Holy Cross Through History

The history of the Congregation of Holy Cross is rich and fascinating, filled with incredible stories of faith, courage, perseverance, and adventure in the face of great challenges to both the community and the world. As an apostolic congregation, Holy Cross has taken an active role in global affairs since the very beginning; in the nearly 190 years since its formation, the men and women of Holy Cross have been present for many of the most pivotal moments of the last three centuries.

From the bleak aftermath of the French Revolution and the chaos of the Second World War to the Second Vatican Council and the rapid changes of the twenty-first century, Holy Cross has been present – and actively involved – as an agent of faith, hope, and love. As Holy Cross Heritage Month continues, let’s take a quick glance at some of the major moments of Holy Cross history. 

France: The Historical Roots of Holy Cross

Holy Cross was forged in the fires of post-revolutionary France. While the revolution claimed to bring liberty and enlightenment to the people of France, in reality, it brought great violence and chaos. As the revolutionaries sought to dismantle all vestiges of the old order, they directed a particularly fierce animosity toward the Catholic Church. As priests were rounded up for execution or exile, the Church in France was placed under the strictest limitations: public worship was banned, and all priests were forced to pledge allegiance to the revolutionary government over and against the Church of Rome.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s ascension to power in 1799 effectively brought an end to the revolution, but ten years of radically violent secularism had taken its toll. The closure of Catholic schools in the country (which made up nearly all schools in France) was so widespread that it led to an estimated 7% decrease in national literacy and a 70% decrease in national university enrollment between 1789-1799.  France needed a hero to revitalize the battered educational system, as well as the parishes which had been starved of priests and resources during the revolutionary years.

In every generation, God raises up holy men and women to ensure that hope doesn’t die and the echoes of the gospel do not go silent. While there were countless Catholic heroes who sought to rebuild France after the revolution, Fathers Jacques Dujarié and Basile Moreau were particularly valiant. Dujarié organized the Brothers of St. Joseph in 1820 to rebuild the schools of the Diocese of Le Mans, and Moreau formed a small band of auxiliary priests in 1835 to revitalize rural parishes. 

As Dujarie aged, the young and visionary Basile Moreau united these lay brothers and priests on March 1, 1837 to serve a common purpose: to rebuild the Church and society one good work at a time. By 1841, the first Holy Cross sisters – called the Marianites of Holy Cross – had been formed; they, too, joined the brothers and priests in their work. Focusing first on France, the community of Sainte-Croix soon crossed the Mediterranean, then the Atlantic, then the Indian Ocean to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to the corners of the earth.

Branching Out: Holy Cross Around the World

Holy Cross made its first foray into the international mission field in 1838, when a group of brothers and priests arrived in the then-French territory of Algeria to staff, among other things, orphanages, schools, parishes, and hospitals. 

Just three years later, Holy Cross crossed the Atlantic at the request of the French bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, who requested Holy Cross’ help to establish Catholic schools in his large diocese. In October of 1841, six brothers led by the ever-ambitious Father Edward Sorin landed in southern Indiana. Within a year, they made their way north to South Bend, where they established a school nestled in the woods, with the dream that it would be a place of hope and education for frontier children, especially those who had been orphaned. This small school, reinforced over time by more and more men and women of Holy Cross, would become the mighty University of Notre Dame.

The United States soon became the center of activity for Holy Cross, as the community spread as far as Chicago, New Orleans, Austin, and Portland, Oregon. It ministered with great effectiveness to the immigrant populations in these growing cities, always giving special attention to the poor. Holy Cross also served with special distinction in the Civil War; no other religious order or congregation supplied more chaplains to the Union Army than the Congregation of Holy Cross, and the Marianite Sisters operated hospitals that ministered to sick and wounded Union and Confederate soldiers without distinction. A small band of Holy Cross brothers even participated in the frenzy of the gold rush, traveling west to California in the hopes of gaining invaluable resources for Holy Cross’ ministerial activities. 

Holy Cross arrived in Montreal in April of 1847, where it ministered to the French-speaking Catholics that filled the city. Within sixty years of arriving, Holy Cross – led by the humble doorkeeper, healer, and future saint André Bessette – built the majestic St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest shrine to St. Joseph in the world. 

In November of 1851, Father Moreau was contacted by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (“Propaganda Fide”), where Holy Cross was asked to lead the Church’s evangelical efforts in East Bengal (which covered modern-day India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar). The mission there was difficult, and Holy Cross lost dozens of men and women to disease and natural disaster. Holy Cross persevered, however, and the nearly 500,000 Catholics in modern Bangladesh owe a great deal to the early missionary efforts of the community. The region known as the “Graveyard of Missionaries” became, by God’s grace and the grit of Holy Cross, a field budding with the shoots of the gospel.

Holy Cross Becomes a Global Force for Good

The twentieth century saw great change for Holy Cross, as the community expanded into Latin America (Brazil, Peru, and Chile), the Caribbean (Haiti), and Africa (Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania). As it had always done, it operated schools, parishes, children’s homes, and various charities that ministered to the poor. 

As the Second World War shook the global community, Holy Cross yet again served with distinction, leading the Church’s response to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh following Japan’s invasion of Burma during the Second World War. 

As the Church sought to respond to the needs of the modern world, eight Holy Cross prelates (bishops and other Church dignitaries) joined bishops and priests from around the world to participate in the Second Vatican Council. Famously, it was there that Father Patrick Peyton contributed to the discussions on Mary and the family, which were both discussed with great simplicity and elegance in Lumen Gentium, the Church’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

The decades following Vatican II saw Holy Cross expand deeper into social ministries alongside its traditional work in schools, parishes, and missions. Today, Holy Cross priests and brothers operate ministries that serve the elderly, refugees, the disabled, AIDS patients, the mentally ill, the unemployed, and those struggling with drug addiction.


The history of Holy Cross is a history worth celebrating, not least because it demonstrates that faith, hope, and love have real and concrete power to change the world. Moreover, it is an evergreen reminder that it’s always in the details of history that the presence of God can be detected. God remains at work transforming our world; we are simply called to cooperate with him in this work of transformation.

To learn more about the holy heroes of Holy Cross, visit our previous articles here. Happy Heritage Month, and remember – never stop striving for sainthood!