Apostolic Oblates

The Secular Institute of Apostolic Oblates founded in Rome,Italy by Servant of God Bishop Guglielmo (William) Giaquinta on May 1^st,1950. It is recognised as Pontifical in the year 1994.

Patron

St.Joseph, Feast March 19

Patroness

Mary, Mother of Trust, Wednesday before the Lent season.

Founder

Servant of God Bishop Guglielmo (William) Giaquinta (1914 – 1994).

Charism

It is a Secular Institute founded at Rome by Servant of God Bishop William Giaquinta. The members strive for the perfection of charity through the profession of the evangelical counsels and devote themselves to the apostolate of spirituality and the spreading of the Universal call to Holiness. The call to Holiness is foretold in the Old Testament, repeatedly taught in the New Testament and reiterated by the Vatican Council II.

This institute was started during the period of Second World War. As the result of the war people became so cruel and revengeful. They were killing each other. After prolonged prayer and reflection our founder understood that the lack of faith and of love is the cause of all these violence, injustice and hatred. He found that the only remedy for this problem is Christ’s maximum love. This is not other than the new commandment which He gave us. “Love one another as I have loved you”. This is the formula of Holiness. God is love. He loved us in the maximum degree. Hence every human being has an obligation to respond to His love.“Be perfect as your Heavenly father is perfect”(Mt.5:48).Perfection of love is Holiness. And therefore the CHARISM of the Oblates is to promote the Universal call Holiness and encourage others to deepen their interior life,that is, to adhere unconditionally to the demands of God’s love.

We carry out our charism through:

Spreading God’s infinite love for all people and their duty to respond to His love
Promotion of the doctrine of the “Universal Call to Holiness, understanding this vocation as a generous and total response to God’s love for us.
Offering practical means to others that will enable them to grow and mature in the life of the Spirit, thus pursuing their call to Holiness.
Faithful collaboration with the Hierarchy inorder that Holiness be the soul of every pastoral activity.

The oblates strive to make of their lives a continuous response of Maximum love to the infinite love with which Jesus, the Redemer, perfect image of the Father ,has loved us. This response of love must be made practical through a desire for and an effort toward Holiness expressed by a total and joyous adherence to the will of God Who calls everyone to perfection. The apostolate of the Apostolic Oblates aim to elicit from others a full response of love by helping them know His divine project of salvation–Holiness. They live their commitment to the church deeply and joyously, placying their specific charism of leading people to Holiness at her service.

Apostolic Oblates do their apostolate through Pro-Sanctity Movement, a worldwide Movement founded by the same founder. Inorder to spread their charism The Apostolic Oblates:

Penetrtes social structures through the work of it’s members, inorder to bring about it’s specific apostolate of the call to holiness.
Offers through various activities, opportunities for a deep spiritual formation as an initial step on then journey toward Holiness.
Creates and developes structures – retreat centres, house of prayer,formation centres, publishing centres and the like – inorder to promote interior life and to pursue the universal call to Holiness not only at the personal level but also at communal and social levels.
Establishes and developes lay apostolic organizations such as PRO-SANCTITY Movement ,to make known and to help live the vocation to Holiness.
In this world, there is no place for ‘minimum’.A Christian life which is satisfying with minimum cannot change the world. Everywhere we need perfection. And this perfection comes only from “MAXIMUM’. And our apostolate is of Maximunm love and that is Holiness.

Founding and Growth of the Institute

This institute was started during the period of Second World War. As the result of the war people became so cruel and revengeful.They were killing each other. After prolonged prayer and reflection Bishop Giaquinta understood that the lack of faith and of love is the cause of all these violence, injustice and hatred. He found that the only remedy for this problem is Christ’s maximum love. This is not other than the new commandment which He gave us. “Love one another as I have loved you”. This is the formula of Holiness. God is love. So he founded these institutes to respond and make others respond to God’s call to holiness. Now these institutes are present in Italy, U.S.A, India, Malta, Latvia and Canada. In India Apostolic Oblates started in 1975 at Manganam, Kottayam. There is only one province in India having headquarters at Manganam, Kottayam. Under the Indian Province Apostolic Oblates Secular Institute has 11 houses of which two in Maharashtra state and one in Canada. The Apostolic Oblates dedicate themselves totally to their sisters and brothers to help them respond to God’s call to holiness. The Generalate house is at Rome.