Rome, Italy. Claretian Missionaries from the three General Houses and some from Sanctus Paulus Province in Rome gathered on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the General Curia for the Solemnity of St. Joseph. The traditional celebration of the feast of the patron saint of General Curia finally returns after two years of no physical gathering caused by the pandemic.
Gathered at the Aula Magna of the Curia, Bro Carlos Verga, CMF, General Consultor and Prefect of Youth Ministry and Vocations, unveiled the constellation-patterned organigram and government workflow for the sexennium 2021–2027. The new organigram reflects the complexity, the synodal system of governance, and the alignment of structures to the Congregational dream. After the presentation, the Consultors briefly presented the programs of their respective prefectures. A short open forum followed, allowing the curious missionaries to investigate the presented organigram’s complexity further.
After the symposium, everybody proceeded to the chapel for the vespers. As an introduction, Local Superior and General Archivist Fr. Vicente Sanz, CMF, gave the principles and history behind the celebration. He said that this roots back to the transfer of the General Curia from Via Julia to its present location.
It was at the General Chapter of 1949 in Castel Gandolfo that it was decided to endow the Congregation with a modern House-Curia, on the same land on which the temple was being built and close to it. Three months after the inauguration of the Basilica of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Parioli (December 8, 1952), on March 19, 1953, Rev. Peter Schweiger inaugurated the new General Curia. On that day, the chronicler wrote: “This day is considered as the day of the inauguration of the new house – General Curia – as a proof of gratitude and recognition to the Patriarch Saint Joseph for the continuous protection and favor he gave us, especially during the period of the construction works.”
Then he mentioned what the Founder of the Claretian Missionaries, St. Anthony Mary Claret, said about St. Joseph.
As you can see, there is a bronze image of St. Joseph to remind us that he is our Patron. And not only because of the anniversary of the date of the inauguration but also because he is the co-patron of the Congregation and because of the devotion that Claret had towards him, whom he considered a model of inner balance and patience.
He concluded with the words of St. Anthony Mary Claret:
“On May 7, 1865, at half-past three in the afternoon, the day of the Patronage of St. Joseph, Jesus told me to be very devoted to St. Joseph and to have recourse to him with confidence.” (Aut 831)
The lay workers in the General Curia also graced the occasion.
A simple dinner and socialization followed.
