CLARET realized
his personal vocation in the Church, animated by a strong
ecclesial sensitivity, and apostolic spirit, and
an ardent love for Mary, whose maternal love directs
the evangelizing work of our Congregation.
With an acute sensitivity to the timely, urgent and
effective, and a clear option for the poor, the
least, and the consecrated, he responded to the urgent
needs of the Church, and the world of his
time: a Preacher of the Word of God in popular missions
in Spain; as Founder, he took together men an women, priest,
religious and lay, to share in missionary work; as Missionary
Bishop of Cuba, promoted spiritual and social improvements.
As Writer and Publisher of many religious
books, pamphlets, and other publications; as Confessor
of the Queen Isabel of Spain, helped realize a fruitful
Church-state relationship, always guided by a deep love
for the Church and for the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Today
other people can share his ideals and missionary lifestyle
in order to serve the needs of the Church and the World.
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SUMMARY OF HIS LIFE
1807 - December 24 He
is born in Sallent (Barcelona), Spain.
1825-1829:He works in a textile factory.
1829 - September 29: He enters the seminary of Vich.
1835 - June 13: He is ordained Priest.
1839 - June: He volunteers to be sent as Apostolic
Missionary.
1849 - July 16: He founds the Congregation of Missionary
Sons of the Immaculte Heart of Mary (C.M.F.), Claretian
Missionaries.
1850 - October 6, He is consecrated
Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba.
1855 - August 25:He founds the Claretian Missionary
Sisters.
1857 - He is nominated Confessor of the Queen of Spain.
1868 - September 30: He is sent into exile to France.
1869 - 1870: He takes part in the First Vatican Council.
1870 - October 24: He dies in Fontfroide, France.
1934 - February 25: He is proclaimed
Blessed by Pope Pius XI
1950 - May 7: He is declared Saint by Pope Pius XII.
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LIFE OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET
Childhood
St. Anthony Mary Claret was born in Catalonia, the northeastern
corner of Spain, in a town called Sallent on December 23,
1807. He was the fifth son of Juan Claret and Josefa Clará's
eleven children. His father owned a small textile factory,
but is not rich. Anthony grew up in a Christian environment,
and at a very early age had a strong sense of the eternal
life that Christ wanted all men and women to enjoy. He wanted
to spare sinners eternal unhappiness, and felt moved to
work for their salvation. When he was about eleven years
old, a bishop visited his school and asked him what he wanted
to be when he grew up. Without hesitation he responded:
"A priest."
Weaver
As soon as Anthony was old enough, he began working as
an apprentice weaver. When he turned 17, his father sent
him to Barcelona to study the latest techniques in textile
manufacturing and to work in the large textile mills. He
did so well in the textile design school that he began receiving
offers from large textile companies. Even though he had
the talent to succeed, he turned down the offer and returned
home after experiencing the emptiness of worldly achievements.
Vocation
The words of the Gospel kept resounding in his heart:
"what good is it for man to win the world if he loses his
soul?" He began to study Latin to prepare to enter the Seminary.
He wanted to be a Carthusian Monk. His father was ready
to accept the will of God, but preferred to see him become
a diocesan priest. Anthony decided to enter the local diocesan
seminary in the city of Vic.
He was 21 years old. After a year of studies, he decided
to pursue his monastic vocation and left for a nearby monastery.
On the way there, he was caught in a big storm. He realized
that his health was not the best, and retracted from his
decision to go to the monastery.
He was ordained a priest at 27 years of age and was assigned
to his hometown parish. The town soon became too small for
his missionary zeal, and the political situation -hostile
to the Church- limited his apostolic activity. He decided
to go to Rome to offer himself to serve in foreign missions.
Things did not work out as expected, and he decided to join
the Jesuits to pursue his missionary dream. While in the
Jesuit Novitiate, he developed a strange illness, which
led his superiors to think that God may have other plans
for him. Once again, he had to return home to keep searching
for God's will in his life.
"Apostolic
Missionary"
in Catalonia and Canary Islands
Back in a parish of Catalonia, Claret begins preaching
popular missions all over. He traveled on foot, attracting
large crowds with his sermons. Some days he preached up
to seven sermons in a day and spent 10 hours listening to
confessions. He dedicated to Mary all his apostolic efforts.
He felt forged as an apostle and sent to preach by Mary.
The secret of his missionary success was LOVE. In his words:
"Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the
person who preaches the word of God is like fire in a musket.
