ประวัติคณะภคินีพระราชินีมาเรีย (Eng)
- รายละเอียด
- หมวด: SQM
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ วันพฤหัสบดี, ๑๕ กันยายน ๒๕๕๔ ๑๑:๕๘
- เขียนโดย SQM SISTER
- ฮิต: 2386
History of the Congregation
“Carlo, you must give up everything – family, work and education, because you must become a priest and found a religious order” this is the vocation of Father Carlo della Torre, who deems it his special mandate designed by God through his spiritual director (cf. a souvenir of love given to his children, p. 75). Father Carlo came to Thailand as a missionary and was ordained a Salesian priest. He tried to set up a local religious order in Ratchaburi diocese, but due to the unsuitable situations at that time, he asked to be transferred to the Archdiocese of Bangkok in order to make his aspiration a reality.
Father Carlo drafted the first Constitutions for concession from the Roman Curia and was approved on 3 December 1954 under the name: “Daughters of the Queenship of Mary” as a Secular Institute. Nonetheless, Father Carlo began to plan directions and life model of the congregation including the formation which, more and more, tended toward the Religious Institute. The members of the congregation have been loyal and exercise what Father Carlo has set up from the starting to the present time. (CIC 578)
By 1973 Father Carlo began to get sick. He then asked a Salesian priest to help in the field of spiritual and religious formation to his young congregation (cf. Letter from the Salesian Superior General dated 10 August 1973). In 1974 Father Carlo sent 2 sisters to be trained in the religious life with the Salesian sisters in Turin, Italy, in order that they would come back and became formators of members of the DQM members (cf. Letter of the Salesian Superior General, 4 December 1974), meanwhile Father Carlo also asked H.E. Bishop Praphon Chaicharoen, who was the Salesian Superior General at that time, to help adapt the 2nd edition of the rules and regulations (A.D. 1982) in order that they would reflect the real life of the DQM members which were clearly the religious life module. After a careful study Father Carlo was satisfied as testified by his letter dated 29 November 1980 which he wrote to his children.
Even after Father Carlo’s death (4 April 1982) and the DQM congregation called for the first general chapter to correct and improve the 3rd Constitutions (A.D. 1986), whereby the module of the religious life was even made more clear, about formation of community life, fraternal life and life of poverty lived as a community by putting everything in common, proclaiming the Good News, living as public witnesses of Christ and His Church. However there had been no change about the status of the Secular Institute of the Congregation. This perhaps was due the reason that at that time the Church did not clearly identity the difference between the Secular and the Religious Institutes until the enactment of the Canon Law in 1983 (ref. Prot. N. I. s. 5621/04 Vatican, 13 July).
Up and until A.D. 2000 when the Church called upon all the Institutes to return to its origin, it opened the window of opportunity to the DQM Congregation to carefully ponder over its historical origin both individually and collectively. They also sought assistance from both the Universal and local churches to rectify the understanding about their lives of those who took the vows. Such studies resulted in the division of 2 groups, namely: a group affirmed their status to be under the Secular Institute, while the other verified themselves to be under the Religious Institute “Congregation of the Sisters, Daughters of the Queenship of Mary (S.D.M.).
Therefore, on 1-5 April 2008 a special general chapter was called to solve the afore-mentioned problem. The unanimous motion was that each member was able to live according to one’s own conscience, so that each life style would be in the frame-work of either Institute and that she would be able to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in serving the Church as given in the charism of the founder. (cf. Motion of the DQM special meeting, 1-5 April 2008 at Baan Thanphraporn, Sampran, Nakhonpathom). The SDM Congregation, therefore, requests the official approval for its religious status, so that their way of life since the beginning under the form of the Religious Institute will be officially approved in writing from both the Universal and local Church.
After the corrections to the Constitutions and Regulations made according to the indications of the Congregation of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the same Congregation also suggested a change to the name from “ The Congregation of the Sisters, Daughters of the Queenship of Mary” (คณะภคินีธิดาพระราชินีมาเรียผู้นิรมล) to “The Sisters of the Queenship of Mary”(คณะภคินีพระแม่มารีราชินีผู้นิรมล) in order to avoid the similarity to the name of the Secular Institute, both in Thai and in English. (See e-mail from Sr. Mary Wright to Sr. Theodore). The Commission endorsed the suggestions of the Congregation for Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (See Minutes of the 27th Meeting on December 12, 2010).
Hence of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued the Decree of Approval for “ The Sisters of the Queenship of Mary” recognizing it as a Religious Institute of diocesan right under the Archdiocese of Bangkok (cf. Prot. n. I.s. 5621/04, Prot. n. DD 2782-1/2008 Vatican City, January11 2011, signed by Joseph W. Tobin C.Ss.R., Archbishop Secretary)
