Many of my fellow Filipinos hoped that Cardinal Tagle would become the first far eastern and Filipino pope in last year’s #conclave, but a new book claims that he was never a serious contender.

“Tagle, while charismatic and from the Philippines [...] was considered not to be a strong enough administrator, the book says. He also suffered harsh social media attacks which damaged his candidacy. ”

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/01/europe/pope-leo-conclave-election-book-intl

#Philippines #CatholicChurch #PopeLeoXIV #Vatican #HolySee

Congregation of the Holy Spirit

Officially known as: the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. Or in Latin: Congregatio Beatissimae Virginis Mariae.

This is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are known as Holy Ghost Fathers. Or in continental Europe, & the Anglosphere, as Spiritans. Members use the postnominals: CSSp. Postnominals are letters placed after a person’s name to signify academic degrees, professional qualifications, awards, military decorations, or honorific titles (like PhD).

The order began in Paris on Pentecost Sunday, 1703. Claude Poullart des Places was a wealthy young lawyer who abandoned his social standing to become a priest. He wanted to form a religious institute for young men who wanted to become priests but were too poor to do so.

Unlike orders that focused on the elite, Claude was moved by the plight of “poor scholars.” HIs vision was a “proletariat” clergy. Priests assignments in hospitals, rural parishes, & overseas missions.

Claude was born on February 26, 1679 in the capital city of Brittany, France: Rennes. Claude was tutored at home before being enrolled at the age of 9-10 as a day student in the nearby Jesuit college of St. Thomas. Thus beginning his lifelong association with the Society of Jesus.

Graduating at 16, Claude studied at the University of Caen, Normandy. Before graduating at 22, with a Licentiate in Law from the Law School of Nantes. A licentiate in law is an individual holding an academic degree or professional certification. This is usually below a doctorate but above a bachelor’s, that authorizes them to practice law.

In 1701, Claude Poullart began his studies for the priesthood, as a boarder at the Jesuit College in Paris. His work grew quickly. The Order developed. However, Claude passed away at 29, or 31 depending on the source, of pleurisy after founding the order.

After the founder’s death, the order became fully organized. In 1765, the South American missions, in colonies such as China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand (Siam), & India under the support of the Paris Foreign missionaries arrived in Senegal, Africa.

Those in France served in various dioceses or alongside the de Montfont missionaries. This was due to the close friendship between Poullart & Louis de Montfont. The Order had trained 1,300 priests in the years leading up to 1792, when the seminary was suppressed by the French Revolution. The French Revolution saw the Spiritans have their property seized & many were executed or exiled to England, Italy, & Switzerland.

After the French Revolution only 1 member remained, James Bertout. He survived a series of hardships like being shipwrecked on his way to his destined mission in French Guiana, enslaved by the Moors, & a short stay in Senegal (where he had been sold to the English).

On his return to France, he reestablished the Order & continued its work. But he found it VERY hard to recover sufficiently from the effects caused by the Revolution.

In 1841/1842, Francis Liberman founded the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary (a.k.a. Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) This society is/was dedicated to serve mainly the emancipated black slaves in the French colonies. Particularly in Africa & the Caribbean.

In 1848, the Holy See asked Liberman to merge his relatively new society with the struggling Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Lieberman was made the 1st Superior General of the united groups. This effectively saving the Spiritan name & legacy.

Liberman’s approach to missionary work was revolutionary from the time. He instructed his missionaries not to “Europeanize” the people they served. Besides the missions in Africa, the society started missions in Mauritius, Reunion, & the Rodriguez Islands. In the Western Hemisphere, they had missions in Trinidad, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, & Amazonia.

The Spiritans arrived in the United States in 1972, fleeing the Kulturkampf (persecution of Catholics) in Germany. They found a home in industrial heartlands, particularly Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Order is known in the United States for founding Duquesne University in 1878. This university was originally established to provide an education to the kids of poor immigrants working in the steel mills. It grew into a major research institution. The university’s motto (Spiritus est qui vivificat, “It is the Spirit who gives life”) reflects the order’s charism.

