Claretian Missionaries
| Congregatio Missionariorum Filiorum Immaculati Cordis Beatae Mariae Virginis | |
| Abbreviation | CMF |
|---|---|
| Motto | To Light the Whole World on Fire with the Love of God |
| Formation | 16 July 1849 |
| Founder | St. Anthony Mary Claret |
| Type | Catholic religious order (Institute of Consecrated Life) |
| Headquarters | Via del Sacro Cuore di Maria, 5, 00197 Roma, Italia |
| Website | claret |
The Claretians, a community of Roman Catholic priests and brothers, were founded by Saint Anthony Claret in 1849. Their ministries are highly diverse and vary depending on the needs of the area. They focus on seeing life through the eyes of the poor and respond to the biggest need at the time. They have a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their formal title is the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (abbreviation C.M.F. for Cordis Mariae Filii), but they are popularly known as "the Claretians".
The Congregation of the "Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" was founded by Antonio María Claret y Clará (Anthony Claret) on July 16, 1849 at the seminary in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Claret had been thinking for a long time about preparing priests to proclaim the Gospel and bring together a group of priests who shared his vision to accomplish work he could not do alone. Through his missionary work in Catalonia and the Canary Islands he was convinced that people needed to be evangelized and there were not enough priests who were sufficiently prepared or zealous enough for this mission. Only 20 days after the CMF's founding, Claret received news of his appointment as Archbishop of Cuba, which he accepted despite his reluctance. The Congregation was left under the guidance of one of the co-founders, Esteban Sala, who died in 1858. Another co-founder, José Xifré, took over the directorship. Under his leadership the Congregation established its came first mission was in Equatorial Guinea. In the Year 1973 through the instrumentality of Fr Christian Ihedoro, the Congregation came to Nigeria.
With the coming of the Revolution of 1868, the Congregation was suppressed by the state and all the Missionaries had to seek refuge in France. Archbishop Claret also went into exile there. He played a major role editing the Constitutions, which the Holy See approved on February 11, 1870, only a few months before his death. At this time the institute had its first holy martyr, Francisco Crusats. Archbishop Claret, the founder, had the great satisfaction of seeing new foundations established throughout Spain, as well as in Africa (Argel), and in Latin America in México, Chile, and also, in the Philippines.
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