identity-doc-m-harris1


identity-doc-m-harris1

1 Page 1

▲back to top
A brief history of laymen in religious life.
There have been many forms of lay-religious over the centuries.
In the earliest times most monks were laymen with a few priests.
The early monasteries were mainly filled with laymen.
But as time passed the older orders became more clerical, more
members were ordained priests, and the laymen were given to the
material care of the monastery. Gradually they became like
servants.
At the Council of Trent in the 16thc, with this increase in the numbers
of priests in monasteries, the office of superior was eventually
reserved specifically to priests. During this time the new orders were
mainly priests but included some lay members. The lay members
worked alongside the priests but with different tasks to perform.
This continued into the 19th century.
So there was a gradual progression over the centuries from being
mainly lay religious to being mainly priest religious.
19th century:
In some parts of the world, the mid 19thc was a time of suppression
against the older religious Orders and Congregations because they
had accumulated too much power and influence over the civil affairs
of society.
The Church was being persecuted and was facing a crisis. At this
time the Church was in search of a new identity.
Some new congregations were formed. Some were trying to
re-create the traditional style of monastic life. Others were
attempting to begin a completely new type of religious life more in
touch with the period of history.
Well perhaps that is happening now! Again the Church is facing a
crisis and looking for a new identity!
Around this time there was a new understanding of the role of the
laity in the Church. Holiness was everybody’s call, regardless of any
clerical or lay status.
Holiness or “Devotion” was for St Francis de Sales everyone’s
vocation. Holiness can be gained in every occupation. He gave
examples of holy people in their everyday life. One of these is St
Joseph. He attained holiness doing his everyday job in the
carpenters’ workshop.
Don Bosco chose St Joseph as one of the first patrons of the Salesian
Society.

2 Page 2

▲back to top
Joseph was a simple layman who was Jesus’ teacher!
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) wrote and worked on the idea of the
call to holiness of everyone without exception.
The Salesian Society:
This was the environment in which Don Bosco began forming his
ideas of a new Society. He wanted to have both priests and lay
people striving towards holiness by working as equal partners for
the salvation of the young.
But his idea of the Salesian Brother formed gradually, and is still
evolving today.
The aim of the congregation is to unite its members, priests, clerical
students and laymen, for the purpose of perfecting themselves by
imitating our divine Saviour, especially in charity toward the young:
Don Bosco, 1858 draft of Constitutions.
In the years 1858 to 1862 Don Bosco was working on his draft of the
Salesian Constitutions and he speaks of lay people, not of coadjutor
brothers.
Society of St F d Sales
The Congregation was founded on 9 Dec 1859 with 19 members. All
were clerics. There were laymen working with Don Bosco all this
time.
By 2 Feb 1860, only two months later, the first layman took vows as
a Salesian.
His name was Joseph Rossi.
Two years after this, on 14 May 1862 twenty-two members were
admitted into the Society two of whom were laymen
In 1867 Don Bosco used the term coadjutor meaning lay helpers or
domestics, not religious.
Constitutions…
In forming his Constitutions, Don Bosco was influenced in part by
the Congregation of the schools of Charity and the Vincentians who
had lay members, but they had a subservient role. Don Bosco
wanted his laymen and priests to share the same consecration and
apostolate. Don Bosco was thinking of one Salesian religious
vocation that would be open to members who might opt either for
the priesthood or for the lay state. This is the originality of which Fr
Caviglia speaks.

