Wed, Oct 24, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog: Vigil, Isaiah 12:2-6 , Luke 12:39-48, St. Anthony Mary Claret, Claretians, Vic Spain

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - Litany Lane Blog:
Vigil, Isaiah 12:2-6 , Luke 12:39-48, St. Anthony Mary Claret, Claretians, Vic  Spain

Good Day Bloggers! 
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013

P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.

We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have flaws but we also all have the gift knowledge and free will as well, make the most of it. Life on earth is a stepping to our eternal home in Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...

"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012

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Today's Word:  vigil  vig·il  [vij-uhl]

Origin: 1200–50; Middle English vigil ( i ) e  < Anglo-French  < Medieval Latin vigilia  eve of a holy day, special use of Latin vigilia  watchfulness, equivalent to vigil  sentry + -ia -y³

noun

1. wakefulness maintained for any reason during the normal hours for sleeping.

2. a watch or a period of watchful attention maintained at night or at other times: The nurse kept her vigil at the bedside of the dying man.

3. a period of wakefulness from inability to sleep.

4. Ecclesiastical .

a. a devotional watching, or keeping awake, during the customary hours of sleep.

b. Sometimes, vigils. a nocturnal devotional exercise or service, especially on the eve before a church festival.

c. the eve, or day and night, before a church festival, especially an eve that is a fast.

 

 

 

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Today's Old Testament Reading - Isaiah 12:2-6

² Look, he is the God of my salvation: I shall have faith and not be afraid, for Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my salvation.'
³ Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of salvation
⁴ and, that day, you will say, 'Praise Yahweh, invoke his name. Proclaim his deeds to the people, declare his name sublime.
⁵ Sing of Yahweh, for his works are majestic, make them known throughout the world.
⁶ Cry and shout for joy, you who live in Zion, For the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.'

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Today's Gospel Reading - Luke 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples. 'You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.' Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?' The Lord replied, 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything that he owns. But if the servant says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming," and sets about beating the menservants and the servant-girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful. 'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has got nothing ready and done nothing in accord with those wishes, will be given a great many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but has acted in such a way that he deserves a beating, will be given fewer strokes. When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected.

Reflection

• Today’s Gospel presents again the exhortation to vigilance with two other parables. Yesterday, it was the parable of the Master and of the servant (Lk 12, 36-38). Today, the first parable is the one of the householder and the burglar (Lk 12, 39-40) and the other one speaks of the one of the master and the steward (Lk 12, 41-47).

• Luke 12, 39-40: The parable of the householder and of the burglar. You may be quite sure of this , that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the walls of the house. You too must stand ready, because the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. So just as the householder does not know at what hour the burglar will come, in the same way, no one knows the hour when the son of Man will arrive. Jesus says this very clearly: "But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father!” (Mk 13, 32). Today many people live worried about the end of the world. On the streets of the cities, we see written on the walls: Jesus will return! There are even persons who are in anguish because of the proximity of the end of the world, and they commit suicide. But time goes by and the end of the world does not arrive! Many times the affirmation “Jesus will return” is used to frighten people and oblige them to go to a determinate church! After that long wait and speculation around the coming of Jesus, many people no longer perceive the presence in our midst, in the most common things of life, in daily events. What is important is not to know the hour of the end of the world , but rather to have a look capable of perceiving the coming of Jesus who is already present in our midst in the person of the poor (cf Mt 25, 40) and in so many other ways and events of every day life.

• Luke 12, 41: Peter’s question. “Then, Peter said, Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone? The reason for this question asked by Peter is not clearly understood. It recalls another episode, in which Jesus responds to a similar question saying: “To you it is granted to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not granted” (Mt 13, 10-11; Lk 8, 9-10).

• Luke 12, 42-48ª: The parable of the householder and the steward. In the response to Peter’s question, Jesus formulates another question in the form of a parable: “Who then is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food?” Immediately after, Jesus himself gives the response in the parable: the good steward is the one who carries out his mission of servant, he does not use the goods received for his own advantage, and is always vigilant and attentive. Perhaps this is an indirect response to Peter’s question, as if he would say: “Peter, the parable is really for you! It is up to you to know how to administer well the mission which God has given you: to coordinate the communities. In this sense, the response is also valid for each one of us. And here the final warning acquire much sense: “When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected”.

