The Society of Saint Edmund ( la, Societas Patrum S. Edmundi) abbreviated SSE, also known as the Edmundites is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the
Catholic Church
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 ...
founded in 1843, in
Pontigny
Pontigny () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.
Sight
Its principal distinction is as the home of Pontigny Abbey.
See also
*Communes of the Yonne department
The following is a list of t ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, by Rev.
Jean Baptiste Muard. The congregation is named after
Saint Edmund and the members are commonly called Edmundites.
The members of the congregation add the nominal letters S.S.E. after their names to indicate membership in the Society. They adhere to the
vows
A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath.
A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual.
Marriage vows
Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddi ...
of
chastity, poverty and obedience.
History
Members of the Society, based in Pontigny, fled to the United States through Montreal, Canada in 1889 after widespread anticlericalism seized France. The Society of St. Edmund settled in
Winooski,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, and established
Saint Michael's College
Saint Michael's College (St. Mikes or Saint Michael's) is a private Roman Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont. Saint Michael's was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund. It grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees i ...
in 1904. The original motherhouse is at Pontigny, but since the expulsion of the religious institutes the superior general resided at
Hitchin
Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842.
History
Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
In the early 20th century, the congregation had two houses in the United States: a missionary house and apostolic school at
Swanton, Vermont, for the training of young men who wish to study for the priesthood and the religious life; and a college at
Colchester, Vermont
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the fourth-most populous municipality and second-most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester bor ...
, with 12 fathers, 8 scholastics, and 100 pupils. Saint Michael's College has since expanded to 2,000 undergraduates and 650 graduate students.
In 1937 the Society turned to the missions of black
Afro-Americans, mainly in Alabama thanks to Father Francis "Frank" Casey. During the
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and the lead up to the
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...
, the Society was the only white group in
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
who openly supported the voting rights campaign.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
staff member Don Jelinek later described this order as "the unsung heroes of the Selma March ... who provided the only integrated Catholic church in Selma, and perhaps in the entire
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
".
[Don Jelinek, Oral History/Interview, 2005-Selma Underground: Fathers of St. Edmund]
, Civil Rights Movement Archive website.
Present-day
The Society was formed to keep St. Edmund's memory and life alive through faithful service, for the work of popular missions. The members also devote themselves to parochial work, to the education of youth in seminaries and colleges, to the direction of pious associations, and to foreign missions.
References
External links
Society of Saint Edmund Order website
Saint Michael's College established by the Society in 1904
{{catholic congregation
Catholic orders and societies
Religious organizations established in 1843
African-American Roman Catholicism
Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century
1843 establishments in France
1889 establishments in Vermont