CELEBRATING the centennial of a religious congregation this year is extraordinary, in view of the fact that it coincides with the celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life as declared by the Vatican. For the Daughters of St. Paul, whose existence in the Church turns 100 this year, the Vatican proclamation gives an extra boost on the significant role consecrated persons fulfill in the life of the Church.
The Vatican’s proclamation of the Year of Consecrated Life was also inspired by the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, which dedicates a chapter on the topic of religious life, and of Perfectae Caritatis, a Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life. So there is a common thread that holds all of these celebrations together.
Highlighting the importance of the occasion Pope Francis stressed in his apostolic letter that the celebration “would be appropriate for each charismatic family to reflect on its origins and history, in order to thank God who grants the Church a variety of gifts which embellish her and equip her for every good work” (cf. Lumen Gentium, 12).
As the Church’s event encourages all consecrated religious to take a profound look on their life of consecration, the pope also said it is important for all those called to consecration “to look to the past with gratitude.”
Gratitude
True enough, one cannot celebrate the present moment without looking at the past with a grateful heart and counting the innumerable blessings the Lord has showered upon the congregation in superabundance.
In this centenary of their foundation, the Daughters of St. Paul worldwide look back with gratitude to their founder Blessed James Alberione and co-foundress Venerable Thecla Merlo, two visionaries whose hearts were imbued with profound faith in Divine Providence and who, with enormous courage unhesitatingly responded to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Themed "100 years of Pauline consecrated life, a journey of faith and love", the celebration is also an occasion for all the Paulines to commend the pioneer sisters who bore the difficulties of the foundational years, trail blazing the path for each Pauline Sister who will follow them through the years.
Sr. Evangelina Canag, former provincial superior of the Philippine province and one time General Councilor said that Blessed James Alberione, whom Paulines used to addressed to as Primo Maestro, meaning “First Teacher” in honor of Jesus Master, had always insisted on the nuns to always trust in Divine Providence. Trust coupled with action.
“But trusting in God does not mean we do nothing on our part. During the early days, Primo Maestro used to send sisters to knock on doors and ask for old newspapers from families. The sisters would then bring all those old newspapers to the recycling plant in exchange of clean paper to use for printing books,” Sr. Evangelina said.
Alberione’s unfathomable faith in God led him to found five religious congregations, four aggregated institutes and an association of lay cooperators. The first of these religious congregations is the Society of St. Paul which was founded in 1914, followed by the Daughters of St. Paul in 1915. The other congregations include the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd (Pastorelle) and the Sisters of the Queen of Apostles. The four aggregated institutes are the Institute of St. Gabriel the Archangel for men, Institute of Our Lady of the Annunciation for women, Institute of Jesus Priest for diocesan priests and Institute of the Holy Family.
Pauline heritage
The seed of foundation was planted in Alba, Italy, on a memorable night that divided the 19th and 20th centuries. The young Alberione, still a seminarian at that time was praying before the Blessed Sacrament exposed at the Cathedral of Alba. While deep in prayer, he felt the profound stirrings in his heart to do something for the people of the new century.
That initial spark from the Holy Spirit finally took shape on August 20, 1914 upon the foundation of the first branch of the Pauline family, the Society of St. Paul; and the birth of the Pauline charism, which defines the spirituality and mission of the Pauline family.
The congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul was established a year later, on June 15, 1915 with a handful of young women whom Fr. James Alberione gathered together to work for the apostolate of the press. The fledgling group was led by Teresa Merlo, who took the name of Thecla on her profession day in honor of St. Paul’s first woman disciple. She became the first Mother General of the Daughters of St. Paul, and closely collaborated with Alberione in founding the other Institutes of the Pauline Family. Today, the Daughters of St. Paul have 2,267 sisters whose apostolic presence is spread in 50 countries across five continents throughout the world.
Inspired by the zeal of the Apostle Paul, who according to Alberione, would use every available means of communication in his time to spread the Gospel, he urged all Daughters of St. Paul to “travel the paths of the world, spreading the light of God everywhere, carrying out a ministry similar to that of St. Paul.”
