THE AUGUSTINIANS OF THE ASSUMPTION OR ASSUMPTIONISTS
We are religious, brothers, priests, living in an apostolic community. Lay members of the Assumption make a alliance with us to share our way of life and action within the Catholic Church. The congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption (A.A.) was founded in 1845 by Father Emmnauel d’Alzon. Faithful to our founder, we work to bring about the Kingdom of God.
“Called by Christ, the source of our unity, we choose to live together according to the Rule and spirit of St. Augustine, in view of the Kingdom. The coming of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ for us and our neighbors is already being accomplished in our life together”. R.V 6
Today, we are present on five continents, in over 120 communities and 33 countries. As disciples of Saint Augustine, we live our faith, prayer and apostolate in community. Together we are called to take up the three great challenges of religious indifference, exclusion and injustice.
As religious, we have inherited from our founder the conviction that the Gospel is a path for humanity and a factor of social transformation. Through our work, we seek to respond to the current needs of men, women and the Church. We are encouraged by the project of moving the world and each individual forward in justice, love and truth.
Daily prayer, both personal and communal, opens our souls to God’s action. It is the ever-refreshing source of apostolic action. Prayer is nourished by the Word of God, particularly through meditation on Scripture, celebration of the Divine Office and liturgical action. The Eucharist is the center of our prayer.
Whatever our country, language or culture, we are brothers living under the same roof. Following the rule of St. Augustine, we give priority to living together in prayer, meals, work and leisure, striving to form a mind and heart that turn to God. Our life together is characterized by openness, cordiality and simplicity.
The Assumption is versatile. Some of us are teachers, engineers, cabinet-makers, journalists; others are missionaries, pilgrimage leaders, hospital, student or prison chaplains, parish priests. Assumption’s activities range from theological research to distant missions, with a real penchant for the Eastern Churches and the search for Unity, vocations in the service of the Church and communicating the Christian message through social action and the media. In this last area, we created the Bayard company and are still responsible for accompanying its development.
As part of the Year of Consecrated Life 2015, Amaru Cazenave (Frassateam) has produced a video for us that humorously presents our joy at being Assumptionists (Actor: Fitzgerald Berthon).
