As the Viatorian Community commits more deeply to ongoing formation for professed and associates, Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial offered the community a deeper dive on our Viatorian charism and how it can be understood through the ministry of being a catechist.
Fr. Francis, who has been a theology professor and is a published scholar, authored Catechist: The Key to the Viatorian Charism. This summer, he shared it with the community following the provincial assembly, and he drew on this study to lead a retreat for the brothers, priests, and pre-novices in the Foundation of Colombia. Fr. Dan Lydon, CSV, the new Director of Postulants (Pre-Novices) in Colombia, believes the article is now a great piece that he can offer to the men in formation as part of postulancy and conferences they’ll undertake. “It’s a concise statement of who we are, and it makes space for us to hone in on a core identity in an effective way,” Fr. Dan said.
Fr. Francis utilized his study of Querbes and catechists to direct a community retreat in Colombia.
Fr. Francis explains that a charism, from words for “grace” and “gift,” is “a free gift from God bestowed on a person to carry out an activity that promotes the common good.” The Venerable Louis Querbes, founder of the Viatorians, certainly had a charism, so how can we best define and understand it? Fr. Francis suggests that it may be through the lens of the catechist, or teacher of the faith – a title Fr. Querbes used in early documents and activities of our community with which we continue to identify today.
The full article is available here and linked on our “Who We Are” page as part of a website-wide refresh. (We invite you to tour the website and take in the rebuilt pages, renewed information, and updated and strengthened content we have to share!) As a shorthand preview of the article, here are a few main points awaiting when you read:
Formative context. The significant role of lay people, including and especially women, in secretively maintaining the life of the Church and its religious education and liturgy during the French Revolution made a definite mark on Querbes. Additionally, the deficits in education, especially for the poor and for those in more rural communities, while Catholic schools were suppressed magnified an under-met need. These realities in his time shaped his apostolic vision.
Being a catechist does not exclusively mean being a traditional classroom teacher. From the classroom, to the altar and ambo, to our places in the world, Viatorians strive to model the faith, teach and share the faith, and walk with others in the faith.
A particular type of catechist. Providentially, Fr. Querbes met Pierre Magaud, who left the Christian Brothers and returned from Paris to Vourles, where his uncle was mayor. Querbes hired Magaud to the parish and school, giving him Latin lessons while they shared in ministry and fellowship – this arrangement helped Querbes imagine the idea of a “parochial cleric” as he developed the Viatorian constitutions. Fr. Francis explains, “Taking advantage of a rarely implemented decree of the Council of Trent that permitted lay people to exercise the ministries ascribed to the first four orders of ministry (porter, exorcist, lector, and acolyte), Fr. Querbes wanted the members of the society to be true collaborators with their local pastors in parochial ministry… this was a pastoral innovation proposed by Querbes.”
And a particular style of catechist. Fr. Querbes sought to form his catechists in certain traits: lively and enlightened faith, ardent and disinterested zeal, humility, chastity, and love of labor, retreat, and silence. Fr. Francis writes, “for Fr. Querbes, being a true catechist was not simply a matter a regurgitating formula… Whether teaching religion or other subjects, each Viatorian needs to be able to credibly witness to the faith to students and parishioners. This is an integral part of the charism we have received from the founder.”
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Each year at the Viatorian Youth Congress (VYC), young people interview Viatorians to learn a bit about their vocation backstory, what drew them to the community, and how they live out the Viatorian charism. Many teens comment on how Viatorians are serious yet relatable, committed to faith and justice but down to earth and grounded in relationships.
To reflect more deeply on this identity we carry as Viatorians, we invite you read Fr. Francis’ essay.