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Who we are ...
We are a group of men with many diverse personalities and backgrounds called by God and committed to serving those most in need in a great diversity of cultures. There is one unifying way to define our spirit and purpose: PRESENCE. We recognize and lift up the Holy Spirit through education, mission, and parish ministry, making a positive change in the world.
The Spiritans are "One Heart. One Spirit."
- We seek first to allow the Spirit to transform us in our heart and soul
- We are open to the Spirit alive in others
- We go and share the Spirit wherever people are suffering
Where we are ...
All around the globe ... Spiritans often go where living conditions are most difficult. The people we choose to be with are often struggling to survive from one day to the next. They are downhearted and diminished in spirit, forgotten or abandoned by civil and government institutions, and suffering injustice. We assist those people who are poor, sick and hungry. We work with whole communities in need. We educate young men and women in our high school, university, and seminaries in the skills they will need to further our efforts in serving humanity.
How we live ...
Our lifestyle is simple and unencumbered. Wherever Spiritans are, community-building is key. We get to know, accept, and respect each other as a family. We serve others by living in solidarity with them.
What we are doing ...
Spiritan Fathers & Brothers of the United States Province serve in parishes, schools, and a variety of international missions. Our work is as varied as the possibilities and the many cultures in which we serve. Whatever our jobs, our primary task is to be with people, recognizing and acknowledging God among us. We bear hope to those seemingly without it. We are a compassionate presence. We give voice to gospel justice where it can not be heard or has been silenced.
Why we are Spiritans today ...
"I joined because I wanted to be on the cutting edge. I grew up in a good family. I was given a lot of opportunities, a lot of freedom. I don't believe that any real change can happen unless people can see a different way of thinking, imagining, and acting. Christianity offers that possibility in the most creative way I know. Sharing it is the most important thing I feel I can do with my life. The Spiritans are supposed to be focused on the margins. That's where I belong."
Fr. Pat Patten, Flying Medical Service, Tanzania, Africa
"I was deeply influenced by the Spiritans as a student at Holy Ghost Prep. I saw deeply that they are truly good men and good priests and loved what they were doing. I knew I wanted to be like them."
Fr. Jim McCloskey, Vice President of University Relations, Duquesne University, Pennsylvania
"I am absolutely positive that God called me to be a priest and arranged things for me to be in the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. The Spiritans are called to do what God wants us to and to go where the Church needs us. The Spiritan vocation is dedicated to the contemplative life and to the active life where needed. One note of a Spiritan is simplicity -- we are very simple. We are happy to do what we can do to make a better church and a better world."
Fr. Charles Coffey, Casa Laval, California
"The Spiritans are a mission community dedicated to going to out-of-the-way places and serving the fringes. I became a Spiritan to serve the poor."
Fr. Jeff Duaime, President of Holy Ghost Prep School, Pennsylvania
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