If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would
hardly make a dent in anything; but if the person takes
the same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it
can kill. It is much the same with the word of God. If it
is spoken by someone who is filled with the fire of charity-
the fire of love of God and neighbor- it will work wonders."
(Autobiography #438-439).
His popularity spread; people sought him for spiritual
and physical healing. By the end of 1842, the Pope gave
him the title of "apostolic missionary." Aware of the power
of the press, in 1847, he organized with other priests a
Religious Press. Claret began writing books and pamphlets,
making the message of God accessible to all social groups.
The increasing political restlessness in Spain continued
to endanger his life and curtail his apostolic activities.
So, he accepted an offer to preach in the Canary Islands,
where he spent 14 months. In spite of his great success
there too, he decided to return to Spain to carry out one
of his dreams: the organization of an order of missionaries
to share in his work.
Founder and Archbishop of Cuba
On July 16,
1849, he gathered a group of priests who shared his dream.
This is the beginning of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, today also known as Claretian Fathers and
Brothers. Days later, he received a new assignment: he was
named Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He was forced to leave
the newly founded community to respond to the call of God
in the New World. After two months of travel, he reached
the Island of Cuba and began his episcopal ministry by dedicating
it to Mary. He visited the church where the image of Our
Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba was venerated. Soon he
realized the urgent need for human and Christian formation,
specially among the poor. He called Antonia Paris to begin
there the religious community they had agreed to found back
in Spain. He was concerned for all aspects of human development
and applied his great creativity to improve the conditions
of the people under his pastoral care.
Among his great initiatives were: trade or vocational schools
for disadvantaged children and credit unions for the use
of the poor. He wrote books about rural spirituality and
agricultural methods, which he himself tested first. He
visited jails and hospitals, defended the oppressed and
denounced racism. The expected reaction came soon. He began
to experience persecution, and finally when preaching in
the city of Holguín, a man stabbed him on the cheek in an
attempt to kill him. For Claret this was a great cause of
joy. He writes in his Autobiography: "I can´t describe the
pleasure, delight, and joy I felt in my soul on realizing
that I had reached the long desired goal of shedding my
blood for the love of Jesus and Mary and of sealing the
truths of the gospel with the very blood of my veins." (Aut.
# 577). During his 6 years in Cuba he visited the extensive
Archdiocese three times...town by town. In the first years,
records show, he confirmed 100,000 people and performed
9,000 sacramental marriages.
Confessor to the Queen of Spain
Claret was called back to Spain in 1857 to serve as confessor
to the Queen of Spain, Isabella II. He had a natural dislike
for aristocratic life. He loved poverty and the simplest
lifestyle. He accepted in obedience, but requested to be
allowed to continue some missionary work. Whenever he had
to travel with the Queen, he used the opportunity to preach
in different towns throughout Spain.
In a time where the Queens and Kings chose the bishops
for vacant dioceses, Claret played an important role in
the selection of holy and dedicated bishops for Spain and
its colonies.
The eleven years he spent as confessor to the Queen of
Spain were particularly painful, because the enemies of
the Church directed toward him all kinds of slanders and
personal ridicule. In 1868 a new revolution dethroned the
Queen and sent her with her family into exile. Claret's
life was also in danger, so he accompanied her to France.
This gave him the opportunity to preach the Gospel in Paris.
He stayed with them for a while, then went to Rome where
he was received by Pope Pius IX in a private audience.
First Vatican Council
On December 8, 1869, seven hundred bishops from all over
the world gathered in Rome for the First Vatican Council.
Claret was one of the Council Fathers. His presence became
noticeable when the subject of papal infallibility was discussed,
which Claret defended vehemently. This teaching became a
dogma of faith for all Catholics at this Council. The Italian
revolution interrupted the process of the Council, which
is never concluded. Claret's health is deteriorated, so
he returned to France accompanied by the Superior General
of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, his congregation.
Last Days in Exile
In France, Claret joined his missionaries who are also
in exile. Soon he found out, that there was a warrant for
his arrest. He decided to go into hiding in a Cistercian
Monastery in the French southern town of Fontfroide. There
he died on October 24, 1870 at the age of 62. As his last
request, he dictated to his missionaries the words that
are to appear on his tombstone: "I have loved justice and
hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile." His remains are
venerated in Vic. Claret was beatified in 1934 and in 1950
canonized by Pope Pius XII.