A hundred years after that initial impulse, the flame of apostolic fervour continue to burn in the heart of each Daughter of St. Paul. Despite diversities in culture and language all the sisters are united to a common goal – to preach the gospel and to make Jesus known in every corner of the globe.
Every Pauline sister draws inner strength from the well of Pauline spirituality centered on Jesus Master, Way, Truth and Life in carrying out her apostolic ministry, always striving to reach the same goal as their patron, the Apostle Paul: “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” The daily Eucharist, the Word of God, daily prayer and fraternal communion are source of light and support to help them “discern the signs of the times so as to respond to the needs of the Church and the world.”
Venerable Thecla Merlo urged all the Daughters of St. Paul to zealously proclaim the gospel with hearts ablaze with God’s love. “How many people there are in the world who do not know and love the Lord! Apostles are needed – but genuine apostles whose hearts are filled with love for God… Our apostolate is participation in the apostolate of Jesus.”
The ever evolving technology of communication propelled the Pauline sisters to embrace its challenges with deep faith, always conscious of the admonition of the founder to bring the gospel to the people, wherever they are, with whatever means available.
“How many times do you ask yourselves: where, how and toward what is humanity moving, this humanity that is constantly renewing itself on the face of the earth?” (Blessed James Alberione)
With the vast possibilities that modern technology of communication has opened up, the Sisters have enthusiastically embraced its potentials to reach a broader audience that would benefit from the word of God. So, along with book publishing and other traditional means of communicating the Gospel, the Sisters now make their presence felt in cyberspace by maintaining blogs and social media sites so that through these multimedia platforms the Gospel will further spread and permeate today’s internet-savvy generation.
On Philippine soil
The Philippine province, which celebrated its 75th anniversary only last 2013, has at present 179 professed sisters living in 18 communities within the country and abroad. The Sisters carry out their apostolic ministry through book publishing, production of radio and television programs, media education and literacy, managing an online shop and 18 media centers throughout the country, conducting biblical animation and outreach, organizing book missions and visits to families, schools and parishes.
The Sisters’ outreach program has taken on a more meaningful dimension this year, as the local church celebrates the Year of the Poor. Each community in the province has intensified its outreach program to the poor through media animation, bible ministry and catechesis.
In Pasay, where the central house is located, a group of sisters from the community regularly conduct their outreach ministry to the inmates at Pasay City Jail, children in conflict with the law who are housed in Pasay City Youth Home and to poor residents living in Pasay cemeteries and nearby slum areas.
The program resonates well with the desire of Pope Francis for the Church to have a deeper commitment towards its most marginalized members, whom the pontiff said, suffer “the worst discrimination” not merely because of meager resources at their disposal but due to “the lack of spiritual care.”
Challenges
Always an inspiration and a source of strength for all those who followed him, Alberione urged all Daughters of St. Paul to make use of every means of communication that modern progress provides, with the aim of “forming a new mentality in society, …a mentality that will assure spiritual vitality for souls and Christian life for society.”
As true with any great endeavors challenges are not lacking, but faith in the God who calls is much greater. The Daughters of St. Paul’s Mother General Sr. Anna Maria Parenzan said as much, in a letter to all the sisters on the occasion of the centenary.
“Our Centenary offers us the opportunity to celebrate the memory of the marvels the Lord continues to work through our poverty and littleness. The continual developments in the field of technology… give always [a] new face to our mission and […] challenge us to always start afresh, with the faith that marked our beginnings,” she said.
“We think of the strength and courage of our sisters: especially those who live in perilous socio-political situations, and those who dedicate themselves without reserve to the Lord through illness and advancing age, transforming themselves into ‘living Gospels’,” she continued.
Despite challenges on all fronts, the Daughters of St. Paul strain ahead with hope, invigorated by the wisdom and sacrifices of their pioneers whose faith-filled life was a constant reminder of God’s fidelity and of his promise “I am with you always!”
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