The Servants of Charity ( la, Congregatio Servorum a Charitate) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. Members of this clerical congregation are popularly known as 'Guanelliani' (or ''Guanellians'', in English). They add the nominal letters ''SC'' after their names to indicate their membership in the Congeagation.

History

The institute was founded in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

on March 24, 1908 by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Luigi Guanella Luigi Guanella (19 December 1842 – 24 October 1915) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He was ordained a priest on May 26, 1866 in Como, and was assigned to a small parish in Savogno. Luigi is the founder of several religious institutes: ...

, (1842 - 1915), a friend of David Albertario and

Giuseppe Toniolo Giuseppe Toniolo (7 March 1845 – 7 October 1918) was an Italian Roman Catholic economist, sociologist, and pioneer of Christian democracy. A leading political and social economist, Toniolo condemned both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism, ...

. He was sensitive to issues of social outcasts and the handicapped. This gave birth to a religious community to provide the needs of the poor. Their motto reads "In Omnibus Charitas" (''In all things Love''). The congregation obtained the recognition of ecclesiastical institution of pontifical right with

decree of praise A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

, 1912 and was again approved in 1928. There is also the female branch of Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence.

Activities and dissemination

These religious operate day and evening schools for workers, institutes for the education of youth and speakers. They also run facilities worldwide for the care of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As of December 31, 2018, the congregation had 103 houses and 558 religious, 366 of them priests.http:// www.gcatholic.org/orders/128.htm

Notes

Related Items

* Saint

* Venerable Aurelio Bacciarini * Blessed Clare Bosatta

External links

Opera Don Guanella - Congregation of the Servants of Charity

Servants of Charity - Divine Providence Province
{{Catholic religious institutes, state=collapsed Como Catholic orders and societies