Wednesday 16 September 2015

The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer

The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer are a Catholic religious institute canonically erected in the diocese of Aberdeen and are based on Papa Stronsay, with an additional house in Christchurch, New Zealand.  While their rule is  based on that of St. Alphonsus Liguori, they have no formal connection to the Redemptorist congregation.

Fr. Michael Mary Sim C.SS.R sought to make sense of the turmoil in the Church in the late 1980s.  Convinced the crisis came from and was caused by a crisis in Liturgy, he turned to Abp. Lefebvre for advice and guidance.  After some months, it was suggested to Fr Sim to ask about founding a religious community where the Traditional Latin Mass and the old Redemptorist Rules could be lived for the English-speaking world.  The Congregation was originally based at the Monastery of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, then moved to the Mother of Perpetual Succour Monastery in Joinville, Haute-Marne, France in 1994.  In May 1999, the island of Papa Stronsay was purchased in 1999, and it was there that the Golgotha Monastery was established, which has been their home and mother house ever since.  In 2008, the Congregation petitioned the Holy See for reconciliation, which was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.  On 15 August 2012, the community was granted canonical recognition as a Clerical Institute of Diocesan Right by Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B., Bishop of Aberdeen.

As of mid-2015, there are 19 men living in the community.

Their vocations blog has a very good brief review of the active and contemplative life they lead, which all should read, who have an interest in this community.

They also promote the holy image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, set in Scotland, under the title of The Bonnie Prince.

Monastery Address:
Golgotha Monastery Island
Papa Stronsay
Orkney, KW17 2AR
Scotland, UK
International: + [44] 1857 616 210
Website: http://www.papastronsay.com/index.html
Blog:  http://www.papastronsay.blogspot.com/
YouTube Video Account: https://www.youtube.com/user/filiiSSR/videos

Interior of monastic cell at Papa Stronsay


No comments: