To bring the good news to the poor and the most abandoned

Our Congregation’s primary purpose is TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS to “those people whose condition cries out for salvation” (Constitution no. 5). While we recognize certain ministries as central to our tradition, there are no ministries foreign to us, as long as they help us proclaim the Gospel TO THE POOR AND THE MOST ABANDONED and fulfil their “need for salvation” (Constitution no. 1).

In accomplishing this mandate, we form apostolic communities, cross borders to be in FOREIGN MISSIONS, seek to break down barriers, choosing CLOSENESS TO PEOPLE and INTERCULTURALITY “as a way of being in mission” (Acts of the 36th General Chapter, no. 62). In pioneering circumstances, we are called to establish the Church in its most basic structures or strengthen them in situations where the Church has been firmly set up.

PREACHING MISSIONS has been part of our ministry since the time of our foundation. “We preach the Gospel among those who have not received it and help them see their own values in its light” (Constitution no. 5). Through retreats and various means of spiritual accompaniment, “[we] will spare no effort to awaken or reawaken the faith in the people to whom we are sent, and we will help them discover ‘who Christ is’ “ (Constitution no. 7).

Seeking to be instruments of God’s mercy and compassion, we minister as CHAPLAINS in hospitals, in homes for the sick and elderly, in prisons, in pilgrimage sites, in schools, and in religious and lay communities. “Our mission puts us on constant call to respond to the most urgent needs of the Church through various forms of witness and ministry, but especially through proclaiming the Word of God which finds its fulfillment in the celebration of the sacraments and in service to others” (Constitution no. 7).

Recognizing that among today’s YOUTH we see one face of poverty, we feel called by the Spirit to accompany them in their journey to maturity in life and in faith, and with them, to minister to other young people towards becoming the saints that we all have been called to be.

We recognize the role that a good EDUCATION plays in the lives of people. Through our schools, we form the minds and hearts of our students, even as we strive also to contribute to the development of ideas, of communities, and of spirituality.

“While recognizing our own need for conversion, we bear witness to God’s holiness and justice” (Constitution no. 9). Our ministry in this area of JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION takes various forms of being in solidarity with the poor and in harmony with the creation. We seek efforts to champion their rights in places where decisions affecting them are made, endeavors to promote harmony in the midst of diversity, and initiatives to build and promote peace.

We recognize a call to be present in the SOCIAL MEDIA in order to use it as a tool for evangelization” (Acts of the 36th General Chapter, no. 81), “to make the Gospel values present and powerful in society” (Rule no. 66c). Through the use of various media, we aim to propagate the values of the reign of God, and to bridge distances and cross borders that divide people.

The increasingly challenging context in which the Gospel needs to be proclaimed in this day and age calls for a process of life-long FORMATION OF OBLATE MISSIONARIES—priests and brothers—who are first and foremost disciples of Jesus Christ their Master. In our houses of formation, we lead young men to become fully human, committed Christians, and finally to become saints according to the heart of Jesus.

Likewise, we work for the growth of LAY SPIRITUALITY. We “support lay people in the discernment and development of their own talents and charisms, encouraging them to undertake ministries and apostolic commitments…which are properly theirs in the Christian community” (Rule no. 7f). This we do through our lay associations and various programs for the spiritual growth of laity.

Finally, THE ELDERLY AND SICK AMONG US remain missionaries to the end, by their very presence and witness in community, and by their prayers to God, whom they sought to serve in the poor and most abandoned.