The Stigmatines, officially named the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata (), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (Priests and Brothers). The Stigmatine Congregation was founded on November 4, 1816 by Gaspar Bertoni, in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, Italy. Its members use the post-nominals C.S.S..

History

The first written constitutions for the congregation were based on the constitutions of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, a religious order founded by

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

. Like the Jesuits, the congregation was intended as a missionary and educational ministry. The church where the Stigmatines were founded in Verona, Italy, was dedicated to the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi, from which the original title of the Community came. The patrons of the Stigmatine Congregation are the Holy Spouses, Mary and Joseph. The community's patronal feast is January 23, the Espousals of Mary and Joseph. The growth of the community was slow. In 1905, the Stigmatines went to the United States in 1907, and in 1910, they started activities in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. For nearly two centuries, the Stigmatines worked in China,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and various countries in

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and Latin America. In 2002, the Stigmatines settled in India. In June 2018, the city council of Waltham, Massachusetts, voted to take the 46 acres owned by the Stigmatines by eminent domain, for the purpose of building a new high school. The site includes the Espousal Retreat Center, a conference center, and a retirement home for priests. Mayor Jeannette McCarthy stated that the property is valued at $25.4 million; the city is offering $18 million. A statement on the Stigmatines' website states, "No one is doubting or discounting the need for a new high school in Waltham. We just don't believe the City should be able to end our existence here in Waltham because it covets our land for its own use." In December 2019, the parties resolved their dispute by the city council agreeing to pay a total of $29 million for the site. In the

, on 8 September 2021, Jessie Avenido (30 years old), Jestonie Avenido (29 years old) and Jerson Rey Avenido (28 years old), three brothers, members of the congregation, were ordained priests by

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Jose Cabantan in the Cathedral of

Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...

Statistics

In 2012, they had 94 houses with 422 members, including 331 priests.

Causes of Canonization

Saints * Gaspare Luigi Bertoni (9 October 1777 – 12 June 1853), founder of the congregation, canonized on 1 November 1989 Venerables * Emilio Recchia (19 February 1888 - 27 June 1969), professed priest, declared Venerable on 21 February 2020 * Roberto Giovanni (18 March 1903 - 11 January 1994), professed priest, declared Venerable on 27 October 2020 Servants of God * Beniamino Miori (11 June 1883 - 23 May 1946), professed priest, declared as a Servant of God on 3 June 2017

Stigmatine Apostolates

* the instruction of the Youth * the preaching of retreats and popular missions * the assistance in clergy formation

Fathers General

* Peter Vignola * Very Rev. John B. Tomasi * Andrea Meschi (2000—present)

References

External links

Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata

Community Stimmatini de Sezano

Congregation of Sacred Stigmata Sta. Cruz

{{Catholic religious orders Religious organizations established in 1816 Catholic orders and societies Catholic missionary orders 1816 establishments in Italy 1816 establishments in the Austrian Empire