Looking back at the end of 1817 Eugene described himself as<\/p>\n
\na priest who had consecrated the first years of his ministry almost exclusively to the sanctification of youth.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Diary of the Youth Congregation, 1 November 1817, O.W. XVI<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0It was a ministry that he shared as one of the aims of his Society of Missionaries, who<\/p>\n
\nwill also pay attention to instructing youth concerning their religious duties; to turn them away from vice and dissipation; to prepare them to fulfill whatever obligations the Church and civil society have the right to confide to them in the state of life for which they are destined.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
1818 Rule, Chapter Two \u00a72 article 3<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0This was codified in the first Rule of the Missionaries of 1818, and then developed in the Rule of 1825:<\/p>\n
\n\u00a73. The Direction of Youth\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Art. 1. The direction of youth will be considered an essential duty of our Institute.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Art. 2. Consequently a society for young men will be established, if possible, in all our houses.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Art. 3. In each house, the superior will appoint one or more of the missionaries to direct these societies.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
1825 Rule, Chapter Three \u00a73<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0In our present Oblate Rule of life, Rule 7 states:<\/p>\n
\nPreaching missions at home, mission among the youth and sending missionaries abroad have been traditionally central to our apostolate.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Because of the importance of youth ministry in Eugene\u2019s vision, I would like to spend some time in the coming weeks exploring some aspects of the Youth Congregation that he founded in 1813.<\/p>\n
(Note that in several entries above from 11 July 2010 onwards I dealt with the foundation of the Youth Congregation)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Looking back at the end of 1817 Eugene described himself as a priest who had consecrated the first years of his ministry almost exclusively to the sanctification of youth. Diary of the Youth Congregation, 1 November 1817, O.W. XVI \u00a0It … Continue reading