Statutes of the Alliance for Priests

ARTICLE I - Definition:

The Alliance for Priests is an association whose purpose is to unite the priests of the entire world around the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The members pledge themselves to preach the doctrine of Infinite Love, to live that doctrine themselves and make others live by it as far as their influence extends; they pledge themselves also to the closest union with the Holy Father, with their Bishop and with the other members.

ARTICLE 11. - Means:

To attain this end, the Alliance for Priests makes use of the following means for the personal sanctification of the priest and for the diffusion of the knowledge of Infinite Love.

1) For their own sanctification:

(a) Meditation on, and study of the doctrine of Infinite Love as set forth in the Sacred Scriptures, in the writings of the Fathers, in the various pious books both of ancient and modern times and especially in the writings of the Servant of God, Mother Louise Margaret.

(b) Prayer having as its object to form a close and intimate friendship with Jesus through a lively faith and boundless confidence in His love and a constant endeavour to model one’s own heart on the Heart of Jesus.

(c) Imitation of the sacerdotal virtues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (as explained in The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood) and above all of His loving abandonment to the will of His heavenly Father.

(d) Love and esteem for the priesthood in their own person and holy joy and gratitude to God for having received such a great grace.

(e) Special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Mother and Queen of priests.

(f) Friendly relations with the members of the Work of Infinite Love based on the love of God and zeal for His glory.

Days of spiritual recollection according to the spirit of the Work.

2) For souls:

(a) In the first place, assistance to priests by prayer, self-sacrifice, help when needed, good example, discreet and charitable advice and by material when needed.

(b) Great respect for the priestly dignity: Members of the Alliance for Priests should endeavour to diffuse the knowledge of Infinite Love and to promote union and peace among their brethren; they should endeavour also to avoid all unnecessary criticism and everything against the virtue of charity.

(c) Preaching the doctrine of Infinite Love by every means that their zeal suggests; by preaching, through the press, retreats and works of charity;

(d) Recruiting fervent members for the Work.

ARTICLE 111

1) - Who can be members of the Alliance for Priests?

All priests throughout the world both secular and religious who are willing to make their lives conform to the spirit of the Work.

The members of the Alliance for Priests are free to adopt any authorised form of spirituality which they judge to be most suited to their needs and their character; they are free also to belong to other sacerdotal unions or other spiritual movements; it is in fact desirable that they be already members of other unions.

2) Other sacerdotal associations can be affiliated (even if these associations are not formed for purely spiritual ends), provided they be willing to adopt the spirit of the Alliance for Priests.

The sacerdotal associations which become affiliated to the Alliance for Priests do not thereby become dependent on it or come under its authority, but form a simple bond of charity and co-operation-in other words they form a purely spiritual bond.

The Alliance for Priests is not to be joined on to any particular religious Order or Congregation.

ARTICIE IV - Duties of Members.

1) (a) Priests, on the day of their entry into this organisation, are to make a total consecration of themselves to Infinite Love according to the established formula1 and are to pledge themselves to employ faithfully the following means:

(b) To make each day, preferably in the morning, a meditation, or some spiritual reading meditated on, and in the evening to make an examination of conscience on the conformity of their lives with the life of Jesus Priest.

(c) To make a special memento in the Mass each day for the extension of the reign of Infinite Love: to make a memento for all priests, especially for their fellow-members and for the Associates and Faithful Friends, and a memento for all deceased members.

(d) To celebrate, or to have celebrated each year, a Mass for the deceased members.

1 Footnote: This formula is given in the appendix to The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood and in the other books of the Work and is on the “Prayers” page.

2) Clerical associations which become affiliated to the Alliance for Priests, should take their inspiration for their activities, even material, from the doctrine of Infinite Love, which is essentially a doctrine of charity. A person who is a member of an association which is affiliated to the Alliance for Priests does not thereby become a member of that Alliance for Priests. If he wishes to become a member, he must join in the ordinary way.

ARTICLE V - Organisation and Functioning.

1) The Alliance for Priests has a Central Council and diocesan sections, directed respectively by a Central Council and a diocesan Council.

2) The Central Council is composed of a President, a Secretary arid three or five Councillors, The Central Council can co-opt other Councillors in countries where this appears to be necessary.

3) At the present moment, the Centre is established in the Diocese of Ivrea in the Province of Turin. His Excellency Mgr. Rostagno, Bishop of Ivrea, the immediate successor of Mgr. Filipello, the Founder of the first branch of the Alliance for Priests, is at the same time Head of the Work of Infinite Love and President of the Alliance for Priests.

In the case of the death of the President, the Central Council elects another.

The Councillors, like the President, are elected for an indefinite period. Should any of them die, or resign, the President is to nominate another in his place.

