era necessario ravvivarla fra i cattolici e riaccendere fra essi la carità». Si erano così associati nella Pia Unione lo scopo dell’Opera della Propagazione della Fede e dei Missionsvereine con quello dei seminari per le mis‐
sioni estere di Propaganda Fide a Roma, a Lione e Parigi. 11 Cfr. per questo paragrafo: P.Wojda T. SAC. Il progetto di Dio sulla missione della Chiesa secondo S. Vincenzo Pallotti in «Apostolato Universale», rivista dell’Istituto S. Vincenzo Pallotti, Roma, anno IV, n.7, 135‐152 ( = Wojda T., op. cit.) -5-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
did he formulate one. From his many writings12 numerous indications emerge with
which even the theological concept of the missions which we also find in contemporary Catholic missiology, born at the University of Münster, in Germany almost a century later, could be developed.
The ideas of Fr. Vincent on missionarity became ever more concrete with the passing
of the years and this occurred together with the development of his principal work,
the Society of the Catholic Apostolate13. The fruits borne were numerous and went
from his extensive contacts and the multiple instances of concrete help to missionaries and to the missions, to the foundation, in Rome in 1836, of the College for the
Foreign Missions.
Some of Pallotti’s most meaningful ideas remained unfinished, not because he did
not have the will to accomplish them, but because he encountered many external
difficulties among which were the anticlerical, secularist and revolutionary echoes
present also in the Papal States, which had their origin in the Enlightenment and
were nurtured by Freemasonry. St. Vincent continued to carry his foundation forward
up until 1849, in that year he also found himself obliged to leave Rome for a period
and to hide in the Irish College because his life was in danger.
4.2. The interior motivations for his missionarity and the inspiration of January
9th 183514
From his very earliest years Pallotti showed that he was reaching out with his entire
being towards the infinite perfection of God and this indeed became his deepest desire15. This desire for the infinite was to remain always in his soul guiding and directing him towards all the realities that surrounded him, but also towards those objectives that can be attained only with true charity, the source of which is God himself.
His desire for perfection was transformed subsequently into an aspiration to change
reality, to reform the world according to faith in Christ and to bring it to life in His love,
in order to bring it, together with all of humanity and that it be, as he was later to say
12
Cfr. San Vincenzo Pallotti, Opere complete, a cura di Francesco Moccia SAC, voll. I‐XIII, Curia Generalizia della Società dell’Apostolato Cattolico: Roma 1964‐1997 (= OOCC) e cfr. San Vincenzo Pallotti, Lettere, a cura di Bruno Bayer SAC, voll. I‐VII, Curia Generalizia della Società dell’Apostolato Cattolico: Roma 1995‐2007 (= OCL). L’ultimo volume delle Lettere, l’VIII, è in fase di pubblicazione. 13
Cfr. OOCC I, 4, nota n. 2. 14 Cfr. OOCC X, 196‐201. Lo scritto dell’ispirazione, secondo l’abitudine di don Vincenzo, comincia col ricordo del proprio peccato, seguito dal desiderio di essere umiliato e vilipeso come, secondo lui, avrebbe meritato. L’introduzione termina con un’offerta di se stesso:«...che a forza di patimenti... senza fine vi degniate di darmi tutto per distruggere ogni peccato ed ogni altro male esistente o che sarebbe per esistere, e promuo‐
vere ogni bene possibile in tutto il Mondo adesso e sempre». Già in questa espressione finale don Vincenzo si muove già entro un orizzonte universale. Poi il testo continua così: «Dio mio, misericordia mia, voi nella vostra infinita misericordia mi concedete in modo particolare di promuovere, stabilire, propagare, perfezio‐
nare, perpetuare almeno col più vivo desiderio nel vostro Santissimo Cuore: 1. Una pia istituzione di un apo‐
stolato universale in tutti i cattolici per propagare la fede e la religione di Gesù Cristo presso tutti gli infedeli, non cattolici, 2. altro apostolato occulto per ravvivare, conservare e accrescere la fede tra i cattolici, 3. una istituzione di carità universale nell’esercizio di tutte le opere di misericordia spirituale e corporale, affinché nel modo possibile Voi siate conosciuto nell’uomo, giacché voi siete carità infinita». Il racconto continua e termina con una seconda dichiarazione di colpevolezza: il tutto non era accaduto prima perché Vincenzo a‐
veva frapposto l’impedimento dei suoi peccati. Adesso invece Dio aveva deciso di trionfare sulla mancanza di disposizioni del suo servo. 15
Come esempio, OOCC X, 202: «Dio mio, intendo ad ogni momento infinitesimo e immagino e per quanto è possibile da tutta la Eternità, infinitamente moltiplicata infinite volte di essere sempre pronto ad ascoltare la vostra voce e le vostre ispirazioni e le vostre chiamate». -6-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
“…one flock under one Shepherd”. This desire or programme, became the object of
his meditation and of his increasingly profound contemplation, it was on this that the
inspiration of God descended on January 9th 1835; from this he drew concrete indications for his spiritual life, his apostolic activity and his missionarity.
