Community of Christian Life

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The Community of Christian Life ( GCL ) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church . The association of believers lives from the spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) and has since then been fraternally connected to the Jesuit order and other Ignatian and Marian communities. The GCL emerged from a renewal movement in 1948, which was supported by the Apostolic Constitution " Bis saeculari die " of Pope Pius XII. was initiated. In 1967 the creation of the GCL with new "General Principles" and the new name found its first conclusion.

history

After the stagnation of retreats and the decline in the activities of the Marian Congregations (MC), which had reoriented themselves under the leadership of the Jesuit Order in the 1950s, Pope Pius XII. (1939-1958) to a new beginning of the Marian movement and the reactivation of retreats. This push had a big impact and apparently came at the right time in some countries. B. in France , USA , Canada and Taiwan and soon also in Germany . The MC members present met at two Catholic international congresses and asked the Central Secretariat to prepare a world federation of MCs “as soon as possible” in order to help each other in the implementation of the Apostolic Letter and to be present at the world level. As early as 1953, Pius XII. to agree to the establishment of the world federation in which the laity assumed responsibility, independent of the Society of Jesus, albeit fraternally assigned to it, and in which priests performed the role of ecclesiastical assistant . Indeed, in many countries a profound new beginning was on the way, primarily through longer retreats.

The first meeting of delegates of the world federation with the election of the first world consul in 1954 in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (the former Roman college from which the MCs started) became the starting point of a worldwide renewal. After eight years of worldwide written dialogue between the Central Secretariat and the grassroots, with their first experiences of renewal, the “General Principles” emerged, which also included statements from the Second Vatican Council on the mission of the laity . At the 4th World Delegates Meeting in Rome in 1967 , these were unanimously adopted by 38 countries and the new name “World Federation of Communities of Christian Life” was adopted. Years of discussions preceded this name change. With the confirmation by Pope Paul VI. (1963–1978) the previous affiliations to the mother congregation in Rome and the ties to the MCs were no longer applicable, instead there was now admission to a locally responsible federation. The German national federation, which emerged from the working group in 1966, took on the new name “Community of Christian Life” in 1968. Each MC could decide for itself on this name change, combined with the adoption of the “General Principles”.

On the world level, through increasing experiences of retreats , international formation courses, contacts and partnerships between the countries, an awareness of community grew , which at the 9th World Delegates' Meeting in Providence / USA in 1982 led to the decision not to become a federation, as a union of communities understand, but as a single world community of many people as members. This personal membership is lived in local groups and in diocesan / regional and national sub-communities. The 11th World Delegates Meeting in Guadalajara (Mexico) in 1990 rewrote the “General Principles and Norms” accordingly, replacing the 1967 text. From then on, the one world community corresponds to the final name “Community of Christian Life”. The “ Pontifical Council for the Laity ” confirmed it as an international public “Association of Believers” under papal law and recognized the “General Principles” in the version of 1990; He emphasized the uninterrupted continuation of the MCs initiated by Jean Leunis SJ within the GCL.

The GCL today

The community has its seat and its world secretariat in Rome . It encompasses 58 national communities on all continents and is in the making in a further 13 countries (2011). Since 1957 she has been a member of the "Conference of International Catholic Organizations" (OIC) and since 2008 it has been represented as a Catholic non-governmental organization (CNGO) at the UN in New York and Geneva as a non-governmental organization (NGO) . A world delegate meeting takes place every five years. Cooperation at European level has also been growing for a long time, especially since 1989 with the countries of the former communist sphere of influence.

The GCL in Germany has its headquarters and its secretariat in Augsburg , where the 6th World Delegates' Meeting took place in 1973. In addition to the secretariat, there are some diocesan or regional offices, one especially for young adults. In Germany there are 170 groups with 1,100 adult group members from all ages and professions in thirteen diocesan / regional communities (2011). The “Youth Associations Community of Christian Life” (J-GCL) are affiliated to the GCL in Germany at the national level and have approx. 6000 members (2011). The GCL in Germany works in the Central Committee of German Catholics , in the working group of Catholic organizations in Germany and in the discussion group of spiritual communities and movements in Germany. A national delegates' meeting takes place every two years. In the cooperation of the GCL and the Jesuit order, the original form of the retreat - personally accompanied individual retreats - was rediscovered after 1967 . In order to enable men and women (lay people, members of the religious order, diocesan clergy) as accompanying persons, the GCL in Germany has been offering a two-year extra-occupational seminar together with the Jesuits since 1971 . In the mid-1980s, the GCL gave the initial spark for “ Exercises in Everyday Life ”. Since 2008 the GCL has been offering a course “The Salt in the Group” based on its decades of experience as an aid from Ignatian spirituality for women and men in church groups and bodies . The GCL in Germany also offers a one and a half year extra-occupational GCL seminar “Guiding and accompanying groups in faith” with the aim of acquiring skills in order to be able to perceive and promote the spiritual dimension in a group process. Christians of other denominations also participate in Ignatian spirituality . An annual program booklet provides members and interested parties with courses for retreats in various forms, for further training and for networking certain areas of work or life.

Existing Marian Congregations

In some countries, including Germany, old MCs only partially or not at all joined the renewal. Since the function of the "mother congregation" in Rome was taken over in 1967 by the world federation, the CLC has the option of joining "associations that in a certain way participate in the same tradition". So are z. In Germany, for example, the remaining “Bavarian Men's Congrations” are affiliated to the national level.

literature

  • Community of Christian Life (Hrsg.) / Hedwig Schüttgen: Forward to the roots, Chronicle of MC / GCL in Germany, Echterverlag 2019, ISBN 978-3-429-05420-5
  • Franz X. Schwärzler SJ: Sodalis Marianus. Constitution, statutes and customs of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin Mary , 6th edition, Graz and Vienna 1909
  • Georg Denzler , Carl Andresen (ed.): Dictionary church history . dtv, Munich 1997 (5th edition)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ OIC disbanded in 2008 [1]