Fathers of Mercy

The Congregation of Priests of Mercy (Latin: Congregation Presbytero a Misericordia, ( Order code: CPM, English:. Fathers of Mercy ) is a congregation of missionary priests was founded in 1808 in Lyon ( France) and built in 1814 their general store in Paris. .

History

Founder of the mission community was Jean -Baptiste Rauzan ( born December 5, 1757 † September 5, 1847 ). After the completion of his theological studies he taught theology and spiritual rhetoric. Later he was appointed vicar-general to Bordeaux and called a missionary movement to life, which had set a goal the preservation of faith in France.

Construction in France

With the support and recommendation of the Archbishops of Bordeaux and Lyon gathered Rauzan in 1808 a group of clergy around and started missionary work in France. Their missionary work in the Diocese of Troyes was Napoleon I. subsidized, but in a dispute with Pius VII stopped the support and suppressed the activity of the missionary priests.

The proposal Cardinal Feschs following founded Father Rauzan 1814, the first Episcopal congregation law. The new congregation continued its work in Orléans, Poitiers, Rennes, Marseille, Toulon and Paris. The missionaries were banned in 1830 in the wake of the revolution, Father Rauzan turned in Rome to Pope Gregory XVI. Here he was commissioned to found a new community, which should bear the name " priest of Mercy". On February 18, 1834 Congregation by Pope Gregory XVI received. the approval, together with the approval letter received the Congregation their monastic rules. Between 1880 and 1905, the Congregation was partially under the protection of the French king Louis XVIII. , The General House was relocated at this time to Paris. With the separation of church and state left the religious priests France and settled in Belgium.

Structure in the United States of America

1839 Archbishop John Joseph Hughes had of New York proposed to bring some missionary priests in the United States. Following this invitation, the first station in the Diocese of New Orleans was built. Following a further invitation they began their work in Mobile ( Alabama) and took over the management of the Spring Hill College. In 1841 they took over the care of the immigrant to America Frenchman in New York and established their own parishes in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In subsequent years, the missionaries established seminaries in Rome, Belgium and France. Since 1940, the society of priests existed only in the U.S. and led the Roman study seminar. Until 1961 it was recognized by the Vatican as an American community and received after the titling " Congregation of Priests of Mercy". Today, the General House has its headquarters in Auburn ( Kentucky), and has since 2008 a chapel. Since 1997, William Casey is the Superior General.