The Missionaries of the Holy Family at the Source

A Brief History

Fr. Jean Berthier, M.S. (1840-1908)Father Jean Berthier, Missionary of La Salette, was thinking of regrouping vocations to allow those who want to become priests, but who are unable to do so because of their age too advanced or because of the lack of economic means, to be able to follow their call. And the Missionaries of La Salette did not have the means to open a seminary for late vocations. So, Father Jean Berthier, with the approval of his superiors, founded a Congregation under the patronage of the Holy Family in 1895. 

The hostility of the Third Republic in 1895 expels all religious congregations from France. Fortunately, this enabled many congregations founded in the nineteenth century to take root all over the world. Fr. Berthier therefore opened his first apostolic school  for late vocations in Grave, Netherlands. The vocations are firstly res ordered in 1905. The body of Father Berthier now rests in the community cemetery of the La Salette Shrine on the Holy Mountain in France. 

A Discernment Week about our Future

For the last week of September 2017, as the present Superior General of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Family, with my counselors, invited our Provincial Superiors and their delegations to come together to consider the future of our Congregation and update our charism. We are nine hundred members, ministering in twenty-four countries on four continents. 

 

Travelling to the Source – the Holy Mountain

This year we have chosen this meeting to be held at the Holy Mountain of La Salette, the source of our Congregation. This Congregational Council was also an opportunity to evaluate the life of each province or delegation, the initial and ongoing formation of our Missionaries, the possibility of new missions, the pastoral care of families and vocations, the cooperation with the Laity and the Friends of the Missionaries of the Holy Family. 

On Sunday, September 24, all the members of the Congregational Council went to Châtonnay (38), the birthplace of Fr. Berthier, where Mass was concelebrated with the confreres of the International Community of Saint John of Bournay, in the church in which our Founder, was baptized, with the participation of the International Association of Friends of Father Jean Berthier. 

Between Cousins 

Blessing of the new Chapel for Fr. Jean Berthier’s grave on the Holy Mountain On this occasion, our General Council had the opportunity to gather our five bishops, all Missionaries of the Holy Family, to share with us a discussion of the collaboration between us in their diocese and especially to celebrate, on September 28, 2017, with the Missionaries of La Salette, the 122nd anniversary of the Foundation of our Congregation, and the blessing of the recently constructed Chapel over the burial place of Father Berthier.

The great celebration in the Basilica was presided over by Guy de Kérimel , Bishop of Grenoble, with our five Missionary Bishops of the Holy Family, along with Fr. Silvano Marisa, Superior General of the Missionaries of La Salette, and the entire community of the Shrine as well as friends of Fr. Berthier from Châtonnay , and some parishioners of Saint Hugues de Bonveau.

During this Eucharistic Celebration, Bishop Guy Kérimel reminded us of the exceptional zeal and effort of Father Berthier on this mountain of La Salette for services to pilgrims and his special attention to young and poor adults of that time. 

Continuing the Mission

After Mass, we proceeded to climb to the Cemetery for the blessing of the Chapel built over the tomb of Fr. Berthier, our founder. A special prayer, prepared for the occasion, was pronounced – and Bishop Aloysius Sutrisnaatmaka, Bishop of Palangkaraya, Indonesia, followed by blessing. A highlight of this service was when each Superior was asked to place a candle on the tomb of Fr. Berthier in the name of his province. This is the sign that all our confreres are guided by the charism that Fr. Berthier bequeathed to us, where we live and work! 

The project of the chapel was executed thanks to the cooperation of the two Congregations – the Missionaries of La Salette and the Missionaries of the Holy Family. Together, we pray for the beatification of our Father Founder: we are seeking a miracle through the intercession of Fr. Berthier. It is up to us today, therefore, to implement the charism of our Congregation: Mission, Family and Vocations! 

Prayer for the Beatification of Fr. Jean Berthier

Father, the source of all grace, who has given to your servant, Jean Berthier, in his exemplary way the gifts of prayer and apostolate, to spread the name of your Son among the nations, to increase the number of religious and missionary vocations and to extend the spirit of the Holy Family to families and peoples, give us the grace, we ask you, to have Fr. Berthier be listed among the Saints of your Church, so that his exemplary life and apostolic zeal may lead us to seek your glory and the salvation of your people. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Meeting of the Congregation of the Holy Family on the Holy Mountain

  (Reprinted with permission from the La Salette publication, Les Annales, March-April 2018, pgs.16-17)