The most striking and overwhelming feature of the content of the experience of
January 9th is the very universality of horizons, the universality of context, of the apostolic workers and of the means used, we could synthesise it thus: for the glory of
God and the salvation of souls, every person, united with all in charity, with all the
means available, always and everywhere.
- Universality of context: the area for work is the entire world and precedence is given
to the missionary thrust “ad gentes” both in importance and in its objectives, over
the hidden apostolate among Catholics, without, however ever being separated
from it. At the level of concrete organization – the Procurae and the Congregation
of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate – the order is inverted; the apostolate
among Catholics is the instrument for the realization of the mission “ad gentes”.
- Universality of the apostolic workers: “each and every wall” that separates the secular and religious clergy is taken down, so too are the walls separating clergy, religious and laity, men and women, rich and poor, learned persons and tradesmen,
they are all committed together to the multiplication and the coordination of the apostolic initiatives. Pallotti did not want anybody to be excluded. The Catholic Apostolate as envisaged by Pallotti proposed and proposes, to involve all Christians because every activity that is born of faith and of love is, for him, apostolate16. In the
language of our world today, all are invited to constitute “a Church of communion in
charity”, living according to ones own charism and each maintaining his or her ministry.
- Universality of means: the promotion of all the works of charity both corporal and
spiritual. With regard to the means used for the spreading of faith and working for
the salvation of souls, the quantity and the quality depend on the ardour of the love
that the apostle has in his or her heart17.
4.3. Pallotti’s use of missionary terminology
The missionary terminology in the writings of Pallotti must be considered in the context of the time while bearing in mind also the notable difference between the first
years of his priesthood and the later years of the founder and promoter of the Catholic Apostolate.
He himself clarifies “mission” and “missions”.
When he speaks about the “missions”, the “Catholic missions” or “the missions in
Catholic parts or areas”, he is simply referring to popular missions, such as those
which were conducted in the parishes, or in the Catholic communities, in order to revive faith. Missions such as these were amongst his most important activities.
When, however, he speaks about what is really and truly ‘the missions’, the “ad
gentes” missionary activity, he uses expressions like “the foreign missions”, “missions
16
17
Secondo il Pallotti l’apostolato «…deve ispirare in ognuno di qualunque stato, grado, condizione un’ardente brama, di fare quanto è in suo potere per promuovere tutto ciò che concorre a promuovere la maggiore glo‐
ria di Dio nella salvezza delle Anime, giacché questo è il vero Apostolato Cattolico (...). [Il nome di Apostolo] non conviene se non a coloro che in grado eroico hanno eseguito il precetto della carità in promuovere in ogni modo possibile la maggior gloria di Dio e la salute delle anime», OOCC III, 135‐136. Numerosi sono quelli che il Pallotti enumera: «…Nobiltà, Talenti, Scienza, Studi, Arte, Danari, anche un Rosario, un Abiti‐
no, una Immagine di Gesù Crocifisso, di Maria SS., o dei Santi, un Piccolo Libro, etc., e specialmente la buona volontà, che quando si trova senza i mezzi temporali si apprende agli interni del cuore, che umile e affettuoso lo rivolge all’Onnipotente, Cui è possibile ciò che è impossibile all’Uomo», cfr. OOCC IV, 183 ed anche OOCC III, 147‐148. -7-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
among the infidels” or “missions among the heretics”. For Pallotti missionary lands
were everywhere, they were not only those places where there were no Catholics but
also those places where there were few Catholics18. Therefore missionary lands were
not only the areas of Africa, Asia and the Orient, but also parts of Europe, such as for
example, England, where it was necessary to support the Catholics so that they
would not lose their faith through contact with Anglicans.
Expressions such as ‘infidels’ or ‘heretics’ sound very strange to us today and may
even be considered to be derogatory when used to denote persons or peoples who
do not yet believe in God and in Jesus Christ. It is good to bear in mind that in the
nineteenth century ecumenism was still completely unknown. In Pallotti’s writings the
use of these expressions is anything but negative because they were common expressions used in the language of the time, so much so that when he uses the words
‘infidel’, ‘heretic’, ‘schismatic’ or ‘sinners’ in order to distinguish between Catholics
and non-Catholics he always writes them in capital letters. Pallotti did not despise nor
look down on non believers, he was very aware that every person is a divine creature
for whom Jesus Christ suffered on the cross and shed his blood in order that all
might have the possibility of being saved. I believe the observation made by Cardinal
Pellegrinetti was very apt when he affirmed that in the writings of Pallotti “… in general mention is made of unbelievers, of sinners, of heretics and of pagans without
ever indicating any one individual” because “… in the errant person of today he already saw the brother or sister of tomorrow”19.
