Saint Anthony Mary Claret

1382 The Spanish text cites St. Ignatius Loyola, Obras completas, BAC (Madrid 1977) 3.ª ed., p. 445; for English see Divarkar, Parmananda and Malatesta, Edward J., Ignatius of Loyola: Spiritual Exercises and Selected Works in Classics of Western Spirituality, (Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey 1991) p. 284.

1383 Rodríguez, Alonso, Ejercicio de perfección y virtudes cristianas, parte 3.ª trat. l, cap. l (Barcelona 1861) p. l. Ex libris. For English see: The Practice Of Christian And Religious Perfection, 3 vol., (Kessinger Publishing, 2006).

1384 Cf. Autob. n. 167

1385 Cf. Autob. n. 3.

1386 John owned his father’s workshop, while Joseph owned his own factory in Olost.

1387 The married sister was Rose, and the unmarried sister, Mary. By this time the other six of his brothers and sisters had died: Mariana (1804), Bartolomew (1806), an unnamed infant sister (1809), Peter (1817), Frances (1823) and Manuel (1836).

1388 Guevara y Basoazábal, Andrés de, Institutionem elementarium Philosophiae ad usum mexicanae juventutis (Roma 1776) 8 vols. This philosophy course, both in Latin compendiums and Castilian translations, was the basic teaching text used in Spain during the first half of the 19th century.

1389 The Moral Theology text prescribed for the seminary of Vic was that of the Salmanticenses, but for his own study Claret preferred the text of Fr. Francisco Lárraga, a work which the Saint later updated and published.

1390 He took his examination on July 25, 1835 and received broad faculties as preacher and confessor. On August 2, 1835 he heard confessions for the first time for six consecutive hours (cf. Autob. n. 103).

1391 Until the end of 1837, he still had occasional hemorrhages: “at times I still cough up blood” (letter to the Hon. Francis Riera, Olost, October 16, 1837: SL, p. 56).

1392 In 1891, his exhumed body measured 1.55 meters (approximately 5’1”), counting the thickness of his episcopal slippers (cf. APV ses. 203). Regarding his stature vis-à-vis his apostolic vocation, he noted the following phrases from the Stimulus Pastorum, from Blessed Bartholomew of the Martyrs: “Thus we say of a short man with a loud voice: ‘He is all voice.’ And we read in Aesop’s Fables that the wolf on hearing the nightingale’s voice, thought it must be a very corpulent bird; but once he saw it, he exclaimed disenchanted, ‘You are all voice – a mere nothing!’ Let us all be nightingales of the Lord, with nothing but the Lord’s voice. Let the world scorn us as abject and scant in bodily appearance, so long as with all our being we may be the voice of God and nothing more” (Fray Bartolomé de los mártires, Stimulus Pastorum [Valencia 1695], p. 49. Ex libris).

1393 He says that he is “not very facile of memory.” Nevertheless,. Fr. Fortián Feu, an Oratorian, stated that Claret “retained whatever he read” (cf. IPV, ses. 44). In the biographical résumé published in connection with his appointment as archbishop, there is mention of his “tenacious memory, about which there are many impressive stories like that of his fellow countryman, the late-lamented Balmes” (Boletín del clero español en 1849 [Madrid 1850] p. 11).

1394 Published in La Veu de Montserrat, July 12, 1890; in Recort del primer centenari..., p. 55; by Casanovas, Ignasi, Balmes. La seva vida..., II, pp. 63-64; III, pp. 656-657; and reproduced in Balmes, Jaime, Obras completas, BAC (Madrid 1948) II, pp. 295-296.

