We trace back our foundation to St. Louis Marie de
Montfort and the community of Brothers that gathered around him. The
founding-Charism was at work from the early days of Montfort’s missionary life.
Disciples began to gather around him from 1703, just 3 years after his
ordination, Marie Louise Trichet being the first. At the height of his career as
the “Apostolic Missionary” he desired to form a company of vagabond priests
like him, in accordance with the trend of the time, to carry on with his
preaching mission; he called it “The
Company of Mary”. He wrote a Rule for it, prayed for it and tried hard to
establish it but divine providence took its own time to realize it.
Montfort’s
formal involvement in education mission began in 1711 as part of his commitment
to the Bishop Champflour of La Rochelle where he was invited to preach missions
and to participate in the diocesan plan of organizing school education for the
poor children. For the next 5 years Montfort worked relentlessly for the
renewal and revival of the Catholic community both in the Dioceses of La
Rochelle and Lucon. Apart from preaching missions Montfort participated in the implementation
of the diocesan education policy. Along with the diocesan schools Montfort also
organized schools by himself with the support of the Bishop and entrusted these
to his disciples. The first of these schools he organized was for the girls
which he entrusted to his beloved disciple Marie Louise Trichet and her companions
in 1715. This group of Religious sisters is known today in the world as the
“Daughters of Wisdom”.
Montfort organized a second school for boys in
which he himself was involved in its organization and management. It led to the
formation of the community of the Holy Spirit which came to existence
officially on Pentecost day, 1715 (June 9, according to tradition, as much of
the early documents were lost) when four of his disciples took the Vows of
Obedience and Poverty in the hands of Montfort and joined him, at La Seguiniers
(a parish, Notre-Dame-de-Toute- Patience, near the town of Cholet in Nantes). At
the time of his death (28 April, 1716) Montfort had this community of the Holy
Spirit comprising of these 4 Brothers attached him.
“He entrusted them to the divine providence in order
to carry on his work, particularly through charitable
schools” (R.L.p.9) as it is evident from his last Will:
“… I confide
to His Lordship the Bishop of La Rochelle and to Fr. Mulot my small piece of
furniture and mission books, to be preserved for the use of the four Brothers
who joined me in a life of obedience and poverty; namely, Bro. Nicolas of
Poitiers , Bro. Philip of Nantes , Bro. Louis of La Rochelle and Bro. Gabriel,
who is at present with me, for as long as
they continue to renew their annual vows, and for the use of those whom divine
providence will call in to the community of the Holy Spirit … and the two pieces of land given by the
lieutenant of Vouvant’s wife, and a small house given by a good lady of rank.
If there is no possibility of building there, it should be put at the disposal
of the Brothers of the Community of the Holy Spirit to conduct Charity Schools
…” (Last
will of Montfort).
It is the tercentenary of
this event that we are celebrating. In 1722 the community of the Holy Spirit
was re-constituted under the superior ship of Fr. Mulot and settled at Saint-Laurent-sur-servre,
near the community of the Daughters of Wisdom governed by Marie Louise de
Jesus. It became the community of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit where the
Brothers and the priests lived together. Besides teaching in the schools the
Brothers devoted themselves to the works of the mission and rending material
services.
During the period when Fr.
Gabriel Deshayes was the superior General of the Montfortian communities (1821
– 1841) he gave a new impetus to the teaching Brothers. Eventually he constituted
them into an autonomous Institute. In doing so Fr. Gabriel Deshayes revived the
community of the Holy Spirit for Charitable schools which Montfort had started
in his time. It became independent after the death of Fr. Gabriel Deshayes in
1841 and was legally recognized in France in 1853 under the name of the Brothers of Christian Instruction of St.
Gabriel.
Formulated by
Bro. Paulose Mekkunnel s.g.
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