Pallotti’s missionary vocabulary contains many other expressions that are rich in
evangelical and spiritual content. He speaks often of the spreading or the diffusion of
faith in the entire world, of Jesus Christ being sent as the Apostle of the Father and
from which our being sent also originates. For Vincent the missions also mean the
salvation of souls, they mean a common apostolic commitment so that there may be
one fold and one Shepherd, a Catholic or universal apostolate, and therefore they
are to be promoted in the entire world, i.e. among Catholics and among those who do
not yet believe.
It must be further underlined that for Pallotti the mission is closely bound to the apostolate. At times we get the impression that these two realities are superimposed on
one another: “Every Mission of the true Church of Jesus Christ is catholic (…) just as
each true Christian professes and is catholic rather than every false christian who is
non catholic, because every Mission of the true Church of Jesus Christ professes
itself (to be) Catholic Apostolate20. In this text Pallotti clearly affirms that apostolate
signifies or means mission.
4.4. Pallottine missionarity is rooted in Jesus Christ, Apostle of the Father
The love that the heavenly Father has for all persons moved him to send his son Jesus Christ so that all of humanity might be saved. Jesus, therefore, did not come on
earth to fulfil his own plan, but rather, as he himself affirmed several times, he came
to do the will of his Father, which Pallotti does not hesitate to call Apostolate and
therefore he calls Jesus Apostle.
18
Cfr. OOCC V, 128. Pellegrinetti E., Un Apostolo di Roma: Vincenzo Pallotti, in «Roma», rivista di studi e di vita romana, anno XX, n. 2, febbraio 1942, 65. 20
OOCC III, p. 183. 19
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PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
4.5. The Apostolate of Jesus Christ
The apostolate of Jesus according to Pallotti consists in:
- reparation of the affronted glory of God’s name;
- the redemption of all of humanity which was in a state of damnation because of sin;
- the formation of “one flock under one Shepherd”21 which is the fullness of Jesus’
apostolate.
These goals are intertwined and reappear many times in the pages of his writings.
4.6. The apostolate of Jesus continues with the apostles
In order to continue his mission Jesus chose the disciples, calling them Apostles, that
is ‘ones who are sent’, so that they too would work for the greater glory of God and
for the eternal salvation of souls in accordance with the commandment of Jesus
Christ. St. Vincent also calls this activity, apostolate22.
4.7. The title ‘apostle’ is not only for priests but also for all the Christian faithful
In order the justify that the title ‘apostle’ also appertains to the faithful, he distinguished between the apostolate, ecclesiastical jurisdiction and sacred ministry, and
based the justification on two biblical texts: Acts 1,24-25 and Luke 6,1323. He holds
that “Apostle” is a name given by Jesus to the disciples in view of the evangelical
works that they would have to carry out. The faculties and jurisdiction, however,
would be conferred on them subsequently by Jesus, and indeed, some of them were
conferred on them after his resurrection.
4.8. Mary, Queen of Apostles
This is merely an honorific title but it is given to her because she, without ecclesiastical power or jurisdiction, contributed in her state to the spreading of faith and to the
extending of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ24.
4.9. Every baptised person an apostle
For Pallotti, therefore, every person who does what he or she can for the spreading
of faith, can merit the name of apostle and that which he or she does for this end is
his or her apostolate25, and where and when active commitment is not possible,
prayer always is.
4.10. Motivations for apostolic commitment:
21
OOCC III, p. 139. Cfr. OOCC III, p. 139‐140. 23
Cfr. OOCC III, p. 141. 24
Cfr. OOCC III, p.141. 22
25
OOCC III, 145: «Dunque si consoli ogni Cattolico che vive nella Chiesa di Gesù Cristo; poiché o sia Sacerdote o sia Laico, se coi suoi talenti, potenze, relazioni, professione, parole, sostanze e beni terreni, e se non altro almeno colle sue Ora‐
zioni farà quanto può perché la Fede di Gesù Cristo sia propagata in tutto il Mondo, acquisterà il merito dell’Apostolato, e tanto maggiore quanto più si impiegherà per tal fine. -9-
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
- the response to God for the gratuitous gift of salvation is gratitude26, i.e. to respond
to his love with love;
- imitation of the love of Jesus Christ for humanity, i.e. to cooperate with him in everything and always for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls; his ‘thirst’
on Calvary (Jn. 19,28) was above all a thirst to save souls27;
THE PRECEPT OF CHARITY
Pallotti affirmed that the human person, as a person, is an image of Charity, that God
considered it opportune to confer on the person his likeness, thus making him or her
the most perfect of all creatures that has ever come out of his hand; he wanted to
have a creature to whom he could communicate all of his love. God has called the
person to participate of his charity.
In order to be a true image of God it is necessary firstly to be in God and in his love28,
as the apostle John states: “God is love; he who lives in love dwells in God and God
dwells in him”. “Therefore, if man wants to be in God – Pallotti reflects – and yearns
that God be in him, he must be in charity, that is, he must live in the exercise or practice of charity”29. The person fulfils himself therefore, only in a love that is of Godlike
dimensions, he is not fulfilled by merely preserving and ordering himself to God’s
greater glory but is also fulfilled in saving his neighbour in accordance with his possibilities, his condition, state, talents, doctrine, material goods and every other gift of
nature and of grace which has been received from God30.