1395 Letter to Don José María Quadrado, August 6, 1846: “Here’s another matter. Speaking the other day with our outstanding missionary, Mossèn Claret, he complained of the few works available to offset pernicious novels, and he spoke to me of I know not how many projects. You understand that it’s a rather delicate matter involving original compositions, if they are to reach the world as such. I told him it was a matter requiring much thought, and even added that I would write you about it. I ask you, then: What do you think of the possibility, feasibility and literary as well as religious success of novels, legends and other things, in offsetting other works, as the holy missionary would like to do?” (Casanovas, Ignasi, o. c., III, p. 219; Balmes, Jaime, Obras completas, BAC [Madrid 1948] I, pp. 811-812. For fragments of the projected novel, see ibid., VIII, pp. 436-456). For readings in English see Fundamental Philosophy, trans., Henry F. Brownson, Two vols. (New York, D. & J. Sadlier & Co. 1858). See also note 21 of Autob. 18.

1396 Casanovas, Ignasi, o. c., II, p. 65; Balmes, Jaime, Obras completas, BAC (Madrid 1948) I, pp. 294-295.

1397 Cf. Autob. nn. 199-213.

1398 Cf. Autob. nn. 297-299.

1399 “The world is saturated with sociology, but lacks catechesis. Everyone thinks of rights, but no one thinks of duties... The Straight Path [a reference to Claret’s famous devotional book] to reach heaven is also the straightest and surest path to follow in our life on earth. All that I see here is that catalogue of duties of the different states of life: duties of parents, children and dependents, of spouses, of youth, of landlords, of the poor, of businessmen, artisans and fieldworkers. Nowhere does it say anything about rights” (Rucabado, Ramón, Travall i Doctrina: Catalunya Social, March 10, 1934).

1400 Cf. Mt 10:8.

1401 Cf. Lk 10:7-8; Autob. nn. 403-409.

1402 Cf. Autob. n. 460; Resolutions, 1843.

1403 Cf. Autob. n. 328. – He says the same thing with other words in his Catecismo de la doctrina cristiana, escrito por... y dedicado a la Inmaculada Concepción de María Santísima, patrona de las Españas (Madrid 1866): “To whom it may concern, we give permission to all printers to reprint this Catechism, in such a way without adding, nor omitting, nor changing anything, inasmuch as in any other way we do not give permission, as we forbid it, according to the authority given to us by law. THE AUTHOR” (p. 2).

1404 Cf. Lk 6:23.

1405 He refers to the Enrollment in the Spiritual Society of Mary Most Holy against Blasphemy, which he wrote on April 5, 1845, while preaching a clergy retreat in Mataró. It was first published as a leaflet and later incorporated in the New Journey by Railway (Barcelona 1863), pp. 92-97. The results of the Enrollment were admirable. The Saint states that in many parts of Catalonia “there is already not a thousandth of the blaspheming which before one was accustomed to hearing.” Breu noticia de las instruccions de la Arxiconfraria del Santíssim e Immaculat Cor de Maria [Barcelona 1847] p. 63).

1406 In this work, the Saint was assisted by a young man of his same age, Miguel Iter (1807-1876), who later became a priest. With his own little burro laden with religious materials, Iter carried out his own apostolate, unselfishly following the missionary from town to town. “I was enthusiastically attached to Fr. Claret. At table wherever I went, all our conversations were about Fr. Claret, whom I venerated as a holy and apostolic man” (C. Fernández, El Beato I, p. 394).

1407 Cf. Autob. nn. 372-383.

1408 Cf. Autob. nn. 394-397.

1409 Cf. Rom 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:22.

1410 Jn 8:46: “Which of you will convict me of sin?”

1411 Cf. Autob. nn. 171-181.

1412 Cf. Hist. Arch. CMF, I, p. 284.

1413 Cf. Sir 7:40; Autob. nn. 8-17.

1414 Cf. Autob. nn. 43-55.

1415 Cf. Heb 5:4; Autob. n. 38.

1416 Cf. Autob. n. 40.

1417 Cf. Autob. n. 50.

1418 Cf. Autob. n. 71.

1419 Cf. Autob. nn. 95-98. This episode happened in 1831, not in 1828 as he reported.

1420 Cf. Autob. n. 113.

1421 Cf. Autob. nn. 114-120.

1422 Lk 2:49.

1423 This text, too, does not figure explicitly in the Autobiography, although it is implicit in n. 364. He considered the apostolic vocation to poverty as essential to his mission. At the end of his life he stated that God’s designs for him had been accomplished, and that “I have kept holy poverty. I gave away what belonged to me and at present, thank God, they give me nothing from my diocese in Cuba, nor does the Queen give me anything” (Letter to D. Paladio Currius, 2 December 1869: EC II, p. 1423).

1424 Cf. Autob. 102-105. A mistake is made in the year: in reality, he was ordained on June 13, 1835.

1425 Cf. Autob. n. 106.

1426 He is not referring to his voyage to Rome to offer his services to the Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith. Rather, he is speaking of the honorary title of Apostolic Missionary, granted to him by this Congregation on July 9, 1841.

1427 Cf. Autob. nn. 329-332.

1428 In fact, the foundation took place in Vic on July 16, 1849, when the Saint was 41½ years old.

1429 Cf. Autob. nn. 491, 495-499.

1430 This is repeated on September 23, 1859: see: Autob. n. 686 and “Lights and Graces,” 1859.

1431 Cf. Autob. n. 674; “Lights and Graces,” 1855.

1432 Cf. Autob. nn. 573-584.

1433 The Saint obviously wanted to check, by means of the remainder, whether the rest of the dates were correct. The result was that according to this calculation he would have been born in 1809 instead of 1807. This figure probably helped him later to correct the dates in his Autobiography.

1434 Felipe Scío de San Miguel, La Santa Biblia (Barcelona 1853), Old Testament, vol. III, p. 517. Ex libris.

1435 This is not a merely casual allusion. Claret’s devotion to Mary, the Divine Shepherdess, surely began when he was a seminarian in Vic, under the influence of the Capuchins, who honored the Divine Shepherdess at their Church of the Guardian Angel. Claret showed his devotion to her in several ways: 1) On the cover of his collected Short Works he stamped a picture of the Divine Shepherdess, with this motto: Omnia in nomine Iesu sub tutela Mariae (“All things in the name of Jesus, under the protection of Mary”). (Colección de opúsculos [Barcelona 1849]). 2) In vol. 3 of his Mission Sermons (Barcelona 1858), he inserted Fr. Santander’s panegyric on the Mother of the Good Shepherd in a prominent place (Barcelona 1858) pp. 5-26. 3) He gave Fr. Stephen Adoaín a beautiful banner of the Divine Shepherdess, which the latter always carried with him on his missions (cf. Ciáurriz, Ildefonso de, Vida del Siervo de Dios P. Fr. Esteban de Adoaín, capuchino, misionero apostólico en América y España [Barcelona 1913] p. 100). This picture is reproduced in Ardales, Juan Bautista de, La Divina Pastora y el Beato Diego José de Cádiz (Seville 1949) I, p. 783. Various images can be found on the Internet.

1436 Cf. Lk 2:22-39.

1437 St. Teresa of Jesus, Vida, cap. 25, n. 10: Obras, LR (Barcelona 1851) I, p. 319. For English text see: The Life of Teresa of Jesus, The Autobiography of Teresa of Avila, Trans. and ed. by E. Allison Peers, op. cit., and for an online look see note 182 of Autob. n. 242. Note that the BAC edition cites the passage as ch. 30. n. 14. The same is true of the modern English translation. See also The Collected Works of Teresa of Avila: 3 Volumes by Kieran Kavanaugh O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. (editors/translators) (Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington, DC, 1985, 1987, 2007).

1438 Id., Camino de perfección, cap. 21, n. 1: in o. c., II, p. 302. As in the reference above the citation in the LR edition is different from that of BAC. It cites the passage as 66.1 (38.1). The English translation, Way of Perfection, of E. A. Peers cites the passages just as 38.1. See also note 191 of Autob. 258.

1439 Don Paladio Currius, his confessor, declared that, although the Saint regarded himself as a very great sinner, his opinion was “that throughout his whole life he never committed a serious offense” (cf. Clotet, Jaime, Resumen de la admirable vida... [Barcelona 1882] p. 254; cf. Autob. n. 82).

