The religious community of Oblates of the Virgin Mary who runs the Residence Lantéri and Saint Rita’s Chapel is a catholic religious community of priests and brothers founded in 1826 by Father Pio Bruno Lantéri in Pinerolo near Torino in Italy.
Who is Pio Bruno Lanteri ?
Bruno Lantéri ( 1759-1830 ) was a man who knew how to read the " signs of time" of his time and who knew how to answer the pressing needs of the society and the Church of his time. When he was about twenty years old, Bruno got acquainted with a Jesuit priest, Father Nicolas Diessbach, who will have a large influence in his life. Through this priest, the young Bruno will experiment the tenderness and the infinite mercy of God, the strength of the Spiritual Exercises of saint Ignatius of Loyola, the influence that good books can have in the life of the individuals and how important for the Church to form committed laymen who will be "multipliers" of the Good News of the Gospel. Father Lanteri also created at the appropriate time places and conditions favorable to the training of priests and seminarians. Throughout his entire life, he evangelized by the word and the writing. Through his papers (in Italian, Latin and French languages) he can be considered as a spiritual guide; they reflect his various sources of inspiration and, notably, the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the spirituality of S. Ignatius of Loyola, of S. Francis of Sales, of S. Alphonse-Marie of Liguori, of Ste Theresa of Avila and of S. Bonaventure. It is rich of such an experience, that Bruno Lantéri founded the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Pinerolo in the North of Italy in 1826.
Where can you find Oblates in the world?
Oblates of the Virgin Mary are present in the following countries:
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France:
Fontenay-aux-Roses (Suburbs of Paris)
Nice -
Italy:
Pinerolo's
"Mondo Migliore"
Villa Schiari
San Vittorino
Torino
Carignano
Chiavari
Pisa
Ste Elena (Rome)
Mamertine (Rome)
S. Maria del Pianto (Rome)
Teramo
Pantelleria
Sassari -
Austria
Vienna - Basilica of Loretto
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Canada:
Montréal -
The United States of America:
St Clement's Shrine (Boston)
St Francis Chapel(Boston)
St Joseph
Alton, Illinois
Hawaiian Gardens (CA.)
Denver (Colorado)
Centre Lanteri (Denver) -
Argentina:
Buenos Aires San Roque
Buenos Aires St Rita
Castelar
Villa Udaondo
Cordoba -
Brazil:
São Paulo
Jundiai
Curitiba
Manaus
Careiro - Nigeria (Suleja)
- Philippines
Mission of the Congregation of Oblates of the Virgin Mary
The mission of the Congregation of Oblates of the Virgin Mary is :
1. To make men of our time hear God's Word, notably by preaching spiritual retreats and through the experience of the Spiritual Exercises of saint Ignatius of Loyola;
2. To make men and women of our time experience the infinite mercy of our God, such as shown in Jesus and lived in the sacrament of reconciliation;
3. To help laymen deepen their faith and commit themselves in our world in the name of the Gospel;
4. To reveal the Christian message to the world by means of modern medias (magazines, books, newspapers, radio, internet);
5. To contribute to the formation of priests and seminarians.