Blessed Archbishop George, our Renovator, prepared as Superior General a new edition of the Constitutions, adapting them to the norms of the 1917 Code of Canon Law and enriching them by numerous ascetical directions. Above all, he imbued them with his own spirit of love for the Church of Christ and of a sincere desire to serve it in every possible way. This spirit, confirmed by the testimony of other writings and the whole life of Blessed George, is a special element of the spirituality of the renewed Congregation. These Constitutions of the Congregation of Marian Clerics Regular under the title of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary2 were approved by Pope Pius XI on Jan. 27, 1930 (precisely on the third anniversary of the death of their Author). Because of the changed conditions, which new times brought about in the life of the world and of the Church, the Second Vatican Council recommended to all religious families to make a serious review of their way of life and laws. This renewal was supposed to bring about a renewed fidelity to the Gospel and a return to the original inspiration of the Institute, as well as a wise adaptation to the present day needs of men and to the changed conditions of this time. The work undertaken by our Congregation after the Council continued the process which had lasted for almost three centuries, particularly complementing the work already done in great measure by Blessed Archbishop George. Furthermore, the effort to bring about the “updated renewal” mandated by the authority of the Church gave our Congregation the opportunity to study and to suitably codify (express in law) the essential elements of our full spiritual patrimony, especially those handed down from our Founder and Renovator. 2 In the original Latin these Constitutions are called: Constitutiones Congregationis Clericorum Regularium Marianorum. Later, the word “Regularium”, was omitted from the name of our Congregation (as can be seen in the 1988 edition of our Constitutions), because of the anachronistic connotation (we are no longer an Order—Institute of solemn vows professed according to a Rule—Regula, from which comes “Regularium”). Constitutions and Directory 78
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