OBLATE SISTERS OF
CHRIST PRIEST
A new congregation is born
ENGLISH
"It does not exist but it will"
Many people think that contemplative life belongs to the ancient times: Carmelites, Franciscans, Jesuits… they all have a long history within Church. Nevertheless, God, not only continues to call many others to a total and exclusive dedication but, He also continues to entrust some persons with the high mission of founding new communities according to the needs of his Church. That was the case of José María García Lahiguera and Maria del Carmen Hidalgo de Caviedes y Gómez, a bishop and a young lady who lived in the Spanish XX century.
CANONICAL STEPS:
25 April 1938:
Foundation of the Congregation
12 September 1994:
25 April 1950:
Nihil Obstat to be set up as Congregation of Diocesan Right
13 May 1950:
24 January 1967:
Congregation of Pontifical Right
24 January 1984:
Approval of final Constitutions
20 July 1936. Spanish Civil War. A 23 years-old young lady is praying at the church of Capuchins before the celebration of the Holy Mass. Bombing at the "Barracks de la Montaña", Madrid. Bombs, explosions; in view of an imminent threat, the nuns try to find their chaplain all over the place so that they can go to confession. The young lady is seeking the priest but she is not able to find him. Right then, she strongly understands the vital role of priests within the Church, their irreplaceable mission of reaching souls in God’s plan of salvation. In front of the temple’s altar that looked threatening to fall down, this young lady, inspired by the Holy Spirit, offered her life to God for the priests. That young lady was named MªCarmen Hidalgo de Caviedes y Gómez.
Just a few months before (9 March 1936), José María García Lahiguera -Spiritual Director of the Minor Seminary- writes in his spiritual notes:
(Free translation) And as sanctity is an act from grace, and this is reachable through prayer, there is an urgent and imperative need to embark on a crusade “Pro Sacerdotio” based on prayer and sacrifice. (…). But, since we are talking about something permanent and stable as priesthood is, the sacrifice for their sanctity has to be uninterrupted; this is not reachable if work is addressed or encourages only one person. I do think that it is necessary to pray to our Lord in order to determine whether it is convenient to start to think about the foundation of a religious cloistered order of nuns, whose main aim -not to say exclusive- shall be prayer and sacrifice for youth and seminarians and, whose distinctive shall be: the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; public, official and solemn offering (...) to be victims for priests and seminarians. (Free translation)
1938. MªCarmen did Spiritual Exercises in order to discern her religious vocation, the vocation that God had put in her heart since she was very young and was stregthened and shaped during the war years. Those Spiritual Excercises were given by José María García Lahiguera.
MªCarmen said to José María: God is calling me but, … where? , when?, how?
José María answered: Do these Spiritual Exercises with all your soul and write everything the Lord may make you feel.
Mª Carmen said: Since I cannot be a priest, I will be victim for them. (…) . It does not exist, does it?
José María: My daughter, all this comes from God. Certainly, it does not exist but it will.
MªCarmen, kneeled down, said: Father, now, we are going to commit ourselves to the end to carry out God's will, without any reserve.
MªCarmen felt very deep inside the vocation to offer herself for the priests and seminarians; firm cloister; incessant prayer, rigorous austerity, silence, out of the world… and when she shared her feelings with José María, who had already thought about something similar some time ago, it turned into the creation of a new work firstly called “Priestly work”. And all happened on 25 April 1938 was ratified the day after during the Eucharist.
After the war, there was a small group or community, driven by the same ideal that God put into the hearts of these two souls. The first lady in participating of these ideals was Mª Carmen’s younger sister, Lucía María.
On 24 May 1939 they gathered in a house in Getafe (Madrid), living austerely and going through many difficulties. They finally installed in Madrid, at General Aranaz Street 22, where the Mother House is currently placed.
The Community grew up followed by several new foundations all over Spain and, more recently, also in Peru. Currently, there are seven monasteries: six in Spain (Madrid, Salamanca, Huelva, Javier, Moncada and Toledo) and one in Peru (Moyobamba).
