Letter from the Superior General on the occasion of the feast of St. Clement Hofbauer and the inauguration of the Year dedicated to the Mission

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“The Lord who sends us as missionaries and pilgrims of hope in a wounded world”

We celebrate the feast of St. Clement Maria Hofbauer (1751-1820), a great and zealous missionary of our Congregation, writes Fr. Rogério Gomes CSsR in his letter to the Confreres, Formandi and Lay Associates in the mission of the Redemptorist Congregation.

Father General, reflecting on the legacy of St. Clement, outlines the present circumstances and obstacles facing the Redemptorist mission, emphasizing the need for readiness and apostolic enthusiasm from the confreres and everyone who embraces the charism of the Congregation. On the other hand, he recalls the Redemptorist missionaries who dedicate their lives to the cause of plentiful redemption, actively engaged in a various works within the congregation.

This letter also marks the beginning of the year dedicated to mission. Father Rogério writes: As each year, on the 15th March, with this letter we open the Year dedicated to Mission to deepen various aspects of our Redemptorist mission.

Do read below the complete Letter of the Superior General

Prot.: 0000   050/2025
Rome, 15th March 2025

Feast of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer
Missionaries of Hope in the Footsteps of the Redeemer
A YEAR DEDICATED TO MISSION
The Lord who sends us as Missionaries and Pilgrims of Hope in a Wounded World
Lk 4:16-19; Mk 6:7-12; Lk 9:2-6; Ps 130:7; Const. 1-20, St. 01-020

DEAR CONFRERES, FORMANDI AND LAY PARTNERS IN OUR MISSION,

  1. We celebrate the feast of St. Clement Maria Hofbauer (1751-1820), a great and zealous missionary of our Congregation. He was a practical man, with a realistic view of things, committed to the life of the people and inserted in history, with a great ability to adapt to circumstances of the time and place. He sought the means to improve people’s lives and to guide them along a meaningful path as well as fidelity to God. He devoted himself to preaching, hearing confessions, spiritual direction, charitable service, and the expansion of the Congregation. An ordinary saint in the Redemptorist way, with his feet on the ground and his heart always in God, focussed on the needs of the poor, of the simplest and most abandoned. It was not easy for him to carry out his mission, but he persevered to the end. His perseverance teaches us a lot when we think that our mission is a failure or that it is going to fail. Our mission is not easy, because we embrace the mission of the Redeemer, who has called us to be with him. Our Saints, and Martyrs understood this very well and persevered to the end, even in situations that many considered failures.
  2. All the missionary realities of the Congregation have their challenges, but I would like to mention a few, such as Agadez, Albania, China, Cuba, Iraq, Kaduna, Kantchari, Kazakhstan, Kemerovo, Lebanon, Miyamba, Suriname, Tchirozerine, Haiti, Uruguay, Vondrozo and other border realities which, for the sake of prudence, I will not mention but which are in our hearts and in our prayers. Perhaps many may ask themselves: why are we there if there are not a large number of people in the churches, there is a profound religious indifference, lack of freedom, risk to the lives of the confreres, etc. This presence, sometimes silent, is the sign of the hope of God who becomes flesh in difficult contexts and nourishes the faith of the little flock that is tired and dejected. These realities call every professed confrere to missionary availability. As a Congregation, we should always remember in our prayers the confreres who are there, so that they feel accompanied in this important work for the People of God.
  3. Our mission is kenosis and Incarnation. Christ the Redeemer, the hope of the Father, emptied Himself of everything, became aware of his remoteness and became incarnate in our midst to reveal the face of the Father to the poorest and most abandoned, to the little ones of the Kingdom. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the little ones” (Mt 11:25; Phil 2:7-9; Jn 1:1-14). If mission is kenosis and Incarnation, it demands from us, missionaries, a deep intimacy with God and an ardent commitment to the People of God. If this is so, before proclaiming to others, the mission is born of prayer and contemplation of the mission of the Father and of the Spirit who reveal themselves in Jesus and then touch the hearts of our interlocutors and the basis of all reality. In this sense, mission for us, Redemptorist missionaries, does not consist in doing things, but in a way of being that flows from the being of the Redeemer, who always acted in the name of the Father and the Spirit. “I am a mission on this earth, and that is why I am in this world.” (EG, 273).
  4. In referring to the missionary activity of the Congregation, our Constitutions and Statutes propose three important elements: Missionary dynamism, Co-operation with the Church, and Dialogue with the world (cf. Const. 13-19). Missionary dynamism connects us to the action of Christ and to the way in which he took up the mission of the Father. Co-operation with the Church makes us belong to that missionary body of Jesus Christ the Redeemer to continue his mission on earth in favour of the poorest and most abandoned. And, Dialogue with the world reminds us that we evangelise concrete people, situated in time and history, and that the world should not be seen as something negative. Our mission takes place in the world. It is based on the mission of the Redeemer and is open to reading the signs of the times. What is our missionary dynamism like? In our dialogue with the world, do we use methods that no longer respond to reality, or do we seek new ones to respond better to our charism today, cooperating with the world?

