Today is the 175th anniversary of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Ave Maria Press, one of the Congregation's sponsored ministries, joins in celebration.
One of the unique features of the Congregation of Holy Cross was its co-mingling of religious priests and religious brothers. Eventually religious sisters joined in this partnership.
The Congregation of Holy Cross has from its founding focused on religious education. Our efforts at Ave Maria Press are part of its continuing commitment in this area. We support and strive to make complete the words of the Congregation of Holy Cross founder, Blessed Basil Moreau:
I have always understood the education of youth to be the formation of the hearts of young people and the development of a positive response toward religion within them. I have always been convinced that the first duty of any teacher is to produce Christians: Society has a greater need for people of values than it has for scholars. Knowledge itself does not bring about positive values, but positive values to influence knowledge and put it to a good use. If there ever existed a time when this type of education should be an influence in the lives of young people, it is certainly now—at a time when worldly and unchristian values seem to produce such confusion for the young. Christian education alone can influence the evil that we all experience in today's world. Christian education alone can return people to the belief in the practice of Christianity by inspiring values in the coming generations. — Bl. Basil Moreau, 1856
