Accompaniment: Spain

From 23 June to 4 July 2024. I was invited by Francisco “Paco” Blanco Martín, the Provincial of Spain, to visit some communities and works of MSC to know better the confreres and to animate the annual provincial retreat, which had not happened for a few years. Simon Lumpini accompanied me.

On June 23, we landed at the airport in Madrid. Paco warmly welcomed us and took the metro to the provincial house. The next day, we took the car to go to Valladolid.

Annual retreat from June 25 to 27. Fourteen confreres participated in this intense period of community life, including a confrere from Uruguay, Cristhian David Mancuello Arias, a confrere from UAF, Ella Ndo Jean Mermoz, and an aspirant from Cuba, Joelin Rodríguez Delgado. Paco motivated all the province members to participate, reminding them of 139.6 and 140 of our Constitutions.

I have given six lectures: The Identity of the MSC and the Vocation of the Brothers; The Gift of Community Life; Cultivating Hope in Difficult Times – the first part: spiritual aspect and the second part: practical aspect; synodality; permanent formation, even at an advanced age.

I have used the community wisdom method throughout the retreat. To do this, I used six excerpts from a series of reflections on the spirituality of synodality that Father Timothy Radcliffe OP gave in October 2023 at the 16th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. At the beginning of each conference, for fifteen to twenty minutes, then in small groups of three to five people, it takes time to create a sacred space, a time of silence, without being distracted by our cellphones.

Everyone is invited to reflect on one of the proposed excerpts and ask themselves what touches them personally after reading them individually. Once members are ready, it is time to share what comes next. Listening carefully to what the Lord is telling us in our deepest being does not mean debating the words of others. This method is beneficial because it allows everyone to express themselves.

After each presentation of the theme relating to retreat, the confreres had a discussion, exchange and questions on this subject. The participation of each person was far beyond what we had hoped. Among the reflections shared by our confreres, here is what we retain: individualism versus fraternal life; lack of discretion and negative criticism; sadness; living with our vulnerabilities; building fraternity requires sharing; how to reveal the beauty of the Cross to today’s world; living synodality is not an easy thing; telling and listening to the truth is a challenge; we do not have the correct language to reach out to young people and walk with them or they are walking with us.

During the retreat, the Provincial informed his confreres of the current and future situation of the province. In particular, the project for creating the European MSC Union; the future of the two Spanish MSC colleges, that of Pontevedra and that of Barcelona.

Community visits from June 27 to July 4. On June 27, after saying hello to our confreres, we took the road from Valladolid to Zamora and a fast train to Pontevedra. In the evening, we took a tour of the city centre, the church of the Pilgrim Virgin and the convent of San Francisco. We even took a short walk on the way to Compostela.

Pontevedra – The Sacred Heart College. On 28 June, Paco introduced us to the Sacred Heart College, which was inaugurated on 13 November 1956, one year after we had settled in Pontevedra, on the site of the former Villa Lucía, and initiated by Father José Miguel Vergés, director of the Small Work. The college, which currently has about 1,200 students and 90 teachers, will be under the responsibility of the Jesuit Educational Foundation from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus as of September 1st 2024. This is an organisation that manages 23 schools in Spain.

As they explained in a press release of May 28, 2024, the MSC made the decision “to withdraw from this field of educational mission in Pontevedra because, for years, we have suffered a decline in vocations and we do not have staff to deal effectively with this work. We leave in tears, but we do it to ensure the school’s future. Thousands of students, thousands of families, hundreds of teachers and non-teaching staff, as well as collaborating companies have passed through our classrooms,” says Paco, who recalled that “51 Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have passed through this school. Each has left a part of his life in this city and school, some even to the end of their days.”

In the afternoon, a farewell meeting was organised at the Manor of Culture of Pontevedra to celebrate this historic moment. All college staff, including parents, friends, alumni and teachers, were present.

In the evening, the school’s management team organised a Thanksgiving Eucharist as a farewell. The event was chaired by the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, Francisco José Prieto. After the ceremony, a simple lunch was held in the basement of the church Virgen del Camino. A sincere thank you to all the confreres who have served the Church, the Christian community and, of course, the families of Pontevedra throughout these years.

