The History of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

Volume I: The Origins (1732-1793) Book I (Published 1996)

Edited by Fancesco Chiovaro, C.Ss.R

A king who did not want new religious orders! A pope at odds with the king! Powerful families out to confiscate property! A saint forced to die shut out of the very congregation he founded! All these are featured in this first volume of the series, The History of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

So tortured were these beginnings that Redemptorists were virtually forbidden to publish anything on it for almost a century. Now we have a succinct account of the opening years of the Redemptorist Congregation. From its birth through its near demise from internal tensions, through its division into two groups (one recognized by the pope, the other by the king), to its reunification, we can follow this story of the birth of a great force for preaching the Gospel.

The second part of this volume presents a series of studies on important themes of these early years: the apostolic ministry conducted by the Redemptorists, the formulation of its Rule, and the manner of forming newcomers into its spirit.

This History is rooted in the Church’s concern for renewal. As the editor of the original text writes: “If there had been no Vatican II...this History would never have seen the light of day.” This work brings to light something of what Cardinal Wilhelm van Rossum noted when, a century ago, he saw some of the research on which this volume is based: “I would never have imagined that there would be so much richness.”

Volume I: The Origins (1732-1793) Book II (Published 2008)

Edited by Franceso Chiovaro, C.Ss.R; J. Robert Fenili, C.Ss.R

This volume completes the treatment of the first years of The History of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Volume I/I (1732–1793), which initiated the series of volumes on the history of the Roman Catholic religious order, commonly called the Redemptorists. This book rounds out this early story, covering the years from the Congregation’s founding on the Amalfi Coast of Italy to its final recognition by the government of the Kingdom of Naples. The first section of this volume presents a look at the interior life of the group. The first chapter describes the particulars of the daily life within the order’s monasteries during these early decades. The second chapter is a succinct analysis of the unique elements of its spirituality, its mentality, and structures.

The second part of the book presents a selection of early documents that provide insight into topics treated in earlier chapters: the two serious crises that threatened the existence of the young Congregation, contemporary accounts of its apostolic activities, and letters of those involved in some of its struggles.

The documentation is followed by a gallery of illustrations of persons, places, and memorabilia that in their own way retell the story of this period. It includes some of the earliest photographic images of the actual sites in which this history unfolded.

The concluding sections contain a listing of all known members of the Redemptorists of the time, an extensive bibliography, and indices covering both of the first volumes of this ongoing series of The History of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

These two volumes review the crucial years of the Redemptorists’ birth and growth in its cradle of Southern Italy. They present the fruit of fifty years of the type of study demanded of religious orders by Vatican Council II when it urged all religious to seek to renew the vision and charism of their founders. Future volumes will recount the spread of the Redemptorists from its turbulent beginnings to its presence today in seventy nations around the world.

Volume II: The First Expansions (1793-1855) Book I (Published 2022)

Edited by Otto Weiss; Translated from the Italian by J. Robert Fenili, C.Ss.R

From the Preface: With this volume of The History of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, we begin our treatment of the events taking place in the Congregation between the reunion [of its two branches] in 1793 and the General Chapter of 1855. In this time frame, we will give special attention to the territorial expansion of the Congregation. While two books were sufficient for the period of its beginnings which were limited to Italy, one dedicated mainly to the events and the other with a series of appendices treating the Congregation’s interior life and spirituality, the editors and authors of this volume quickly realized that a similar division would not be sufficient for this second period. In the course of seventy years, the small group of religious men had become a large body of religious confreres that had set foot in almost the whole of Europe and even into the New World with a number of attendant problems.

This present book begins with an introduction that paints a panorama of the religious and ecclesiastical situation of the epoch in which the beginnings of expansion took place (1787–1855). It is followed by a treatment of the first period, divided into two chapters. The first describes the events that took place in Italy, the second deals with the Congregation’s spread beyond the Alps. —Otto Weiss, 15 March 2010, The Feast of St. Clement Maria Hofbauer, C.Ss.R.

Volume II (continued): The First Expansions (1793-1855) Book II/ii (Published 2024)

Edited by Otto Weiss; Translated from the Italian by J. Robert Fenili, C.Ss.R