Redemptorists - Foundation and Development

Foundation and Development

Alphonsus was deeply moved by the plight of the poor living in Naples and the surrounding area and established his community with the aim of providing spiritual nourishment. Amongst his companions was Saint Gerard Majella. In 1748 Alphonsus petitioned the Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XIV, to allow him to establish a congregation to minister to the poor in the area around Naples, who were:

“… the most in need of spiritual help, as frequently they have no one to administer to them the Holy Sacrament or the Word of God; their plight is such that many, for lack of (apostolic) labourers, reach death's door without knowing anything at all of the necessary truths of the faith. This is because the number of priests…is few.” Benedict agreed and the congregation was formed in 1749.

Within ten years of the foundation, communities had been established at Nocera, Ciorani, Iliceto, and Caposele. However, due to politics, there was an initial difficulty with the houses in the Papal States being separated from those in the Kingdom of Naples, but this was overcome in 1793 and the Congregation soon opened houses in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy. The Congregation was soon to move beyond the borders of present day Italy. In 1785 two Austrians, Clemens Maria Hofbauer and Thaddeus Hübl joined the Redemptorists. After their final profession and ordination to the presbyterate, they received permission to establish a house in their homeland but, due to the resistance of the Austrian government, no foundation took place. Father Hofbauer went to work for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and was sent to Russia where he briefly ministered in Courland (now in Latvia). In 1786 he rejoined Father Hübl and went to Warsaw in Poland where the papal nuncio gave them responsibility for the parish of Saint Benno; their mission thrived until the community was expelled in 1808.

In 1793, Father Hofbauer turned his sights on establishing communities in Germanic lands. Soon houses were opened in the south at Jestetten, Triberg im Schwarzwald, and Babenhausen. In 1818, a house was established in Switzerland at the abandoned Carthusian monastery in La Valsainte.