1440 Cf. Autob. n. 71.

1441 Cf. Autob. nn. 77-83.

1442 Cf. Autob. nn. 85-98, 43-55.

1443 Cf. Autob. nn. 40, 77-78.93.

1444 Cf. Autob. nn. 106-152.

1445 Cf. Autob. n. 172.

1446 Cf. Autob. nn. 491, 495-499.

1447 Cf. Autob. n. 587.

1448 Because of this statement, we feel that this document is prior to the exile, when the Saint was deprived of all goods. He had been receiving a yearly allotment of 9,000 duros: 6,000 as resigned Archbishop of Cuba and 3,000 as Confessor to the queen. After attending to his own scant needs, he would use this allotment on charity and on the apostolate of the press.

1449 Autob. n. 798.

1450 “He forbade it of all his friends” (Aguilar, Francisco de Asís, Vida de Claret, p. VII).

1451 Eccl 3:7.

1452 Jn 5:31; 18:37.

1453 Cf. Jn 8:48.

1454 Jn 8:49.

1455 Cf. 1 Tim. 5:14.

1456 Cf. Autob. n. 56.

1457 Cf. Autob. n. 105.

1458 Cf. Autob. nn. 100-103.

1459 Don Ramón de Meer (1787 – end of the 18^th century) fought with distinction in the Carlist Wars, during which he won the battles of Grá (June 12, 1837) and Cap-sa-Costa (November 14, 1837). He was Captain General of Catalonia (1837-1840 and 1843-1845), and deputy and senator-for-life.

1460 General Manuel Pavía y Lacy carried the title of Marqués of Novaliches (1814-1896)

1461 Cf. Autob. nn. 106-111, 858 – The same General Pavía offers us this testimony: “I met Mr. Claret in the year of grace 1837, when he was curate econome in the town of Sallent... The very first time I met him I was struck by his modesty, reserved speech and sagacity, which could be seen in his behavior as curate econome and in his dealings with the Town Council and authorities” (IPM, ses. 20). “His conduct and behavior were such that, although a young man, he kept the townsfolk closely united by his preaching, good advice and example” (cf. Aguilar, Francisco de Asís, Vida de Claret, p. 415).

1462 Cf. Autob. nn. 121-167.

1463 Cf. Autob. n. 167.

1464 Cf. Autob. nn. 193-194, 454-476.

1465 Cf. Autob. nn. 477-487.

1466 Cf. Rom 12, 2.

1467 Cf. Autob. nn. 491, 495-499.

1468 Cf. Autob. nn. 499-509.

1469 Cf. Autob. nn. 614, 620-625.

1470 Cf. Autob. nn. 625-629.

1471 Mt 6:24. Cf. HD, II, pp. 650-652. for further testimonies by politicians who had dealings with Claret.

1472 Even General Leopoldo O’Donnell (1809-1867) stated: “I have never crossed paths with Mr. Claret.” And Lorenzo Arrazola (1797-1873), the President of the Council of Ministers, affirmed: “Mr. Claret does not desire to know anything about politics” (testimony of Fr. Carmelo Sala: IPT ses. 4).

1473 Cf. Lk 23:34.

1474 Cf. Mt 5:11.

1475 Cf. Brunet, Manuel, Actualidad del P. Claret (Vic 1953) pp. 51-59; HD, II, pp. 655-676.

1476 Cf. Jn 18:37.

1477 Lk 22:53.

1478*English Editors note: Other English translations use the expression “Religious Library,” but we believe this is misleading as this was a publishing house not a library. Nonetheless, we have opted to keep the original Spanish name. (See Chicago Manual of Style, (University of Chigago Press, 14^th ed. 1993)15:163).

^ Don Dionisio González states that in Cuba alone, Saint Anthony Mary Claret distributed some 200,000 pious books gratis (cf. letter to Fr. Xifré, December 8, 1870: Arxiu Pairal-Vic: C. XI-rG, Nro. 213).