• The coming of the Son of Man and the end of this world. The same problems existed in the Christian communities of the first centuries. Many people of the communities said that the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would return afterwards. Some from the community of Thessalonica in Greece, basing themselves in Paul’s preaching said: “Jesus will return!” (1 Th 4, 13-18; 2 Th 2, 2). And because of this, there were even persons who no longer worked, because they thought that the coming would be within a few days or few weeks. Why work if Jesus would return? (cf 2 Th 3, 11). Paul responds that it was not so simple as it seemed, and to those who did not work he would warn: “He who does not work has no right to eat!” Others remained looking up to Heaven, waiting for the return of Jesus on the clouds (cf. Ac 1,11). And others did not like to wait (2 P 3, 4-9). In general the Christians lived expecting the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus would come for the Final Judgment to end with the unjust history of this world here below and to inaugurate a new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heavens and the New Earth. They thought that it would take place after one or two generations. Many people would still be alive when Jesus would appear glorious in Heaven (1Th 4, 16-17; Mk 9, 1). Others, tired of waiting would say: “He will never come back!” (2 P 3, 4). Even up until today the final return of Jesus has not yet taken place! How can this delay be understood? We are not aware that Jesus has already returned, and that he is in our midst: “Look, I am with you always, yes, till the end of time”. (Mt 28, 20). He is already at our side in the struggle for justice, for peace and for life. The plenitude, the fullness has not been attained, but an example or guarantee of the Kingdom is already in our midst. This is why, we wait with firm hope the total liberation of humanity and of nature (Rm 8, 22-25). And when we wait and we struggle, we say rightly: “He is already in our midst!” (Mt 25, 40).

  

Personal questions

• The response of Jesus to Peter serves also for us, for me. Am I a good administrator of the mission which I have received?
• What do I do in order to be always vigilant?

Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.

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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Ipad Cases by LitanyLane

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Saint of the Day:  St. Anthony Mary Claret

Feast Day:  October 24
Patron Saint:  Textile Merchants, Weavers, Savings, Catholic press, Claretians Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Diocese of the Canary Islands , Claretian Students , Claretian Educators, Technical and Vocational Educators

St Anthony Mary Claret

Anthony Mary Claret (Catalan: Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà; Spanish: Antonio María Claret y Clará) (December 23, 1807 – October 24, 1870) was a Catalan Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop and missionary, and was confessor of Isabella II of Spain.  Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà was born in Sallent, Bages comarca, near Barcelona, on December 23, 1807, the son of a small woollen manufacturer. He received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. Later he went to Barcelona to specialize in his trade, and remained there until he was twenty. Meanwhile he devoted his spare time to study and became proficient in Latin, French and engraving.

Recognizing a call to religious life, he left Barcelona. He wished to become a Carthusian but finally entered the seminary at Vic in 1829, and was ordained on June 13, 1835, on the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, his namesake. He received a benefice in his native parish, where he continued to study theology until 1839; but as missionary work strongly appealed to him, he proceeded to Rome. There he entered the Jesuit novitiate but had to leave due to ill health. He then returned to Spain and exercised his pastoral ministry in Viladrau and Girona, attracting notice by his efforts on behalf of the poor.

Recalled by his superiors to Vic, he was engaged in missionary work throughout Catalonia. In 1848 he was sent to the Canary Islands where he gave retreats for fifteen months. On his return to Spain, he established the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (The Claretians) on the feast of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel" (July 16, 1849), and founded the great religious library at Barcelona which was called "Librería Religiosa" (now "Llibreria Claret"), and which has issued several million cheap copies of the best ancient and modern Catholic works.

