Who We Are

 

The Clerics of Saint Viator (Viatorians) is an international Roman Catholic religious men’s congregation of professed brothers and priests.

We are also lay associates, women and men committed to the Viatorian charism and community life.

Associates, brothers, and priests are all Viatorians, and, together, we comprise the Viatorian Community.

The Province of Chicago is headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois and includes the United States as well as the Foundation of Colombia.

 

Mission Statement

Viatorians proclaim Jesus Christ and his Gospel and raise up communities where faith can be lived, deepened, and celebrated (Constitution No. 8).

 

Charism Statement

Viatorians strive to live a lively and enlightened faith by serving the Word.

 

Equity Statement

Guided by our Viatorian Catholic mission and faithfulness to the Church’s social teaching, the Viatorian Community commits to equity, inclusion, diversity and justice in all of our institutions of learning. We embrace the Gospel call to create and sustain a diverse, equitable and inclusive world for the good of all. We promote the human dignity of people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, family economics, mobility, language, marital status, sexual orientation, ability and religion. We denounce prejudice, racism and injustice in any form and pledge to work against these injustices when they occur.

Vision Statement

As Viatorians of the Chicago Province, we resolve to expand and deepen our prophetic role as a community of associates, brothers and priests by addressing contemporary social issues.

We reaffirm our Gospel-inspired mission to be dedicated educators of faith and to raise up communities of believers who espouse the values of Jesus Christ in our life and work.

As Viatorians, we acknowledge and respect the role of lay men and women in the Church by ministering with them as equal partners. Further, we acknowledge our need to expand beyond our traditional roles in innovative, unique and distinctive ways.

As Viatorians, in the spirit of our founder, Fr. Louis Querbes, we minister to and with young people in the Church and are committed to their faith development and active membership in their respective faith communities.

As Viatorians, living in a world of cultural diversity, we embrace those who are “accounted of little importance” by some.

Viatorian Spirituality

Our founder, the Venerable Louis Querbes, taught Viatorians to strive to do everything well, so that through us, Jesus may be adored and loved. Viatorian Spirituality is nourished by the spirituality of Father Louis Querbes, by his charism as our founder, and especially by the Spirit who guided his personal history.

It perpetuates certain traits particular to its origins: a spirituality of the laity and a spirituality of consecrated life. It is deeply marked by faith and the dimensions of mission. Imbued with Sacred Scripture, Father Querbes lived a biblical spirituality. Father Querbes’ life was characterized by two verbs – believing and loving. Viatorians are called to follow his example – embracing the phrase “faith in action.”

Viatorian Spirituality Document

Father Querbes and the “Ordinary Way,” Part I

Father Querbes and the “Ordinary Way,” Part II

A Brief History

Following the French Revolution, Christian education, especially in the rural areas, was woefully neglected. It was in this context that Fr. Louis Querbes (1793-1859) founded the congregation. Fr. Querbes envisioned sending religious brothers and lay catechists to parish schools in the countryside to assist pastors in their parishes. Episcopal approval of the congregation for vowed members only was granted in Lyon in 1831, followed by papal approval in 1838 that canonically prevented the inclusion of the lay catechists.

In 1865, three Viatorians from the recently established Province of Canada implanted the vision of Fr. Querbes on U.S. soil in Bourbonnais, Illinois, forty miles south of Chicago. In 1882, the Province of Chicago was established, which today includes ministries primarily in Illinois and Nevada. In the 1960s, three Viatorians moved to Colombia and established our foundation there, which continues today and includes several schools, parishes, and chaplaincies and a growing community of brothers, priests, and associates. American Viatorians also took part in ministry in other countries, including our foundation of Belize (1998-2014).

In 1978, the congregation established the lay membership that Fr. Querbes had imagined by accepting lay women and women as associates. They commit themselves to participate in the charism of the congregation. In 1999, the first associates of the Province of Chicago were welcomed.