Vatican Council II and Blessed James Alberione

Vatican II
Gift and Blessing
For the Pauline Family

Vatican II & the Pauline Family
 Alberione served during the Second
Vatican Council as a peritus (theological
expert), participating in the private sessions
during which the decrees of the Council
were formed and shaped, for the approval
of the Council Fathers in full session.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Alberione

Vatican Council II 1962-1965
“The world is starving for peace. If the Church responds to its Founder and
rediscovers its authentic identity, the world will gain.” Blessed John XXIII

Vatican II and Alberione
This presentation gives a brief overview of
some Vatican II documents followed by
reflections on how Blessed James
Alberione anticipated themes of the Council
in many ways and how they are reflected in
the Pauline Charism.

On the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica
during the Second Vatican Council

16 Documents
 1. Sacrosanctum concilium, Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy, 1963.
2. Inter Mirifica, Decree On the Means of Social
Communication, 1963.

3. Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution On the Church,
1964.

4. Orientalium Ecclesiarum, Decree On the Catholic Churches
of the Eastern Rite,1964.

5. Unitatis Redintegratio, Decree on Ecumenism, 1964.

6. Christus Dominus, Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of
Bishops In the Church,1965.

16 Documents
 7. Perfectae Caritatis, Decree On Renewal of Religious Life,
1965.

8. Optatam Totius, Decree On Priestly Training, 1965.

9. Gravissimum Educationis, Declaration On Christian
Education, 1965.
10. Nostra Aetate, Declaration On the Relation Of the Church
to Non-Christian
Religions, 1965.
11. Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation,
1965.

12. Apostolicam Actuositatem, Decree On the Apostolate of
the Laity, 1965.

16 Documents

13. Dignitatis Humanae, Declaration On Religious
Freedom, 1965.

14. Ad Gentes, Decree On the Mission Activity of the
Church, 1965.

15. Presbyterorum Ordinis, Decree On the Ministry and
Life of Priests, 1965.

16. Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution On the
Church In the Modern World,1965.

Alberione & Vatican II
From 1962-1965, Blessed
Alberione was a silent but attentive
protagonist in Vatican Council II,
attending its sessions daily. In
certain ways Alberione anticipated
the themes of the Council though
most of his life’s work took place
before Vatican II.

Lumen Gentium
The Constitution on the Church stressed the priority
of Christian baptism and affirmed the primary
identity as Christian faithful. Our vocation stems
from our baptism. The first call we have is not so
much to do something, but to be something.* St.
Paul reminds us that each one of us is called to
be holy (1 Cor. 1:9). Holiness is not identified
with any particular state in life.
*http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/848/Called_to_Holiness_and_Mission.html

Lumen Gentium
Numbers 4 & 12 of Vatican II's Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church, deals with
the person, mission, and gifts or
charisms of the Holy Spirit. It speaks
too of the lay faithful’s participation in
the church’s sensus fidei, literally
“sense of the faith” or “faith instinct”.
The document ends with a loving tribute
to Mary.

Lumen Gentium & Alberione
According to the Vatican Document Lumen
Gentium (LG, 46), every religious congregation
makes visible a particular aspect of the mystery
of Christ. What particular aspect of the mystery of
Christ do Paulines make visible? Is this visibility
dependent upon the means we use for mission?
Can we simply sum up our gift in the church as
“using the modern media to evangelize?”

Blessed Alberione committed his life to the
mission of evangelization with the new
means of communication. At the same time
he felt the inadequacy of his response.
Mysteriously and surprisingly Alberione, as
St. Paul before him, highlighted the aspect
of Christ’s mystery that Paulines are called
to reveal: His kenosis. Not to obtain
emptiness, but to reach fullness of life.

Brother Al Millela, S.S.P., explains that our Pauline
priority is to constantly re-tune the witness of our
specific face of holiness. “Our founder implored
us”, he wrote, “to keep first in our apostolic life’s
union with the Lord, a living relationship and vital
knowing of Jesus. In this is our specific mission, a
distinctive prayer response in the world of media.”
As Alberione, we put no trust in our works but rely
on an unfailing abandonment to the guidance of
the Lord so that, as St. Paul tells us, “It is no
longer I who live, but Christ” (Gal. 2:20).

