HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS WHEN BROTHERS DWELL IN UNITY (PS 133:1)
The Companions of Christ is a fraternity of diocesan priests and seminarians in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis established as a public association on October 21, 1992. In their life and ministry as priests the Companions of Christ have three emphases:
Common life and the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity, and poverty are often identified with religious communities, in contrast to diocesan clergy. However, Vatican Council II encouraged efforts to promote a common life for the diocesan presbyterium [1] and exhorted all priests to voluntarily embrace the evangelical counsels. [2]
Pope John Paul II stated that the benefits of such associations are not merely economic or practical, but also “spiritual and — in harmony with the early institutions of the early Jerusalem community — they are obvious and urgent in the modern condition of many presbyters and prelates, who must be offered attention and care to alleviate their difficulties and labors.” [3]
Together with their fellow diocesan clergy members of the Companions of Christ make a promise of obedience to the diocesan bishop and are assigned by him in the typical manner to serve in parishes or other diocesan institutions. The diocesan bishop in turn and as far as possible assigns members of the Companions of Christ to locations which permit them to live as fraternities of at least three members in rectories or other households.
In this new millennium the Companions of Christ join themselves to the mission of the local and universal Church. As Pope John Paul II said, “The new evangelization needs new evangelizers, and these are the priests who are serious about living their priesthood as a specific path toward holiness.” [4]
[1] Second Vatican Council Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 8, December 7, 1965: AAS 58 (1966) 1004-1005.
[2] Ibid., 15-17.
[3] Pope John Paul II, General audience, September 1, 1993.
[4] Pope John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, March 25, 1992: AAS 84 (1992) 800.
- Commitment to a common life of prayer and fraternity in households
- Observance of the evangelical counsels within the context of ordained diocesan ministry
- Dedication to the new evangelization, including catechesis, spiritual renewal, and the fostering of vocations in the local Church
Common life and the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity, and poverty are often identified with religious communities, in contrast to diocesan clergy. However, Vatican Council II encouraged efforts to promote a common life for the diocesan presbyterium [1] and exhorted all priests to voluntarily embrace the evangelical counsels. [2]
Pope John Paul II stated that the benefits of such associations are not merely economic or practical, but also “spiritual and — in harmony with the early institutions of the early Jerusalem community — they are obvious and urgent in the modern condition of many presbyters and prelates, who must be offered attention and care to alleviate their difficulties and labors.” [3]
Together with their fellow diocesan clergy members of the Companions of Christ make a promise of obedience to the diocesan bishop and are assigned by him in the typical manner to serve in parishes or other diocesan institutions. The diocesan bishop in turn and as far as possible assigns members of the Companions of Christ to locations which permit them to live as fraternities of at least three members in rectories or other households.
In this new millennium the Companions of Christ join themselves to the mission of the local and universal Church. As Pope John Paul II said, “The new evangelization needs new evangelizers, and these are the priests who are serious about living their priesthood as a specific path toward holiness.” [4]
[1] Second Vatican Council Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 8, December 7, 1965: AAS 58 (1966) 1004-1005.
[2] Ibid., 15-17.
[3] Pope John Paul II, General audience, September 1, 1993.
[4] Pope John Paul II, Apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, March 25, 1992: AAS 84 (1992) 800.