The Congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph ( la, Congregatio Filiorum Sacrae Familiae, Iesu, Mariae et Ioseph; abbreviated ''S.F.'') is a Latin

Institute of Consecrated Life An institute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in the Catholic Church erected by canon law whose members profess the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience by vows or other sacred bonds. They are defined in the ...

for

priests 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

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 ...

(a type of Clerical Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right for Men). The congregation is dedicated to educating the young and strengthening Catholic family life.

Organisation

The general headquarters are in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Per 2013 there were 38 houses and 161 members (including 128 priests).

Superiors general

''(incomplete) * ... * Magin Morera * ... * Father Luis Picazo Ustrell, S.F. (? – 2011.01.07) * The current superior general is Father Jesús Díaz Alonso, S.F. .

History

Foundation

The Sons of the Holy Family was founded in

Tremp Tremp () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Pallars Jussà. It is the largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of area (),The municipality of Tortosa is historically larger than Tremp, but was subdivid ...

, on March 19, 1864, by Josep Manyanet i Vives. A Catholic priest and the son of a peasant farmer, Manyanet founded the congregation out of his great concern for children and family life. He believed that Catholic education comprised the "most suitable, simple, and practical means of reforming the family and society with it", and that the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...

was the exemplary model for strong Catholic families. Not long afterwards, Manyanet also founded a complementary congregation for women, the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The founding of the Sons of the Holy Family was part of a wide movement in Spain, as many new religious congregations were being founded in the same period. These congregations were mostly of teaching religious, though lay associations flourished as well. The Sons of the Holy Family received an informal decree of approval (''decretum laudis'') from

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

on April 30, 1887, and were given formal approval by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

on June 20, 1901. Manyanet died on December 17, 1901, in Barcelona, only a few months after this formal approbation. Today he is formally recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, as he was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

on May 16, 2004, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Expansion

The congregation was well established by 1965, with teaching foundations operating in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The Sons of the Holy Family had arrived in the United States in 1920, and ministered to the Spanish-speaking population in the

Archdiocese of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, link=no, es, Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe, link=no) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the southwestern region of the United States in ...

. Today, the American regional headquarters and

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

is located in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

, and the Sons of the Holy Family maintain eight houses in the US, mostly in the southwest. The congregation is present today in several European countries, North and South America, and in Africa as well. It counted about 250 members in 27 foundations worldwide by 2011.

Mission and charism

Priests of the congregation describe themselves as "witnesses and apostles of the mystery of Nazareth," by which is meant a contemplation of the so-called "hidden years" of Jesus Christ, during which he lived in the family home in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

and was obedient to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. As such, the congregation's stated

charism A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...

is to "promote devotion to the Holy Family and to foster true Christian family life." The congregation aims to achieve this goal through educating and forming young people and building up families.

Notable members

Saints and Blessed members

Besides the founder, Saint Joseph Manyanet, other members of the Congregation are in the process to be canonized. * In May 2012,

pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

approved the beatification of Blessed Jaime Puig and 19 Companions, religious and a lay man who were murdered during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, between 1936 and 1939. * The Servant of God Magin Morera, former Superior General of the order, is another candidate to be canonized. * The Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth have started the beatification process of Mother Encarnación Colomina, their co-founder.

Prelates from their ranks

* Francisco González Valer,

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Lamphua Lamphua was an ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Its present location is Aïn-Foua, in modern Algeria. History Lamphua was important enough in the late Roman province of Numidia to be one of it ...

and Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(USA)

References

Sources and external links

*
GCatholic

at Catholic-Hierarchy.com {{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1864 1864 establishments in Spain Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century