OFFICIAL NAME
Movimiento de Seglares Claretianos
ALSO KNOWN AS
Lay Claretians
ESTABLISHED
1983
HISTORY
The Lay Claretians are the outcome of a dream that St Anthony Mary Claret once had. He was ahead of his time in the mid-nineteenth century, and he had many missionary initiatives. He encouraged various Christian associations of lay people with the conviction that the time had come for the laity to be involved in the proclamation of the Word of God and to take an active role in the evangelising mission of the Church. In the spirit of their founder, throughout the 20th century, the Claretian Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary motivated various groups of co-workers and lay people associated with their works. In 1979, the 19th General Chapter of the Congregation decided to encourage these lay apostolic associations to organise and function in an autonomous manner. They started a process that would lead to the founding of the Lay Claretian Movement on 10 July 1983 during the constituent General Assembly held in the Colombian town of Villa de Leyva. On 20 April 1988, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed recognition of the Movimiento de Seglares Claretianos as an international association of the faithful.
IDENTITY
The Lay Claretians are Christians who seek to embrace the mission of Jesus in the world as their own, to live according to the demands of the Kingdom and to provide a service of evangelisation in the Church according to the charism and spirit of St Anthony Mary Claret. They do so as lay people living fully inserted in the world and in time. The members undertake to be witnesses to the Gospel in the ordinary conditions of their married, family, professional and social lives, and to participate in the construction of the local Church as a community of faith, hope and charity. They are part of the Claretian Family with which they share the same charismatic roots and constitute an autonomously organised branch.
ORGANISATION
The Lay Claretian Movement is organised on three levels: local, regional and general (world).
On the local level, the Lay Claretians form small groups or communities. Each group functions autonomously. There are several groups that share geographical, cultural or social proximity. They have the possibility of interrelating and of being constituted as a Region. At the regional level the groups meet periodically in Regional Assemblies. In the Assemblies, the members of the Regional Council are elected. They oversee the coordination of the groups in achieving the regional objectives.
Similarly, at the general or world level, all the regions, as well as the groups that do not have a region, meet every four years at the General Assemblies. Here the General Council is appointed to energise the progress of the Movement and to represent it in the various ecclesial institutions and bodies.
WORKS
The Movement works mainly at the local level. In accordance with the local social and cultural conditions, each community seeks to bring about evangelising initiatives in families, society, work, the economy, politics, culture and the Church. They work for the transformation of unjust structures in the world and for the defence of life, human dignity and the integrity of creation.
PUBLICATIONS
En estos últimos tiempos [In recent times], a monthly digital newsletter.
WEBSITE
HEADQUARTERS
Movimiento de Seglares Claretianos
Via del Sacro Cuore di Maria, 5
Roma (Italy)
Email: comunicacion@seglaresclaretianos.org
secretariageneral@seglaresclaretianos.org
