Lest we forget… the present becomes the future
Seventy-two years ago, on February 2, 1953, the then Superior General of the Congregation, Fr. Leonardo Buys, listening to the cry of the faithful already expressed in various General Chapters, sanctioned the birth of the magazine Spicilegium Historicum CSSR and the publication Bibliotheca Historica CSSR. The objective of the two publications was to provide local specialists with an adequate vision of the historical sources of the Redemptorist Congregation and the studies that illustrated them, in order to make the knowledge and deepening of their history accessible to the confreres.
Since the beginning of its publications, Spicilegium has initiated a process of exchange with universities, historical institutes, and other organizations. Today, Spicilegium Historicum is distributed to about 120 cultural institutions in Europe and other continents.
The work of the experts
Five years before the birth of the magazine, on December 11, 1948, Fr. Leonardo Buys himself had taken a first step in this direction, with the creation of the CSSR Historical Institute. These two decisions responded to the wishes expressed in the XIV General Chapter of the Congregation, held in 1947, and in the Congress of Redemptorist Historians of 1948.
The editorial team of Spicilegium Historicum – initially composed of Fathers Josef Löw (president), Oreste Gregorio and Andréas Sampers – could count on the collaboration of a select group of historians who reflected the international character of the Congregation. Almost all historians have worked on the journal and the institute throughout their lives and today their names are written in the sky.
The present that becomes the future
During this long period, the magazine has tried to carry out its initial program, reporting on its pages the history of the Congregation in its fundamental aspects, illustrated with professionalism and scientific character. The objectives initially proposed have been achieved, especially with regard to the history of the beginnings of the Congregation (foundation and consolidation in Italy in the 18th century) and its expansion beyond the Alps (in Europe and the American continent in the 19th century), and then arriving on the other continents.
The magazine also shows the changes in the Church and the Congregation present in the world that is going through an accelerated process of internationalization and secularization. If in the early days the publications and articles were written in Latin languages, with an emphasis on the writers of the Units of Europe and North America, today on its pages appears the reality of the Units and the Congregation in the peripheral continents of the world, thus showing the vitality of the Congregation in these continents and its decline in Europe.
The current management of the institute and the magazine is starting to plan the dissemination of its contents on other platforms, such as social media, so that it can reach generations less accustomed to reading. Spicilegium Historicum, a magazine to tell the story of the Congregation and not forget that in the present of our lives we are all builders of history, and, in this way, we collaborate in building the future!
The invitation to collaboration
Dear Confreres, if you have a scientific article on the history of our Congregation or your province, we invite you to send it to us. We will publish it with pleasure.
Fr. José Inácio de Medeiros, CSsR
Redemptorist Historical Institute
E-mail: storia.gen@cssr.com