His labors bore fruit: Pope Pius IX, at the request of the Spanish crown (Queen-regnant Isabella II of Spain), appointed him Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba in 1849. He was consecrated at Vic in October 1850 and embarked at Barcelona on December 28. Having arrived at his destination, he began at once the work of thorough reform.The Santiago seminary was reorganized, clerical discipline strengthened, and over 9,000 marriages validated within the first two years of his arrival. He erected a hospital and numerous schools. Three times he made a visitation of the entire diocese, giving local missions incessantly. His zealous works stirred up much opposition in the anti-clerical mood of the period, as had happened previously in Spain. No fewer than 15 attempts were made on his life, and at Holguín his cheek was slashed from ear to chin by a would-be assassin's knife.

In February, 1857, Claret was recalled to Spain by Queen Isabella II, who made him her confessor. He obtained permission to resign his Cuban see and was appointed to the titular see of Trajanopolis. His influence was now directed solely to help the poor and to propagate learning; he lived frugally and took up his residence in an Italian hospice. For nine years he was rector of the Escorial monastic school, where he established a scientific laboratory, a museum of natural history, a library, college and schools of music and languages. His further plans were frustrated by the Revolution of 1868. He continued his popular missions and distribution of books wherever he went in accompanying the Spanish Court. When Isabella recognized the new, secular government of a united Italy, he left the Court and hastened to take his place by the side of the Pope; at the latter's command, however, he returned to Madrid with faculties for absolving the queen from the censures she had incurred for this.

Last years

In 1869 he went to Rome to prepare for the First Vatican Council. Owing to failing health he withdrew to Prada de Conflent in the French Pyrenees, where he was still harassed by his Spanish enemies; shortly afterwards he retired to the Cistercian abbey at Fontfroide, Narbonne, southern France, where he died on October 24, 1870, aged 63.

Works

By his sermons and writings he contributed greatly to bring about the revival of the Catalan language, although most of his works were published in Spanish, especially during his stay in Cuba and Madrid. His printed works number more than one hundred, including "La escala de Jacob"; "Máximas de moral la más pura"; "Avisos"; "Catecismo explicado con láminas"; "La llave de oro"; "Selectos panegíricos" (11 volumes); "Sermones de misión" (3 volumes); "Misión de la mujer"; "Vida de Sta. Mónica"; "La Virgen del Pilar y los Francmasones." Claret's "Autobiografia," written by order of his spiritual director, may be read in pdf format. In addition to the Claretians, which in the early 21st century had over 450 houses and 3100 members, with missions in five continents, Archbishop Claret founded or drew up the rules of several communities of Religious Sisters.

Veneration

His zealous life and the wonders he wrought, both before and after his death, testified to his sanctity. Information was sought in 1887 and he was declared Venerable by Pope Leo XIII in 1899. His relics were transferred to the mission house at Vic in 1897, at which time his heart was found incorrupt. His grave is visited by many pilgrims, and he is one of few saints known to have been given the privilege of literally carrying the Blessed Sacrament in his heart ("Autobiografia", p. 694).

Anthony Mary Claret was beatified in Rome by Pope Pius XI on February 24, 1934. He was canonized sixteen years later by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950. St Anthony Mary Claret's liturgical feast was included in the General Roman Calendar in 1960 by Pope John XXIII, and fixed on October 23. Owing to the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, his feast was moved to October 24, the day of his death. Some local calendars as well as Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate his feast day on October 23.

Educational legacy

Many educational institutions ranging from kindergarten to high school are named after Claret and run by the Claretians in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. They are located in Catalonia (Barcelona, Valls and Sabadell), rest of Spain (Madrid, Gran Canaria, Sevilla, Valencia), Colombia (Cali), Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), Peru (Trujillo, Huancayo, Arequipa and Lima), Argentina (Buenos Aires and Bahía Blanca), Venezuela (Caracas, Maracaibo and Mérida), Equatorial Guinea (Malabo), Chile (Temuco), Costa Rica (Heredia), the Philippines (Zamboanga City, Quezon City^]), and India (Ziro, Bangalore).

References

• Patron Saints Index
• Instituto Claret San Blas 1640, Villa General Mitre, Capital Federal, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, A-0380 (Spanish)
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Ven. Antonio María Claret y Clará
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Congregations of the Heart of Mary
• "A Very Special Patron: Saint Anthony Mary Claret" article Catholicism.org

 

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Today's  Snippet I:  Claretians

The Claretians, a community of Roman Catholic priests and brothers, were founded by Saint Anthony Claret in 1849. They strive to follow their founder's “on fire” example and help wherever they are needed. Their ministries are highly diverse and vary depending on the needs of the area. They focus on seeing life through the eyes of the poor and respond to the biggest need at the time. They have a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their formal title is the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but they are popularly known as "the Claretians".

