- Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
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Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Missionary Servants) is a religious congregation of men in the Roman Catholic Church. Its membership is composed of ordained priests and brothers, who are full members of the community. Members engage in missionary work with the poor and abandoned in the United States and Latin America. One of their principal aims is to promote the missionary vocation of the laity. They are also known for parish ministry and for promoting social justice. Presently, the Superior General is the Very Rev. John S. Edmunds, S.T. The headquarters of the congregation, its General Curia, is in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Contents
History
The congregation was officially established on 29 April 1929 in Russell County, Alabama, between the cities of Eufaula, Alabama, and Phenix City, Alabama. Its founder, Rev. Thomas A. Judge, C.M., was a member of the Congregation of the Mission more popularly known as the Vincentians, or Lazarites, Lazarists, and Lazarians.
Foundation
[[[1]Rev. Thomas A. Judge, C.M.]], founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1868 and ordained to the priesthood in 1899. His work as a young priest convinced him of the need to reach out to immigrants from Catholic cultures to help them preserve and spread the Catholic faith. In the various places where he worked in the northeast United States, Rev. Judge began gathering groups of lay people together. It was from this group, today known as the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate, that the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity traces its origins. Rev. Judge also founded a community for women, called the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Governance
The Missionary Servants is led by a general custodian, otherwise known as a superior general. He is assisted by the general council, which consists of a vicar general and three general councilors. New leadership is elected every four years. The members are governed according to the congregation's Constitution. The congregation, has 134 members, who work and live in 7 geographic regions not provinces, as most Catholic orders are traditionally organized.
Social Mission
Across the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Missionary Servant priests and brothers are working in poverty-afflicted urban neighborhoods, in immigrant communities, on Native American reservations, and in small towns in the rural South. In Costa Rica and Colombia, they serve communities of people living in towns and in tropical rain forests. The priests and brothers serve as pastors, professors, lawyers, chaplains, and counselors.
Statistics
As of 2011, the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity have 134 members. There are 88 priests, 1 permanent deacon, 2 transitional deacons, 12 student brothers (men studying to become priests), 25 brothers, and 6 novices.{{[2]Citation|date=July 2011}} The majority of members are from the United States, with remaining members from Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.{{[3]Citation|date=July 2011}}
Members serve in four nations on two continents, with the largest number in the U.S. Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama; Diocese of Tucson, Arizona; Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Diocese of San Bernardino, California; Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida; Diocese of Savannah, Georgia; Diocese of Boise, Idaho; Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio; Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois; Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland; Archdiocese of Washington, Washington, D.C.; Diocese of Biloxi and Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi; Archdiocese of Newark and Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey.
In Colombia, our missions are found in the Archdiocese of Medellin and the Diocese of El Banco. In Costa Rica, our parishes are located in the Archdiocese of San Jose and the Diocese of San Isidro de el General.
In Mexico, Missionary Servant missions minister in the Archdiocese of Mexico, Diocese of Texcoco, and Archdiocese of Tulancingo. In Puerto Rico, our members serve in the Diocese of Ponce and in the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao. The average age is 55.3 years. {{[4]Citation date=July 2011}}
Habit and Dress
The Missionary Servant Habit consists of a black cassock closing at the right shoulder with three buttons, symbolizing the Holy Trinity, with a military collar. The cincture has three tabs, representing the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Sometime a white habit is worn in warmer climates.
Mission Sites
Alabama
- St. Joseph Parish and Development Center, Holy Trinity: http://www.stjosephcdc.com
California
- Our Lady of Victory Parish, Compton: http://www.ourladyofvictory.org
- Our Lady of Soledad, Coachella: http://www.olsoledad92236.parishworld.net
Florida
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Missionary Cenacle: http://www.cenaculoguadalupe.com
Maryland
- Hezekiah Movement, Baltimore: http://www.hezekiahmovement.org
Mississippi
- Sacred Heart Parish, Camden: http://www.sacredheartcamden.com
- St. John Parish, Charleston: http://www.jacksondiocese.org/parish/15.html
- St. Stephen's Parish, Magee: http://www.ststephenchurchmagee.com
New Jersey
- Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling: http://www.stshrine.org
Congregation Websites
http://www.trinitymissions.org
Vocations
'America' *http://www.missionaryservantsvocations.org
'México' *http://www.radiosiervosmisioneros.net
Missionary Cenacle Family Websites
- Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity: http://www.msbt.org
- Missionary Cenacle Apostolate: http://www.mcenacle.org
- Missionary Cenacle Volunteers: http://www.mcv3.org
- Missionary Servant Alumni Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Father_Judge/
References
[1]- Fr. Gilberto Rodriguez, S.T., of The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, receives the 2011 NCDC Good Samaritan Award. [2]
CatholicTV - Fr. Stephen Giorno, S.T. interview on the show This is the Day!
The Beacon The Cenacle Missionary Volunteers at the Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling, New Jersey
Mississippi Catholic Fr. Mike Barth, S.T. and his parish Sacred Heart in Camden, Mississippi
The Tidings Fr. Francisco Valdovinos, S.T. and the parish of Our Lady of Victory in Compton, California, are featured.
- ^ Berry, Fr. Dennis (1994). God's Valiant Warrior (First ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Missionary Cenacle Press. pp. 1–341. http://mcenacle.org/bib.htm.
- ^ Vesely, Br. Steve (2011). Catalogus. Silver Spring, Maryland: Missionary Servants. pp. 32. http://www.mssst.org.
- ^ Vesely, Br. Steve (2011). Catalogus. Silver Spring, Maryland: Missionary Servants. pp. 32.
- ^ Vesely, Br. Steve (2011). Catalogus. Silver Spring, Maryland: Missionary Servants. pp. 32.
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Categories:- Roman Catholic orders and societies
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