Congregation of St. Basil

For other Basilian orders, see Basilian (disambiguation).
Congregation of St. Basil

Seal of the Congregation of St. Basil
Abbreviation CSB
Motto Bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam doce me (Latin)
"Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge." (Psalms 119)
Formation 1822 (in France)
Type Roman Catholic religious order
Headquarters 95 St. Joseph St.
Toronto, ON
Canada
M5S 3C2
Location
  • Predominantly in North and South America
Very Rev. George Terence Smith, CSB
Website basilian.org

The Congregation of St. Basil, also known as the Basilian Fathers, is a community of priests, students for the priesthood, and lay associates. It is an apostolic community whose members profess simple vows.[1] The Basilians seek the glory of God, especially in the works of education and evangelization.[2] The Congregation was founded in 1822 in the aftermath of the French Revolution. In the early 19th century the Basilian Fathers' educational and pastoral work brought them to a variety of locations in Canada and the United States. In the 1960s, the priests began to minister in Mexico, and in Colombia in the 1980s.[3]

Crest

The Basilian crest was developed in the late nineteenth century.[4] Its main components are the founding date of the Congregation (1822); the Congregation's motto in Latin; and a shield bearing four symbols. The four symbols and their meanings are: a chalice, representing the Blessed Sacrament; an open book, representing knowledge; a fleur-de-lis representing both the Blessed Virgin and the French origins of the Basilians; and a Greek cross, representing Christ and honoring St. Basil, the Greek patron of the congregation. The motto, which is translated as "teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge", is often seen on the logos of Basilian schools around the world. [5]

History

Founding

Amidst the turmoil and persecution of the Catholic Church during the French Revolution and after the Reign of Terror, the Archbishop of Vienne, Charles-François d’Aviau Du Bois-de-Sanzay, encouraged Joseph Lapierre to take over the Catholic education of boys in the isolated hill commune of Saint-Symphorien-de-Mahun, Ardèche department.[6] Despite difficulties, the school grew, and in 1800, when the political climate was more favourable, the Archbishop asked Lapierre to also educate candidates for the priesthood. With the addition of Joseph Marie Actorie as director, a minor seminary was founded. Increased growth made it necessary to find a new location, and in 1802 the school moved to Annonay at the suggestion of Henri Léorat-Picansel, a pastor who had previously been in Saint-Symphorien-de-Mahun.

Ten men, priests and students for the priesthood, formed the staff of the school. In the ensuing years, school enrollment grew to over 300 students, and auxiliary institutions were established nearby. In the years leading up to 1820, changing French educational laws and changing Church administration meant falling enrollment. The newly appointed bishop suggested that if they formed an association and bought the property of a nearby school, Maison Seule, that they would have his support. This “coincided with a desire for closer religious life already shown by several of the priests teaching in the college.”

On November 21, 1822, The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, the Congregation’s first general chapter was held. Joseph Lapierre was unanimously elected Superior by the nine other priests. “To these men he was the very symbol of their determination that this work should not fail.” The schools became known for their range of teaching including humanities, rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Previously known as the Teaching Priests of the Ardèche, the founders chose St. Basil as their namesake. Their new school, Maison Seule, was in the Parish of St. Basil, but he was also an appropriate choice because he was “a monastic founder, a preacher and an author of a treatise on the study of pagan classics.”[7]

Other patrons of the Basilians are: the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. John Bosco.

The ten founding priests were:

France

In their early years, the Basilians were not a religious congregation in the canonical sense. They were an association or society of secular priests willing to live in community and pool their resources to support Christian education and preaching.[18] The members did not take formal religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience until later. In the early years, boundaries were somewhat fluid on membership in the association, based on who lived in the community and taught at the schools at any time. The early years of the Basilian congregation were full of challenges. The local bishop, who was prepared to suppress the congregation, died the night before signing a decree.[19] However within a couple of generations, the Basilians had grown sufficiently to be formally approved by Pius IX in 1863.[20] During the French Third Republic, Catholic schools were again a target, this time of the Socialists who were determined to secularize education. The decrees of 1880 targeted Jesuits but affected all teaching orders including the Basilians, and as a result of the persecution they were forced to close one of their schools in 1881 and one of their houses.[21] The French government finally suppressed all religious orders in what was known as “La loi de Combes” in 1903. The Basilian confrères were dispersed and their property was sold at auction. The religious life of the Basilian Fathers in France was suspended for twenty years, a blow from which they never recovered.[22]