History

Antonio María Claret y Clará (Anthony Claret) said Today a great work is beginning to five young priests in a cell in the Vic seminary on July 16, 1849. This was the founding of the Congregation of "Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Anthony Claret had been thinking for a long time about preparing priests to proclaim the Gospel and bring together a group of priests who shared his vision to accomplish work he could not do alone. Through his evangelizing missionary work in Catalonia and the Canary Islands he was convinced that people needed to be evangelized and there were not enough priests who were sufficiently prepared or zealous enough for this mission. He was a humble man who knew that his vision came from God and not through his own means. “How great can it be since we are so young and so few?” asked Fr. Manuel Vilaró, one of the priests gathered at the seminary in Vic.

Only 20 days after its founding, Anthony Claret received news of his appointment as Archbishop of Cuba in North America, which he accepted despite his reluctance. The Congregation was left in God’s hands and under the guidance of one of the co-founders, Esteban Sala, who died in 1858. Another co-founder, José Xifré, took over the directorship.

Archbishop Claret, called back from Cuba to Madrid, Spain to be Confessor to Queen Isabella II, contrived to remain very close to the new Superior General and to all the missionaries. He attended the General Chapters. He gave spiritual and financial guidance to his religious institute. He also wrote his autobiography for the good of the Congregation and at the order of the Superior General, who had previously been his spiritual director.

With the coming of the Revolution of 1868, the Congregation was suppressed by the state and all the Missionaries had to seek refuge in France, Archbishop Claret also had to go into exile there. He played a major role editing the Constitutions, which the Holy See approved on February 11, 1870, only a few months before his death in France. At this time the institute had its first holy martyr, Francisco Crusats. Archbishop Claret, the founder, had the great satisfaction of seeing new foundations established throughout Spain, as well as in Africa (Argel), and in Latin America in México, Chile and also, in the Philippines .

California

Los Angeles pueblo

The Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome (aka: The Claretians), had come to Southern California by way of Mexico in the early 1900s, working in Los Angeles inner city missions. Since 1908 the Claretins have operated the historic La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles in Pueblo de Los Angeles near Downtown Los Angeles, as well as Mission San Gabriel, one of the original Spanish missions in California.

Claretville

From 1952 to 1977 The Claretians also served from the Theological Seminary of Claretville and Immaculate Heart Claretian novitiate, on the former King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, located in the Santa Monica Mountains of rural western Los Angeles County. The Thomas Aquinas College was also here from 1971 until moving to a permanent campus in Santa Paula, California in 1975. The land and structures are now part of Malibu Creek State Park. The Claretians returned to their original Southern California location, the Dominguez Seminary near the Dominguez Rancho Adobe of Rancho San Pedro, in Rancho Dominguez, California near Long Beach.

Father Aloysius

One noted member of the Claretian community in the Los Angeles area was Aloysius Ellacuria, C.M.F., born in Spain, who arrived there in 1930. He spent nearly fifty years in various position of the congregation in the American Southwest, but mostly Los Angeles. He became known as a man of deep faith, who touched thousands in his ministry and is considered by many as a mystic. The cause for his canonization is under consideration by the congregation, after hundreds of requests for this prompted the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to refer the matter to them.

Work

Saint Anthony Claret described the ideal Claretian in these words, "A son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set everyone on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts him: he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, rejoices in all the torments and sorrows he suffers, and glories in the cross of Jesus Christ. His only concern is how he may follow Christ and imitate him in praying, working, enduring and striving constantly and solely for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humankind."

As missionary servants of the Word, the spiritual life of our Congregation at the beginning of the new millennium is profoundly marked by the historical moment in which we are living. A spirituality that is missionary and prophetic is called upon to respond to the great challenges of our time and to insert itself into the spiritual movements, which the Spirit is bestowing on humanity today.

