Who We Are
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The U.S. Spiritans are a part of a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded in France in 1703 called the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Today we have more than 2,500 priests, brothers, and lay members.
Walking in the footsteps of our founders, Claude Poullart des Places and Francis Libermann, Spiritans live the Gospel in response to the changing needs of contemporary culture, building community in parts of the world that are often neglected.
Today’s Spiritan mission goes beyond pastoral services to deliver basic human needs. It is service and liberation. It is action on behalf of justice and peace. It is economic development among the most impoverished. It is education as transformation.
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Our History
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On Pentecost in 1703, Claude Poullart des Places founded “The Seminary of the Holy Ghost,” a community dedicated to evangelization, the alleviation of poverty, and supporting future seminarians.
In 1841, Francis Libermann founded the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary, encouraged by the Pope to serve as missionaries to the slaves and former slaves in the French colonies of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Africa.
In 1848, because of their similar purpose, charism, and works, the Church merged the original Spiritan community and the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary.
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Our Charism
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The evangelization of the “poor” is our purpose. We go to those who haven’t yet heard the message of the Gospel, to those whose needs are greatest, to those who are oppressed. We willingly accept tasks for which the Church has difficulty finding workers. —Spiritan Rule of Life #4
Guided by the Holy Spirit, we go to the people not primarily to accomplish a task, but rather to be with them, walk beside them, listen to them, and share our faith with them. Through education and community service, we endeavor to help those who are disadvantaged overcome the problems that make each day a struggle. Committed to respectful evangelization, by our witness and service, we introduce people to the Holy Gospel and God’s love for them.
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Our Mission
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In the United States, we dedicate ourselves to working with the poor and marginalized in places where finding ministers is difficult. Our efforts include education, parish ministry, and retreat ministry in communities from Rhode Island to California.
Ministering from the pulpit as well as in the soup kitchens, we are found working with the community to make change in the community.
Internationally, Spiritans minister in places like Africa, Asia, and Latin America, providing pastoral services, teaching career skills, establishing medical services and schools, and working in refugee camps. Our goal for each congregation is a viable local faith community with its own leadership that incorporates the local language and customs.
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The U.S. Province
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The U.S. Province, based in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is comprised of priests, brothers, and Lay Spiritan Associates working throughout the United States and abroad. Priests and brothers are professed religious. Lay Spiritans are “inspired laity,” women and men who are moved by the Holy Spirit to live the Spiritan charism.
The Spiritan Office for Mission Advancement (SOMA) is the fundraising arm of the Congregation. Based in Houston, Texas, SOMA supports the Congregation’s charitable works of health, education, social services, and religious mission in the United States and throughout the world. SOMA leads a faithful army of donors, volunteers, and prayer warriors in support of the Spiritan mission.
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