Pallotti affirmed that to love is equivalent to ensuring or to procuring the salvation of
oneself and of others: “…since nobody would truly love himself if he were not to procure his own eternal salvation, so too nobody would love his neighbour as himself if
each one did not procure his own salvation as well as that of his neighbour”31.
4.11. The Pallottine concept of neighbour
The Pallottine concept of neighbour is universal just as the love of God which embraces all persons is universal and without exceptions, it pays particular attention to
those who are most in need and, for Pallotti, those who are most in need are the
Heretics and the Infidels32, consequently if the precept of charity is lacking those who
26
OOCC V, 126: Ciò che «…dee spingere il Cristiano a procurare la salvezza delle anime, è il secondare gli ardenti impulsi del cuore amorosissimo di Gesù Cristo, che non altro brama e desidera se non vedersi da altri secondato in ciò ch’Egli ha fatto perché gli uomini conoscessero, amassero e servissero il divin suo Padre, e in ciò trovassero la loro salvezza». 27
OOCC III, 190: «…1. Ora ricordate che il Vostro Sposo Gesù, innamoratissimo delle Anime, vi espresse la sua ardentissima Sete con quella misteriosa parola Sitio (Gv 19, 28), Ho sete; dunque se volete piacere a Gesù pregatelo incessantemente, perché vi comunichi sì preziosa Sete, 2. Riflettete, che per dissetarvi potete sempre pregare per la salute eterna di tutti: oh quante Anime sono giunte alla gloria per le ferventi, e conti‐
nuate preghiere». 28
1Gv, 4‐16. 29
Ibidem 30
Cfr. OOCC IV, 310: « Iddio ti ha donato la libertà di agire, e insieme ti ha dato il precetto della carità, né da tale precetto potevi andare esente, poiché ti donò la libertà, affinché liberamente osservando il precetto della carità ti rendessi tanto più simile a Dio, quanto più perfettamente l’avresti osservato»; OOCC XI, 257: «… pel cooperare alla salute delle Anime puoi giungere al più perfetto esercizio della carità, e in tale eserci‐
zio allora arrivi al più sublime, quando giungi a cooperare alla salvezza delle Anime le più abbandonate; poi che in tal modo ti eserciti nell’opera la più grande fra tutte le opere di misericordia. Ora dimmi Anima mia e non ti piace di arrivare ad essere sempre più simile a Dio? ». 31
Ibidem 32
OOCC IV, 311: «…la Carità, è ordinata, e perciò più energicamente si deve portare ad esercitare i Suoi atti in ogni modo possibile verso i più bisognosi; e siccome in ordine alla Fede, non v’è porzione del nostro Prossi‐
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PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
will suffer most are those who are most needy, that is those who do not know Christ
and do not believe, and the Lord asks for an account of this.
4.12. The imitation of Jesus Christ
According to Pallotti, the Christian cannot follow any other path other than the imitation of Jesus Christ because he has gifted us with salvation, he is the divine Master
and the Model of the entire human race, he is the practical rule for all of our interior
and exterior life. To imitate him is for Pallotti, an indispensable observance in order to
truly sanctify ones own life and that of ones neighbour. Pallotti also gives the reason
for this. A soul, or a person, who believes and in humility and trust strives to imitate
Jesus Christ, will obtain that Jesus Christ destroy in him all deformities and all faults
and sins, Jesus will enter into that soul in order to work and live there rendering it a
participant in his most holy works and will even lead him to do still greater works33.
4.13. The central role of the Roman Christians
Based on what has been written above, Pallotti affirmed that the faithful of the city of
Rome, being at the centre of Christianity, should be the first to give good example of
perfect observance of such an obligation. It is from there that faith and love of Jesus
Christ must be spread in the whole world.
4.14. The central practical pivot in the organization of Pallottine missionarity
Pallotti maintained that in the situation of that time – in 1835 – faith had become
lukewarm among Catholics and charity had lessened. For this reason he believed
that innumerable souls would remain without the hope of eternal salvation and without charity. He considered that the situation would be even more dramatic for those
who, deprived of faith and dead to charity, lived in the darkness of eternal damnation.
Every Christian must try to help them with all possible means, even prior to looking
after the needs of ones own body34, in order to save them from this eternal death35.
Pallotti urged this, he preached it, he spoke of it in public, in his letters and in his
various writings, reflections and spiritual texts.