The Claretian’s work is as diverse as its priests. They work in parishes, foreign missions, periodical publishing, outreaches to young people, summer camps and inner city college outreaches. They attend to the needs of immigrants, youth and families. They also lead trips for the future leaders of tomorrow with leadership training and spiritual renewal.

St. Jude Shrine, Chicago

The national shirne of St. Jude was founded by Father James Tort, C.M.F., pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Many of Tort’s parishioners were laborers in the nearby steel mills, which were drastically cutting back their work forces early in 1929. This cutback was the precursor of the Stock Market crash.

Tort was saddened to see that about 90% of his parishioners were without jobs and in difficult financial situations. To make the situation worse, unemployment compensation and Social Security benefits did not yet exist. The Claretian pastor saw breadlines being formed in the community. He saw evidence of children being undernourished and his heart went out to his neighbors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Tort prayed for, and with, his people. He had started construction of a church, but with money extremely scarce he felt the building project would have to be abandoned.

Tort was devoted to Saint Jude Thaddeus, who was relatively obscure to the general Catholic population at that time. During the Middle Ages St. Jude was venerated by many people, but due in part of to his name being mistake for the traitor Judas Iscariot, devotions to him were minimal. Night after night, however, Tort persevered in his prayers to Saint Jude, asking his intercession and promising to erect a shrine in the saint's honor if the church could be finished. In an effort to lift the spirits of his parishioners, Tort began regular devotions to Saint Jude. The first novena honoring the saint was held on February 17, 1929.

During Lent in 1929, Tort noticed many of his parishioners praying before the statue of Saint Jude. When the statues in the church were covered with purple drape during Passion Week, the devotions were so great that he moved the statue to a prestigious stop above an altar on the right side of the church. The congregation at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church showed such great response to the devotion to Saint Jude that an overflow crowd attended services on the final night of a solemn novena that ended on the saint's feast day, October 28, 1929, one day before the stock market crashed. More than 1,000 people stood outside the church to hear the service.

Money came to the church from many places around the US. They never had a surplus of money, but they had enough to get by and the modest shrine to Saint Jude was finally established. Word of the devotions to Saint Jude gradually spread from that tiny corner of Chicago to other parts of the country. During the Depression of the 1930s and during World War II, thousands of men, women, and children attended novenas at the shrine and devotion to the patron saint of desperate causes spread throughout the country.

Because the majority of Saint Jude patrons cannot personally attend novena services (which begin on a Saturday afternoon and end nine days later on a Sunday night), the office of the National Shrine in Chicago distributes novena literature throughout the country to devotees who want to pray the novena by reading the prayers at home or elsewhere.

To this day, the letters that pour into the National Shrine provide inspiring testimony to the desire of the faithful to unite themselves with God through prayers to Saint Jude.

References

• The Claretians. http://www.claretians.org/
• National Shrine of St Jude. http://shrineofstjude.claretians.org

 

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Today's  Snippet II:  Vic, Spain

Vic, Spain

Vic (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈbik]) is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.

Vic is of ancient origin. Vic, in past times, was called Ausa by the Romans. Iberian coins bearing this name have been found there. The Visigoths called it Ausona. Sewage caps on sidewalks around the city will also read "Vich," an old form of the name.

During the 8th and 9th centuries, Vic sat in the Spanish Marches that separated Frankish and Islamic forces. It was destroyed in 788 during a Muslim incursion. Afterwards only one quarter was rebuilt, which was called Vicus Ausonensis (vicus is Latin for city borough), from which the name Vic was derived. It was repopulated by Wilfred the Hairy in 878 who gained control over the high part of the city and gave up the lowest part to the bishop to construct the episcopal see. From then on, the city was ruled by the count of Barcelona and by the bishop of Vic.

At a council in Toulouges in 1027, the bishop of Vic established the first Peace and Truce of God that helped reduce private warfare. During the 18th century the city was the first focus of the rebellion against the centralist policy of King Philip V of Spain. The conflict became the War of the Spanish Succession, which resulted in Catalonia losing its freedom as a nation. In the early 20th century Vic had 9500 inhabitants, and in 1992 it hosted Roller Hockey events of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics.

