Charism and Mission Since Vatican II: Superiors’ General Letters to the Spiritan Congregation, 1968–2020
Ebook
Overview
World and church have changed so much since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). With each change, religious congregations have had to review and update both their charism and mission, with ever new emphases in spirituality and mission. The 122 letters of the post-Vatican II superiors general of the Spiritans give some idea of the paths traced by missiology during the period. They offer a chronicle of missiological thinking through the turbulent time of crisis in the 1960s and early 1970s, and the gradual reclaiming of the Spiritans' essential charism of the evangelization of the poor, but in a very changed world and a very changed church.
“These are letters from men of deep experience of frontline
missionary work, broad theological and missiological knowledge and
wisdom, and rooted in the charism, creativity, and faith of the
Spiritans’ founders, Claude-François Poullart des Places and
Francis Libermann. In a very turbulent and difficult time,
. . . they steer their congregation on a steady course,
with firm grounding in Christian and Spiritan tradition, openness
to what is happening on the ground and in the academy, and amazing
resilience and creativity.”
—Stephen B. Bevans, SVD, Catholic Theological Union, emeritus
“What is fascinating in the letters published here is how
the trajectory of a particular religious institute (Congregation of
the Holy Spirit) offers tremendous resources for mission theology,
mission spirituality, and church history. In this post-Vatican II
context faced with the challenges of globalization, secularism, and
the crises of faith and culture, missionary institutes can
accompany the transformations of the world while remaining faithful
to the perpetual novelty of missio Dei and the charisms of
their founders.”
—Bede Ukwuije, CSSp, First Assistant Superior General
James Chukwuma Okoye, CSSp, is the Director of the Center for
Spiritan Studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. He earlier
held the Carroll Stuhlmueller Chair OT Studies at Catholic
Theological Union, Chicago. He is the author of Genesis 1–11: A
Narrative Theological Commentary (2018) and Genesis 12–50: A
Narrative Theological Commentary (2020).