4) The diocesan sections are under the General Centre, as are also general sacerdotal associations which have been affiliated, individual members and diocesan associations which have not yet an organised Section in their diocese. As soon as a diocesan Section is organised, individual members in the diocese come under it.

5) It is the duty of the Central Council to diffuse the doctrine of Infinite Love and the spirit of the Work.

6) The activity and vigilance of the Central Council extends over all the activities of the Alliance for Priests( whether diocesan Sections or members not grouped in sections) and of the other branches of the Work of Infinite Love (Associates and Faithful Friends) in order that the spirit of the Work may remain unchanged.

7) Diocesan Sections.

In order to constitute a diocesan Section it is necessary:

(a) that those who wish to organise it and to be members of it be already members of the Alliance for Priests;

(b) that the Ordinary approve of the Work in his diocese;

(c) that the request to form it be made to the General Council which normally gives its consent when the first two conditions are fulfilled.

8) Diocesan Sections can add to the General Statutes of the Work a diocesan statute corresponding to the needs and to the particular character of their clergy. Every diocesan statute should be approved by the Central Council.

9) Each diocesan Section has its own Council composed of a President, a Secretary and three or five Councillors nominated by the Bishop (if he is a member).

It will be the duty of the members of the diocesan Council to help, to visit and to comfort the members of the branch in their temporal and spiritual needs.

10) The diocesan Section performs for its own diocese what the Central Council lays down for all the branches of the Work: it endeavours to see that the Statutes are observed anti the spirit maintained.

11) A diocesan Section, as a rule, does not accept priests or associations that are outside the diocese. However it can facilitate communication with the General Council for them, especially in countries far from the Central Council.

12) The diocesan Sections will have all the more vitality if the members that compose it are well prepared. Therefore there should be no undue haste in setting up a diocesan Section. It is better that the members who are to compose it be well prepared, in order that they be thoroughly convinced and real apostles of the Work.

N.B. - In order to leave the diocesan Authority and the diocesan Clergy full freedom of action, those priests of Religious Orders who are members of the branch should not in ordinary circumstances be chosen as Directors of Sections or for official positions. They should rather be chosen to give conferences at meetings and act as spiritual guides.

Some considerations on the Alliance for Priests.

A.- Advantages of this Alliance for Priests.

The Statutes of the Alliance for Priests given above show clearly that the priests who are members should study deeply the doctrine of God-Infinite Love and should live it and diffuse that doctrine in the world of souls.

A study of the books on the Work will show that there are incalculable advantages for the priest who performs faithfully this duty.

The principal of these advantages are: an increase of faith and love in the interior life of the priest; greater generosity, more intense zeal, enthusiasm, confidence and holy joy in the exercise of the apostolate; more cordial union and more active collaboration with his confreres; more docile relations with, and closer attachment to his superiors. These are indeed great advantages, and the Alliance for Priests has the right to think that it has accomplished its task if it succeeds in conferring them on its members.

B. - Utility of the Alliance for Priests.

From what has been already said it is evident that immense benefits are to be derived from membership, but membership of the Alliance for Priests and of the other branches for persons other than priests, is of course a matter of counsel and not of precept.

On this question Father Louis Veseo writes:

“As an association, the Alliance for Priests helps us to obtain more easily for ourselves and our brethren the treasures hidden in the rich deposit of our Faith.

“All associations formed under the authority of the Church are helps to gain the spiritual wealth of the Church but we do not say that they are indispensable. According to the order established for the sanctification and salvation of souls, three things suffice: the Gospel, the Sacraments, and the Catholic Church with its Priesthood.

“The Work of Infinite Love in its four branches helps its members to obtain for themselves these immense treasures deposited by Our Divine Saviour in the Gospel, the Sacraments, the Church and the Priesthood and to make these treasures available for those entrusted to their care.”

C. - How are these precious fruits to be obtained by the members of the different branches?

As in the case of all pious associations, it is not sufficient merely to have one’s name inscribed as a member; members must carry out faithfully the regulations of the association and live according to its spirit.

D. - Relations with other Clerical Associations.

The relations between the Alliance for Priests and Clerical Unions which have been affiliated are dealt with in Articles III and IV of these Statutes.

We wish here to refer to the general relations which exist between the Alliance for Priests and all other clerical associations.

