Order of the Apostles of the Last Days
Encyclopedia
The Order of the Apostles of the Last Days is a Roman Catholic religious order proposed by the visionary Mélanie Calvat
claiming guidance from Our Lady of La Salette
at a private apparition on 19 September 1846 on the mountain of La Salette
in France
.
On the 19th of September 1846 Mélanie had a vision:
A first attempt was made by Blessed Giacomo Cusmano in Italy with the foundation of the congregation
s of the Missionary Servants of the Poor and of the Sister Servants of the Poor, its female equivalent. It was assisted by Mélanie herself and exists today.
A second attempt was made by Blessed Annibale Maria di Francia
R.C.J. in Italy also, with the foundation of the congregations of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus
and with its female counterpart the Daughters of Divine Zeal. This attempt was also assisted by Mélanie during her life, and exists today.
A further, continuous, attempt was made in the first half of the twentieth century in small ecclesiastical communities in Western Europe;
Recent attempts in the 1970s and 1980s were made in Mérida
, Mexico; and Canada, France and Haïti
by Father Gaston Hurtubise; and very recently the lay community of the Frères de Saint Jean in France.
Mélanie Calvat
Françoise Mélanie Calvat called Mathieu was a French Roman-catholic religious sister and Marian visionary. As a religious, she was called Sister Mary of the Cross....
claiming guidance from Our Lady of La Salette
Our Lady of La Salette
La Salette is a small mountaintop village near Grenoble, France. It is most noted for an apparition of the Virgin Mary that was reported in 1846 by two shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, followed by numerous accounts of miraculous healings....
at a private apparition on 19 September 1846 on the mountain of La Salette
La Salette
La Salette is a small mountaintop village near Grenoble, France. It is part of the commune of La Salette-Fallavaux, which is situated in the Isère-département in the Rhône-Alpes-region....
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...
.
Historical account
During a verbal examination on October 3, 1876 Mélanie answered Abbé F. Bliard thus about the mission she had received from heaven:- This order embraces: 1. priests who will be missionaries of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles of Latter Times; 2. religious of the holy order who are subordinate to the missionaries; 3. the worldly Faithful who wish to unite themselves to and be incorporated into this work.
- The goal of this religious order is to work for the sanctification of the clergy, the salvation of souls and to spread the Kingdom of God all over the world. The religious have the vocation like the missionaries to work with zeal for the salvation of souls through prayer and spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
- The spirit of the order is to be that of the spirit of the first apostles. The Blessed Virgin described this spirit to me sufficiently, whether it be in the rule which she gave me or in the appeal to the Apostles of Latter Times which finished off the secret. ...
- I call upon the Apostles of Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who have lead lives in contempt of the world and of themselves, in poverty and humility, in contempt and in silence, in prayer and mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering, this unknown to the world. The time has come for them to go out into the world in order to enlighten it. ...
On the 19th of September 1846 Mélanie had a vision:
- I saw the Apostles of Last Days in the habit of their order.” They are very similar to the habits of priests at that time. “On one end of the belt there were seen three letters in red: M.P.J. (Mourir Pour Jésus – to die for Jesus). On the other end of the belt there were three letters in blue: E.D.M. (Enfant de Marie – Mary’s child).”
Establishments
There have been a number of attempts over time to establish the religious orders Mélanie failed to establish herself.A first attempt was made by Blessed Giacomo Cusmano in Italy with the foundation of the congregation
Congregation (catholic)
The term "congregation" has three usages specific to the Roman Catholic Church. One concerns the Roman Curia, the other two concern religious institutes.- Roman Curia :...
s of the Missionary Servants of the Poor and of the Sister Servants of the Poor, its female equivalent. It was assisted by Mélanie herself and exists today.
A second attempt was made by Blessed Annibale Maria di Francia
Hannibal Mary Di Francia
Annibale Maria di Francia is a saint venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. His father Francis was a Knight of the Marquises of St. Catherine of Jonio, Papal Vice-Consul and Honorary Captain of the Navy. His mother, Anna Toscano, belonged to the noble family of the Marquises of Montanaro...
R.C.J. in Italy also, with the foundation of the congregations of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus
Rogationists
The Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus is a religious Congregation of priests and brothers founded by St. Hannibal Mary Di Francia...
and with its female counterpart the Daughters of Divine Zeal. This attempt was also assisted by Mélanie during her life, and exists today.
A further, continuous, attempt was made in the first half of the twentieth century in small ecclesiastical communities in Western Europe;
- in MaranvilleMaranvilleMaranville is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France....
and Renneport (Haute-MarneHaute-MarneHaute-Marne is a department in the northeast of France named after the Marne River.-History:Haute-Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
), France, around 1885 started by Germaine Blanchard; - in TournaiTournaiTournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
(diocese of Tournai), Belgium, around 1901 - in LeuvenLeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
(archdiocese of Malines-Brussels, Belgium, around 1919-1922 started by canon Armand Thiéry, Bertha Isabelle Carton de Wiart and Marie de Foy Colette with the support of Désiré Cardinal MercierDésiré-Joseph Mercier-Early life and ordination:Désiré Mercier was born at the château du Castegier in Braine-l'Alleud, as the fifth of the seven children of Paul-Léon Mercier and his wife Anne-Marie Barbe Croquet....
. - in Saint-Lambert-du-LattaySaint-Lambert-du-LattaySaint-Lambert-du-Lattay is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-Geography:The commune is traversed by the river Layon...
(Diocese of Angers), France, around 1929 started by the religious named Mother Saint-Jean and supported by father Paul Gouin; - in GemblouxGemblouxGembloux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur, on the axis Brussels-NamurOn 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants...
(Diocese of Namur), Belgium, around 1935 - in ParisParisParis 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...
(archdiocese of Paris), France, around 1941 - in GargenvilleGargenvilleGargenville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France....
(diocese of Versailles), France, around 1942 - in Bray-et-LûBray-et-LûBray-et-Lû is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* *...
(diocese of Versailles), France, around 1943 - in ... (diocese of Le Mans), France, around 194...
- in ParisParisParis 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...
(archdiocese of Paris), France, around 1947
Recent attempts in the 1970s and 1980s were made in Mérida
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about from the Gulf of Mexico coast...
, Mexico; and Canada, France and Haïti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
by Father Gaston Hurtubise; and very recently the lay community of the Frères de Saint Jean in France.