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The Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata are a Latin Catholic Clerical Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right for Men. Also known as the Stigmatines, the Order was founded in Verona, Italy by Saint Gaspar Louis Bertoni in 1816. The first written Constitutions for the Congregation was based on the Constitutions of Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Bertoni was a priest who lived in Verona between 1777 and 1853, a time when the city was the battleground between the troops of Austria and France. Father Bertoni entrusted his congregation to the protection of the Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph, whose confidence in God served as the inspiration for the missionary charism of the Order. As members of his Order, Bertoni chose a select group of priests and brothers. The charism chosen for this new congregation was to be the instructioni of youth, preaching at retreats and popular missions, and assistance in clergy formation. The center of the Order's spirituality is in following Jesus Christ. In seeking to imitate Jesus Christ, particularly during the illness which Father Bertoli lived with from the time of his ordination as a priest until his death, the Crucified Jesus was his example and source of strength. Each Friday afternoon, Father Bertoni and members of the Order directed a devotion to the Passion of the Lord, consisting of a half hour meditation and recitation of the novena to the Five Wounds of Christ. Following the lead of its founder, Stigmatines seek to live the mystery of the Sacred Stigmata of Jesus Christ as a sign and remembrance of the Easter mystery. Growth of the Order was slow. In 1905, members of the Order went to the United States and, in 1910 they began activities in Brazil. For nearly two hundred years, they worked in China, Thailand, the Philippines, Africa, and Latin America. In 2002, they settled in India, although headquartered in Rome.

 

 

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