1479 The books and leaflets he ordered from the Librería Religiosa in 1862 cost 95,000 reales. “And this,” says his chaplain, Fr. Carmelo Sala, “was more or less what he ordered every year.” Moreover, the Saint urged his Missionaries to buy from the Librería Religiosa and charge it to his own account: “Mr Ríu handed me a bill for 10,000 reales for what the Missionaries have received from the Librería Religiosa. Tell them to feel free, because they will bear fruit twofold: once by their preaching and once again by the leaflets and books” (letter to Fr. Joseph Xifré, Madrid Novembr 18, 1863: EC, II, p. 722).

1480 Don Vicente de la Fuente tells us that Claret “paid for the edition of the life of St. Pulcheria, written by Fr. Contucci, S.J. and translated by Fr. Andrés Artola of the same Company, a friend of mine, at his request. Also the life of the Servant of God Fr. Talavera, the first Archbishop of Granada, written by Fr. Suárez. All of these editions he financed and paid for, sending their proofs to this witness to correct them” (IPM, session 9). The complete title of the first work is: Father Contucci, Vida de Santa Pulqueria, virgen y emperatriz. Tejado Press (Madrid 1863) 220 pp. and the title of the second: Suárez y Muñano, Pedro de Alcántara, Vida del Venerable D. Fray Hernando de Talavera, primer Arzobispo de Granada, Confesor y Consejero de los Reyes Católicos D. Fernando y D.a Isabel (Madrid 1866).

1481 In a handwritten note, the Saint states: “Leaflets and prints, during the eight years of my stay in Madrid, have been no less than 900,000” (HD, II, p. 491).

1482 Leaflet no. 37 in the catalogue of the Librería Religiosa.

1483 Letter to Mother María Antonia París, Rome July 21, 1869 (EC, II, p. 1410).

1484 Cf. Autob. n. 694.

1485 Don Pedro José Pidal (Villaviciosa, Asturias, 1800-Madrid 1865). Moderate politician. He was a delegate to the Court of Asturias, President of Congress, minister of Governemt and State, ambassador to Rome and senator for life. In 1847 he conceded the title of Marqués de Pidal.

1486 Cardinal Juan José Bonel y Orbe (1782-1857), Bishop of Málaga (1831-1833) and of Córdoba (1834-1839), Patriarch of the West Indies and Military Vicar General (1839-1847), Archbishop of Toledo and Confesor and spiritual director to Queen Isabel II (1848-1857) from October 1843 until his sudden death on March 11, 1857.

1487 Catalanism: in the Spanish text Claret incorrectly translates the Catalan expression prendre pacièncie into tomase paciencia.

1488 One of them, dated July 20, 1865, can be seen in Autob. n. 840.

1489 In the only preserved document of Claret to the Queen, dated in Vic October 17, 1865, he says only the following: “In the coming week I am thinking of leaving for Rome on the first ship that leaves, after being declared free to leave the port of Barcelona. When I am with the Holy Father I will present to him that which your Majesty entrusted to me” (EC, II. p. 949).

1490 This part of the document is unfinished. Its continuation must have been lost. Pius IX, after listening to the Saint and consulting several Cardinals, determined that Claret should return to Madrid and resume his post as confessor of Isabella II, although he imposed certain conditions on the Queen, with which she complied (cf. Letter of Pius IX to Isabel II, November 20, 1865, as well as her response to the Pope, in Gorricho, Julio, Epistolario de Pío IX con Isabel II de España, Archivium Historiae Pontificiae 4 [1966] 310-312). Claret returned to his post on December 22, 1865, five months after he had left the Court.

1491 Cf. Bermejo, Jesús, Epistolario pasivo de San Antonio María Claret, III (1865-1870) (Madrid 1995) pp. 326-327 and 340-341.

1492 He presented the resignation on May 31, 1868 (EC, II, p.1266) and it was accepted on the 22^nd of June (EC, II, pp. 1269-1270), being substituted by Don Rosendo Salvado (1814-1900), Bishop of Port Victoria, in Australia, since 1849.