Lumen Gentium and Charism
The Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads
them and enriches them with his virtues.
Allotting his gifts according as he wills,
the Spirit also distributes special graces
among the faithful of every rank…He makes
them fit and ready to undertake various
tasks and offices for the renewal and
building up of the Church.”
Lumen gentium, n.12; 1 Cor 12:11

Pauline Charism
The word charism,
frequently used since
Vatican II, describes
individual gifts for building
up the body of Christ. St.
Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 12
that there are different
kinds of gifts distributed
by the same Spirit.

Lumen Gentium’s
emphasis on the
Christocentric nature
of Marian devotion
was consonant with
Blessed Alberione’s
Marian teaching:
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/trouve03.pdf
Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve, F.S.P.

Mary Queen of Apostles
“Mary was created for the apostolate to give Jesus
Christ to the world: He who is the Way, the
Truth and the Life; He who is Teacher, Priest,
Victim, God! God willed us to have everything
through Mary. Jesus is the Apostle: “We have
our high priest and apostle, Jesus Christ” (Heb
3:1). Mary is the apostle with Christ, in
dependence on Christ, sharing in the apostolate
with Christ.” Blessed Alberione

Gaudium et Spes
The Church in the Modern World called the baptized
to an adult faith, inviting their initiative for
evangelization in their homes, work, and in
politics. “It looked at rapid social change, and how
that social change then brought about changes in
attitudes and morals and the place of religion in
society. It looked at the changes and it reflected
on how these changes often were linked with new
aspirations and the on-going questionings of the
men and women of the time.” Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin,

Alberione blessing a film center

Gaudium et Spes & Alberione
“These were his words, his rule: to neglect
updating is a mistake for all, but for the men
and women of Giacomo Alberione, it is sin.”
Domenico Agasso
http://www.alberione.org/beatificazione/beatificazione/stampa/agasso.htm

Gaudium et Spes & Alberione
For Alberione it was all is a matter of
understanding the times wherein we live, its
ways of communicating, its worries, in order
to continue with a discourse that has much
more profound roots. To speak the
language of the times, in order to continue
pronouncing the Word. Francesco Casetti
http://www.alberione.org/beatificazione/beatificazione/stampa/agasso.htm

Blessed Alberione &
the future Pope Paul VI
When Pope John XXIII died in
June 1963, the Second Vatican
Council had barely begun.
Pope Paul VI was elected and
he immediately declared his
intent to see the council
through and reaffirmed Pope
John's goal of making it an
instrument of Church renewal.

Paul VI & Alberione
 "Here he is, humble, silent, tireless, contained in
his thoughts, which flows from prayer to work,
always ready to read the signs of the times. Our
Father Alberione has given the Church new
instruments to express herself, new means to
give vigor and new breadth to its apostolic
mission....May the Pope, in the name of the whole
Church, express its gratitude." Pope Paul VI

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
All Christian faithful are
called to a full, mindful
and active
participation in the
Eucharistic Liturgy.

Christ is always present to his Church,
especially in the actions of the liturgy.
“Indeed, in this great work which gives perfect glory to God
and brings holiness to men, Christ is always joining in
partnership with himself his beloved Bride, the Church,
which calls upon its Lord and through him gives worship
to the eternal Father.”
“It is therefore right to see the liturgy as an exercise of the
priestly office of Jesus Christ, in which through signs
addressed to the senses man’s sanctification is signified
and, in a way proper to each of these signs, made
effective, and in which public worship is celebrated in its
fullness by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is, by
the head and by his members.” Sacred Liturgy n. 7,8

Sacred Liturgy & Alberione
 "Alberione is also an apostle of the liturgy. He
wrote that the liturgy should be lived in its
threefold reality: dogma, morals, and worship.
The liturgy is the ‘book of truth, morals, and
prayer.’ For example, in the liturgy, the Church
lays out, in the course of the year, the basic
truths of faith. It is a ‘book of morals’ because it
reminds us of Christ’s holy commands, his
virtues, and the means of salvation. Finally, it’s
a ‘book of prayer,’ the most powerful prayer,
because it is the prayer of the Church—the
prayer of everyone.” Sr. Margaret Tapang, PDDM

