Merciful Brothers of Mechelen

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The Brothers of Charity of Mechelen and the brothers of our dear Virgin of Mercy or Broeders van Scheppers ( lat. : Institutum Fratrum Beatae Mariae Virginis a Misericordia, Engl. : Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy, shorthand and religious symbol : Fratres De Misericordia, FDM ) are a society of apostolic life in the Roman Catholic Church .

History of origin

During his annual pilgrimage to the Marian pilgrimage site of Scherpenheuvel , the canon Victor Scheppers decided to found a " Merciful Brotherhood " whose main task was to look after prison inmates. The Belgian Minister of Justice endorsed this activity and promised financial support. Scheppers bought a house with borrowed money and converted it into a monastery , and in March 1838 the first two brothers - two craftsmen - joined the new religious order . Cardinal Engelbertus Sterckx transferred the leadership to Brother Victor Scheppers on January 25, 1839, he approved the rules of the order and the habit . The duration of the novitiate was set at two years, after which the temporary profession is made . The members of the brotherhood wear a black habit with a scapular and a brown pectoral cross .

Prison chaplaincy

The brothers did their job in prison , not just for nursing. They understood their work as an apostolic mission and treated the prisoners with respect and mercy, using every opportunity for prayer, penance and strengthening of the faith. They took over the manual training and teaching of legal issues with the prisoners. Their goals were prevention and education to help reduce crime .

The religious community grew steadily . In 1841 three brothers worked in Vilvoorde , in 1843 five brothers started their work in the military prison in Aalst , and five other brothers were posted in Ghent prison . In 1844 a branch was established in Namur with ten brothers . They found a great advocate and sponsor in Édouard Ducpétiaux, a Belgian journalist and reformer of the Belgian prison system.

Political Influences

At the beginning of 1850, criticism of the work of the brotherhood increased in the French-speaking part of Belgium. As a result, the order was banned in the south by the provincial governments and had to give up its workplaces in Aalst (1859), Vilvoorde (1862) and Gent (1869). In the so-called “Belgian school dispute” (compare encyclical “ Licet multa ”) and the emergence of the radical-liberal government Frére-Orban-Van Humbeck ( Walthère Frère-Orban and Pierre Van Humbeeck ), educational work was stopped and the brotherhood was on leave.

Other fields of activity

In 1849, thanks to numerous donations, it was possible to take over the “Olivet” nursing home in Mechelen. This foundation, which has existed since the 15th century, went back to Olivet Godshuis and was a refuge for elderly people in need. In order to maintain or improve the quality of care, a training center for care services was set up. The brothers returned to the mother house from the south of the country, in addition to working in the old people's home, they now took on apostolic tasks in caring for the poor. In 1851 the St. Vincent boarding school was established in Mechelen and in 1861 the St. Victor Institute was established in Alsemberg .

Through the mediation and suggestion of the Belgian priest Xavier de Merode (1820-1847), the youngest son of Count Félix de Mérode (who was the secret chamberlain of Pope Pius IX ), some brothers were sent to Rome in 1854 . They should reform the conditions of detention in Rome, recruit new members for the fraternity and seek support from the Pope. The first superior in Rome, Brother Paul, was called on February 8, 1854. Cardinal Pecci, later Pope Leo XIII. entrusted them with the construction of an orphanage in Perugia . With the establishment of a novitiate and the assumption of several pastoral tasks, the brotherhood experienced a rapid expansion, so it worked on the reform of the prison system in Italy , it built education and orphanages and was active in the care of the elderly and the sick.

In 1855 some brothers were invited to London by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning , where they took over the care of prisoners in Catholic reformatory institutions and began schooling for impoverished children.

Missionary work

After the First World War , the "Scheppersbrüder" initially took over the reconstruction of schools in Mechelen and Alsemberg. The novitiate was also located here. The congregation , which in the meantime had grown to 385 brothers, also undertook missionary work in the Netherlands, Spain , Uruguay , Canada and Argentina . After the Second World War , the missionary work was continued under Superior Leonard Roeken and extended to Rwanda and Burundi , while access to the priesthood was made possible for the brothers.

Congregation of Sisters

Around 1840 a non-profit community of Catholic women had formed in Mechelen, who had turned to educational work and wanted to live according to the rule of the “ Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi ”. In 1844 the first women entered the religious community. In 1851 Brother Victor Scheppers founded a monastic community under the name "Sisters of Mercy from Our Lady", whose principles of life were recognized in 1854 by Cardinal Stercks. Seventeen sisters were given the habit, and Sister Marie (real name Catharina Perée ) was appointed first superior of the motherhouse with a novitiate .

In 1860 the sisters built the Lorette School, a primary school for girls with an attached kindergarten and later a home for older women. This was followed by educational and care facilities in Mechelen (eight institutions in total), the Hanswijk municipality, near Brussels, in Walem, Diegem , Boortmeerbeek , Wambeek and Schaerbeek . The sisterhood received no papal approbation and had to cease working at the end of the 20th century.

organization

The following branches exist:

The brotherhood has the following schools, educational institutions, residential and care facilities:

  • Belgium: in Alsenburg a grammar school , a special school and three primary schools , in Antwerp a primary school, in Herentals an orphanage, in Mechelen a boarding school and in Wetter an orphanage
  • Italy: in Rome the college of Pius IX. with a kindergarten, a kindergarten in Busnago, a retirement home in Fabriano and a nursing home in Jesi
  • Argentina: in Buenos Aires two universities with attached kindergartens and a secondary school, in Santiago del Estero one university and one elementary school
  • Burundi: in Bujumbura a primary school and a primary level, in Mutwenzi a medical institute with an attached children's home for mentally and physically handicapped children.

Since 2005, Father Roberto Piccolo has been the Order's Superior General.

See also

Web links