Amigonian Friars

The Amigonianer (also: Kapuzinerterziarier, official name Kapuzinerterziarier of Our Lady of Sorrows, Latin: Fratres tertii Ordinis Sancti Francisci Capulatorum a Beata Virgine Perdolente, Order code: TC) are a Roman Catholic religious order, founded by the Spanish Capuchin Father Luis Amigo y Ferrer were. It belongs as part of the Third Order Regular of religious family of Saint Francis of Assisi.

History

The Spanish Capuchin Father Luis Amigo was keen to promote the religious life of the laity associated with the Capuchin Order, who advocated from Christian motives directly to needy families, the sick and marginalized social groups. In 1885 he had founded with some pious women who wanted to join a monastic life with such tasks, the female Order of the Capuchin Terziarinnen of the Holy Family. From the Near Valencia from him spiritually supervised religious groups of men, which are usually negotiated by associations of the Secular Franciscan Order, was approached by some members of the desire in him to join also an active charitable religious community. To support this concern founded Father Amigo on 12 April 1889 in Torrent in Valencia a male counterpart to the sister community. Initially it was planned, the brothers should especially visit prisons and supervise prisoners. A few years after its foundation, the brothers took over the management of an educational home for delinquent youth in Madrid, the first of its kind in Spain. First recognized as a religious community episcopal law, the Community was approved on September 19, 1902 as the Congregation of Pontifical Right. In Germany, the Amigonianer settled in 1962. The first office was in Cologne- Immendorf, 1969 was followed by another branch in Bonn.

Today's distribution

The congregation has about 400 members, of which about half priest, in more than 70 offices and 19 countries around the world (2011), particularly in the Spanish-speaking world. Since May 2007, the Colombian Ignacio Calle Ramírez General Superior of the Community. In Germany the Amigonianer currently have two branches, with four priests and two brothers ( 2011). The two German communities are located in Gelsenkirchen and Cologne; they belong to the " Spanish province " of the Order, established in Madrid ( ranging from Poland to the Ivory Coast ). Representatives of the Provincial in Germany is Father Jens Müller Anno.

The community is active in educational work with children and young people who need educational assistance. Traditionally, the Amigonianer were active mainly in the offense. In Spain, Italy and various Latin American countries, the Order also performs various schools and is sometimes also involved in parish ministry and youth ministry. Since the 1970s and 1980s came to the care of young people in educational institutions and other educational and psychosocial areas of work to the attention of religious, among them - triggered among other things by projects of the brothers working in Germany - not inpatient and community-based approaches to youth social work ( Open Door, Street Working ) and - mainly in Colombia and Spain - various drug treatment projects.

In Medellín (Colombia ), the Congregation maintains since 1985 a orden own university, the Fundación Universitaria Luis Amigo ( FUNLAM ), in its focus on the courses from the fields of education, psychology and social sciences, but since 2001, the subjects of theology and philosophy, and since 2002, a study of law are offered.

Patron saint of the Order is the Painful Mother of God, the most important religious feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary 's memory on September 15. The congregation of sisters also founded by Luis Amigo the Capuchin Terziarinnen of the Holy Family is the female counterpart of the community.

Lay association

Connected to the Congregation of the Amigonianer in spirituality and in practical apostolate is the lay association of the so-called Amigonianischen employees (Spanish: Cooperadores Amigonianos ) mainly support religious activities or continues, but implements its own projects. The law as written ecclesiastical club lay group is one of the officially recognized religious communities of the Catholic Church.

Award and promotion

The community of Amigonianer in Gelsenkirchen was honored for her work in the sense of Christian social teaching in 2008 with the Heinrich -Brauns Prize of the diocese of Essen. Your youth work is funded by the Christoph Metzelder Foundation since 2010.