The Missionary Society of St. Paul (Maltese: Soċjeta' Missjunarja ta' San Pawl, MSSP) is a Roman Catholicmissionary congregation of priests and brothers, founded in Malta in 1910 by Mgr. Joseph De Piro. According to its Constitutions, "the purpose of the Society is the evangelisation and the implanting of the Church in missionary lands known as mission Ad Gentes. Consequently its apostolic endeavours in those countries not strictly considered missionary must be orientated towards promoting and creating an awareness of missionary activity."[1]
Mgr Joseph De Piro (centre) with the first members. The first two members, Br Joseph Caruana and Br John Vella are to his left and to his right respectively. Michael Callus, who was to become the first Superior General is sitting to the left, in front of the Founder
Founding a missionary congregation was the desire of Joseph De Piro which he had from a young age.[2] He tried to enlist the help of others in realizing it[3] and eventually settled with the support of a few mentors.[4] On 30 June 1910, De Piro accepted the first two members, Joseph Caruana and John Vella.[5] Eventually Vella left the Society after being ordained a priest. Caruana, who remained a lay brother, became, in 1927,[6] its first missionary serving for 48 years in Ethiopia until his death.[7]
The MSSP Motherhouse, St Agatha, Rabat, Malta, at its early stages
The Society got its first Diocesan approval in 14 November 1921.[8] The founder also managed to secure a Motherhouse for the young congregation[9] before he died suddenly on 17 September 1933, at the relatively young age of 55.[10] His fledgling Society was still too weak to survive on its own. So, for a time, superiors external to congregation were assigned to guide it, until in 1948 the Society had its first Superior General from its own members, Fr Michael Callus.[11]
Expansion
Br Joseph Caruana served in a mission belonging to the Maltese Capuchins. The Society had its own first mission in 1948 when two members of the Society went to Sydney, Australia, working as Maltese chaplains. Then, in 1959, the Society was present in Ontario, Canada, and in 1973 in Detroit, U.S.A., again working among Maltese migrants.[12]
The Society expanded towards Latin America when in 1968 it opened its first community in the province of Arequipa, Peru.[13] Then, in 1982, when Fr Stanley Tomlin was Superior General, the Society opened its first mission in Asia when it sent two missionaries to Faisalabad, Pakistan.[14]
It was, then, in 1999, when the Society opened another mission in Asia, this time in the Philippines. Two missionaries, one from Australia and another working in Pakistan, were sent by the then Superior General, Fr. Joseph Cremona, to establish a community in Manila.[15] The latest mission of the MSSP is Cuba, established in 2017, when two Peruvian missionaries were sent to Santa Clara, by the present Superior General, Fr Mark Grima.
Decretum Laudis
The Society was granted the decretum laudis in 1973. By this decree, the MSSP became a Pontifical Society, falling directly under the authority of the Holy See. Although still small in number, the Holy See granted this privilege to the Society in recognition of the apostolic zeal by which this congregation was embracing its mission and as an encouragement to continue to move forward.
References
^Constitutions and General Directory of the Missionary Society of St. Paul. Malta: MSSP Publications. 1987. p. 7.
^Sciberras, Tony (2016). Joseph De Piro: A Love for the Church, his Country, the Poor and the Missions. Malta: Postulation: De Piro Cause of Canonization. p. 46.
missionary, society, paul, malta, this, article, about, maltese, missionary, organization, other, uses, missionary, society, paul, major, contributor, this, article, appears, have, close, connection, with, subject, require, cleanup, comply, with, wikipedia, co. This article is about the Maltese missionary organization For other uses see Missionary Society of St Paul A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Missionary Society of St Paul Maltese Soċjeta Missjunarja ta San Pawl MSSP is a Roman Catholic missionary congregation of priests and brothers founded in Malta in 1910 by Mgr Joseph De Piro According to its Constitutions the purpose of the Society is the evangelisation and the implanting of the Church in missionary lands known as mission Ad Gentes Consequently its apostolic endeavours in those countries not strictly considered missionary must be orientated towards promoting and creating an awareness of missionary activity 1 Missionary Society of St PaulAbbreviationM S S P Formation30 June 1910FounderJoseph De PiroFounded atMaltaTypeCatholic religious orderSuperior GeneralFr Mark Grima msspWebsitehttp missionarysocietyofstpaul org Contents 1 Foundation 2 Expansion 3 Decretum Laudis 4 ReferencesFoundation Edit Mgr Joseph De Piro centre with the first members The first two members Br Joseph Caruana and Br John Vella are to his left and to his right respectively Michael Callus who was to become the first Superior General is sitting to the left in front of the Founder Founding a missionary congregation was the desire of Joseph De Piro which he had from a young age 2 He tried to enlist the help of others in realizing it 3 and eventually settled with the support of a few mentors 4 On 30 June 1910 De Piro accepted the first two members Joseph Caruana and John Vella 5 Eventually Vella left the Society after being ordained a priest Caruana who remained a lay brother became in 1927 6 its first missionary serving for 48 years in Ethiopia until his death 7 The MSSP Motherhouse St Agatha Rabat Malta at its early stages The Society got its first Diocesan approval in 14 November 1921 8 The founder also managed to secure a Motherhouse for the young congregation 9 before he died suddenly on 17 September 1933 at the relatively young age of 55 10 His fledgling Society was still too weak to survive on its own So for a time superiors external to congregation were assigned to guide it until in 1948 the Society had its first Superior General from its own members Fr Michael Callus 11 Expansion EditBr Joseph Caruana served in a mission belonging to the Maltese Capuchins The Society had its own first mission in 1948 when two members of the Society went to Sydney Australia working as Maltese chaplains Then in 1959 the Society was present in Ontario Canada and in 1973 in Detroit U S A again working among Maltese migrants 12 The Society expanded towards Latin America when in 1968 it opened its first community in the province of Arequipa Peru 13 Then in 1982 when Fr Stanley Tomlin was Superior General the Society opened its first mission in Asia when it sent two missionaries to Faisalabad Pakistan 14 It was then in 1999 when the Society opened another mission in Asia this time in the Philippines Two missionaries one from Australia and another working in Pakistan were sent by the then Superior General Fr Joseph Cremona to establish a community in Manila 15 The latest mission of the MSSP is Cuba established in 2017 when two Peruvian missionaries were sent to Santa Clara by the present Superior General Fr Mark Grima Decretum Laudis EditThe Society was granted the decretum laudis in 1973 By this decree the MSSP became a Pontifical Society falling directly under the authority of the Holy See Although still small in number the Holy See granted this privilege to the Society in recognition of the apostolic zeal by which this congregation was embracing its mission and as an encouragement to continue to move forward References Edit Constitutions and General Directory of the Missionary Society of St Paul Malta MSSP Publications 1987 p 7 Sciberras Tony 2016 Joseph De Piro A Love for the Church his Country the Poor and the Missions Malta Postulation De Piro Cause of Canonization p 46 ibid p 108 ibid p 142 ibid p 143 ibid p 347 Bonnici Alexander 1985 Mons Ġuzeppi De Piro 1877 1933 Vol II Malta Soċjeta Missjunarja ta San Pawl p 508 Sciberras ibid p 269 ibid p 451 ibid p 454 Bonnici ibid Vol II p 512 ibid p 515 ibid p 527 ibid p 528 Missionary Society of St Paul Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Missionary Society of St Paul Malta amp oldid 1143734810, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