Canada

The Basilians first came to Canada in 1850 at the invitation of Bishop Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel. As a Basilian student in Annonay from 1811 to 1819, the Bishop of Toronto turned to his former teacher and Irish Basilian, Father Patrick Moloney, CSB, to assist him in his work with the largely Irish Catholic community in Toronto.[23] Eventually, the Congregation sent four of its members to the New World.[24] In 1852, St. Michael's College, Toronto opened its doors, offering a French style of education, a combination of high-school and university education.[25] This effort was a large investment, risk and sacrifice as it represented a significant percentage of the total number of available Basilian priests. In ensuing years, more sacrifices were made in manpower and money to continue the mission foundations in Canada; their work took them to Sandwich in 1856 and Owen Sound in 1863.[26] Three high schools were served by the Basilian order in Toronto including St. Michael's College School, Michael Power/St. Joseph High School, and Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School. The institute also founded Assumption College School, which became Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario, now federated with the University of Windsor; St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan federated with the University of Saskatchewan; and St. Joseph's College in Edmonton, Alberta affiliated with the University of Alberta. St. Thomas College (later St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) in Chatham, New Brunswick, was founded by the Basilians in 1910, and in 1923 the college was transferred to the local diocesan clergy. Toronto remains one of the largest centers for the Congregation and is home to the Basilian Curial Offices and the Cardinal Flahiff Basilian Centre.[27]

Division and Reunion

Discussion between the Congregation in France and North America resulted in the amicable Decree of Separation in June 1922 creating two separate religious congregations, each with their own constitutions.[28]

The French and North American branches were reunited in 1955, an occasion celebrated in Annonay.

United States

The Basilian Fathers have been active in the United States since the last half of the nineteenth century. The first Basilian ministry in the United States was in Louisville, Ohio at St. Louis College in 1867. The Basilians founded and still operate St. Thomas High School and the University of St. Thomas (Texas). In the 1930s the Basilians began an apostolate serving Spanish-speaking populations in Texas in communities such as Galveston, Houston, Sugar Land, Rosenberg, Wharton, New Gulf, Bay City, Angleton, Freeport and Eagle Lake. The work in Texas also served as the platform for Basilian mission work in Mexico and Colombia.

The Basilians also opened Detroit Catholic Central High School in 1928 and Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana. They co-sponsor Detroit Cristo Rey High School with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In 1937, the Basilians took over Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York, and in 1948 established St. John Fisher College in the same city. St. John Fisher remains a Basilian college and the Basilians maintain strong links to the Aquinas Institute.

Latin America

The Basilians started missions to Mexico in 1961 and Colombia in 1987. The Basilian Fathers have served in Mexico City and currently serve in Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico, and Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín, Colombia in Latin America. The congregation established parishes and schools in Colombia and Mexico, and is affiliated with St. Basil’s Medical Centre in Colombia.

Present

Today, the Basilians practice their ministry of teaching and preaching within parishes, campus ministry, schools, and colleges located in Canada, United States, Mexico, and Colombia. They are currently located at:

Formation

The Basilian formation process consists of four basic steps that occur over a period of approximately seven years:

  1. Associate: This stage gives a candidate the opportunity to get to know the Basilians and allows the Basilians to get to know him. It can occur while a candidate is in high school, college, or working-. Generally, most associates spend their last associate year living in a Basilian community, thus indicating a stronger desire to commit to the Basilian way of life.
  2. Novice: This stage marks another important step of a person’s journey into religious life. The novitiate lasts for one year and a day, as prescribed by canon law. It is a year away from friends, family, work, and most things familiar to our everyday life so that the novice may build a strong foundation of prayer and spirituality for the rest of his life as a Basilian. At the end of this year, the novice may profess first (temporary) vows.
  3. Scholastic: At this stage the candidate is living in temporary vows and engaged in three to four years of theological study. Alongside their theological studies, scholastics are engaged in various pastoral ministries during the year and often travel on assignment each summer. These ministries and assignments are tailored to the individual’s interests and capabilities.
  4. Supervised Ministry: The Basilians consider the first year of ordination an important stage in the formation process as it is often the most challenging period for new deacons and priests. This serves as an adjustment period to the work of the priesthood in a Basilian apostolate.[30]

Notable Basilians

References

  1. ↑ Basilian Way of Life. 2013. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "About Us". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Basilian Crest". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Basilian Crest". basilian.org. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Hanrahan, James (1973). The Basilian Fathers (1822-1972). Toronto: The Basilian Press. pp. 1–8.
  8. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  9. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 205–207. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  10. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 341–344. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  11. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 391. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  12. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 517–518. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  13. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 521–522. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  14. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 536–537. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  15. ↑ Platt, Wallace (2005). Dictionary of Basilian Biography Lives of Members of the Congregation of Priests of Saint Basil from Its Origins in 1822 to 2002 (Second ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 655. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  16. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 658–659. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  17. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 664. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  18. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 7.
  19. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 9.
  20. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 13.
  21. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 14.
  22. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 17.
  23. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 443. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  24. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 443–444. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  25. ↑ "Basilian Fathers". St. Michael's College School. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 16.
  27. ↑ "Contact Us". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  28. ↑ Kirley, CSB, Kevin J. (November 21, 2014). 1922 Before and After A Short History of the Congregation of St. Basil 1822-2014. p. 26.
  29. ↑ "Locations". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "The Formation Process". Basilian Fathers. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  31. ↑ Platt, P. Wallace. Dictionary of Basilian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 86. ISBN 0-8020-3949-9.
  32. ↑ The Basilian Annals 2015 (Volume 13 Number 1 ed.). p. 77.

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