It would seem that a Gospel passage (Mt 9,37) would not allow Pallotti peace:
“The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few! Pray the lord of the harvest to
send labourers into the harvest!” Pallotti felt himself to be strongly questioned and
challenged by these words of Jesus and around them he organized his apostolate
and little by little and in an increasingly more concrete form until it assumed an institutional form in 1835 which he called “Catholic Apostolate”, and he identified this as
its fundamental objective36. Faced with such a limitless harvest Pallotti clarified that
the Catholic Apostolate “… as well as having the goal of contributing to the spreading
of the true faith in Infidel countries, also takes as a goal the reawakening and the
mo più indigente degli Eretici, e degli Infedeli, per ciò in forza dell’ordine della Carità, siamo obbligati a pro‐
curare in ogni modo possibile la loro conversione, non dimenticando la salvezza dell’Anima nostra, dei Con‐
giunti, Domestici, e di altri, cui siamo obbligati per ufficio». 33
Cfr. OOCC III, 36‐38. 34
OOCC III, 161. 35
Cfr. OOCC III, 152‐154. 36
Cfr. OOCC IV, 257‐258: «…l’idea e lo scopo dell’Opera (...) è di riunire l’azione evangelica, la cooperazione personale, le preghiere, e le offerte volontarie di coloro che ne fanno parte, per uno scopo comune, che è quello di venire in aiuto delle opere di pietà, e di cattolico zelo». - 11 -
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
conservation of faith in Christian countries”37. He also specified its difference from
other institutions38.
4.15. The Pious Union of the Catholic Apostolate
The pious Union of the Catholic Apostolate has had a strong missionary dimension
right from its very beginning in accordance with the will of its Founder. It was “… instituted in order to multiply the spiritual and temporal means both necessary and opportune to revive Holy Faith and to rekindle Charity among Catholics, and to spread it
among the Infidels”39. This missionary character emerges in its numerous components be they structural or apostolic. The most obvious are:
- the name “Catholic Apostolate”, with its pronounced orientation towards the missions;
- its division, according to Pallotti, in three classes, of which the class of the “workers
will endeavour to form the heart and the spirit of those who dedicate themselves to
the missions.” From amongst them some will also be chosen for the spiritual direction and academic direction of the College for the foreign Missions in Rome;
- the 12 Procurae in which the world is divided, each one under the protection of one
of the twelve Apostles and each with a very specific aim and purpose. They are
then all entrusted to the protection of the 13th Procurator, St. Paul, the first missionary from among the apostles40.
The third Procura, under the protection of the Apostle James the Greater, which has
the task of looking after the foreign missions41, was instituted to arouse the zeal of the
clergy, both secular and religious, and of the people, in favour of the holy foreign
missions. Its Procurator is obliged to commit all the means to promote printing and
other aids; to involve the Sisters in praying for missionaries, to select the best priests
to send to the foreign missions. Another of its tasks is to awaken the charity of benefactors and to provide the missionaries embarking for the missions with all the necessary means42;
- the houses of the ‘holy retreats’ of the Union also nourish the missionary spirit.
When the Founder speaks of them he recommends to the members of the pious
Union to dispose themselves for the missions in the areas of the infidels43 or, to be
available for the greater glory of God and the greater sanctification of our souls and
of those of our neighbours44;
- the crest, the medal and the seal also evidence the missionary character of the pi37
OOCC IV, 259‐260. OOCC IV, 258‐259: «…non bisogna perciò confondere l’Apostolato Cattolico con altre pie Istituzioni, che lo zelo per la propagazione della Fede Cattolica ha in questi ultimi tempi ispirate, e si trovano stabilite princi‐
palmente in Francia, e in Allemagna (...)» che hanno per scopo di «…soccorrere le Missioni straniere per mezzo di una tenue contribuzione volontaria degli Individui che le compongono, e che, atteso il gran nume‐
ro degli ascritti si arriva alla fine dell’anno ad una somma cospicua, che scrupolosamente si eroga a vantag‐
gio delle Missioni più povere, e più bisognose». 39
OOCC III, 95‐96. 40
Cfr. OOCC I, 67, 77, 87, 204. 41
Cfr. OOCC I, 204‐221. La III Procura (per le missioni estere) ha fornito un elenco ‐ importantissimo ‐ di ospiti del Collegio per le Missioni Estere, istituito presso la chiesa dello Spirito Santo dei Napoletani, insieme a due documenti sulla chiesa di Ormi in Persia ed un altro sulla chiesa di san Pietro in Londra, alla vigilia della re‐
staurazione della gerarchia ecclesiastica in Inghilterra. 42
Cfr. OOCC I, p. 204‐208; cfr. anche III, p.10. 43
Cfr. OOCC I, p. 14‐15. 44
OOCC I, p. 20. 38
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PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
ous Union of the Catholic Apostolate45.
4. 16. The Society of the priests and brothers of the Catholic Apostolate
It was instituted in 1846 “as the soul and motor” of the entire pious Union, as a privileged instrument “… to keep all its evangelical undertakings of charity and zeal always alive46. It also, since it is “a central point between both groups of the clergy and
a community of perfect life”, should facilitate the overcoming of divisions which existed at that time between the secular and regular clergy and animate them both with
the bond of emulating charity and zeal for the works of evangelical ministry47. The
Congregation, today a Pious Society, is therefore called by St. Vincent to work directly for missionarity among Catholics and indirectly for missionarity “ad gentes”.
