Passionist Fathers
| Congregatio Passionis Iesu Christi | |
 |
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| Abbreviation | C.P. |
|---|---|
| Formation | December 1720 |
| Founder | Saint Paul of the Cross |
| Type | Clerical Religious Congregation (Institute of Consecrated Life) |
| Purpose | Being awaken in the faithful the memory of the Passion of Christ and commended oneself in a special manner to him. |
| Headquarters | Piazza SS. Giovanni e Paolo, 13, 00184 Roma, Italia |
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Membership (2014)
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2083 (of whom 1598 are priests) |
|
Superior General
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Fr. Joachim Rego |
| Website | passiochristi |
The Passionists (Latin: Congregatio Passionis Iesu Christi) are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Saint Paul of the Cross with a special emphasis on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names. A known symbol of the congregation is the labeled emblem of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surmounted by a cross and is often sewn into the clothing attire of its congregants.
St. Paul of the Cross wrote the rules of the Congregation in December 1720, and in 1725 Pope Benedict XIII granted Paul the permission to form his congregation. Paul and his brother, John Baptist, were ordained by the pope on the same occasion. The full canonical title of the congregation, following the revision of their Constitutions approved by the Holy See in 1984, is The Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ.
After serving for a time in the hospital of St. Gallicano they left Rome with permission of the Pope and went to Mount Argentario, where they established the first house of the institute. They took up their abode in a small hermitage near the summit of the mount, to which was attached a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony. They were soon joined by three companions, one of whom was a priest, and the observance of community life according to the rules began there and is continued there to the present day.
In 1769, Clement XIV granted full rights to the Passionists as enjoyed by the other religious institutes, making them not an order but a congregation. The congregation historically has had two primary goals: missionary work and contemplative life, with an attempt to blend the two. Its founder had attempted to combine aspects of the contemplative orders, such as the Trappist monks, together with the dynamic orders, such as the Jesuits.
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