Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
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| Abbreviation | C.Ss.R. |
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| Motto | Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio (With Him is Plentiful Redemption) Psalms 130:7 |
| Formation | 9 November 1732 |
| Type | Institute of Consecrated Life |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Michael Brehl, C.Ss.R. | |
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Key people
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Saint Alphonsus Liguori — founder |
| Website | www.cssr.com |
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Latin: Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris – C.Ss.R). is a Roman Catholic missionary congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy, for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.
Members of the congregation, Catholic priests, and consecrated religious brothers, are known as Redemptorists, who are often associated with the image of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and minister in more than 77 countries around the world.
Alphonsus Liguori was deeply moved by the plight of the poor living in Naples and the surrounding area and established his community with the aim of providing spiritual nourishment. Amongst his companions was Gerard Majella. In 1748 Alphonsus petitioned Pope Benedict XIV, to allow him to establish a congregation to minister to the poor in the area around Naples, who were:
"… the most in need of spiritual help, as frequently they have no one to administer to them the Holy Sacrament or the Word of God; their plight is such that many, for lack of (apostolic) labourers, reach death's door without knowing anything at all of the necessary truths of the faith. This is because the number of priests…is few." Benedict agreed and the congregation was formed in 1749.
Within ten years of the foundation, communities had been established at Nocera, Ciorani, Iliceto, and Caposele. Due to political complications, there was an initial difficulty with the houses in the Papal States being separated from those in the Kingdom of Naples, but this was overcome in 1793 and the Congregation soon opened houses in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy. The Congregation was soon to move beyond the borders of present-day Italy. In 1785 two Austrians, Clemens Maria Hofbauer and Thaddeus Hübl joined the Redemptorists. After their final profession and ordination to the presbyterate, they received permission to establish a house in their homeland but, due to the resistance of the Austrian government, no foundation took place. Father Hofbauer went to work for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and was sent to Russia where he briefly ministered in Courland (now in Latvia). In 1786 he rejoined Father Hübl and went to Warsaw in Poland where the papal nuncio gave them responsibility for the parish of Saint Benno; their mission thrived until the community was expelled in 1808.
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Wikipedia