Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary

Last updated
+ HOUSE OF ATONEMENT +
FRANCISCAN MINIMS OF THE PERPETUAL HELP OF MARY

Seal designed and used by:
Rev Mother Maria Concepcion of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary Mfps document seal.jpg

† HOUSE OF ATONEMENT †
FRANCISCAN MINIMS OF THE PERPETUAL HELP OF MARY

Seal designed and used by:

Rev Mother María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary

The Order of Atonement of the Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary (mfPS) is a single (one single order, not three like the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Dominican and Franciscan Orders) Roman Catholic active/contemplative religious order distinguished by three branches: the Men's Branch for priests and brothers/friars, the Women's Branch for nuns and the Lay Branch for those of all ages and professions, including the sick, dying, and those children conceived but as yet "unborn" or "pre-born".

Contents

The order was founded on June 24, 1942, in Zamora, Michoacan, Mexico by María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary. Called the Order of Atonement/Work of Atonement/the Legion of Victim Souls, "Minims" as "Victim Souls" [whether men or women living the Religious Life or those still living in the world also called laymen [1] or laity] live a life in keeping with their motto of "Charity and Immolation".

Those Franciscan Minims who profess public religious vows receive a religious habit, similar to the Franciscan habit and the Carmelite habit. However, the habit of the Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary has the same colors of tunic and veil (or cowl for the men) as the Blessed Virgin Mary wears in her icon of Perpetual Help, in the icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and many other famous icons, paintings and statues of Mary. The Minim tunic is maroon, with a blue veil (or blue cowl for the men). In Mexico City, in the 1970s, the locals nicknamed the nuns: "Los Rojos" (the Red ones). Traditionally, this color was worn by poor Jewish women as it was an earthen color. Wealthier women wore white since they had servants and other means to maintain perfectly white cloth. In art, these colors traditionally signify both the virginity (red) and motherhood (blue) of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Order of Atonement of the Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary is not related to or an offshoot of the Minim (religious order) also called the Minimi or Order of Minims, (abbreviated OM) who are members of a Roman Catholic religious order of Franciscan friars founded by Francis of Paola

Origins

The order's establishment began according to the foundress of the order, María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary, when she was still a young girl. María Concepción Zúñiga López writes that Jesus Christ instructed and dictated the rule and constitutions of the order to her. [2]

During and after María Concepción's first Holy Communion (which her mother helped her daughter to make in secret because her father was a 33rd degree Mason and all the Catholic churches and schools in Mexico at that time were closed, and most priests, bishops and religious had to go into in hiding due to the violent slaughter of Catholics by government forces or "Federales" under the Plutarco Elías Calles government), the Eucharistic Jesus spoke to little María Concepción and taught her the faith and how to pray since she had received absolutely no religious education or catechesis at all during this time (1924-1928) of anti-Catholic, anti-Church religious persecution by the atheist Mexican president Plutarco Elías Calles.

Living in a secular household during a time of violent religious persecution in Mexico, María Concepción Zúñiga López had never seen women living in a religious community and did not even know religious life for women existed. At one point in her education, she was learning secretarial skills that include typing and short hand from a group of women who taught in a business school near her home. María Concepción told her spiritual director, a famous Mexican bishop in hiding, that she was drawn to a life of prayer and the bishop explained to her that the women who were teaching her were Carmelites in hiding [2] (they did not wear a religious habit but secular dresses) and actually belonged to a religious congregation, the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart (Hermanas Carmelitas del Sagrado Corazon [3] ) founded in María Concepción's home town of Jalisco by María Luisa Josefa. [4] On June 24, 1927, Luisa Josefa and two other sisters sought refuge in Los Angeles from the religious persecutions in Mexico at that time. This led to the establishment of twelve Carmels in the United States with a novitiate and eventually to the establishment of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles [5] a sister-congregation to the foundation in Mexico.

Apostolate

Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary live the Primitive Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi and at their profession make five (5) vows: Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, and two (2) special vows particular to the order, the Vow of Victim to the Divine Justice and Mercy of Christ, and the Vow of Obedience to the Pope. The superior general of the Order of Atonement of the Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary is the Pope, so "the Lord" instructed the foundress of the order regarding the focus of the work of the Franciscan Minims for the Holy See, which included living and preaching the Gospel in word, work and prayer to end schism within the church and to catechize and convert schismatics, apostates, and those who had, in any way, separated themselves from the church and the Vicar of Christ. María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary began all her writings and correspondence with the words: "Long Live the Vicar of Christ". Pope Paul VI was the Vicar of Christ (1963-1978) during the second foundation of the Order of Atonement in Mexico City. [2]

The work of the Apostolate of a Franciscan Minim Nuns begins with their motto "Charity and Immolation" through Perpetual Eucharistic adoration in union with the Eucharistic Victim Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The Minim nuns live a religious life that is both active and contemplative with a special focus on strengthening the family by catechizing Catholic mothers and women living in the world through their frequent religious conferences and retreats for women.

