The
Pallottine Family was born on January 9, 1835, when St. Vincent
Pallotti received the inspiration to found the Society, today
the Union of the Catholic Apostolate. Vincent’s experience
of God had led him to see spreading the Gospel was everyone’s
responsibility. He founded an institution in which all the
baptized could participate in the mission of the Church. The
Union’s own baptism, it’s formal entry into the communion
of the Catholic Church came with the approval received on
April 4, 1835.
Vincent
immediately issued his “Appeal to the People of Rome,” inviting
priests, religious and laity to join him in this new work,
a work in which unity was not found in organizational structures
but on our obligation to live lives of reciprocal love and
apostolic zeal . With time, the structures had to change and
a number of foundations were born which sustain and support
the Union which itself has seen growth over the years.
In
1838, St. Vincent saw the beginnings of what became our religious
community, the Sisters of the
Catholic Apostolate. In 1839, he wrote the rule for the Priests and Brothers of the Catholic
Apostolate. Today they are known as the Society of the
Catholic Apostolate. Their work in the missions of South Africa
occasioned the beginning of the Missionary
Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate.
These three communities are the founding members and “share
the responsibility to guarantee the unity and apostolic efficiency
of the entire Union of the Catholic Apostolate” which is today
recognized by the Church as a public association of the faithful.
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