Becoming One
This year, 2022, has been a momentous one in the history of Mary Ward’s Institute. As you may remember, the Institute was founded in 1609, so it is now over four hundred years old. As it grew, for various reasons the local leadership of some communities in different countries became dependent on the local bishop, not on the central superior general. These widely scattered groups all had much in common but were independent from each other. The image of the spreading oak tree became a symbol of our essential unity.
In 1900, the Institute, then known formally everywhere as the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consisted of 11 separate ‘branches’. By 1953 after a series of amalgamations, the Institute consisted of only five branches.
Mary Ward had wanted her religious community to be named after Jesus, but strangely this was not permitted. Finally, in 2002 the biggest IBVM branch, the ‘Roman branch’, was able to change its official name to ‘Congregation of Jesus’ (CJ).
By 2003 only the ‘Loreto branch’ remained separate from the larger CJ branch. For several years now, these two branches have been working towards ‘Becoming One’.
Important decisions were made at the General Congregations of both branches held this year (CJ: August-September 2022 and IBVM: October 2022). These General Congregations are formal international gatherings of delegates to elect new leadership and make plans for the future. Both General Congregations voted unanimously for the two branches to ‘become one’. The decisions will be followed by a formal petition to the Vatican, which will issue a decree to be implemented on a specific future date. The proposed, but not yet definitive, year for bringing the long process to completion, is 2025.
This historic decision is truly momentous, because it allows Mary Ward’s dream for a single world-wide Institute to become a reality for the very first time. Her ideas were too advanced for the Church of her time but the dream never disappeared. Many political, cultural and geographical obstacles have also hindered progress until now.
It is important to stress that this development does not imply any re-organisation of the province or of its Loreto Schools and other ministries and the name ‘Loreto’ will continue. The central leadership of the united Congregation of Jesus will continue to be based in Rome, and two members of our recently elected Institute Council will join the CJ council. What will be different is our deeper sense of identity as Mary Ward’s followers, together with closer connections between the whole international Mary Ward family, and a renewed anticipation of what Mary Ward’s dream might lead to in the future.
Author: Sr Mary Wright ibvm
Feature Image: Voting to Become One at the Global Congregation in Manresa, Spain.