4.17. The Institute of Nuns and Sisters Coadjutors of the Congregation of the
Catholic Apostolate under the special protection of Mary, Queen of the Apostles48
Nuns and sisters are promoted by the Congregation of men but that does not indicate, according to the custom of the time, that they are dependent on it. The rules
and rituals of Vestition and consecration are the same as those in the Congregation
of Priests and Brothers, except for variations necessary for their condition. Besides
the prayers to God for vocations and for the conversion of the world, they also live in
communities and practice perfect common life. For the moment there is no provision
for vows but there exists "a contract by which they oblige themselves to the Institute
to live in perpetual poverty, chastity, obedience, and practice perfect common life and
exercise any work of charity and gratuitous zeal”49. Among their apostolic activities, in
the first place comes "the Christian and civil education, and the training for women in
the most necessary works”, with preference for infants and girls from the poor
class50. There is also the reference to a task of missionary character. In non-Catholic
countries the institute has to accept and educate with "the highest Catholic spirit"
even the daughters of non-Catholics who ask for it51.
The Institute of nuns is a copy of the Congregation of the Priests and Brothers. As
this "... is instituted to animate the secular and regular Clergy in the works of the Holy
45
Nello stemma della Società tutto il mondo viene rappresentato da quattro figure. L’apostolato è dunque rivolto a tutte le quattro le parti del mondo ossia a tutta l’umanità in qualunque parte del mondo si trovi. Anche le parole «Charitas Christi urget nos», che sono l’anima di tutta la pia Società sono espressione del suo più profondo desiderio di raggiungere ogni anima, cfr. OOCC I, 7‐8 ed anche OOCC III, 109. La medaglia della Società nella sua parte bassa riporta le spighe, simbolo della messe mistica indicata dal Redentore per le molte anime che sono da salvare. Intorno, nel bordo, invece, v’è impresso il testo evangeli‐
co, in latino, di Lc (10, 2): «La messe è molta, ma gli operai sono pochi. Pregate il padrone della messe per‐
ché mandi operai per la sua messe». Sul rovescio della medaglia invece è scolpita l’effige di Gesù Crocifisso, che dalle sue santissime piaghe versa il suo preziosissimo sangue sulle quattro parti del mondo per la salute delle anime, cfr. OOCC I, 9‐10 ed anche OOCC III, p.110‐111. Il sigillo della Società contiene le parole «Charitas Christi urget nos» per ricordare a tutti l’amore di Gesù per la salvezza degli uomini, per poterlo imitare nel procurare la salvezza al nostro prossimo, cfr. OOCC I, 10‐11 ed anche OOCC III, 112. 46
Cfr. OOCC VII, 3. 47
Ibidem. 48
Cfr. OOCC II, 555-559. The two texts are supposed to be contemporary to the Manual of Rules of
1847.
49
OOCC II, 558.
50
Ivi, 556.
51
Ibidem.
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PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
Evangelical Ministry in the spirit of generous charity ... and all of whatever status,
gender, grade and condition are called to the works of charity and zeal ..., so the
nuns of the Congregation shall be established for increasing charity and animate the
zeal of the people of their own sex, both religious and secular; ... the nuns must be
ready for any work of charity and zeal, and especially the Christian and civil education of poor children"52.
5. THE FOREMOST OBJECTIVE OF PALLOTTINE MISSIONARITY:
THE COLLEGE OF THE FOREIGN MISSIONS
In the light of a situation were there were immense numbers of people without
priests, the scarcity of vocations53, given the lack of formation centres and the poor
quality of formation of missionary priests, Pallotti believed that a remedy lay in the
institution of Colleges in various nations and in diverse parts of the world with the appointment of responsible priests with a true vocation, an authentic missionary spirit
and willing to go to missionary countries where they would dedicate themselves to
the formation of candidates to the priesthood in order to build up a local clergy well
prepared for the ministry of the Word of God and for sacramental ministry54.
Pallotti did not consider this project to be totally compatible with the goals of the Pontifical Urbano College of Propaganda Fide, even though he himself was its spiritual
director55, therefore he proposed to institute a central College for the Foreign Missions56, in which the best candidates of the Catholic clergy would be formed in Rome
because he considered Rome to be the best teacher not only of doctrine but also in
ecclesiastical discipline and in apostolic practice57.
All the other missionary Colleges, those already in existence in various parts of the
world, and those yet to be erected, would come under the direction and guidance of
this College. The central College in Rome would provide good, convinced missionar52
OOCC II, 559.