The Alliance for Priests has an aim, an object and a work to do different from all other existing Associations. The aim of the Alliance for Priests has been defined by Mother Louise Margaret as follows: “This Alliance which we call ‘The Alliance for Priests of the Friends of the Sacred Heart ‘-in order to honour the saying of Jesus Christ to His Apostles: ‘I will not now call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth, but I have called you friends’ (John xv, 15)-has as its end: (a) to group together all the priests of the world around the Adorable Heart of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, in order to array them as an elite body against the errors and corruption of our time; (b) to restore and develop the family spirit and the spirit of solidarity in the sacerdotal body, to make the same spirit circulate through it, and to establish in it a more complete unity of views, a more uniform movement of action; (c) to procure the personal sanctification of its members by a true and practical devotion to Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Sacred Heart, the Tabernacle of Infinite Love, and to procure the sanctification of souls in general by the development and good direction of the Apostolic spirit.”

It is therefore in no sense a rival and in no way interferes with the work of other clerical Alliances. On the contrary, it aims at assisting them and, so far from trying to take members away from them, its work will result in increasing their numbers, Members of other clerical Unions or alliances who join will still remain members of these unions and will be expected to become more zealous members; clerical associations which become affiliated will retain their identity and will receive valuable help. The Alliance for Priests of the Friends of the Sacred Heart has much to offer. It provides priests of other societies with books specially suited for priests, which the Holy See has examined and has allowed to be published as private revelation containing a message from Our Lord to priests and directions for their priestly life and apostolic labours. It promotes unity and harmony between the members of the various clerical associations and between the members themselves, its motto being the prayer of Our Lord at the Last Supper for His apostles: “That they be one as We also are One.” (John XVIII, 22).

The following quotations from the letters of Mother Louise Margaret show (1) the need for the Alliance for Priests; (2) that it does not aim at supplanting other clerical associations; and (3) that it will help them by infusing new life and vigour without adding any heavy burden.

“It seems to me that Jesus wishes an organisation which will unite the good and faithful priests and group them around their bishops in each diocese, and that these dioceses be linked together and grouped around the Pope.” (Letter to Monsignor Filipello, Oct., 1910)

“For the past two or three years, and even this year, associations for priests have been formed in different dioceses; that makes for much diversity without however effecting the unity which Jesus demanded and still demands,” (Letter to Father Charrier, June, 1911)

“Indeed this Work of Love (The Alliance for Priests), so long desired and demanded by the Divine Master, seems to me to consist in a Universal bond between priests based on the love which Jesus has for them, and which they ought to have for Jesus. This must necessarily begin in some diocese, but it must not be a diocesan work. It is something universal that Jesus wishes, something that can be accommodated to all places, all minds and all usages.” (Letter to Father Charrier, June iii)

“Our Lord asks very specially of priests’ obedience of spirit, dependence on the guidance of their bishops, love for Himself, the Divine Priest and love for souls that are so dear to Him.” (Letter to Monsignor Filipello, February 1918)

“I have shown the Work (the Alliance for Priests) as a bond of universal charity destined to be, not indeed an extra work added to the other works which are already numerous, but an all-embracing bond uniting together all other associations and making complete fusion of all the priests of the world together.” (Letter from Rome to Monsignor Filipello, December 1913)

A - Who can be members of the Alliance for Priests?

All priests, both secular and religious, who are willing to live the doctrine of Infinite Love and diffuse it among those committed to their care, This demands, not indeed that the priest who proposes to enter should have arrived at the perfect practice of the duties of a member of the Alliance, but that he should have a sincere determination to carry out his obligations.

A general idea of these obligations may be got (i) from the first Article of the Statutes drawn up by Mother Louise Margaret: “The end of this organisation is to procure the personal sanctification of its members by a true and practical devotion to Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Sacred Heart, the Tabernacle of Infinite Love, and to labour for the sanctification of souls in general by the development and good direction of the apostolic spirit”; and from a letter to Monsignor Filipello, March, 1909, in which she says: “The priests of this organisation (which will not be merely a work of prayer, like that of Father Eymard, but an active work) will labour in the spirit of the little book-The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood- to spread the knowledge of Infinite Love around them, and preach love for Jesus Christ, God and Man, and fidelity to the Church and the Pope.”

Members of the Alliance will therefore take their priesthood seriously and will regard it as a duty to strive earnestly to arrive at that perfection which their state demands. They will be, however, humble and unassuming and full of delicate consideration for their brethren in the priesthood.

B. - Preparation for making the act of Consecration and Donation to Infinite Love:

The mere recitation of the formula of the Act of Consecration and Donation to Infinite Love, which is the official act of entry into the Alliance for Priests, will not make a priest a living member.

A period of serious preparation should precede the important step of consecrating oneself to Infinite Love. The priest who intends to become a member should read and meditate on the writings of Mother Louise Margaret. He will find in her Life an account of the origin and nature of the Alliance for Priests and of the necessity for preparation for those who wish to become members. The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood will teach him the sacerdotal virtues which Our Lord expects him to cultivate and the zeal with which he should discharge his obligations as a priest. It will teach him also to have a tender devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In order to be thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Work of Infinite Love and to be able to diffuse it around him, he should read the other writings of Mother Louise Margaret also, all of which are now available.

