VATICAN CITY, JUL 15, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Pope to Fr. Aquilino Bocos Merino C.M.F., superior general of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians), on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the congregation.
In the message, dated June 12, feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Holy Father recalls that on July 16, 1849, "in a humble cell of the seminary of Vic (Spain), St. Anthony Mary Claret (the founder), together with five other young priests, initiated your religious family."
John Paul II writes that the strength of St. Anthony Mary Claret was "the Word of God, lived and proclaimed as a message of salvation for all. He disseminated it through publications, catechesis and preaching, convinced that therein lay comfort for the sorrowful, strength for the weak, health for the sick and pardon for sinners. Through constant prayer, study and a life of piety he became a true evangelizer, first in his native Catalonia, then in the Canary Islands and later as archbishop in Cuba and Spain."
"Transcending human and geographical frontiers," adds the Holy Father, "you celebrate this 150th anniversary with a presence on all continents, and working on the 'ad gentes' mission in order to inspire the growth of new Christian communities. ... In carrying out this evangelizing work, may you be a leaven of unity and fraternity."
The Pope indicates that "in the face of the great evangelizing challenges of the future, Claretian Missionaries, especially those committed to theological research, teaching, the catechesis and the use of social communications media, are called to faithfully live ecclesial communion with minds and hearts firmly set in the Magisterium of the Church, and also to bear witness to the 'sentire cum Ecclesia'."
MESS/CLARETIANS ANNIVERSARY/BOCOS VIS;19990715 (300)
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