By the early 20th century the organization into the following provinces: France, Ireland, Portugal, United States of America, & Germany.

On December 31, 1961, 20 Spiritans: 19 Belgians & 1 Dutch man, were unalived in Kongolo (in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) by government troops during the Katanga Secession Rebellion.

In Rome, on April 24, 1979, Pope John Paul II presided over the beautification ceremony for Jacques-Desire Laval. The 1st member of the Spiritans to be honored.

Today, there are about 3,000 Spiritans serving in over 60 countries. They’re often associated with schools & chaplaincy, & missionary work.

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Charles Borromeo

We’re delving into Charles Borromeo because there’s a church named after him in our founder’s hometown. We hope you enjoy this read.

His name in Italian is: Carlo Borromeo. In Latin, his name: Carolus Borromeus. He was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1564-1584. He became a cardinal in 1560. A prelate is a high-ranking cleric with special jurisdiction or authority, essentially anyone exercising public power or holding a position of prominence above ordinary clergy.

Charles founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine together with St. Ignatius of Loyola & St. Philip Neri. In this role, he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church. Including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He was canonized in 1610 & his feast day is November 4.

Charles was a descendant of nobility. The Borromeo family was 1 of the most ancient & wealthiest in Lombardy. The family coat of arms included the Borromean rings, sometimes taken to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

Charles’ dad, Gilbert, was the Count of Arona. His mom, Margaret, was a member of the Milanese branch of the House of Medici. He was the 2nd son in a family of 6 kids. He was born in the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore 36 miles from Milan on October 2, 1538.

Charles received the tonsure when he was about 12 years old. At this time, his paternal uncle (dad’s brother), Giulio Cesare Borromeo turned over to him the income from the rich Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratinian & Felin, 1 of the ancient requirements of the family.

Charles let his dad know on no uncertain terms that all revenues from the abbey beyond what was required to prepare him for a career in the church belonged to the poor & couldn’t be applied to secular use.

Charles went to the University of Pavia. He applied himself to the study of civil & canon law. Because of a slight speech impediment, he was thought of as slow but his thoroughness & industry meant that he made fast progress.

In 1554, his dad died. Although he had an older brother, Count Federico, he was requested by the family to take the management of their domestic affairs. After a time, he restarted his studies. On December 6, 1559, he earned a doctorate in canon & civil law.

On December 25, 1559, Charles’ uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici, was elected as Pope Pius IV. The newly elected Pope requested his nephew to go to Rome. On January 13, 1560, Pope Pius IV appointed him as protonotary apostolic. Protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in Roman Curia, or outside Rome.

Shortly after, on January 31, 1560, the Pope made him a cardinal. This made Charles a cardinal-nephew. He was entrusted with both the public & the privy seal of the ecclesiastical state. A cardinal-nephew was a high-ranking Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Usually the pope’s actual nephew or another close relative(s), who served as the pontiff’s chief assistant & confidant. He was also brought into the government of Papal States & appointed a supervisor of the Franciscans, Carmelites, & Knights of Malta.

During his 4 years in Rome, Charles lived in austerity, required the Roman Curia to wear black (The Roman Curia is the administrative arm of the Holy See.), & established an academy of learned persons, the Academy of the Vatican Knights.

Charles organized the 3rd, & last, session of the Council of Trent, in 1562-63. He had a large hand in making the Tridentine Catechism (Catechismus Romanus). In 1561, Charles founded & endowed a college at Pavia. Today the college is known as Almo Collegio Borromeo. Charles dedicated the college to Justina of Padua.

On November 19, 1562, Charles’ older brother, Federico, suddenly died. His family urged Charles to seek permission to return to the laity (laicization), to marry & have kids so that the family name wouldn’t become extinct. But he decided not to leave the ecclesiastic state.

His brother’s death, along with his contacts (with the Jesuits, the Theatines, & the example of bishops such as Bartholomew of Braga) were causes of the conversion Charles towards a more strict & operative Christian life. His aim became to put into practice the dignity & duties of the bishop as drafted by the Council of Trent.

