When Claude
des Places began his studies for the priesthood at the Jesuit College
in Paris in October 1701, probably the last thing on his mind was
that two years later he would open a new seminary. However, as so
often happens, the Holy Spirit, the "Right Hand of God",
wrote straight on crooked lines.
Very soon after Claude became a comfortably housed boarder at the
Jesuit College, he began to notice a rather badly dressed group of
day students in his classes, mostly country boys like himself. What a
shame, he thought, that these young men, nicknamed 'pauperes' because
they were getting free tuition in the College, were in such danger of
losing their vocations because, all alone in the big city, they had
to fend for food, lodgings and facilities to do homework
In the begriming, no one objected when he quietly tried to help one
or two of them with a little money or left- over food from the
boarders' dining hall, but when it was rumoured he was going to leave
his comfortable room in the College and go and live with these
'pauperes', everyone thought he was mad. And who could blame them,
for Claude was not used to this kind of rough life in a lodging
house, was not much older than the others and above all, was not a
priest or a professor at the college, hut only a seminarian
Such stuff as dreams are made
To the outsider, life in rue des Cordières in those early days
was nothing but misery. For Claude and his fellow boarders, however
it was leurs beaux Jours, (the 'time of their lives'), something like
that of St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans, when he and
his first companions took on the job of repairing the little ruined
chapel of the Portiuncula.
Rue des Cordières may only have been occupied for three years
or less, but there was born the dream that would enrich not only the
Church in France of that time but the whole Christian world for
centuries to come. Dedicating themselves to the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost Sunday, 1703, Claude and the others bonded themselves as an
'association of friends' with a 'one heart and soul' (Cor Unum et
Anima Una) solidarity. They pledged themselves to be a special breed
of 'tomorrow's labourers' ready to take on any work, however
unrewarding, for which the Church was having difficulties finding volunteers.
Mission statement
If this 'mission statement' (to use a modern term) was quite
extraordinary, the 'formation program' (again to use a modem term)
was even more so. These young men would model their clerical training
not on seminaries for the upper clergy and their often less than
demanding spiritual formation, or on seminaries for the lower clergy
and their not infrequent very skimpy study of theology, but on
religious institutes like the Society of Jesus. This would involve,
after careful screening of applicants, six years of serious study (2
philosophy and 4 theology) and an almost military regime life style,
study habits, household chores and community prayer! Why? As they saw
it, all this was necessary if they, as 'tomorrow's labourers', were
to measure up to the demands of their future ministries as
'rag-pickers of the Church'. However, this kind of seminary,
organized by seminarians themselves and demanding so much of human
nature, far from scaring, attracted so many high spirited and
generous young men that all sorts of adjustments soon had to be made.
The price of progress
For starters, in six years Claude had to make many leaps of faith and
financial gambles in the necessary move to bigger premises and
quieter areas as well as draw up some basic rules for the residence.
Proper prayer and studies were not possible on noisy streets or in a
free-for-all young men's residence. Then Claude had to make a great
personal sacrifice. Although a gifted speaker and zealous to preach
the gospel himself, he now had to forget all this and become a full
time mentor of those who would!
Les Messieurs du Saint Esprit
Although a born organizer, Claude soon realized that he could not do
everything himself and so invited some hometown priest friends to
come and help him. Later he was able to depend for this support on
his own ordained students like Louis Bouic who, after Claude's death,
as third Director, guided the seminary with great distinction for 53
years. It was these volunteer associates (familiarly called les
Messieurs du Saint Esprit) who first as secular priests and later as
religious confreres eventually became the present Society of the Holy
Spirit or Spiritans.
Le style est l'homme
Claude, then, was no outside sponsor financing a new project or a
qualified armchair lawyer drawing up its bylaws, but a regular
chartered member taking all the bumps and slowly but deservedly
becoming identified with what all his fellow 'tomorrow's labourers'
would ever hope to be. As a gentleman (in the truest sense) he taught
them the value of courtesy and mutual respect, as a scholar to be
lifelong learners, as a man of God to merrily serve the Lord. His
rules at first sight might seem harsh, but like St. Benedict, the
founder of the Benedictines, he knew how to temper them with a gentle kindness
Lessons for now
Claude and his friends were little concerned about titles as long as
the good work went ahead. He intentionally avoided any publicity when
he and his first twelve companions made their commitment to the Holy
Spirit on Pentecost Sunday 1703. In fact, from the outset, Claude had
to be careful to insist that he was opening a 'residence' for
clerical students following regular lectures not in the residence but
at the Jesuit Theology College. This he did to avoid trouble both
with the government because its draconian law of 1666 forbade the
opening of religious communities without prior authorization, and
with the Church that forbade opening a 'seminary' without permission
of the local bishop.
At first sight, this whole story of the early foundation of the
Spiritans may seem just ancient history, but in the light of the many
sad recent clerical scandals, much may be learned by those who train
'tomorrow's labourers' from Claude's carefulness in continuous
screening of candidates for the priesthood and in never shortening or
lowering the standards of their spiritual or theological formation.
Welcome
to the site of the TransCanada Province of the Spiritans. We are a
Roman Catholic Religious Congregation of over three thousand members,
founded in 1703. Our missions are spread worldwide. While we may be
found involved in many diverse ministries, we have dedicated
ourselves to working with the poor and in those situations where the
Church has difficulty in finding ministers. We hope you enjoy your
visit to our site and that while browsing you will keep us in your
prayers. May God bless you.
