The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, Filii Sanctissimi Redemptoris; FSSR), commonly known as the Transalpine Redemptorists or The Sons, are a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrat ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

canonically erected in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen The Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen ( la, Dioecesis Aberdonensis) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Foundation The see is the successor of that founded in 1012 at Mortlach by Beyn, which was moved t ...

and based on

Papa Stronsay Papa Stronsay ( sco, Papa Stronsee; non, Papey Minni) is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Stronsay. It is in size, and above sea level at its highest point. After being largely abandoned, the island was bought at the en ...

in the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) no ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, as well as in the city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. They were formed in 1988 as a traditionalist offshoot of the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

, following a

monastic rule A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practic ...

based on that of

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philoso ...

, and was later formally erected as a religious institute in 2012.

History

The congregation was founded as the Transalpine Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (CSSR) on 2 August 1988 by the Redemptorist priest Michael Mary Sim as a traditionalist Redemptorist religious community affiliated with the

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the S ...

, and were called the Transalpine Redemptorists. Originally based at the Monastery of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, they moved to the Mother of Perpetual Succour Monastery in

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina, in the Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Joinville is also a ...

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. In June 2008, the community petitioned the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

for reconciliation and this was accepted by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

who declared them to be in "canonical good standing" within the

. The ''motu proprio'' ''

Summorum Pontificum ''Summorum Pontificum'' (English: "Of the Supreme Pontiffs") is an apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued in July 2007. This letter specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church could celebrate mass according to what Be ...

'' was the main incentive which caused the community to reconsider their position. Most of the members accepted the move, while a remnant continue to be affiliated with the SSPX. They changed their official name to The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (FSSR), and made alterations to their

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

in order to more clearly differentiate themselves from that of the Redemptorists. However, they were not canonically established as a religious institute and thus their faculties for celebrating

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

were for some years restricted to the islands of

and Stronsay. On 15 August 2012, the community of fifteen was granted canonical recognition as a clerical institute of diocesan right by

Hugh Gilbert Hugh Gilbert OSB (born 15 March 1952) is an English Catholic Benedictine monk who currently serves as the Bishop of Aberdeen. He previously served as the Abbot of Pluscarden Abbey, of which he is a member, also in Scotland. Life Early life On ...

, Bishop of Aberdeen. In June 2013, the congregation celebrated the ordination in Rome of two of its members. During 2017 another small community was established at

Kakahu Kakahu is a locality in the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located about 22 kilometers (13.6 mi) west of Geraldine. It is well known for its rich historical and geological history. History Kakahu Station run wa ...

by the Christchurch monastery. On 7 October 2020, the community was invited to establish a monastery in the Diocese of Great Falls–Billings,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, US.

References

External links

Golgotha Monastery, Papa Stronsay, Orkney Scotland
(official website)
Transalpine Redemptorists at home
(official blog)
Friends of Papa Stronsay
{{Coord, 59, 9, 6.12, N, 2, 35, 12.2, W, display=title Traditionalist Catholicism Christian religious orders established in the 20th century Communities using the Tridentine Mass Ecclesia Dei Organisations based in Orkney Orkney Religion in Orkney Catholic Church in Scotland Catholic orders and societies Society of Saint Pius X

History

See also

References

External links