Xaverian Brothers
The Xaverian Brothers ( Latin : Congregatio Fratrum a S. Francisco Xaverio, German : Xavenier Brothers, short form: Xavenier, order abbreviation : CFX , also known as ChordFr) are a lay brotherhood of the Roman Catholic Church . It was founded in Bruges ( Belgium ) by Theodoor Jakob Rijken in 1839 and named after St. Francisco de Xavier . The missionary mandate is Catholic education, its main area of distribution is the east coast of the United States . The religious community is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Bruges .
history
The founding goes back to Theodoor Jacob Rijken, who initially worked as a religion teacher in North Brabant . Here he worked in an orphanage and organized care for cholera patients . In 1831 he traveled to the United States and was employed there as a catechist for the American missionaries. During his three-year stay the idea developed to found a brotherhood that would work alongside the missionary priests.
The foundation
After returning to Belgium in 1833 he began planning a missionary society. He backed up his idea with the promise of six American bishops who supported his plan to send religion teachers to the United States. Rijken traveled to Rome and asked Pope Gregory XVI. for permission and the papal blessing . During this trip he got to know the work of the Redemptorists and Jesuits and decided to found the fraternity of St. To dedicate to Franz Xaver. The first attempt at founding the company on June 15, 1839 turned out to be difficult because the two confreres failed due to their overload. It was not until a year later that suitable and strong-willed confreres were found, so that a primary school and a school for professional training could soon be opened in Bruges . In 1841, with strong financial support, the brotherhood was able to buy a large estate near Bruges. The Xavian Brothers, as they called themselves, now recruited new lay brothers in Germany, the Netherlands , Belgium, England , Ireland and France . In 1848 the first brothers went to England and opened new schools in Bury and Manchester , and in London they founded Clapham College.
In their religious vows, the lay brotherhood submits to the three evangelical councils poverty, chastity and obedience. In 1865 she received an apostolic letter from Pope Pius IX. confirmation as an institute of consecrated life .
Conflicts
After the election to the general superior, criticism of Theodoore J. Rijken was loud within the order. In particular, his abilities as an administrator were criticized and a clear crisis developed in the General House . The Bishop of Bruges, Jean-Baptiste Malou , summoned him and suggested that he resign. The founder of the order submitted and in 1860 left the office to the younger brother Vincent. From 1860 to 1871, the membership had grown from 58 to 133, serving in Belgium, England and the United States.
Mission in the USA
In 1853, Martin John Spalding , Bishop of Louisville , asked the Xaverian brothers to establish a school in his bishopric. In 1854 the first brothers moved to the United States, they established several schools and in 1864 St. Xavier High School was opened in Louisville, Kentucky . This was followed in 1864 by another request from Martin J. Spalding, who in the meantime had become Archbishop of Baltimore . He asked for schools and educational institutions to be established. Baltimore became the center of Christian education in the United States. The religious community's first novitiate was established here in 1876 and is still located at Mount Saint Joseph College in Baltimore. By the year 1900, the Xavianer in had US states New York , Maryland , Massachusetts , Virginia , West Virginia and Pennsylvania founded schools. In 1949 Brother Sylvan Mattingly founded a small Rosary congregation in Louisville (the Working Group of the Rosary for Our Lady of Fàtima ) which quickly expanded to 17,000 members.