Missionaries of the Holy Spirit Celebrate 110th Anniversary on Christmas Day

On December 25, The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit will be celebrating our 110th anniversary of foundation. Our beginning was a difficult time. Mexico was emerging from one of its most painful chapters, the Revolution. A heroic feat of a people struggling to claim their fundamental rights, the Revolution brought religious persecution - churches closed, bishops, priests, and religious sisters were forced to leave. Many priests, religious, and laypeople who fought in defense of the faith were killed.

In these circumstances of uncertainty and risk, the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit was born on December 25, 1914, in the Chapel of the Roses in Tepeyac (Mexico City). It was Christmas, and it was celebrated that year under challenging moments of gloomy uncertainty. From a human perspective, founding a Congregation during the Revolution seemed nuts. But God’s Plan happens at the perfect time. It was on the day when the Church celebrates Jesus, born in human flesh, in poverty and persecution to free us from all slavery. It happened in the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe made herself present to Juan Diego, a simple and poor indigenous person, to express her maternal love and offer her protection to a nation born into poverty, violence, and oppression.

Like any religious Congregation, we have our Charism, that is, our particular way of understanding Jesus, interpreting him, and following him, which translates into a unique spirituality called the Spirituality of the Cross. That spirituality is a concrete lifestyle and a mission to which we dedicate the best of our efforts.

Our Charism is priestly, and we commit, "To be a living memory of the way of being and acting of Jesus Christ priest and victim, contemplative, and solidary, and who gives his life for others." We imitate his lifestyle by living the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

In other words, we are a group of men who, having discovered Jesus as the Lord of our lives, have become passionate about His way of life. We are close and available for all; in love with the Father who is goodness and mercy; dedicated to serving all, especially those who suffer; men who risk and offer their lives for the Kingdom and give themselves up to death because "no one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13).

Called by God to participate in the same vocation, we are one family, in a communion of persons, and with the same spirit and mission. Therefore, we seek to live in our communities united by the bond of charity, like the early Christians having one heart and one soul. 

We are one of the five Works of the Cross (founded by Venerable Concepcion Cabrera) and members of the Family of the Cross, so we share this priestly Spirituality with many other men and women in the Church.