I want to remember with affection and admiration the Redemptorist missionary confreres who continue to spend their lives in favour of abundant redemption, present at the most diverse and intimidating fronts of the work of the Congregation, each one with his own challenges. Know that your dedication is valuable and bears much fruit, even when difficulties seem to darken the way. Take heart! In times of the dark nights and troubled waters, when all seems uncertain and the Lord seems asleep in the boat, remember: He never abandons us. His silent presence is strength and support; he guides us with love and faithfulness (cf. Lk 8:22-25). Go forward with joy, with faith, because we are working in the harvest of the Redeemer who has called each one of us and continues to walk beside us. May hope never be extinguished and may faith always propel us forward. Courage, because the light of the Redeemer shines even in storms. He is with us today and always so that we may be the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:14). The mission may not bear the momentary fruit we hope for, but as St Paul reminds us in 1 Cor 3:6-9: “I planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God who makes it grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together; each will receive his wages according to his work. We are God’s co-workers, and you are God’s field, God’s building.” We are Sowers of the seeds of the Kingdom, of the abundant redemption in this world (cf. Lk 4:16-18; Mt 13:1-8).

5. As each year, on the 15th March, with this letter we open the Year dedicated to Mission to deepen various aspects of our Redemptorist mission. During this year, the Secretariat for Evangelisation will send to the Congregation some materials for reflection in preparation for Communicanda 2:

  • 25th March: Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord: ‘A Charism in History’.
  • 30th June: Memorial of Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli: ‘Re-imagining Change in a Changing world’.
  • 1st October: Memorial of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Patron Saint of the Missions: Communicanda 2, ‘Let us go over to the other shore’ (Mk 4,35-41), published by the General Government.
  • 9th November: Aids for reflection and community prayer for the time of Advent.

6. It is important to remember that mission is linked to community life and to initial and ongoing formation, themes that have been reflected upon in previous years and that can be taken up again from the perspective of mission. Let us use this theme to promote issues related to our mission in the (Vice) Provinces, Regions and Communities, involving the Redemptorist Family and other Missionary Congregations. These are opportunities to learn together and to remain faithful to the charism, in tune with the present times, with its joys and hopes, sorrows and anxieties (cf. GS, 1).

7. Dear brothers and sisters, formandi and lay associates in our mission: we are Missionaries and Pilgrims of Hope in a wounded world. In this year in which we celebrate the great Jubilee of Hope, we must take advantage of this kairos to rekindle in ourselves this virtue that is so important in a world that seems to lack hope every day. We are disciples of the Redeemer, Hope par excellence, who became incarnate in this world and in our hearts. Together with our Mother of Perpetual Help, the Mother of Hope, and our Saints, Martyrs and Blesseds, particularly the fearless Missionary, St. Clement, let us continue this work of the Spirit with great apostolic zeal, missionary ardour, missionary availability and creative fidelity!

Fraternally,

Fr. Rogério Gomes, C.Ss.R
Superior General

Original: Spanish

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