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<\/h1>\n
With an acute sensitivity to the timely, urgent and effective, and a clear option for the poor, the least, and the consecrated, he responded to the urgent needs of the Church, and the world of his time:<\/p>\n
- \n
- as a Preacher of the Word of God in popular missions in Spain;<\/li>\n
- as Founder,\u00a0he took together men and women\u00a0to share in missionary work;<\/li>\n
- as Missionary Bishop of Cuba,\u00a0he\u00a0promoted spiritual and social improvements.<\/li>\n
- He was the writer and publisher of many religious books, pamphlets, and other publications.<\/li>\n
- As Confessor of Queen Isabel of Spain, he helped realise a fruitful Church-state relationship, always guided by a deep love for the Church and for the Immaculate Heart of Mary.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
SUMMARY OF HIS LIFE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
- \n
- 1807 \u2013 December 2nd:\u00a0He is born in\u00a0Sallent\u00a0(Barcelona), Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1835 \u2013 June 13rd: He is ordained Priest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1849 \u2013 July 16th: He founds the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of\u00a0Mary.<\/li>\n
- 1850 \u2013 October 6th:\u00a0He is consecrated Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1857 \u2013 He is nominated Confessor of the Queen of Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1869 \u2013 1870: He takes part in the First Vatican Council.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1870 \u2013 October 24th: He dies in\u00a0Fontfroide, France.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1934 \u2013 February 25th: He is proclaimed Blessed by Pope Pius XI.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1950 \u2013 May 7th: He is declared Saint by Pope Pius XII.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
LIFE OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nChildhood<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
<\/span><\/h4>\nSt. Anthony Mary Claret was born in a town called\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sallent<\/span><\/span>\u00a0on December 23<\/span><\/span>rd<\/span><\/span>, 1807. His father owned a small textile factory, but\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wa<\/span><\/span>s not rich. Anthony grew up in a Christian environment, and at a very early age had a strong sense of the eternal life that Christ wanted all men and women to enjoy. He wanted to spare sinners eternal unhappiness, and felt moved to work for their salvation. When he was about eleven years old, a bishop visited his school and asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without hesitation he responded:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cA priest.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Weaver<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
As soon as Anthony was old enough, he began working as an apprentice weaver. When he turned 17, his father sent him to Barcelona to study the latest techniques in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>textile manufacturing<\/span><\/span>. He did so well in the textile design school that he began receiving offers from large textile companies. Even though he had the talent to succeed, he turned down the offer and returned home after experiencing the emptiness of worldly achievements.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Vocation<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
The words of the Gospel kept resounding in his heart: \u201cwhat good is it for man to win the world if he loses his soul?\u201d He began to study Latin to prepare to enter the Seminary. When he was 21 years old he entered the seminary.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
He was ordained a priest at 27 years of age and was assigned to his hometown parish. The town soon became too small for his missionary zeal, and the political situation, hostile to the Church, limited his apostolic activity. He decided to go to Rome to offer himself to serve in foreign missions. Things did not work out as expected, and he decided to join the Jesuits to pursue his missionary dream. While in the Jesuit Novitiate, he developed a strange illness, which led his superiors to think that God may have other plans for him. Once again, he had to return home to keep searching for God\u2019s will in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cApostolic Missionary\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in Catalonia and Canary Islands<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Back in a parish of Catalonia, Claret began\u00a0preaching popular missions everywhere. He\u00a0travelled\u00a0on foot, attracting large crowds with his sermons. Some days he preached up to seven sermons in a day and spent 10 hours listening to confessions.<\/p>\n
The secret of his missionary success was love. In his words: \u00abLove is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like fire in a musket. If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if a person takes the same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the Word of God. If it is spoken by someone who is filled with the fire of charity, the fire of the love of God and neighbour, it will work wonders. ‘ <\/em>(Autobiography 438-439).<\/p>\n
His popularity spread; people sought him for spiritual and physical healing. By the end of 1842, the Pope gave him the title of \u201capostolic missionary.\u201d Aware of the power of the press, in 1847, he organized,\u00a0with other priests,\u00a0a Religious Press. Claret began writing books and pamphlets, making the message of God accessible to all social groups. The increasing political restlessness in Spain continued to endanger his life and curtail his apostolic activities. So, he accepted an offer to preach in the Canary Islands, where he spent 14 months. In spite of his great success there too, he decided to return to\u00a0Catalonia\u00a0to carry out one of his dreams: the organization of an order of missionaries to share in his work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Founder and Archbishop of Cuba<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
