Societas Sanctissimi Sacramenti | |
Abbreviation | S.S.S., Sacramentine |
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Motto |
Adveniat Regnum Tuum Eucharisticum May Your Eucharistic Kingdom Come |
Formation | 13 May 1856 |
Type | Catholic religious order |
Headquarters | Via G. B. De Rossi 46, 00161 Rome, Italy, General Curia (administration) |
Location |
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Coordinates | 41°55′01.8″N 12°31′04.5″E / 41.917167°N 12.517917°ECoordinates: 41°55′01.8″N 12°31′04.5″E / 41.917167°N 12.517917°E |
Superior General of the Congregation of The Blessed Sacrament
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Very Rev. Eugênio Barbosa Martins, S.S.S. |
Key people
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Peter Julian Eymard Lodovico Longari Giovanni Nadiani |
Main organ
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General Curia |
Website | sssinternational |
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (S.S.S.) is a Catholic religious congregation of priests, deacons, and brothers founded by St. Peter Julian Eymard. By their life and activities, they assist the Church in her efforts to form Christian communities whose center of life is the Eucharist. They commit themselves to the implementation of this ideal in collaboration with lay men and women engaged in various ministries.
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, whose name in Latin is Societas Sanctissimi Sacramenti, was founded in Paris, France, on May 13, 1856, by a French priest, Saint Peter Julian Eymard. As he searched for response to the needs and challenges of his time, he found the answer in the love of God manifested in a special way in the Eucharist. During Eymard's lifetime, the character of French Catholicism was changing from a religion of guilt and fear to a religion based on God's mercy and love. Eymard was a leading figure in this transition.
Eymard was born February 4, 1811, at La Mure, Isère, France. He was a contemporary and a friend of Peter Chanel, John Vianney, Marcellin Champagnat, and the sculptor, Auguste Rodin. On July 20, 1834, Eymard was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grenoble, and in 1839, he joined the Marist Fathers. He worked with the Third Order of Mary and other lay organizations promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Eucharist, particularly the Forty Hours Devotion.
Eymard became familiar with the practice of sustained eucharistic worship during a visit to Paris in 1849, when he met with members of the Association of Nocturnal Adorers who had established exposition and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories. In 1856, Eymard left the Marist order and founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men, and, in 1858, together with Marguerite Guillot the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, a contemplative congregation for women.