The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (S.S.S.) is a Catholic religious congregation of priests, deacons, and Brothers whose ideal of life is to become living witnesses of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Christian life. By their life and activities, they assist the Church in her efforts to form Christian communities whose center of life is the Eucharist. They commit themselves to the implementation of this ideal in collaboration with lay men and women engaged in various ministries.
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The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, whose name in Latin is Societas Sanctissimi Sacramenti, was founded in Paris, France, on May 13, 1856 by a French priest, Saint Peter Julian Eymard. As he searched for response to the needs and challenges of his time, he found the answer in the love of God manifested in a special way in his Eucharist. Captivated by this love, he traced out for his companions and contemporaries a new form of life in the Church.
Since its founding, the members of the congregation have reached all continents of the globe and continue the mission begun by St. Peter Julian Eymard. Currently numbering a little less than a thousand religious, they are present in thirty different countries throughout the world.
Like St. Peter Julian Eymard, each member of the Congregation wants the Mystery of the Eucharist to be loved and lived in its fullness. Believing that Christ in the Eucharist has the power to effect a radical transformation in our society and in all people. The power of the Eucharist motivates and strengthens everyone to work for the establishment of Christ's Kingdom on earth.
Each religious proclaims the reality of God's love in the Eucharist by their "gift of self" to Him and their brothers and sisters. By prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and an active apostolic life, they strive to make Christ in the Eucharist better known and loved.
Peter Julian Eymard (1811–1868) was a French priest, the founder of two religious orders, and a canonized saint.
Eymard was born 4 February 1811 at La Mure, Isère, France. His first attempt as a seminarian ended when he left the seminary due to poor health. Nevertheless, on 20 July 1834, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grenoble. In 1839, he joined the Marist Fathers, where he worked as a well-respected spiritual advisor with seminarians and priests. He worked with the Third Order of Mary and other lay organizations promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Eucharist, particularly in the Forty Hours. He rose to the position of Provincial of the Society at Lyon in 1845. In 1856, due to disagreements with the Marists, Eymard left and founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men, and, in 1858, together with Marguerite Guillot founded the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, a contemplative congregation for women.
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament began working with children in Paris to prepare them to receive their First Communion. It also reached out to non-practicing Catholics, inviting them to repent and begin receiving Communion again. Eymard was a tireless proponent of frequent Holy Communion, an idea given more authoritative backing by Pope Pius X in 1905.
Eymard overcame a number of difficulties to reach his goals, including poverty in his family and in his newly founded community, his father's initial opposition to his only son's desire to be a priest, years of serious illness and pain, a Jansenistic striving for inner perfection and the difficulties of getting diocesan and later papal approval for his new religious community. Eymard was a contemporary and a friend of other saints including Peter Chanel, John Vianney and Marcellin Champagnat.
The French sculptor Auguste Rodin received counsel from Eymard when Rodin entered the Congregation in 1862, having given up art after the death of his sister. Eymard recognized Rodin's talent and advised him to return to his vocation. Later in life, Rodin produced a bust of Eymard.
Eymard died on 1 August 1868. He was declared venerable in 1908, beatified in 1925, and canonized by Pope John XXIII on 9 December 1962. His feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on 2 August. He was named Apostle of the Eucharist.
Rule 3, Rule of Life of the SSS
Following in the footsteps of Father Eymard, our mission is to respond to the hungers of the human family with the riches of God's love manifested in the Eucharist.
Drawing life from the bread given for the life of the world, we proclaim in the thanksgiving prayer the Passover of Christ, and we welcome the Eucharistic presence by a prolonged prayer of adoration and contemplation.
Formed by the Sacrament of the New Covenant which frees us from the domination of sin, we commit ourselves to building up the Body of Christ.
By our life and activities, we share in the mission of the Church, so that the Eucharist may be celebrated in truth, that the faithful may grow in their communion with the Lord through Eucharistic adoration in the setting of solemn exposition, that they may commit themselves to the renewal of their Christian communities, and collaborate in liberating individuals and society from the forces of evil.
United in Spirit with those who are poor and weak, we oppose everything which degrades human dignity and we proclaim a more just and brotherly world as we await the coming of the Lord