The order which began as a "pious union" [6] (the Code of Canon Law after 1983 uses the term Associations of the faithful [7] [8] ) in Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico on June 24, 1942, and given status as a Sodality on October 2, 1942, never ceased to exist canonically even though it was disbanded on October 23, 1951, by Bishop Jose G. Anaya. Canonical status was reaffirmed in Rome under Pope Paul VI on October 30, 1963, after María Concepción made a trip to Rome under the auspices of this same Bishop of Zamora who had earlier disbanded the 1st foundation. With the express authorization of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, dated October 1963, the order was founded a second time in Chilapa, Guerrero, Mexico in January 1964. Again, it received approval as a pious union in Mexico on September 1, 1964, after being placed under the protection of a Mexican Bishop, Fidel de Sta Maria Cortes Perez, whom the Pope introduced to María Concepción while she was in Rome. Pope Paul VI assigned this bishop to assist María Concepción during her trip to Rome in October 1963, a trip she made to ask Pope Paul VI for his help to reestablish the order and then to give the order his full papal approval. Due to the untimely death of Pope Paul the VI and the deaths of several bishops involved with promoting the order, as well as, interference from certain Mexican prelates, including a congregation of priests from Mexico and others working both in Mexico and inside the Vatican who opposed the order's receiving direct papal institution, approval and direction, the status of this request is still pending. [2]

María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary was not disturbed that she might die without seeing the final establishment and approval of the order by the Holy See. In 1963, just prior to the end of her exclaustration María Concepción Zúñiga López wrote in a brief autobiography of her life about the founding of the Order of Atonement, which she handed to Pope Paul VI during her first meeting with him:

That is why, one of the mysteries, the most easily comprehensible — if the expression fits for the human mind — is to teach souls the value of suffering, of their voluntary crucifixion in union with Him, Christ immolated. That is, Victimhood to Divine Justice. And here again I emphasize and urge very fervently, pleading and asking for the approbation of the Order of Atonement, so that being spread all over the world, it may spread, on its part, that devotion that will save the world on the day of final judgment.

And if, so that this might be, it would be better that I were not on earth, so that the immense joy of seeing that ideal realized might not detract from the glory of God or the good of my soul, I believe that if Your Holiness were to ask God to take me, He would do so. For being then with Him, there would be no danger of vanity and everything would be for His greater glory.

María Concepción Zúñiga López, My Best Book (October 3, 1963) translated from the Spanish by Sor San Andres

María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary died on October 15, the Feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus, in 1979.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmelites</span> Roman Catholic religious order

The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order for men and women. Historical records about its origin remain uncertain, but it was probably founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in the Crusader States. Berthold of Calabria, as well as Albert of Vercelli, have traditionally been associated with the founding of the order, but few clear records of early Carmelite history have survived. The order of Carmelite nuns was formalised in 1452.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friar</span> Member of a Christian order

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders of the Roman Catholic church. There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the older monastic orders' allegiance to a single monastery formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in holy orders or be a non-ordained brother. The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Carmelites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Minims</span> Roman Catholic religious order of friars

The Minims, officially known as the Order of Minims, and known in German-speaking countries as the Paulaner Order, are a Roman Catholic religious order of friars founded by Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy. The order soon spread to France, Germany and Spain, and continues to exist today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scapular</span> Short cloak or cloth pieces, worn with ecclesiastical dress

A scapular is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular serves to remind wearers of their commitment to live a Christian life.

In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels.

The Society of the Atonement, also known as the Friars and Sisters of the Atonement or Graymoor Friars and Sisters is a Franciscan religious congregation in the Catholic Church. The friars and sisters were founded in 1898 by Paul Wattson and Lurana White as a religious community in the Episcopal Church. The religious order is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the Marian title of Our Lady of Atonement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary of Jesus of Ágreda</span> Spanish nun (1602–1665)

Mary of Jesus of Ágreda , OIC, also known as the Abbess of Ágreda, was a Franciscan abbess and spiritual writer, known especially for her extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain and reports of her bilocation between Spain and its colonies in New Spain. She was a noted mystic of her era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conceptionists</span> Roman Catholic order

The Order of the Immaculate Conception, abbreviated OIC and also known as the Conceptionists, is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for nuns founded by Saint Beatrice of Silva. For some years, they followed the Poor Clares Rule, but in 1511 they were recognized as a separate religious order, taking a new rule and the name of Order of the Immaculate Conception.

