Little Brothers of Jesus
Encyclopedia
The Little Brothers of Jesus is a religious congregation of brothers within the Catholic Church; it is inspired by the life and writings of Blessed Charles de Foucauld
. Founded in 1933 in France
by five seminarians with the assistance of Louis Massignon
, a scholar of Islam
and contemporary of Foucauld, the congregation took root in El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh District
in the North Africa
n colony of French Algeria
.
, Paris
, in September 1933 by five seminarians from Issy-les-Moulineaux
, they first took the name of Little Brothers of Solitude. From Paris, with the assistance of Louis Massignon and Louis Gardet
, and with a temporary superior named René Voillaume, they left to found their first 'fraternity' in El Abiadh Sidi Cheikh in southern Oran at the edge of the Saharan Desert
. There they took on their present name the Little Brothers of Jesus and the religious habit
of grey embroidered with the 'Jesus Caritas' symbol of a heart with an outcropped cross
and modified nomad
ic garb. Drawn by the desert experience of monastic austerity and the Islamic culture of the sub-Sahara, the first years were marked by tracing the intuitions of Foucauld, settling and adapting his original 'Directory' or Rules, and establishing novitiate
s for the first generation of a fledgling religious congregation.
, the members decided to move toward a greater witness outside of Algeria into the post-war world. By modifying their original monastic idea to fit new circumstances while retaining a contemplative approach to life and prayer they split into small fraternities based on the simple rule of adoration of the Eucharist
and prayer in their dwellings; this was to be coupled with a life of ordinary manual labour
, friendship, and solidarity with those amongst whom they lived and worked. Their traditional habit was replaced with the appropriate plain clothes to help assimilate into their work and neighborhood roles. This revised congregation became somewhat linked to the Worker Priest movement in France at that time for the non-traditional setting of religious life apart from overt mission, religious education
, pastoral service, or direct evangelization before the Second Vatican Council
(1962-1965). The Catholic Worker Movement
in North America, though from a different perspective, also shared similar expressions of alternative approaches to consecrated lifestyles of work and prayer among those outside the immediate embrace of church and society. The three separate movements, one priestly, one lay and one a religious order represented concurrent examples of early twentieth century expressions of modernity in a Catholic setting.
The congregation has since grown to number some 250 brothers, including ordained priests, with members living in small communities of two, three or four in some 40 different countries. They are one of a family of Jesus' at Nazareth communities, lay and religious, which build on the original inspiration of Brother Charles of the Desert; these include the Little Sisters of Jesus
, Jesus Caritas, and the Little Brothers of the Gospel
. They were officially recognized by the authorities of Catholic Church as a congregation ‘of pontifical right’ (approved by ‘Rome’) in 1968; this was confirmed in 1987 after a revision of the community's constitutions. The three traditional monastic rules of poverty, chastity
and obedience are accepted by each brother who undergoes and a period of formation lasting several years including a postulancy which is followed by a novitiate
. Afterwards, there are some years of formal study which include Christology
, Sacred Scripture, Theology
, Philosophy
, Christian
Spirituality
amongst other subjects - all ongoing within a fraternal setting of daily work.
Though originally consisting of mostly French speaking members, today the 'Fraternity' as it is commonly known, is inclusive of many different languages and cultural viewpoints in its contemporary settings.
A brief description of their charism or "mission" has been found on their web page:
Charles de Foucauld
Charles Eugène de Foucauld was a French Catholic religious and priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for protection of the Tuareg and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr...
. Founded in 1933 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by five seminarians with the assistance of Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon was a French scholar of Islam and its history. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards...
, a scholar of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and contemporary of Foucauld, the congregation took root in El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh District
El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh District
El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh is a district in El Bayadh Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh, where most of the population lives. This district has one of the longest placenames in the country.-Municipalities:...
in the North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n colony of French Algeria
French rule in Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
.
Foundation
Founded at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur in MontmartreMontmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in September 1933 by five seminarians from Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. On 1 January 2003, Issy-les-Moulineaux became part of the Communauté d'agglomération Arc de Seine along with the other communes of Chaville, Meudon, Vanves and Ville-d'Avray...