3 Page 3

▲back to top
The Salesian Brother, without any outward sign lives by the
evangelical counsels, exemplifies in his life the pattern of the
Christian person according to the example of Jesus. (Paraphrasing Fr
Cavaglia)
However clear Don Bosco’s idea was, it still took many years to
conceptualize and express in practice the nature and apostolic task
of the lay Salesian. (A. Lenti)
Problems already!
Even at this early stage in the history of the Society, there was a
tendency for some to regard the Brothers as lower class!
On the 31 March 1876 in his Good Night Don Bosco said:
“There is no distinction between members of the Congregation.
Everyone is treated the same, artisans, young clerics and priests.
We consider ourselves brothers”
In 1877, in a new hand written edition of the regulations for the
House and the Oratory, Don Bosco used the term “coadjutor” for the
first time to describe both the domestic helpers and lay-religious
members of the Salesian Congregation.
The coadjutors who belong to the congregation must keep the
practices of piety listed in their rule. So there is now a clear
distinction between the domestic helpers and lay Salesians. But the
term coadjutor was still used for both.
Again!
In 1883 only seven years after the above statement of Don Bosco,
somebody said at the third General Chapter held at Valdocco,
“Coadjutors must be kept low…” !
Don Bosco reacted sharply,
“Not at all. Our Brother Coadjutors are like everyone else.”
At the same Chapter of 1883 Don Bosco wanted the lay members to
continue to be called coadjutors as well as the lay helpers. However
the idea of calling the coadjutors “Brother” was discussed for the
first time.

4 Page 4

▲back to top
Soon after this Chapter the term “coadjutor” was used only for the
lay religious members of the Society.
The role of the Brother:
Don Bosco had to clarify his ideas further.
He said to the Brothers in a conference sometime later after
mentioning many fields of work from workshops to classrooms to
financial management and others:
“You are not the ones to take the manual chores directly. Your task is
to direct. You ought to act as the master supervising the workers,
not as a servant…
You ought not to be servants but masters; not subjects but
superiors.”
Now I shall tell you my second point. Since you are helping in such
important work, you must be men of great virtue…
For Don Bosco his idea of the Brother evolved gradually, but he
always spoke of
unity and equality, where all are bound by the common life,
common charity and the simple vows.
From “Don Bosco: History and Spirit” by Arthur Lenti:
An early daft of the Constitutions by Don Bosco:
“All the gathered members lead the common life, bound together
only by fraternal charity and by the simple vows, which bind them to
form one heart and one soul in order to love and serve God.”
In forming his Constitutions, Don Bosco was influenced in part by
the Congregation of the schools of Charity and the Vincentians who
had lay members, but the had a subservient role.
Don Bosco wanted his laymen and priests to share the same
consecration and apostolate.
Don Bosco was thinking of one Salesian religious vocation that
would be open to members who might opt for the priesthood or for
the lay state.
This is the originality of Don Bosco of which Fr Caviglia speaks.
However clear Don Bosco’s idea was, it still took many years to
conceptualize and express in practice the nature and apostolic task
of the lay Salesian. (A. Lenti)
What is the essence of Don Bosco’s idea which we must not lose?

5 Page 5

▲back to top
For Don Bosco his lay Salesians were to work in the workshops and
trade schools, in the office and in the city, in the classrooms, on the
building site and the farm, and on the missions, in fact in all areas
where work was to be found.
The Salesian Brother could fill any area of work.
But he must be properly trained. Both professionally and
spiritually.
The only place the Brother could not go was that reserved
specifically for the Priest by his ordination.
Michael Rua 1888 – 1910;
“Our Society is so constituted that it offers abundant possibilities
for apostolic ministry not only to its priestly members, but also to its
dear Salesian Brothers… the forming of personnel is vital to the
work of our Society… many have high school diplomas, college
degrees and teaching credentials… ”
Paul Albera 1911 – 1921:
“In the older religious orders lay-brothers form a kind of second
order… Don Bosco did away with such dualism. All Salesians share
the same rights and privileges … they are fully Salesian religious,
with the same Salesian vocation, and the same apostolate as the
priests, except for that which pertains to the ordained ministry.
He was a Salesian presence representing Don Bosco where clerics
were not able to go due to the anti-clerical atmosphere of the time.
What about now? Is there an anti-clerical feeling now? Where do we
fit in today?
I think even in the Church today there is a new realization of the
clericalism within the Church and the harm it has done.
Clericalism puts the Church hierarchy in a position of power over the
laity, which can be abused.
Clothing:
From the very beginning Don Bosco wanted the Brothers to dress
neatly as laymen.
Curiously in some provinces in the past and even today, there has
been a tendency for the Brothers to dress almost as clerics wearing
black and white and sometimes even a clerical collar! I have heard
of Brothers dressed in albs and cassocks!
But Don Bosco wanted us to be religious in shirtsleeves.

