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Anthony Mary Claret, C.M.F. (Catalan: Antoni Maria ous schools. Three times he made a visitation of the en- Claret i Clarà; Spanish: Antonio María Claret y Clarà; tire diocese, giving local missions incessantly.[2] Among December 23, 1807 – October 24, 1870) was a Catalan his great initiatives were trade or vocational schools for Spanish Roman and missionary, and disadvantaged children and credit unions for the use of was of Isabella II of . He founded the poor. He wrote books about rural spirituality and the congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate agricultural methods, which he himself tested first. In Heart of Mary, commonly called the . August 25, 1855, he founded the Religious of Mary Im- maculate together with Venerable Mother Antonia Paris. The congregation was considered as the first women re- ligious institute in . He also visited jails and hospi- 1 Life tals, defended the oppressed and denounced racism. His work stirred up opposition and at Holguín his cheek was [3] Antony Maria Claret i Clarà was born in , in the stabbed by a would-be assassin. county of in the Province of , on Decem- In February 1857, Claret was recalled to Spain by Queen ber 23, 1807, the son of a woollen manufacturer. He re- Isabella II, who made him her confessor. He obtained ceived an elementary education in his native village, and permission to resign his Cuban see and was appointed to at the age of twelve became a weaver. Later he went to the titular see of Trajanopolis. His influence was now di- Barcelona to specialize in his trade, and remained there rected solely to help the poor and to propagate learning; until he was 20 years old. Meanwhile he devoted his spare he lived frugally and took up his residence in an Italian time to study and became proficient in , French and hospice. For nine years he was of the Escorial engraving.[1] monastic school, where he established a scientific labora- Recognizing a call to religious life, he left Barcelona. He tory, a museum of natural history, a library, college and wished to become a Carthusian but finally entered schools of music and languages. In 1868, a new revolu- the seminary at in 1829, and was ordained on June tion dethroned the queen and sent her with her family into 13, 1835, on the feast of St. , his name- exile. Claret’s life was also in danger, so he accompanied sake. He received a benefice in his native , where he her to . This gave him the opportunity to preach continued to study theology until 1839; but as missionary the in Paris. He stayed with them for a while, then [3] work strongly appealed to him, he proceeded to Rome. went to Rome where he was received by Pius IX. There he entered the Jesuit but had to leave due He continued his popular missions and distribution of to ill health. He then returned to Spain and exercised his books wherever he went in accompanying the Spanish pastoral ministry in and , attracting no- Court. When Isabella recognized the new, secular gov- tice by his efforts on behalf of the poor.[2] ernment of a united Italy, he left the Court and has- Recalled by his superiors to Vic, he was engaged in tened to take his place by the side of the pope. At the missionary work throughout . In 1848 he was latter’s command, however, he returned to with sent to the where he gave retreats for faculties for absolving the queen from the censures she [2] 15 months. On his return to Spain, he established the had incurred. Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the (The Claretians) on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (, 1849), and founded the great religious library at Barcelona which was called “Librería 2 Last years Religiosa” (now “Llibreria Claret”).[2] His labors bore fruit. Pope Pius IX, at the request of In 1869 he went to Rome to prepare for the First Vatican the Spanish crown (Queen-regnant Isabella II of Spain), Council. Owing to failing health he withdrew to Prada appointed him archbishop of Santiago, Cuba, in 1849. de Conflent in the French Pyrenees, where he was still He was consecrated at Vic in October 1850 and em- harassed by his Spanish enemies; shortly afterwards he barked at Barcelona on December 28. The Santiago retired to the Cistercian abbey at Fontfroide, Narbonne, seminary was reorganized, clerical discipline strength- southern France, where he died on October 24, 1870, ened, and over 9,000 marriages validated within the first aged 62. two years of his arrival. He erected a hospital and numer- His remains were buried in the Catalan city of Vic, in the

1 2 8 EXTERNAL LINKS

Country of . (Ziro,[14] Bangalore[15]).

3 Works 6 See also

• By his sermons and writings he contributed greatly to Claretians bring about the revival of the Catalan language, although • List of Catholic most of his works were published in Spanish, especially during his stay in Cuba and Madrid. His printed works number more than one hundred, in- 7 References cluding “La escala de Jacob”; “Máximas de moral la más pura”; “Avisos”; “Catecismo explicado con láminas”; “La [1] William James Callahan Church, politics, and society in llave de oro”; “Selectos panegíricos” (11 volumes); “Ser- Spain, 1750-1874 - Page 298 - 1984 “Antonio Claret mones de misión” (3 volumes); “Misión de la mujer”; (1807-1870), the son of a Catalan textile manufacturer, “Vida de Sta. Mónica”; “La Virgen del Pilar y los Franc- was ordained in 1835. After serving as a parish assistant, masones.” he began a successful career as a missionary in Catalonia during the 1840’s. His success as an evangelist ..” In addition to the Claretians, which in the early 21st cen- tury had over 450 houses and 3100 members, with mis- [2] MacErlean, Andrew. “Ven. Antonio María Claret y sions in five continents, Archbishop Claret founded or Clará.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 16 (Index). New drew up the rules of several communities of religious York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 31 Dec. 2012 sisters.[4] [3] “Biography of St. Anthony Mary Claret”, Claretian Mis- sionaries 4 Veneration [4] Pope Pius IX gave definitive approval to his congregation on February 11, 1870.

His zealous life and the wonders he wrought, both be- [5] Claretian order in Madrid website fore and after his death, testified to his sanctity. Informa- [6] Claretian order in Gran Canaria website tion was sought in 1887 and he was declared venerable by Pope Leo XIII in 1899. His relics were transferred to the [7] Claretian order in website mission house at Vic in 1897, at which time his heart was [8] Claretian order in , website found incorrupt. His grave is visited by many pilgrims. Anthony Mary Claret was beatified in Rome by Pope Pius [9] Claretian order in , website XI on February 24, 1934. He was canonized 16 years [10] Claretian order in Temuco website later by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950. Pope John XXIII included him in the in 1960, [11] Claretian order in Heredia website and fixed his feast on October 23, where it remained for [12] Claretian order in website nine years until the 1969 revision of the calendar moved it to the day of his death, October 24, which had been the [13] Claretian order in website feast of the Archangel since 1921. [14] Saint Claret College, Ziro Website

[15] St Claret College, Bangalore Website 5 Educational legacy

Many educational institutions ranging from kindergarten 8 External links to undergraduate school are named after Claret and run by the Claretians in Europe, South America, • Patron Saints Index and Asia. They are located in Catalonia (Barcelona, • Valls and ), rest of Spain (Madrid,[5] Gran Instituto Claret San Blas 1640, Villa General Mitre, Canaria,[6] Sevilla,[7] and ), (), Capital Federal, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, A-0380 (), (Trujillo, (Spanish) , and ), Argentina (Buenos • Catholic Encyclopedia: Congregations of the Heart [8] [9] Aires and Bahía Blanca), Venezuela (Caracas, of Mary and Mérida), (), (Temuco[10]), (Heredia[11]), the Philip- • “A Very Special Patron: Saint Anthony Mary pines (Zamboanga City,[12] Quezon City[13]), and Claret” article Catholicism.org 3

9 Sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 4 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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