Association of the Catholic Apostolate

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Founder Vinzenz Pallotti (1795–1850). Painting by Bruno Zwiener

The Union of the Catholic Apostolate (Latin: Unione Apostolatus Catholici, abbreviated UAC ) is a "public international association of believers" (according to can. 313 CIC / 1983 ) in the Roman Catholic Church . In German-speaking countries it is also called Unio for short .

Idea and story

On January 9, 1835, Vinzenz Pallotti (1795–1850) was given the idea of ​​an association in prayer in which lay Christians , priests and religious could get involved. In the weeks that followed, the idea took shape. At the time of Pope Gregory XVI. the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Carlo Odescalchi, confirmed on April 4, 1835 the new foundation for the Diocese of Rome; this day is therefore the official foundation day.

Pallotti gave the foundation the name Association of the Catholic Apostolate, whereby he did not understand Catholic as denominational , but in the original sense of the word as universal, general. The word apostolate is derived from the Greek and means mission. Vincent Pallotti understood this as a mission to follow Jesus, the Messenger, the " Apostle of the Eternal Father". With his idea of ​​a general, universal apostolate, he wanted to make it clear that every person can work responsibly for people through God's saving actions. Pallotti writes: “The Catholic, that is, the general apostolate as it can be common to all strata of the people, consists in doing what everyone can and must do for the greater glory of God and for his own and neighbor's eternal salvation "(OOCC III, 143).

In speaking of the vocation and obligation of all people to the apostolate, Vincent Pallotti contradicted the ecclesiastical thinking of the time. For in his time the mission of the Church was carried out exclusively by the hierarchy, especially the Pope and the bishops; As addressees of this apostolate, lay Christians were rather passive recipients. On the other hand, the Unio consisted from the beginning of lay people, religious and priests who, according to their own possibilities, shared the tasks of the association. They should renew faith and love among Christians and spread it all over the world. It was and is possible and required to use everything suitable in the apostolate: all forms of pastoral and missionary activity, prayer, financial and material gifts.

Vincent Pallotti had the picture "Queen of the Apostles" painted by Serafino Cesaretti.

Vincent Pallotti gave his community Mary, the "Queen of the Apostles", as patron saint. Under this title he had Serafino Cesaretti paint a picture for the association. In the first year of its existence, the Association of the Catholic Apostolate invited to a special eight-day celebration of the feast of Epiphany (apparition of the Lord). The celebration made the aim of the association clear: it was about spreading, deepening and renewing the faith, about enjoying the diversity of the Catholic faith.

Even during Vincent Pallotti's lifetime there were efforts to dissolve the association. Four years after his death, the name was changed to "Pious Mission Society" for almost a hundred years. It was not until the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) that the image of the church and the understanding of the apostolate represented by Vincent Pallotti was confirmed. In the years that followed, the Pallottine Communities began to seek contemporary renewal. At first, legal endeavors did not play a role. Rather, the focus was on the rediscovery and deepening of Pallotti's legacy. It was not until the late 1980s that the Pallottine communities began to formulate a general statute in order to seek ecclesiastical recognition as a worldwide community.

structure

Within the Union of Catholic Apostolate who were still alive Pallotti Pallottine and Pallottines emerged. Other communities emerged later. In Germany today, 13 communities belong to the association, a total of about 625 people: members of communities and individual members, women and men, priests and religious, married and singles. In the association they all have the same rights and duties. The diverse personal vocations, the various forms of life, ties and services are united through the founding charism, through the same spirit, through the same mission and fellowship with one another.

While the various communities in the association are autonomous and subject to their own statutes, there are so-called coordination councils at different levels, which serve as moving centers of encounter, prayer, education and cooperation to maintain the common spirituality and the various apostolic Promote initiatives.

Church recognition

The association was officially recognized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on October 28, 2003 . The general statute was approved at the same time for five years. The final license to practice medicine took place on October 28, 2008 . The first president of the General Coordination Council and thus of the worldwide association was the Pallottine Father Séamus Freeman , now bishop in Ireland, his successor from 2008 to 2012 was the Pallottine Father Jeremiah Murphy. Since then, Ms. Donatella Acerbi, a lay member from the Italian community of Quinta Dimensione, has been President of the worldwide Unio, which is now represented in around 50 countries on every continent.

In Germany in 2012 the doctor Dr. Alois Wittmann elected the third President of the National Coordination Council founded in 2000.

literature

  • Vinzenz Pallotti, Selected Writings , ed. by Bruno Bayer u. Josef Zweifel, Pallotti-Verlag Friedberg 1985.
  • Vinzenz Pallotti, The Basic Rules of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate , introduced u. translated v. Ansgar Faller, Pallotti-Verlag Friedberg 1987.
  • Manfred Probst u. Hubert Socha (ed.), The "Association of the Catholic Apostolate" Vincent Pallottis. Idea - History - Shape , Lahn-Verlag Limburg 1993.
  • Heinrich Schulte: The work of the Catholic apostolate . Lahn-Verlag, Limburg
1. The beginning. A relief campaign for the Christian Orient . 1966.
2. Priest-builders and heralds of the lay apostolate . 1967
3. Shape and history of the “Catholic apostolate” Vincent Pallottis. The period from 1835-1850 . 1971
4. Shape and history of the “Catholic apostolate” Vincent Pallottis. The period from 1850-1890 . 1986.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For the historical and iconographic background of the picture see: The picture "Queen of the Apostles" and its specifically Pallottine iconography https://www.pallottinerinnen.de/vinzenz-pallotti/koenigin-der-apostel/
  2. ↑ cf. General dam of the Association of the Catholic Apostolate ( Memento of December 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.0 MB), Art. 47
  3. ↑ cf. General dam of the Association of the Catholic Apostolate ( Memento of December 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.0 MB), Art. 6
  4. ↑ cf. General dam of the Association of the Catholic Apostolate ( Memento of December 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.0 MB), Art. 60

Web links