| Society of the Catholic Apostolate The Pallottines |
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The seal of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate |
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| Abbreviation | S.A.C. |
| Motto | Latin: Caritas Christi urget nos English: The love of Christ impels us |
| Formation | 4 April 1835 |
| Type | Roman Catholic Institute of Apostolic Life |
| Headquarters | Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti, 204 Rome, Italy |
| Membership | 1,648 priests, 2,379 brothers (2010) |
| Rector General | Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. |
| Website | www.sac.info |
The Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Latin: Societas Apostolatus Catholici, abbreviated S.A.C.), better known as the Pallottines, are a Society of Apostolic Life within the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman priest Saint Vincent Pallotti. Pallottines are part of the Union of Catholic Apostolate and are present in 45 countries on six continents. The Pallottines administer one of the largest churches in the world, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire.
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The charism of the Pallottines is to assist all in finding and living their apostolic vocation in life. St. Vincent Pallotti believed that all are called to revive faith, rekindle charity and be apostles. The Pallottines assist people in living these virtues.
One example of their work was the Pallottine mission to Kamerun, established in 1890 in the German colony of Kamerun, today's Cameroon. From the late 1840s, when St. Vincent sent priests of the Society to London, to the present, with the addition of Taiwan and the Philippines, the Pallottines have been expanding their missionary apostolate. The Irish Province was founded in 1907 in Thurles, County Tipperary, and the Pallottines administer schools in locations as diverse as Pennsauken, New Jersey (Bishop Eustace Preparatory School), Laurel, Maryland (St. Vincent Pallotti High School; run by the Pallottine Missionary Sisters), and Bruchsal, Germany (the St. Paulusheim Gymnasium).
The Society conducts parishes, schools, missions, clinics, retreat houses and all types of charitable works.