Sacred Liturgy & Alberione
 “In the liturgy we have the total Christ, Way,
Truth, and Life. In addition, the liturgy of the
Church wants to bring the entire person to
God: mind, will, and heart. There is to be no
false and fragmented liturgy—praying with
the Church, then living contrary to what we
have just prayed.”
Sr. Margaret Tapang, PDDM

Decree on the Ministry and Life of the
Priests
The Vatican Council II Decree on the Ministry and
Life of Priests tells us that the universal call to
holiness for all Christians applies in a particular
way to presbyters, who were consecrated by God
at the time of ordination. It is through the holy
actions they carry out every day, and through the
ministry they are engaged in, that Priests live life
in Christ. The document indicates the pastoral
right and duty of priests to help the faithful find
their own truth, their unique vocation and
development in love and freedom in the Holy
Spirit. n. 4

Life & Ministry of Priests & Alberione
 The priest in the Society of St. Paul serves the
congregation by being steeped in God's word
and preaching it tirelessly. He is to be immersed
in the Eucharist himself and to nourish the
congregation, the entire Pauline Family and the
Church as a whole in his willingness to proclaim
God's truth while living a vowed life of poverty,
chastity, obedience and fidelity to the Holy
Father.
 http://www.vocationoffice.org/priest.htm

 Fr. Alberione practically overcomes the concept
that existed at the time, and approaches that
which would be an acquired heritage after the
openings of Vatican II: "...The starting point of
Trent and of Vatican II differ... as regards the
theology of the ordained minister in the Church.
While Trent starts with the Eucharistic
Celebration, Vatican II starts with the mission.
Teófilo Pérez S.S.P.
 http://www.stpauls.it/studi/maestro/inglese/p%C3%A9rez/ingper4d.htm

 It refers to the mission of Christ, which is
extended in the apostles and in their successors,
the bishops, and has followed and is extended
through the presbyters, the bishops’ collaborators.
In this manner, the vision and the theology of
Vatican II regarding the priestly ministry expands
and extends in a profoundly evangelical sense:
the priesthood is no longer only or principally the
man of worship or of the altar, but is configured
and defined by the threefold function wherein
the Christian mission is qualified:

 …the prophetic role (on the word), the role in
worship (on the Eucharist) and the pastoral role
(on the people of God). On the other hand, the
priest is no longer the center of the Church: the
center is the people of God as a whole; in this
manner the role of protagonist is restored to the
lay persons who recover their essential role in the
workings of the Church" (cf. José Ma. Castillo, Orden
sacerdotal, in Conceptos..., op. cit., 922)
Teófilo Pérez S.S.P.
 http://www.stpauls.it/studi/maestro/inglese/p%C3%A9rez/ingper4d.htm

 The priest lives and works within the community
and generously makes himself available to the
local Church for sacramental ministry where
needed. The main focus of his [Pauline]
apostolic life, however, always remains within
the field of mass media and social
communications which extends his preaching
into the world.

Life & Ministry of Priests &Alberione
 The conviction that lies at the base of all the
thought and work of blessed Alberione is that
the presence of Catholics in the press cannot
limit itself to the simple production of books and
magazines of religious inspiration, but requires
something more important: “…priestly hearts
are needed, because the mission of the Good
Press is part of the priestly mission.”
(UCBS 1926, in La primavera paolina, p. 669).

Life & Ministry of Priests &Alberione
 Preaching is the main task of the priesthood:
“ To make use of the press for the purpose of
evangelization, “a priestly heart and soul is
needed. It is an eminently priestly apostolate.”
(UCBS 1926, in La primavera paolina, p. 669)
(Unione Cooperatori Buona Stampa, 1921,
in Laprimavera paolina, p. 143f).