OOCC IV, 197: «Ma se fra Cattolici sempre è vero che la Messe è molta e gli Operaj sono pochi, chi potrà concepire a qual grado lo sia nelle Parti degli Eretici, ed Infedeli? Per quanto si dica non si dice giammai ab‐
bastanza. Oh la lagrimevole scarsezza degli Operaj evangelici ossia per coltivare nella Religione i pochi catto‐
lici, ossia per intraprendere l’opera evangelica della conversione degli Eretici, o degli Infedeli! (...). Paesi va‐
stissimi appena dopo il giro di più anni arriveranno a vedere un Prete, e la maggiore parte degli Infedeli se ne restano sepolti nelle tenebre degli errori, senza che giunga loro un Banditore evangelico, e guai se alcuno ne andasse senza essere ripieno dello spirito di Gesù Cristo, che è quello spirito che cerca puramente la glo‐
ria di Dio, e la salute delle Anime». 54
Cfr. OOCC III, 367‐370. 55
Il Pallotti aveva notato che alcuni alunni, dopo aver vissuto diversi anni nel Collegio e aver goduto di agi e di comodità, trovavano difficoltà a tornare e adattarsi allo stile di vita del proprio paese. Egli accenna anche che alcuni ex‐studenti, tornati in Oriente, insegnavano dottrine offensive e scandalose ai loro connazionali e contrarie alla Chiesa, cfr. OOCC V, 98‐99. 53
56
Per il Pallotti sembra del tutto necessaria l’erezione di un ben ordinato Collegio, sotto la vigilanza del Papa, in cui venga provata la vocazione e lo spirito di chi vuole dedicarsi alle missioni. Tra le motivazioni della costituzione del Collegio a Roma una è la seguente: «A tutte le riferite ragioni in prova della necessità della istituzione del Collegio per le Missioni Straniere in Roma, potrebbe anche aggiungersi essere una tal quale vergogna per Roma andar priva di tale Collegio, mentre trovasi presso altra Nazione; essere ben duro e sensibile per un Italiano chiamato da Dio alle Missioni, non tro‐
vare un Collegio in cui raccogliersi per prepararvicisi; essere grande ostacolo alla propagazione della fede vedere Roma e l’Italia priva di quella Località, il cui solo nome già avrebbe bastante eloquenza per chiamare alle Missioni chi ora non si vede chiamato; essere di sorpresa e di biasimo per i Vescovi, ed altri Stranieri Ecclesiastici, non trovare, venendo in Ro‐
ma, un luogo in cui rifugiarsi, rinnovarsi nello spirito, ed eccitarsi a nuove più grandi imprese; essere (per tacere tante al‐
tre ragioni) di gran confusione vedere i Protestanti più impegnati dei Cattolici nel propagare le loro sette: quindi per tor‐
re dalla Capitale del Mondo Cattolico su ciò qualunque taccia di colpa, è necessario turare le bocche ai maligni con una sì bella, e santa, istituzione», OOCC V, 102‐103. 57
Cfr. OOCC V, 88 ss. - 14 -
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
ies, well formed in sound doctrine and capable of guiding the local Colleges with the
spirit and the doctrine of the Roman Church. In this impressive undertaking the pious
Union of Catholic Apostolate would be committed at the forefront58.
The request to erect this Roman College was presented to the Cardinal Vicar of
Rome, Carlo Odescalchi, who, with a rescript of October 2nd 1837, gave his approval59. At the same time an invitation was extended to those who wished to be part
of the foundation and an appeal to the generosity of the faithful was made60. Unfortunately this College, having functioned for a few years, closed its doors in 1844. The
conflict and the misunderstandings with the Work of Lyons and the difficulties around
the title “Catholic Apostolate”, undermined its very foundations and also the economic subsidies necessary not only for its development but indeed for its very existence61.
Sometimes the Lord does not let good works die but he does permit them to pass
through the purification of time; this also happened with St. Vincent. His unfinished
ideas were subsequently taken up and implemented. One example of this was the
foundation of the College for the Foreign Missions founded by the Mill Hill Missionaries62 in England shortly after the death of St. Vincent, another was the founding of the
Pontifical Institute for the Foreign Missions in Milan63. The same happened also with
the “Catholic Apostolate” which from the Second Vatican Council on is recognized as
the primary commitment of all Christians and of which St. Vincent himself was proclaimed the precursor. A further confirmation of the value of his exceptional missionary commitment was also made when Blessed John XXIII proclaimed him as the Patron of the Pontifical Missionary Union of the Clergy and of Religious.