Ecclesiastical history

Vic Cathedral

The bishopric is a suffragan of the archbishopric of Tarragona, bounded on the north by Girona, on the east by Girona and Barcelona, on the south by Barcelona and Tarragona, on the west by Tarragona and Lleida. It lies within the four Catalonian provinces, but the greater part of it in that of Barcelona. 

The introduction of Christianity was undoubtedly very early, as martyrs of Ausa are recorded in the time of Emperor Decius, and in the earliest records of the Tarraconensian sees the Bishop of Vic is one of the very first mentioned. None, however, is mentioned by name until 516 when Cinidius is named as assisting at the provincial Council of Tarragona and Girona. Aquilinus (589–99) attended the third Council of Toledo; Esteban, the fourth and one at Egara; Dominus, the sixth of Toledo; Guericus, the eighth; Wisefredus sent his vicar to the thirteenth, and attended in person the fifteenth and sixteenth. With this bishop ends the history of the Church of Ausona before the Saracen invasion.

The reconquest of Vic was begun in the time of Louis the Pious, who confided the civil government to Borrell, Count of Ausona, all ecclesiastical matters being under the direction of the Archbishop of Narbonne.

In 826 Vic fell once more into the hands of the Moors and was finally reconquered by Wilfred the Hairy, independent Count of Barcelona.

Count Wilfred dedicated the famous monastery of Ripoll to the Blessed Virgin, and obtained from the Archbishop of Narbonne the consecration of Godmarus as Bishop of Vic. The bishops and the family of Montcada disputed the right of sovereignty over the city until 1315, when the Bishop Berenguer Gaguardia ceded his rights to the king, James II, who also purchased the rights of the Moncadas.

Bishop Atton (960–72) is worthy of mention as a great promoter of education. Many persons availed themselves of the advantages offered by his reforms, among them Gerbert, the monk of Aurillac, afterwards Pope Sylvester II, who was distinguished for his learning.

Another of the most illustrious bishops of Vic was Oliva (1018–46), son of the Count of Besalú, and Abbot of Ripoll where he reconstructed and richly decorated the church. The dedication took place 15 January 1032. He also, with the help of Ermesinda, Countess of Barcelona, reconstructed the cathedral and dedicated it to Sts. Peter and Paul on 31 August 1038. In the time of his successor Guillermo I the relics of its patron saints, the martyrs Lucianus and Marcianus, were found at Vic, and a council was held for the restoration of peace among the faithful.

Berenguer Seniofredo reformed the chapter, expelling lax members and introducing regular observance. Berenguer obtained for himself the dignity of Archbishop of Tarragona, which was contested by the Bishop of Narbonne. Among the Spanish bishops who attended the Council of Trent was Acisclo Moya de Contreras, Bishop of Vic, who was accompanied by the theologian Pedro Mercado.

Of the more recent bishops, Josep Morgades i Gili deserves special mention. He restored the monastery of Ripoll, destroyed and pillaged by the revolutionists, and reconsecrated its church on 1 July 1893. He also established at Vic an archaeological museum where he collected many treasures of medieval art which had been dispersed among the ancient churches of the diocese. The next Bishop of Vic was Josep Torres i Bages, a man of great culture and learning.

• Other celebrated natives of the Vic diocese include:

• Saint Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà, archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, confessor of Isabella II and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in North America also known as the Claretians.

• Archbishop Josep Sadoc Alemany i Concill, Dominican and first archbishop of San Francisco, California.

 

Culture

Among other centers and institutions working to promote culture education, Vic is renowned for:

• The Universitat de Vic, a young but active University that, according to its numbers, has grown to be the most important outside the four main cities of Catalonia.
• The Museu episcopal, a medieval art museum administered by the bishopric.
• The Museu de la pell, a museum dedicated to leathers.
• The popular markets, trade fairs and festivals. Especially the Mercat de música viva de Vic & Mercat Medieval.

Economy

For centuries, the city's primary industrial and commercial activity was a textile industry, now almost disappeared. Nowadays, the pillars of the economy are agriculture and other alimentary industries, and construction. The city is famous for its sausages and other pork derivatives, especially fuet, a thin cured sausage. The making of cured sausages and cold meats stems from the long tradition of pig farming in the Vic plain.