Barcelona – San Miguel College. On the morning of 29 June, we took the road to Vigo to fly to the community house in Barcelona. We visited our shrine dedicated to Notre Dame du Sacré-Coeur and the San Miguel College. In the late afternoon, we explored the outside of the Sagrada Família before ending the day with a mass at the Sanctuary.

The Sant Miquel College was founded in 1868 by Miquel Clergue, a French priest who served as director for the first 25 years. It is the second oldest school in the city. It is named “Sant Miquel” in honour of its founder. The school’s headquarters was on Duran i Bas Street for 30 years, then moved to Rosellón Street. It was a very prestigious school for the training it provided both culturally and spiritually. It included sections for kindergartens, primary education, secondary school and commerce. There were also students in boarding schools. The school was linked to the Provincial Institute of Barcelona (later called General and Technical Institute).

In 1880, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart settled in Barcelona, first on Ample Street and then on Sant Elies Street. Father Vicente Casas was the main promoter. In 1882, our Founder, with Father Jouët, managed the purchase of the house on Rosellón Street, occupied until then by the Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God. This building was intended to serve as a seminary – the Little Work – and housing for the MSC community, which also managed the church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. It is also worth mentioning that at this time, the reconstruction works of the original Gothic cloister of the convent of Santa Maria de Jerusalem were carried out.

In 1893, Gustau Hibos, nephew of Miguel Clergue, already very old at the time, took over the management of the school and two years later (1895), due to health problems, he put it on sale. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart bought the rights in 1895, making Sant Miquel the first MSC college in the world. The director was Father Jean Baptiste Perriot (French), who until then directed the Little Work of Rosellón Street. Fr. Pourquier (prefect) and Fr. José Tatcher lived with him for three years in the building on Duran i Bas Street. The other MSCs would go daily from Rosellón Street to the College to teach. At this time, the school maintained its prestige during the emergence of great colleges from other religious institutions.

In 1898, Father Pietro Benedetti (Italian) took over the management and proposed to move the school to Rosellón Street. Starting in the academic year 1899 1900, academic work began in the new house. This new stage will be challenging, and the college risks disappearing even if it occupies a better space. Its new geographical location, at the time outside of Barcelona and in an area with few buildings and a sparse population, had a negative impact on it. The college will become the fifth largest of the seventeen existing schools in the city.

After 129 years of presence in this institution, the members of the MSC Community leave behind many hopes, projects and lives. These century-old walls are grateful witnesses of the good work done: Inauguration of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (1943), more than 1000 students at the College (1959), San Miguel handball team, Spanish champion (1961), gymnastic sports team, Spanish champion (1972), Spanish champion table tennis team (1976), coeducation (1980), opening of the swimming pool (1982), Association of Music Teachers of Aragon (1997) …

Due to the impossibility of the MSC to continue the educational project, the Congregation of the Escola Pia will take over the College from September 1, 2024. We intend to stay in the neighbourhood where the Sanctuary and community are located. The Escola Pia aims at the integral education of children and youth with a Catholic religious identity.
On the occasion of this new stage that begins, for all the good lived so far, let us give thanks to God, to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and to all the MSC who have believed in this Christian educational project.

Back to Madrid. On the morning of the 30th, we had taken a plane to Madrid. During my stay with the local community, I listened attentively to the confreres, listened to what they lived in their daily lives and learned about the economic reality of the province with Manuel Barahona Álvarez and his assistant, Antonio Delgado García. I had an interview with Javier Trapero, the Province’s communications director. On the evening of July 2, I took part in a meeting organised by Chema Álvarez with the laypeople of the parish. On the morning of 4 July, with Simon Lumpini, I was returning to Rome.

I want to express my gratitude to the members of the Spanish Province for their warm welcome, the times of prayer we lived together, the energy they have invested in making us discover their country, their works, their hopes and their vulnerabilities.

Bernard Mongeau, MSC