After the death of his uncle, Pope Pius IV (1566), Charles sent a galley (a type of ship) to get Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni, the Nuncio of Spain. The nuncio (or apostolic nuncio) is the Pope’s personal ambassador (like an embassy’s ambassador) to a country & plays a key role in appointing bishops.

But the Cardinal didn’t arrive in time to be considered at the conclave. Charles reached an agreement with Alessandro Farnese, who held a significant number of conclave votes, to support Antonio Ghislieri (who was rumored to have the support of King Philip II of Spain). Ghislieri was elected Pope & took the name: Pius V.

He devoted himself to the reformation of his diocese which had deteriorated in practice owing to the 80-year absence of previous archbishops. Milan was the largest archdiocese in Italy at the time, with more than 3,000 clergy & 800,000 people. Both its clergy & laity had drifted from church teaching. The selling of indulgences & ecclesiastical positions was prevalent.

Charles believed that abuses in the church arose from ignorant clergy. His emphasis on Catholic learning greatly increased the preparation of men for the priesthood & benefited their congregations.

He founded the fraternity of Oblates of St. Ambrose (a society of secular men who didn’t take orders), but devoted themselves to the church & followed a discipline of monastic prayers & study. The new archbishop’s efforts for catechesis & the instruction of youth included the initiation of the 1st Sunday School classes & the work of the Confraternity for Christian Doctrine.

Charles’ diocesan reforms faced opposition from several religious orders. Particularly that of the Humiliati (Brothers of Humility), a penitential order which owned some 90 monasteries. Some members of that society formed a conspiracy against his life.

A shot was fired at him with an arquebus in the archepiscopal chapel. His survival was considered miraculous.

Even though the Diet of Ilanz of 1524 & 1526 had proclaimed freedom of worship in the 3 Leagues, Charles repressed Protestantism in the Swiss valleys. During his pastoral visit to the region, 150 people were arrested for practicing witchcraft. 11 women & the provost were condemned by the civil authorities to be burned alive.

Reacting to the pressure of the Protestant Reformation, Charles encouraged Ludwig Pfyffer in his development of the “Golden League” but didn’t live to see its formation in 1586.

Based in Lucerne, the organization (also called the Borromean League) linked activities of several Swiss Catholic cantons of Switzerland. This became the center of Catholic Counter-Reformation efforts & caused the break-up of Appenzell canton along religious lines.

Following his departure from this mortal coil, devotion to Charles grew quickly & continued to grow. The Milanese memorializes his anniversary as though he were already a saint. Supporters in a number of cities collected documentation to support his canonization.

In 1602, Pope Clement VIII beatified Charles. 2 years later, his “case” was sent to the Congregation of Rites. On November 1, 1610, Pope Paul V canonized Charles. 3 years later, the church added his feast day to the General Roman Calendar for celebration on November 4.

Along with Guarinus of Palestrina & Anselm of Lucca, he’s 1 of only 2-3 cardinal-nephews to have been canonized. Charles Borromeo is the patron saint of bishops; catechists; seminarians; against ulcers; apple orchards; bishops; catechumens; colic; intestinal disorders; Lombardy, Italy; Monterey, California; cardinals; seminarians; spiritual directors; spiritual leaders; starch makers; stomach diseases; & Sao Carlos (Brazil).

Charles’ emblem is the Latin word humilitas (humility), which is a portion of the Borromeo shield. He’s usually represented in art in his robes, barefoot, carrying the cross as archbishop, a rope around his neck and 1 hand raised in blessing. Thus recalling his work during the plague.

A large number of churches dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo exist in: Austria; Sheffield, England; Scotland; Belgium; Italy; Serbia; Poland; Switzerland; Vienna; Ireland; England; Indiana; Louisiana; Canada, California; Florida; Illinois; New York; Texas; Missouri; Minnesota; North Dakota; Ohio; Maryland; Massachusetts; Nebraska; New Jersey; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Virginia; Washington; Oklahoma; New Hampshire; Argentina; Brazil; Peru; Uruguay; Venezuela; & Chile.

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Pope Leo: Another Consistory in June; We will hold one every year

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https://www.newsbeep.com/352765/

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