Main sights

Basilica of Santa Maria Manresa.

It is disputed whether the Church of Sant Pere Apòstol or Sta. Maria la Rodona was the first cathedral church. For centuries the bishops celebrated the first Christmas Mass in this church, and the third in that of Sant Pere. The ancient Church of S. Maria was rebuilt from the foundations by Canon Guillem Bonfil in 1140, and consecrated forty years later by Bishop Pere Retorta. In 1787 it was demolished to make room for the new Cathedral. Bishop Jordi (915–38) reconsecrated the Church of Ripoll and also consecrated that of Sta. Maria de Manresa.

The original cathedral, which had but a single nave, thick walls, and few windows, was replaced by that built by Bishop Oliva. As early as the thirteenth century Bishop Raimond d'Anglesola wrote a pastoral letter exhorting his people to contribute towards repairing the cathedral. In 1401 Bishop Diego de Heredia added a transept, and in 1585 the door of Sant Joan was added, but the necessity of a complete reconstruction was soon recognized, and towards the end of the eighteenth century the building was torn down, and the cornerstone of the new one was laid on 24 September 1781. It was consecrated on 15 September 1803. 

Gothic vaults in the interior.

It is classic in design, a combination of Doric and Tuscan, with a facade of white stone enriched with a beautiful balustrade. It has three entrances, corresponding to the three naves, and colossal statutes of its six patrons. The interior is Corinthian. All the monuments and altars were destroyed when the old church was demolished, except the high altar which is of alabaster, in the Gothic style, and was given early in the fifteen century by D. Bernat Despujol. Among the chapels that of St. Bernat Calvó (1233–43), who assisted James I of Aragon in the conquest of Valencia, deserves special mention. The two-storied Gothic cloister is exceedingly beautiful. A handsome Gothic doorway leading to the chapter house has been preserved.

Today only scanty remains are preserved of this Romanesque structures, and of its pre-Romanesque forerunner, including columns in the gallery (11th century), featuring columns with capitals having vegetable and geometrical motifs, and a 12th century portal. During the 14th century, Manresa undergo a large expansion, and a new Gothic structure was thus added above the pre-existing church. Construction started in 1322, under design by architect Berenguer de Montagut, who had been previously working at Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona. The first stone was placed in 1328m but works dragged on into the 15th century and later. The crypt was built in 1578, followed by the Chapel of the Holiest in 1657. The bell tower, with a quadrangular shape, dates to 1592, while the Baroque cloister was built in the early 18th century. The main façade and the baptisteries are from 1915–1934, designed by Alexandre Soler i March, after an idea by Antoni Gaudí

The church has a nave and two far narrower aisles, divided by eighteen octagonal pilasters, crowned by capitals with vegetable motifs. There is no transept. The interior has few decorations, with the exception of the large polychrome windows.

Detail of the retablo of the Holy Spirit.

Works of art include the following retablos:

• St. Mark, by Arnau Bassa (1346)
• Holy Spirit, by Pere Serra (1394), considered amongst the best examples of Catalan painting in the 14th century
• St. Michael and St. Nicholas, by Jaume Cabrera (1406)
• Holy Trinity, a late work by Gabriel Guárdia (1501)

There is also a painting by Lluís Borrassà (1411).

The conciliar seminary was begun in 1635 by Gaspar Gil and was finally finished, by command of Pope Benedict XIV, by Manuel Muñoz in 1748. The modern seminary is located in the former Jesuit College. It has sent out many famous men, among them Balmes and the poet Jacint Verdaguer, author of "L'Atlàntida". The episcopal palace was destroyed in the wars of 1640 and rebuilt by degrees, being completed by Bishop Veyan. The archaeological museum is in this building.

Manresa, where St. Ignatius Loyola wrote his Spiritual Exercises, is situated in the Diocese of Vic. His memory is venerated in the Santa Cova, which has been converted into a church, and a magnificent college of the Jesuits built near it.

References

• Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rius Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Vich". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.

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