On July 11, 1937, four lay women met with Fr.J. M. Perrin, O.P. at Bellevue in France. One of these women was Juliette Molland who along with Fr. Perrin was instrumental in founding Caritas Christi.
Notes from the meeting read "... in the first place it is a question of a new spirit; a way of life that will live in the world hidden in God with nothing to distinguish them from other Christians, but they will do this only in order to spread the charity of Christ in the world. Their motto will be "Cor Unum," the center of their life will be daily Mass and Communion, their work, the needs of their neighbor…”
A laywoman herself, St Catherine of Siena’s life was the inspiration used by the founders of Caritas Christi. What attracted them to this Dominican Saint was her desire to live in the world for the service of the Church. She was chosen by God to offer herself for the Church as well as for all those who would follow her.
Throughout the next years, the group of women grew in numbers and became more organized and on September 9, 1938, with the approval of Msgr. Delay, the bishop of Fr. Perrin’s Diocese appointed the first Servant General. The group of women celebrated the first ceremony of definitive dedications in 1939. At last the Union was founded, and the group was called the Little Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena.
The years between 1940 and 1945 were difficult years for the group. However, the group continued to add new members. By 1941, there were fifty-six members and twenty-six women in formation. The first general assembly met in 1942 and its members elected the first general council. The group then took their Constitutions to Fr. Cimotier who was a canonist from Lyon. He told the women that "they must go ahead; you must not remain where you are."
Msgr. Delay then organized a group of theologians to study problems raised by this new vocation. In preparation for the approval of the Church, it was decided that the name of the Union must change. They would still remain under the protection of St. Catherine of Siena. The name ought to be a complete description of who you are -- "Missionaries of the Charity of Christ".
A petition was addressed to the Holy See asking for the approval of the Caritas Christi Union so that, being confirmed in this vocation, ‘we may be better able to serve the Church’. The Apostolic Constitution "Provida Mater" came out on January 2, 1947 defining just what secular institutes were. Caritas Christi became a Secular Institute of Diocesan Right on December 6, 1950, and the Caritas Christi Union became a Secular Institute of Pontifical Right on March 19, 1955 through the Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Religious.
Thanks to the vision of Father Perrin and Juliette Molland, Caritas Christi has become worldwide with members in more than thirty-nine countries. Membership has grown from the first four women to over fourteen hundred women dedicated to spreading the love of Christ in the world in which they live by their service in and for the Church.
Juliette Molland died in 1979. Her many gifts included being able to express what was going on in her soul. Inscribed on her tombstone is is the phrase, "God is love".
-
Father Jean Marie Perrin, O.P. died on April 13, 2002 but his spirit lives on through the loving dedication of the members of Caritas Christi to Christ and His Church.
Juliette's Meditation XX
"...being all things to everyone means being Christ for our neighbor in such a way the smallest actions, the smallest gesture, the briefest word and the tiniest smile will be the continuation of the love of Christ's Divine Heart"
Or in the words of Catherine of Siena:
"I (God) would have you know that … you are to love your neighbors as yourself. In love, you … help them … (through) prayer and counsel, (thus) assisting them spiritually and materially… (However) if you don’t love me you don’t love your neighbors…but it is yourself you harm most because you deprive yourself of grace. "
Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, p. 33, (1)
For more information, contact joannbear@fuse.net
