Who We Are
We are a group of men with many diverse personalities and backgrounds. We are called by God to serve those most in need throughout a great diversity of cultures. We recognize and lift up the Holy Spirit through education, mission and parish ministry, making positive changes in the world. There is one unifying way to define our spirit and purpose: presence.
- 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 suffering from injustice, downhearted and diminished in spirit, forgotten or abandoned by civil and government institutions. We work with whole communities giving relief to people who are poor, sick and hungry. In addition, we educate young men and women in the skills they will need to further our efforts to serve humanity.
How We Live
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 so our lifestyle is as simple and unencumbered as the people we help.
What We Do
Spiritan fathers and brothers of the United States Province serve in parishes, schools and a variety of international missions in many cultures. 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 bringing hope to those who seem hopeless. We give voice to gospel justice where it cannot be heard.
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, East 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 Mission and Identity, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.
"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, CA.
"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, Bensalem, PA.
