OFFICIAL NAME
Unione Sanguis Christi
ACRONYM
USC
ESTABLISHED
1808
HISTORY
The USC was founded in Rome at the Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere by Canon Francesco Albertini, who called it the “Pious Association in Honour of the Most Precious Blood”. Its primary purpose was to promote religious culture, the sacramental life and works of mercy among the lay faithful. It was erected as an Archconfraternity by Pius VII, and very shortly afterwards it was extended to take in religious and priest members. St Gaspare del Bufalo considered it to be a sound means of renewing Christian life, and he became its most fervent promoter. When he founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1815, he considered it to be spiritually united to the Archconfraternity. In 1851 Pope Pius IX constituted the Pious Union of the Most Precious Blood. It moved from San Nicola in Carcere and was placed under the Moderator General of the Missionaries with its headquarters in the head church of the Congregation. In 1951, Pope Pius XII reconfirmed its organisation and approved the new Statutes. They were subsequently updated following the Second Vatican Council. On 24 May 1988, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed recognition of the Unione Sanguis Christi as an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right.
IDENTITY
The USC is a spiritual family which grew up around the work of St Gaspare del Bufalo. It strives to spread the spirituality of the blood of Christ according to the rule of life which is summed up in the words of the Gospel, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). In order to respond to this ideal of holiness, the members, who are admitted to the Union after an appropriate period of faith formation, commit themselves to listening to the Word of God. They bring to maturity their baptismal grace through frequent participation in the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, and by participating in the public worship of the Church through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, which prepares and extends the praise, thanksgiving and memory of the mysteries of salvation to different hours of the day. They help to build up the Church and work for Church unity and the spread of the Kingdom of God in the world. The members of USC undertake to help create a social order based on justice and peace among peoples, within the bounds of their possibilities, and individually or in groups they co-operate with every initiative of the Church and civil society to improve life and foster the dignity of the human person.
ORGANISATION
The USC includes individual members (laity, religious, priests) and associates (religious congregations, associations, confraternities) and is organised at the international, regional and local levels. The central director of the Union is the Moderator General of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood who, with the Council, is responsible for leading the association, disseminating the spirituality of the blood of Christ, and encouraging communication of experiences between the various regional units. At the regional and local levels, the work of the Union is coordinated by regional and local Directors, men and women.
WORKS
The work of the Union is primarily aimed at deepening and spreading the spirituality of the association. Events and celebrations, pilgrimages, vigils, journeys of Christian formation and growth in the faith are organised for members to build spiritual communion in the association and growth in the faith.
The association in Rome, together with the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, runs the Sanguis Christi Study Centre which carries out theological research into the spirituality of the Blood of Christ. They issue several publications. There are also groups that offer service through activities that are missionary, cultural (theatre, art and music) and charitable and social.
In Poland, the association supports the publishing house 'Pomoc' and the Shrine of the Blood of Christ in Czestochowa, as well as the charitable work of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
Among the activities of the association there is the work of the Perpetual Masses, an association of solidarity in prayer carried out by the Sanguis Christi Union which received the approval of Pope Leo XIII.
PUBLICATIONS
In the countries where it is located, the Union publishes bulletins and information sheets along with various magazines:
Živi Kalež in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia; the bimonthly Nel Segno del Sangue and the theological magazine Il Sangue della Redenzione in Italy; in Poland the bimonthly Żyć Ewangelią and the annual theological-pastoral publication Zeszyt Formacyjny WKC; in Canada the bimonthly magazine The Precious Blood Family.
WEBSITE
https://www.cppsmissionaries.org/lay-associates/
HEADQUARTERS
Unione Sanguis Christi
c/o Curia Generalizia
Congregazione dei Missionari del Preziosissimo Sangue
Viale di Porta Ardeatina, 66 - 00154 Roma
Tel. [+39]065741656 - Fax 065742874
E-mail: usc@cppsmissionaries.org