, they first took the name of Little Brothers of Solitude. From Paris, with the assistance of Louis Massignon and Louis Gardet
Louis Gardet
Louis Gardet was a French Roman Catholic priest and historian. As an author he was an expert in Islamic culture and sociology who caught a sympathetic view on Islam as a religion. He considered himself "a Christian philosopher of cultures"...
, and with a temporary superior named René Voillaume, they left to found their first 'fraternity' in El Abiadh Sidi Cheikh in southern Oran at the edge of the Saharan Desert
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. There they took on their present name the Little Brothers of Jesus and the religious habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
of grey embroidered with the 'Jesus Caritas' symbol of a heart with an outcropped cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
and modified nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic garb. Drawn by the desert experience of monastic austerity and the Islamic culture of the sub-Sahara, the first years were marked by tracing the intuitions of Foucauld, settling and adapting his original 'Directory' or Rules, and establishing novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
s for the first generation of a fledgling religious congregation.
Present
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the members decided to move toward a greater witness outside of Algeria into the post-war world. By modifying their original monastic idea to fit new circumstances while retaining a contemplative approach to life and prayer they split into small fraternities based on the simple rule of adoration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
and prayer in their dwellings; this was to be coupled with a life of ordinary manual labour
Manual labour
Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...
, friendship, and solidarity with those amongst whom they lived and worked. Their traditional habit was replaced with the appropriate plain clothes to help assimilate into their work and neighborhood roles. This revised congregation became somewhat linked to the Worker Priest movement in France at that time for the non-traditional setting of religious life apart from overt mission, religious education
Religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion and its varied aspects —its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles...
, pastoral service, or direct evangelization before the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962-1965). The Catholic Worker Movement
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ." One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on...
in North America, though from a different perspective, also shared similar expressions of alternative approaches to consecrated lifestyles of work and prayer among those outside the immediate embrace of church and society. The three separate movements, one priestly, one lay and one a religious order represented concurrent examples of early twentieth century expressions of modernity in a Catholic setting.
The congregation has since grown to number some 250 brothers, including ordained priests, with members living in small communities of two, three or four in some 40 different countries. They are one of a family of Jesus' at Nazareth communities, lay and religious, which build on the original inspiration of Brother Charles of the Desert; these include the Little Sisters of Jesus
Little Sisters of Jesus
The Little Sisters of Jesus are a Roman Catholic community of religious sisters inspired by the life and writings of Charles de Foucauld, founded by Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus .-Little Sister Magdeleine of Jesus 1898 - 1989:...
, Jesus Caritas, and the Little Brothers of the Gospel
Little Brothers of the Gospel
Little Brothers of the Gospel - a Roman Catholic congregation of religious brothers inspired by the life and writings of Charles de Foucauld.It is one of a family of Jesus' at Nazareth communities, build on the original inspiration of Brother Charles of the Desert, which includes the Little Sisters...
. They were officially recognized by the authorities of Catholic Church as a congregation ‘of pontifical right’ (approved by ‘Rome’) in 1968; this was confirmed in 1987 after a revision of the community's constitutions. The three traditional monastic rules of poverty, chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
and obedience are accepted by each brother who undergoes and a period of formation lasting several years including a postulancy which is followed by a novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
. Afterwards, there are some years of formal study which include Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
, Sacred Scripture, Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
amongst other subjects - all ongoing within a fraternal setting of daily work.
Though originally consisting of mostly French speaking members, today the 'Fraternity' as it is commonly known, is inclusive of many different languages and cultural viewpoints in its contemporary settings.
A brief description of their charism or "mission" has been found on their web page:
Born in the vast Saharan desert, the brothers retain a sense of the value of living with a minimum of human supports in the simple presence of the living God. Their mission is to be “among people” (in the ‘heart of the masses’), but like Jesus they retire periodically to the ‘desert’, to be more free to seek God, and to learn dependence on God alone. The desert is a place where one is ‘stripped down’ to basic essentials, a key experience on the road to contemplation.