 Pauline priests incorporate into their spiritual
lives the Way, Truth and Life approach of
Blessed James Alberione. This distinctive
spirituality is Christ-centered and focused on the
Word of God and the Eucharist. It is enhanced
by devotion to Mary, under the title of Queen of
Apostles, and to St. Paul the patron of the
congregation.

Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
 From the beginning, Fr. Alberione relied on lay
cooperators to make his dreams of putting the
modern means of communications at the service
of the gospel come true. He understood that the
laity were called to holiness and heroic virtue.
Fr. Alberione was convinced that as in all
previous centuries, lay creativity, generosity,
and enthusiasm would propel forward the
Gospel in the twentieth century.
 http://www.vocationoffice.org/family.htm

Association of Pauline Cooperators
 Until recently, the laity were seen more as
marginal collaborators of the religious institutes
which recruited them. And yet, the Pauline
Cooperators were one of the first branches of
the Pauline Family to be established by the
Founder. We might well wonder why.
 http://daughtersofstpaul.com/PaulineCooperators/tabid/619/Default.aspx

Association of Pauline Cooperators
 In 1900, as the 19th century came to a close, James
Alberione was sixteen years old. The young seminarian
thought and prayed much about the shape of
development of the Church in the 20th century. In
November of 1900, he read the encyclical Tametsi
Futura. On December 31 of the same year, the "Night
Between the Centuries," Blessed Alberione felt an
unmistakable call from the Lord to do something specific
to respond to the encyclical and help the people of the
new century.
 http://daughtersofstpaul.com/PaulineCooperators/tabid/619/Default.aspx

Alberione serving a Cooperator

Blessed Alberione & the Lay Faithful
We are called to continually renew our
understanding of the vocation of lay Paulines in
the light of Alberione’s vision: “The laity, as
collaborators in our mission, can bring a
contribution of fundamental importance for the
dialogue between faith and culture, not only in the
matter of content, but also in our way of living the
apostolic religious life, and of understanding the
specific mission. Sr. Joana Puntel, F.S.P.

Blessed Alberione & the Lay Faithful
It is they, as already stated, who have the
duty of ‘enlightening and ordering temporal
realities’ (Lumen Gentium). The Founder
affirmed, ‘Seek out persons who will
associate themselves with us in the
apostolate, so that the good can be
multiplied!’ (Raggio,1958). Sr. Joana Puntel, F.S.P.

The Pauline Cooperators
 He intuited both the rise in importance of the new media
of social communication and the development of an
expanded role for the laity in the Church. In 1918, he
laid out the first Statutes for a lay congregation,
formalizing the group under the title “Union of Pauline
Cooperators for the Good Press.”
The Founder’s prescience proved true in developments
and documents on the laity that flowed from the Second
Vatican Council and continue to the present time.

The Holy Spirit Who sanctifies
The People of God through ministry and the
sacraments gives the faithful special gifts also
(cf. 1 Cor. 12:7), "allotting them to everyone
according as He wills" (1 Cor. 12:11) in order
that individuals, administering grace to others
just as they have received it, may also be "good
stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter
4:10), to build up the whole body in charity (cf.
Eph. 4:16). Decree on Apostolate of the Laity n. 3

The Holy Spirit Who sanctifies
From the acceptance of these charisms…there arise for
each believer the right and duty to use them in the Church
and in the world for the good of men and the building up
of the Church, in the freedom of the Holy Spirit who
"breathes where He wills" (John 3:8). This should be done
by the laity in communion with their brothers in Christ,
especially with their pastors who must make a judgment
about the true nature and proper use of these gifts not to
extinguish the Spirit but to test all things and hold for what
is good (cf. 1 Thess. 5:12, 19, 21).[4]
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity n. 3

Vision of the Council: Pope Benedict
"Hand in hand with a proper appreciation of the
priest's role is a correct understanding of the
specific vocation of the laity, as it emerged from
Vatican Council II, the vision of the Council was
that wherever the lay faithful live out their
baptismal vocation - in the family, at home, at
work - they are actively participating in the
Church's mission to sanctify the world. A renewed
focus on lay apostolate will help to ... give a
strong impetus to the task of evangelizing
society.” Pope Benedict XVI