C. - How to become a Member.

If there is a diocesan branch, the priest who desires to become a member should inform the diocesan Director. When he has made sufficient preparation he can choose his own day to make his Act of Consecration and Donation according to the formula which is to be found at the end of The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood and in the other books on the Work of Infinite Love. This he should sign, giving his address and the date, and should send it to the diocesan Director.

If there is no diocesan Director, the priest who desires to become a member can do so by reciting his act of Consecration and Donation to Infinite Love according to the formula found in the books on the Work of Infinite Love. This he should sign giving the date and his address, and send it to:

The Rev. Secretary,
L’Alliance Sacerdotale,
Vische Canavese,
Torino, Italy

No special solemnity or ceremony is insisted on for the recitation of the Act of Consecration and Donation. However, as there is. question of taking on serious obligations (which however do not bind under pain of sin) it is fitting that this act should be surrounded with a certain amount of solemnity. It is advised that the priest should select some of the great Feast days of the year to serve as a landmark and to remind him of the yearly Mass for the deceased members. If possible, a short retreat or at least a day of recollection should be made as a proximate preparation This is a matter of counsel, however, and the priest is free to choose any day he wishes.

He is recommended to renew his Act of Consecration and Donation to Infinite Love frequently; if he renews it each day, preferably after Mass, besides the partial indulgence of 300 days, he will gain a plenary indulgence once a month.

D. - The Priest should live his Act of Consecration.

The beautiful formula composed by Mother Louise Margaret contains an epitome of the doctrine of Infinite Love, a prayer to the Blessed Trinity, a solemn promise to preach the doctrine of Infinite Love and ends with a prayer to our Blessed Lady. True devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Tabernacle of Infinite Love, devotion to each of the three (Persons of the Blessed Trinity strongly insisted on by Mother Louise Margaret, a spirit of zeal and self-sacrifice and a tender devotion to our Blessed Lady should characterise the daily life of the priest-member of the Work of Infinite Love.

E. - Diocesan Sections.

When in any diocese there are a number of members belonging to the central branch at Vische in Italy, or a number of priests who have finished their preparation, they should unite and form a diocesan section according to the rules laid down in Article V, Nos. 7 - 11. No definite number is specified, but Mother Louise Margaret mentioned six as sufficient to make a beginning.

F. - Activities of the Diocesan Sections.

The General Statutes composed by Mother Louise Margaret lay down that all members should attend at least one of the conferences of the Alliance for Priests each year. If besides this, there are regional or national meetings, members of the diocesan sections should endeavour to attend.

Both Monsignor Filipello and Mother Louise Margaret recognised the difficulties for busy priests to arrange frequent meetings. When therefore, priests of the Alliance for Priests belong to some other clerical unions, as will usually happen, they should be faithful in attending the days of recollection arranged by the President of their Union.

It is left to the initiative of the diocesan Sections to arrange more frequent meetings.

Mother Louise Margaret gives the following recommendations for more frequent meetings of neighbouring priests and the following suggestions for what should be done at these meetings:

It would be desirable that the priests of each city or of each district meet once a month under the presidency of a priest delegated or nominated by the diocesan President. This priest himself will either give a conference or invite another priest, who may be either a member or not, to give a conference on some subject connected with the Alliance. The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood and the other writings of Mother Louise Margaret provide both suggestions and material for these conferences.

“This conference should be simple and apostolic; and should aim at doing good rather than at being learned or literary. “There should be some exercise of devotion in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the reunion.

“The opening session should be held in the Church or Chapel. After it, the members should withdraw to the residence of the President or to some hail for familiar discussion on religious topics which would excite in them the love of Jesus and zeal for the souls He loves so much. Ideas about problems of missionary life could be exchanged and doubts solved.

“Young priests would get from these conferences directions for their works of zeal and their studies and ideas for their sermons.

“It would be the duty of the President to conduct the different exercises of the reunion according to the spirit of the Statutes. He should visit members in case of sickness or trouble and give spiritual consolation.

“As the object of the Alliance for Priests is to provide a bond of union between the priests of the world, Presidents of branches should keep the Central Council informed about their activities and should welcome directions from it thus helping to foster unity of views and of action among the members.”

These meetings while showing the vitality of the section will serve to foster that perfect union, that family spirit which is a guarantee of fruitfulness in the priests’ apostolic labours and a pledge of the blessings of God.

“Behold how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalms cxxxii, 1).