On July 1849, he gathered a group of priests who shared his dream. This is the beginning of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, today also known as Claretian Missionaries. Days later, he received a new assignment: he was named Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He had to leave the newly founded community to the call of God. After two months of travel, he reached the Island of Cuba and began his episcopal ministry by dedicating it to Mary. He visited the church where the image of Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba was venerated. Soon he realized the urgent need for human and christian formation, especially among the poor. He was concerned for all aspects of human development and applied his great creativity to improving the conditions of the people under his pastoral care.<\/p>\n
Among his great initiatives were: trade or vocational schools for disadvantaged children and credit unions for the use of the poor. He wrote books about rural spirituality and agricultural methods. He visited jails and hospitals, defended the oppressed and denounced racism. The expected reaction came soon. He began to experience persecution, and finally when preaching in the city of Holgu\u00edn, a man stabbed him on the cheek in an attempt to kill him. For Claret this was a great cause of joy. He writes in his Autobiography:\u00a0\u201cI can\u00b4t describe the pleasure, delight, and joy I felt in my soul on realizing that I had reached the\u00a0<\/i>long-desired<\/i>\u00a0goal of shedding my blood for the love of Jesus and Mary and of sealing the truths of the gospel with the\u00a0<\/i>very blood of my veins.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(Aut.\u00a0\u00a0577). During his 6 years in Cuba he visited the extensive Archdiocese three times\u2026town by town.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Confessor to the Queen of Spain<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Claret was called back to Spain in 1857 to serve as confessor to the Queen of Spain, Isabella II. He had a natural dislike for aristocratic life. He loved poverty and the simplest lifestyle. He accepted in obedience, but requested to be allowed to continue some missionary work. Whenever he had to travel with the Queen, he used the opportunity to preach in different towns throughout Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The eleven years he spent as confessor to the Queen of Spain were particularly painful, because the enemies of the Church directed toward him all kinds of slanders and personal ridicule. In 1868 a new revolution dethroned the Queen and sent her with her family into exile. Claret\u2019s life was also in danger, so he accompanied her to France. This gave him the opportunity to preach the Gospel in Paris. He stayed with them for a while, then went to Rome where he was received by Pope Pius IX in a private audience.<\/p>\n
First Vatican Council<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
On December 8<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>, 1869, seven hundred bishops from all over the world gathered in Rome for the First Vatican Council. Claret was one of the Council Fathers. His presence became noticeable when the subject of papal infallibility was discussed, which Claret defended vehemently. The Italian revolution interrupted the process of the Council, which\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wa<\/span><\/span>s never concluded. Claret\u2019s health\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>deteriorat<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span>, so he returned to France<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Last Days in Exile<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
In France, Claret joined his missionaries who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>were<\/span><\/span>\u00a0also in exile. Soon he found out, that there was a warrant for his arrest. He decided to go into hiding in a Cistercian Monastery in the French southern town of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Fontfroide<\/span><\/span>. There he died on October 24<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>, 1870 at the age of 62. As his last request, he dictated to his missionaries the words that\u00a0<\/span><\/span>were<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to appear on his tombstone:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cI have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0I die in exile.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>His remains are venerated in Vic. Clar<\/span><\/span>et was beatified in 1934 and in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>1950 canonized.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. ANTHONY MARY CLARET Claret\u00a0realized his personal vocation in the Church, animated by a strong ecclesial sensitivity, and apostolic spirit, and an ardent love for Mary,\u00a0whose maternal love directs the evangelizing work of our Congregation.\u00a0 With an acute sensitivity to the timely, urgent and effective, and a clear option for the poor, the least, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"full-width-content"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3046"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4216,"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\/revisions\/4216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/claretianszimbabwe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- 1835 \u2013 June 13rd: He is ordained Priest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 1807 \u2013 December 2nd:\u00a0He is born in\u00a0Sallent\u00a0(Barcelona), Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n