The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joaquina Vedruna de Mas</span> Founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity

Joaquina Vedruna de Mas - born Joaquima de Vedruna Vidal de Mas and in religious Joaquina of Saint Francis of Assisi - was a Spanish professed religious and the founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. First she married a nobleman despite her desire to become a nun though she and her husband both desired the religious life; the couple bore nine children but she and her children fled after Napoleon invaded the nation to which her husband remained to fight as a volunteer and later died leaving her widowed but free to pursue her religious inclinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candelaria of San José</span>

Candelaria de San José was a Venezuelan religious sister and the founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Venezuela - also known as the Carmelites of Mother Candelaria. The death of her parents in 1870 and 1887 prompted her to assume household responsibilities though in 1900 set her heart on aiding others in her area; this started in 1903 when she served as the director of a new hospital though she also tended to ill people during epidemics and conflicts that broke out over time.

When referring to Roman Catholic religious orders, the term Second Order refers to those communities of contemplative cloistered nuns which are a part of the religious orders that developed in the Middle Ages.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">522 Spanish Martyrs</span>

The 522 Spanish Martyrs were victims of the Spanish Civil War beatified by the Roman Catholic Church on 13 October 2013 by order of Pope Francis. It was one of the largest number of persons ever beatified in a single ceremony in the Church's 2000-year history. They originated from all parts of Spain. Their ages ranged from 18 to 86 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary</span>

María Concepción of the Nativity and the Perpetual Help of Mary is the religious name of the Reverend Mother Foundress of The Order of Atonement of the Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary (mfPS) which she founded on June 24, 1942, in Zamora, Michoacan, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafaela Porras Ayllón</span> Spanish religious sister and saint

Rafaela Porras Ayllón, religious name Mary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was a Spanish religious sister who established the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in conjunction with her sister Dolores. She devoted herself to the management of the congregation and resided in Rome until her death after her resignation as the congregation's superior in 1893.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuela de Jesús Arias Espinosa</span> Mexican Roman Catholic professed religious

Manuela de Jesús Arias Espinosa, also known by her religious name María Inés Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament, was a Mexican religious sister in the Roman Catholic Church and the founder of both the Poor Clare Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament (1945) and the Missionaries of Christ for the Universal Church (1979). She lived during the time of the Cristero War and remained out of the nation during some of it in order to avoid the anti-religious persecution of the times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Navarrete Guerrero</span> Mexican Roman Catholic professed religious

Julia Navarrete Guerrero - in religious Julia of the Thorns of the Sacred Heart - was a Mexican Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Misioneras Hijas de la Purísima Virgen María. Navarrete first felt called to promote religious education from her adolescence while still a student before moving to the national capital where she met the Jesuit priest Alberto Cuscó who formed her in the religious life. Not long after this she became a nun and set about founding schools and missions across both Mexico and the United States where she first started in Texas. Her brother Juan María Navarrete Guerrero became the Archbishop of Hermosillo and whose beatification process is ongoing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic religious institutions, associations, and communities in Macau</span>

Catholic religious institutions, associations, and communities in Macau operate in the territory of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), which is currently under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Macau, founded on 23 January 1576. Besides its diocesan priests, this Catholic diocese is assisted by various male and female religious orders, congregations, and institutes. The diocese is also supported by various institutions, movements, brotherhoods, and associations of Catholic inspiration made up of lay and religious people. All these Catholic bodies provide a variety of religious, social, educational, welfare, and cultural services to the Catholic and non-Catholic populations of Macau.

References

  1. "Definition of LAYMAN". www.merriam-webster.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 María Concepción Zúñiga López. My Best book. ESTRELLA Magazine, Mary Conzulo.
  3. "Carmelitas Descalzos • Provincia Mexicana de San Alberto". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-02-12.
  4. "Mother Luisita | Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles".
  5. "Promoting a deeper spiritual life among God's people". Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  6. "Dictionary : PIOUS UNION". www.catholicculture.org.
  7. Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, replaced in 1983 by a revised code, associations of the faithful were called piae uniones ("pious unions").
  8. "Associationes fidelium quae ad exercitium alicuius operis pietatis aut caritatis erectae sun, nomine veniunt 'piarum unionum'; quae, si ad modum organici corporis sunt constitutae, 'sodalitia' audiunt" (Associations of the faithful which are established for carrying out some pious or charitable work are called "pious unions"; if they are constituted as an organic body, they are referred to as "sodalities") - canon 707 §1 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law