History

In 1820, Rev. Jacques Dujarié (1767-1838) began assembling a group of young men to instruct the youth in the countryside of Northwestern France. At the time, French society, including the Church, was still wrestling with the upheaval caused by the French Revolution (1789-1799). During the Revolution, Church property had been seized, priests had been arrested and executed, and religious communities had been expelled. The departure of many religious also meant the closure of many schools. As a result, almost a whole generation in France had grown up with little to no formal education in general, let alone in matters of faith. Fr. Dujarié, who had been ordained in secret during the Revolution, provided the young men with rudimentary training and then sent them out to rural parishes to teach. These young men became the Brothers of St. Joseph. As he grew in age and his health declined, Fr. Dujarié turned over the leadership of the brothers on August 31, 1835, to a young and energetic priest named Basile Moreau.

By this time, Blessed Basile Moreau (1799-1873), who had been ordained in 1821, had already organized a group of Auxiliary Priests from among his brother priests in the Diocese of Le Mans. These Auxiliary Priests were to assist the diocese by preaching parish missions and by instructing the youth, particularly in preparatory seminaries and colleges. Fundamental Act of Union For the sake of their common mission as educators in the faith, Moreau joined the Brothers of St. Joseph and Auxiliary Priests on March 1, 1837, in the Fundamental Act of Union. The newly established Association of Holy Cross took its name from the Sainte-Croix neighborhood in Le Mans in which it was formed. Moreau’s vision for Holy Cross was not complete until 1841 when he founded a group of sisters to work with the brothers and the priests. Moreau envisioned the sisters, brothers, and priests of Holy Cross compromising one holy family in imitation of the Holy Family.

Although ordained a diocesan priest, Moreau wanted Holy Cross to be a religious community, conformed to Jesus Christ and bounded to one another by the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The first brothers professed their religious vows in 1836. Moreau himself, along with four other priests, made his religious profession on August 15, 1840. The first sisters professed vows four years later in 1844. Early Missionaries to Canada Moreau believed that the work that God had entrusted to Holy Cross extended beyond the borders of France to the rest of the world. Within a few short years of founding Holy Cross, Moreau sent his priests, brothers, and sisters from France to Algeria (1840), the United States (1841), Canada (1847), Italy (1850), and East Bengal, or present-day India and Bangladesh (1852). On May 13, 1857, Pope Pius IX approved the first Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. This approbation made Holy Cross an official religious congregation under the direct authority of the Holy See. As part of its approval, however, the Vatican required that the sisters be in a separate congregation with a separate governance structure from the priests and the brothers. That same year, on June 17, the Congregation’s Conventual Church of Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix was consecrated in Le Mans.

Who are we?

Vocations are signs of hope founded in faith. While this is true of all vocations, it is most certainly true of religious life. In abandoning all in faith to follow Christ in service of His church and the world, religious brothers and religious priests seek to transform their very lives into visible signs of hope. In his homily at the Mass of his Initiation of the Petrine Ministry, Pope Francis said, “Today, too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.” The Congregation of Holy Cross echoes the Pope's words in inviting young men who love the Lord and His Church and desire to serve His people to discern a vocation with us. The Church and the world need good, holy men who, founded in faith, are willing to answer the Lord's call to be signs of hope as religious brothers and religious priests.

Our Mission, Vision

This is the mission and vision section. Add your content here.

"Your mission is to live your life, to express the depth and passion of your being on behalf of humanity." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our Charism

The Congregation of Holy Cross draws our spirituality and charism from our founder, Blessed Basile Moreau. As a man of apostolic zeal, Moreau was focused on the mission that Jesus Christ had entrusted to the Church. While always emphasizing the need for personal holiness, Moreau saw himself – and his religious family – as apostles to be sent out by the Lord on behalf of His gospel. In particular, the Holy Spirit inspired Moreau to found the Congregation to be sent as educators in the faith. This is our charism. In all our many ministries, we seek to educate in the faith by developing the mind, cultivating the heart, enkindling a zeal for service, encouraging hope in the cross, and uniting with others as family. As a man of broad study and deep piety, Moreau had many spiritual influences. He learned the French School of Spirituality in the Sulpician seminary; he was an avid student of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his Spiritual Exercises; and he became a close friend and collaborator of the Benedictine Abbot and Liturgist Dom Gueranger.

Our Vows

This is the vows section. Add your content here.

Our Holy Ones

Generations of men have made and lived by their vows within the Congregation of Holy Cross. For the better part of two centuries, Holy Cross priests and brothers have made countless sacrifices and shown heroic virtue in service of the gospel. Some of these men have been officially recognized by the Church for their holiness. St. André Bessette, the humble brother who was known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal," became the Congregation's first canonized saint on October 17, 2010. Our founder, Blessed Basile Moreau, was beatified in France in 2007, the final step before being canonized a saint. Four other Holy Cross religious – Bishop Theotonius Ganguly, Br. Flavian Laplante, C.S.C., Bishop Vincent McCauley, and Br. Columba O'Neill, C.S.C. – have been declared Servants of God. On December 18, 2017, Pope Francis approved the Decree of the Heroic Virtue of Servant of God Patrick Peyton, thus bestowing on him the title of Venerable. After formal investigations of all five Holy Cross religious, their heroic virtue has been attested to, and their formal causes for canonization continue. The cause is also being advanced for Rev. Jaques Dujarié, who founded the Brothers of St. Joseph, who later became the Holy Cross Brothers.