58
Essa «…attenderà alla perfezione di se stessa negli individui della parte centrale per procurare la coltura di quella gioventù che aspira all’opera delle SS. Missioni, e se la provvidenza la fornirà dei mezzi sufficienti promuoverà la Istituzione dei collegi per educare e formare buoni ed esperti Missionari per inviarli accom‐
pagnati dalla pastorale Benedizione del Sommo Pontefice nelle parti degli Infedeli», OOCC III, 171‐172. 59
OOCC IV, 14‐16. 60
La generosità è così motivata: «E se Gesù non ha dubitato versare tutto il sangue per riscattare le anime, non sarà certo troppo per voi versare il danaro, quel danaro, da Dio datovi perché ne usaste liberalmente con poveri, quel danaro che può liberarvi dalla morte eterna, quel danaro che può aprirvi il paradiso, e ren‐
dervi eternamente beati: ‘Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur’ (Mt, 5,7), OOCC V, 127. 61
Quanto alla formazione in questo Collegio romano per le missioni estere troviamo sufficienti e precise indicazioni per averne un’idea assai completa. Anzitutto è un Collegio per ecclesiastici italiani, e solo nel caso di mancanza di vocazioni potrebbe essere aperto anche agli stranieri. I requisiti richiesti agli alunni per esservi ammessi erano i seguenti: la voca‐
zione per le missioni estere, la bontà di vita, le prove di aver completato il corso di filosofia per i chierici e l’età non oltre i 35 anni per i sacerdoti, e non superiore ai 25 anni per i chierici. L’età era importante perché si volevano avere persone già sufficientemente mature per evitare che, dopo più anni trascorsi nel Collegio, qualcuno potesse non essere più di‐
sposto a partire per le missioni. Per prevenire tali difficoltà, il primo anno doveva essere di prova dello spirito dei candi‐
dati, dopo di che, coloro che si dicevano disposti a tale missione, facevano il giuramento di andare nelle missioni, di per‐
petua dipendenza, di non aspirare alle dignità ecclesiastiche e di accettarle solamente per ubbidienza al Sommo Pontefi‐
ce. Tale giuramento, che si doveva fare in una delle feste del Signore, o di Maria o degli Apostoli, previi gli esercizi spiri‐
tuali, il Pallotti lo riteneva necessario, per confermare l’idoneità del candidato ad essere un buon missionario, cfr. OOCC V, 269‐273. 62
Don Giuseppe Ranocchini SAC scrive: «La Società di Mill Hill, per testimonianza del Card. Wiseman, affonda le sue radici nello zelo missionario di san Vincenzo Pallotti il quale, proprio in considerazione dei vasti terri‐
tori che l’Impero Britannico possedeva oltremare, scongiurò il Wiseman di aprire in Inghilterra un Seminario per le Missioni; l’opera, dietro spinta dello stesso Wiseman, fu realizzata dal Card. Vaughan», Id., San Vin‐
cenzo Pallotti, in «La Lucerna», rivista mensile religiosa culturale, anno VII, gennaio 1950, n. 71, 91 e 92. 63
Il Fondatore del Pontificio Istituto delle Missioni Estere, Giuseppe Marinoni, che era stato fra i primi membri del Collegio e che aveva compreso il pensiero e lo spirito di san Vincenzo, ne portò con sé l’idea e l’ardore missionario nel Seminario per le Missioni Estere di Milano, cfr. Ranocchini G. SAC, San Vincenzo Pallotti, op. cit., p. 92. - 15 -
PALLOTTINE MISSIONARY FORMATION – 12 - 20 May 2009
6. CONCLUSION
The missionary spirit of Pallotti was both extraordinary and great. He was able to
grasp the epochal challenges and make the program of his life, which has given birth
to his missionary spirit – “to revive and propagate the faith and rekindle love"- and to
the pursuit of personal perfection through prayer, meditation, contemplation and imitation of Jesus, and the engagement in a number of apostolic commitments, services
and works. He did all these for the greater glory of God and the eternal salvation of
all, thereby forming "one fold under one shepherd Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world.
It was a complete but extremely challenging project. Its realisation required the involvement of all believers, and Pallotti wanted to commit the greatest possible number of workers in the harvest of the Lord. Let us thank him for what he has done and
ask him that the riches of his inner life and his evangelical and missionary spirit remain alive in us, especially, in his spiritual sons and daughters.
The 'plantatio Ecclesiae "of Gregory XVI of the time of Pallotti, after the decree “Ad
Gentes” of Vatican II, the “Evangelii nuntiandi” of Paul VI and the “Redemptor
Hominis” of John Paul II, has acquired greater significance. The mission today, besides the primacy of the proclamation of the Gospel, to which is associated the salvific event of Jesus Christ, there is the need for the establishment of a Church as indigenous as possible, which must be accompanied by the witness of life and formation of Christian communities. The novelty of today's mission is the choice of dialogue
as a way of proclamation, and the inculturation of faith, that is, the encounter of the
Gospel with life, history and culture of local people with the aim of harmonising the
Gospel values and for giving a witness to the charity according to local needs. Thus
we hope to establish a society free from all moral and actual slavery, as the fruit of
true Christian freedom.64
Does the Pallottine mission conserve still one of its actualities?
I still believe that the universal missionary dimensions are actual even today, that the
entire humanity may discover Jesus and enter into the life promised by him. There is
a very close interdependence between personal spirituality and mission, so the quality of the first is directly related to the quality of the second. In the model of the
"Church of communion", everyone - priests, religious and laity – having found and
deepened their vocation – live as apostles, cooperating and working together impelled by love. These aspects of our charism remain to be incarnated and lived each
day in the national and international cultural and daily contests.
64
Cfr. Colzani G., Teologia della missione, Edizioni Messaggero Padova, 1996.
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