6 Page 6

▲back to top
So what is happening? Is there still confusion about who the Brother
is?
Didn’t Don Bosco make it clear?
It is not about what we wear or what we are called. Who we are and
our Faith in Jesus Christ is all that matters.
Who we are is not what we wear or what we are called or what
badge or medal we wear. We are not our trousers or our shirt!
The Salesian Brother is a man of Faith in Jesus Christ. He is a
Salesian of Don Bosco.
We give witness to Jesus through the example of our life. We give
witness to the existence of God through our relationships with
everyone we meet.
We lead the young and the old to Faith by the example of our life of
Faith.
The Salesian Brother today:
However!
The Salesian Brother is a consecrated layman striving for holiness
by the practice of the simple vows. This brings the responsibilities
and discipline of the religious life. Faithfulness to our call is the
greatest witness we can give to the world.
We are men walking in the footsteps of Don Bosco dedicated to the
salvation of souls, especially the young and those most in need,
especially through education. We are called to work in whatever
field is required for the work of the Congregation.
The Salesian Brother is a prophet speaking the truth with his life and
being a sign of contradiction in the world. We challenge the
consumerist and materialist societies in which we live.
The Salesian Brother is ready to be a visible witness to the existence
of God by his life.
The fruits of his labours will be seen in the lives of those he has
educated. He sows the seed and someone else reaps the harvest.
Crisis:
In Australia, due to the abuse crisis around the world, religious are
experiencing a decline in status. No longer are we automatically
held in high esteem. We must earn peoples’ trust and esteem.

7 Page 7

▲back to top
Some of our confreres are afraid to say they work at “Salesian
College”.
All religious are facing a hostile world today. Perhaps this is similar
to Don Bosco’s time.
Visible, Credible and Fruitful:
We are called as Salesians to be a sign of the reality of God for the
young.
Our witness:
The questions young people often ask show me that my life makes
them think.
They see what I represent and are confronted by it e.g. A boy states
that he knows why I do what I do. I ask him to explain. He answers
that I do what I do because I believe in God. He came to this belief
only by seeing me around the school. Perhaps he will come to Faith
through my example. I hope so.
Why did you become a Brother? They often ask.
This is always an opening for some fruitful conversation on the idea
of religious life, Jesus and Don Bosco.
Don Bosco was a model of holiness because his work broke with the
way of thinking and believing of his contemporaries. (Rector Major)
Don Michael Rua 1888-1910
Our Society is so constituted that it offers abundant possibilities for
apostolic ministry not only to its salesian priestly members, but also
to its dear Salesian Brothers…the forming of personnel is vital to the
work of our Society…many have high school diplomas, college
degrees and teaching credentials…
Don Albera: 1911 – 1921
In the older religious orders lay-brothers form a kind of second
order…
Don Bosco did away with such dualism. All Salesians share the same
rights and privileges… they are fully Salesian religious, with the one
Salesian vocation, and the same apostolate as the priests, except
for that which pertains to the ordained ministry.
What aspects of his holiness seem most interesting today?
Can we interpret Christ’s Gospel for our own times, as Don Bosco
did for his?

8 Page 8

▲back to top
So can we be as dangerously imaginative today as Don Bosco was?
How must we respond to our current situation? And not just copy
what others are doing?
How can we imitate Christ in responding to our particular situations
today?
My references are:
“The Salesian Brother” Rome 1989
“Don Bosco’s Lay Religious” by Enzo Bianco
“Don Bosco” Teresio Bosco
“Introduction to the Devout Life” Francis de Sales