Alberione & Ecclesiology
 “Very soon, with the progress of his
foundations, Fr. Alberione gives an original
form to the ecclesiology of his time,
associating to the ministry of the Pauline
priest, the Sister, the Cooperators, the
Disciples and the members of the
aggregated Institutes.” Don Silvio Sassi, SSP

http://www.paulus.net/supgen/pdf/2010/Sacerdozio_Paolino_eng.pdf

Dei Verbum
The Constitution on Divine Revelation (n.9) presents
the key concept of the connection between
Scripture and Tradition: “For both of them, flowing
from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way
merge into a unity and tend toward the same
end.” There are three themes: the “new view of
the phenomenon of tradition”; “the application of
critical historical methods to the interpretation of
Scripture”; and the growth of the “biblical
movement.” From a commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger

Dei Verbum & Alberione
 "The Bible is the letter God has written to people".
In the Catholic world, however, only quite a few
had received it through the centuries, till our
times. Till his time, we might dare say, although
during his time meritorious associations and
sodalities were working for the spread of the
Word of God. It was he, however, who brought
about the absolute novelty: religious men and
women were not mere active members, but
persons with vows to render this service, as
apostles, as auxiliaries in the apostolate.” Domenico
Agasso

God’s Letter Written to Everyone

Dei Verbum & Alberione
 “Giacomo Alberione turned himself
into the mail carrier of ‘God’s letter’ in
all languages, printed, turned to
movies, spread through radio,
entrusted to all the "fastest and most
effective" media of the times.”
Domenico Agasso

Inter Mirifica
The Decree on the Media of Social Communication
called the Church to a more effective use of these
means in carrying out her mission of
evangelization and service to mankind. The media
are gifts of God. ”All the members of the Church
should make a concerted effort to ensure that the
means of communication are put at the service of
the multiple forms of the apostolate.” n.13

Inter Mirifica & Alberione
Inter Mirifica translates
as “Among the
wonders” It is a
reference to the new
means of
communication as
wonderful gifts of God.

Inter Mirifica & Alberione
 “A day of special jubilation was December 4, 1962
during which the Council’s decree, Inter Mirifica
on the media of social communications as means
of evangelization. Fr. Alberione thus commented:
‘Now you have no more reason to doubt. The
Church has spoken.’ Furthermore: ‘I have given
you the best. Had I found something else better, I
would have given it to you now. However, I have
not found it.’” Fr. Luigi Valtorta, SSP

Writer, Producer, Director, Blessed

Inter Mirifica and Alberione
 “Fifty years ago, Italy was preparing itself for a
second and more decisive modernization that
had, as protagonists not just the factories, but
also the newspapers, movies, radio. The Italians
discovered the role of mass media and,
perplexed, they were asking themselves about
the new forms of culture that they were bringing
in.”
Francesco Casetti

Inter Mirifica and Alberione
 “Fr. Alberione’s intuition was to challenge this
new culture in its own grounds, by identifying
forms of communication that would allow
supplying families with information and
orientations attentive to the present, but also
bound to a tradition on which the sensibility of
Christians were grafted. Today that the media
revelation is completed and, by now it seems
new horizons and new demands are emerging,
that intuition reveals all its profitability.”
Francesco Casetti

The saint of communications
 Fr. James Alberione is one of those saints
whose charism and whose works perceive
and interpret a turning point of humanity in
need of witnessing and prophecy. Sergio Zavoli

Alberione and the future Pope Paul VI

The desire to follow the light he
had received from the Tabernacle
had a profound effect on his life.

"As from a life source, everything is
born of the Eucharistic Master.
Thus was the Pauline Family born,
thus it is nourished, thus it
lives, thus it works, thus it is
sanctified." Blessed Alberione
(UPS III, 10)

Blessed Alberione
“All must work
together as
artists. who
present a
beautiful
artwork, work
together."

On the 100th
Anniversary of the
Founding of the Pauline Family
Sr. Margaret C. Kerry, FSP
http://paulinelaity.blogspot.com

Vatican Council II and Blessed James Alberione

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