1493 Mt 8:20.

1494 The “willful abandonment” of which he was accused was the forced absence imposed upon him by exile (cf. HD, II, p. 783).

1495 Isabel of Borbón, the first-born daughter of Isabel II, was born in Madrid on December 20, 1851 and married Don Cayetano Borbón, the Count of Girgenti, on May 13, 1868.

1496 The teaching experience of Fr. Claret lasted eleven years, from 1857 to 1868. Also, in another place, there is a beautiful praise from the Infant Isabel (cf. Autob. n. 618).

1497 “I suffered twelve years of martyrdom”, he wrote from Rome to Don Dionisio González on May 26, 1869 (EC, II, p. 1391).

1498 God illuminated him to moderate his longings to escape from Madrid (cf. Lights and Graces, 1864).

1499 Cf. HD, II, pp. 653-682.

1500 He had charge as Rector of the Central University of Don Emilio Castelar (Cádiz, 1832). Lawyer, journalist. In February of 1857 he received a Chair of Critical History and Philosophy of Spain at the University of Central Madrid. In 1864 he was a member of the foundational board of directors of the Spanish Abolitionist Society. In 1865 the Government of Narváez fired him from his Chair. The support from his students and his own collegues culminated in student demonstrations which, while being repressed by the army, resulted in deaths and numerous injuries: it became know as the tragic “Night of St. Daniel” of April 10, 1865. In 1866 he founded the Republican newspaper “La Democracia.” He participated in progressive causes from January to June 1866. He was condemned to the guillotine and had to escape from Spain until the Revolution of 1868. After the Revolution he was a member of parliament. He died in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia) in 1899.

1501 Cf. Autob. n. 201; Pastoral al clero (Santiago de Cuba 1853) p. 4: in Escritos Pastorales, p. 197.

1502 When she saved him from drowning in the sea off La Barceloneta beach. (cf. Autob. 71.)

1503 To begin his seminary studies for the priesthood (cf. Autob. n. 83).

1504 The vision of 1831 and the grace of chastity (cf. Autob. nn. 95-98).

1505 In a letter to Fr. Juan Nepomucene Lobo he wrote: “The ship foundered; they had to jettison part of the coal, and afterwards we had to put in at Bermuda, and finally at El Fayal [in the Azores], to take on provisions” (Madrid 27 May 1857: EC, I, p. 1333).

1506 He seems to be referring to the attempt of October 15, 1859 (cf. Autob. 688).

1507 He refers to the “Sergeants’ Revolt” in the San Gil Barracks on June 21st. In a letter to Mother Antonia Paris we find the explanation in this sentence: “They say that their aim was to behead the king and queen and the royal family, and the priests, of whom I was to be the first, and then proceed to a throat-cutting and general sack of the town” (EC, II, p. 1019).

1508 Cf. Letter to Fr. Joseph Xifré, Madrid March 14, 1869 (EC, II, pp. 1249-1250).

1509 Bestué, Giuseppe, Il primo Beato del Concilio Vaticano: Il Messaggero del Cuore di Maria 13 (1934) 66.

1510 Cf. Resolutions 1869, 1870; Letters of 1869 and 1870.

1511 Cf. Letter to Mother María Antonia París, Rome 21 July 1869 (EC, II, p. 1411).

1512 There were 774 Council Fathers present at the opening and the first sessions, of those 41 were Spaniards. (cf. Collantes, Justo, La cara oculta del Vaticano I. La actualidad de un concilio olvidado, BAC [Madrid 1970] 282 pp.).

1513 Cf. Acta et Decreta Sacrorum Conciliorum recentiorum. Collectio lacensis. VII, sess. 1.ª 35b; 2.ª 56b; 3.ª 259 b; 4.ª 489 d. (Herder, Freiburg, 1870 [vol. 1] to 1890 [vol. 7] here after referred to as Coll. Lacensis). For an English edition see: The Council of Trent, The canons and decrees of the sacred, and oecumenical Council of Trent, Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848); full text available online through the Hanover Historical Texts Project, Scanned by Hanover College students in 1995: