Brothers of Holy Cross

Who are the Brothers of Holy Cross?

A brother is a lay member of a Catholic religious congregation. A lay member is not a priest, nor does he aspire to be one. He consecrates his life by making public vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience. He lives a community life, which means that he shares with other members of his religious family in prayer, ministry, common living and in all the joys and sorrows, successes and failures of their lives together.

A brother's life is a constant witness to the entire world that he is seriously interested in loving God and his neighbor. His prayer, his presence, his example and his religious spirit all serve as testimony to his values and ideals. His ministry is a living and generous effort to further the kingdom of God however he can.

Two French priests, James Dujarie and Basil Moreau, were instrumental in the founding of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Both men, independently, took steps to organize religious communities to help offset the disastrous effects of the French Revolution on Church life and education. In 1835 Father Dujarie, aging and ailing, asked his bishop to relieve him as superior of the Brothers of St. Joseph, a community of brothers he had founded in 1820. In 1837 Father Moreau combined this community with his own group of auxiliary priests to form the Congregation of Holy Cross.

When Father Dujarie turned over the direction of his Brothers of St. Joseph to Father Moreau, the Brothers did not lose their identity. Father Moreau saw the need for his priests and brothers to remain distinct while still one united community. His later creation, the Holy Cross Sisters, maintained an even more distinct character as a separate but related community. Today, the men's community is made up of a Brother's Society and Priests' Society, governed by one set of constitutions and one superior general. The two societies still work together in many apostolates. The Sisters, now completely independent, work with the men of Holy Cross in various ministries.

The pioneer Holy Cross Brothers taught in rural schools and cared for poor and abandoned boys. Today, the Brothers still teach and work with delinquent boys, but they are also involved in many other apostolates. Brothers now serve as doctors, parish administrators, retreat directors, lawyers, farmers, and psychologists and in other ways. Holy Cross Brothers believe that all work can be apostolic if it manifests love of God, love of others and furthers the growth of Christ's kingdom.

From their earliest days Holy Cross missionary Priests, Brothers and Sisters have gone to foreign lands. Foundations abroad were often made even when local needs were most demanding. Father Moreau sent members of the congregation from France to the United States in 1842 when Father Edward Sorin and six Holy Cross Brothers opened a school near South Bend, Indiana. The school later developed into the University of Notre Dame. The present U.S. Holy Cross provinces date from this earliest foundation in the United States. The U.S. Provinces later sent men and resources to new overseas apostolates. Today, Holy Cross Brothers serve in France, Italy, Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia, Canada, Haiti, Brazil, Chile, Peru and the United States.