Spiritans, left to right: Fr. Bredan, Fr. Santos, Fr. David, Fr. Stanislaus and Fr. Chinedu
Address:
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit
P.O. Box 101, Aitape - Sandaun Province 553 - Papua New Guinea
Phone: (675) 857 2021, Fax: (675) 857 2005.
Spiritans
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans)
By Fr. Chinedu Nwadike, C.S.S.p.
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit is a religious-missionary institute. (Its members take the vows of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience). The Spiritan priests, brothers and lay associates, owe their origin to a young French nobleman, Claude Poullart Des Places, who gave up the practice of law to study for the priesthood. His apostalate began among the peasant chimney sweeps of Paris. The small Seminary which he later founded on 27th of May 1703 (while still a seminarian) and dedicated to the Holy Spirit, marked the beginning of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Claude Poullart Des Places who became a priest in 1707 died two years later and was buried in a paupers' grave. However the young congregation that he founded survived the shock of his death. Within a short period the Spiritans as they came to be called, were actively engaged in apostolic work in Europe, India, Africa, North and South America. Diminished and crippled by the French Revolution, the congregation was renewed in 1848 when Fr. Francis Libermann, the Son of a Jewish Rabbi, merged his new congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary with the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. The merger it was called the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The merger brought in a number of priests and seminarians also dedicated to the poor and underpriviledged. It is the writing and example of Fr. Francis Libermann that has set the tone for today's Spiritans as to follow an apostolate, dedicated to and guided by the Holy Spirit.
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Spiritans, left to right: Fr. Bredan, Fr. Santos, Fr. David, Fr. Stanislaus and Fr. Chinedu
Address: The Congregation of the Holy Spirit P.O. Box 101, Aitape - Sandaun Province 553 - Papua New Guinea Phone: (675) 857 2021, Fax: (675) 857 2005.
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Spiritan Mission in the Church
For the Spiritans, the evangelisation of the 'poor' is at the heart of their mission. Therefore they go especially to peoples, groups and individuals who have not yet heard the message of the gospel or who have scarcely heard it, to those whose needs are greatest and to the oppressed. They willingly accept tasks for which the church has difficulty in finding workers (Cf. Spiritan rule of life no. 4).
The Advent and Apostolate of Spiritans in Papua New Guinea (PNG)
In 1971, some Irish Spiritans arrived at the Mount Hagen area of PNG. Since their first arrival, other Spiritans from Canada, Mauritius, Madagascar and Nigeria have joined the mission. At present, the Spiritans are working in the dioceses of Madang, Aitape and Wewak. Most Spiritans in PNG are involved in parish ministry. In their parishes, they proclaim the liberating message of Christ through words and deeds which include involvement with integrated human development programmes like organizing communities for self-reliance, adult literacy programmes, lay leadership training programmes and issues of social justice. The Spiritans are also involved in specialised ministries to the youths and the margnalised as well as school chaplaincy and working with disabled people. In their apostolate, the Spiritans share in the joys and sorrows, and anxieties of the people among whom they are working.