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Murchison Falls, Uganda |
WELCOME
PEACE BE WITH YOU
"Go, therefore,and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit"
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Murchison Falls, Uganda |
The Catholic Missionary Union of England and Wales is the forum where all missionary activity and interests come together.
The objectives of the Catholic Missionary Union are:
1) the promotion of awareness in the Catholic Church of England and Wales and in society at large, of the Church's role and activity in missionary works worldwide and the practical implications this has for local Catholic churches and society;
2) the co-operation and sharing with the local church in its activities of interfaith dialogue and in its pastoral concern for minorities;
3) acting as the bridge between the local church in England and Wales and the local church across the world for their pastoral and theological development.
The Catholic Missionary Union of England Wales (CMU) succeeded the National Missionary Council of England and Wales (1972-1998) in October 1998. On 14th August 1998 it became a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 and a registered charity on 24th October 2000.
The CMU is the forum where all missionary activity and interests come together. CMU is established in conformity with the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales as a consultative body.
The Committees of the Catholic Missionary Union are the Men's Mission Committee, composed of nine members: Columban Fathers, Comboni (Verona) Fathers, Holy Ghost Father, Kiltegan Fathers, Mill Hill Missionaries, Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), Society of African Missions, Society of Jesus, and the Xaverian Missionaries; the Combined Missionary Societies Committee, a sub-committee of the Men's Mission Committee, composed of fourteen members: Augustinians, Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Christian Brothers, Crusade of the Holy Spirit, Dominicans, Josephites, Marists, Montfort Fathers, Redemptorists, Sacred Heart Fathers and Brothers (Betharram), Sacred Heart Fathers (Malpas), the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, Salesian of Don Bosco, and Salvatorians; and the Sisters' Mission Committee, composed of fourteen members: Columban Sisters, Comboni Missionary Sisters, Consolata Missionary Sisters, Franciscan Missionaries of St. Joseph, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa, Medical MIssionaries of Mary, Medical Mission Sisters, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, Missionary SIsters of the Holy Rosary, Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver, Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, Salesian Sisters, and Servants of the Holy Spirit.
WELCOME
We are a union of some thirty eight Congregations and Orders engaged in Missionary work all over the globe. We seek to serve the poor and the marginalised with commitment and dedication; to proclaim by our lives and witness the wonderful message of the Gospel.; that we are cherished and deeply loved by our loving Father, and that our destiny is to live with Him and our Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit for all eternity. Each one of us is called to that destiny.
We share our lives and our faith in this world, and our world, for many, is a terrifying and challenging place. We work with the poor, the destitute, the sick, the rejected and the powerless. It can be dangerous work and even cost lives. Between 1980 and 1989 115 missionaries died violently. Between 1990 and 2000 at least 604 were killed. Between 2001-2006 152 pastoral workers have been killed. All these martyrs died to give witness to the wondrous message of love and forgiveness. It is the right of everyone to be offered this message of love.
Each of our member congregations has its own unique origin, charism and story. Yet each shares the same vision, the same commitment to service, to see in everyone they meet the person of Jesus, and to serve them with humility and love. Each month we shall look more closely at one off our Orders or Associations, and tell something of their work. This month we are looking at The Augustinians.
AUGUSTINIANS
The origins of the Augustinians as an order stretch back to the 13th century. At that time in northern Italy there were groups of hermits mostly living according to the Rule of St. Augustine.These hermits formed the core of a new order of friars called into being by the Holy See in 1244 and 1256, in the wake of the other great orders of friars founded by St Francis and St. Dominic.
Up to recently the official title of the Augustinians was 'Order of Friars Hermits of St. Augustine'. Now they are known simply as 'Order of St. Augustine' (O.S.A). St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), while not the actual founder of the order as he lived eight hundred years before its establishment, is regarded as its spiritual founder. The the wrote for those who lived with him in community in North Africa, the Rule of St. Augustine, is the basis of the way of life of every Augustinian community.
It lays great stress on the common life and the search for God together. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church, older even that that of St. Benedict. In the Middle Ages the Augustinians produced many saints, theologians and men of learning, one of the most notable of whom achieved fame after leaving the order - Martin Luther. After the Reformation, the order played a significant role in the great missionary thrust of the Church. They were the first to bring Christianity to the Philippines; many were martyred in Japan in the 17th century; and the first missionary to circumnavigate the world was a Spanish Augustinian.
At the time of the Reformation there were over thirty communities of Augustinians, or Austin Friars as they were known then, in England and Scotland. None of these survived and the order became extinct. But the order did survive in Ireland, and it was from there that the Augustinians returned to England in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1977 an independent province for England and Scotland was formed. A significant step in this movement towards the reestablishment of the Augustinians in this country was the return to Clare Priory in 1953, when it became the first house in England to receive novices since the Reformation. Today, Augustinians of many nationalities are to be found as parish priests, teachers, missionaries and servants of the Church in over forty countries.