| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
Theodore James Ryken was born on August 30, 1797 in the small village of Elshout , North Brabant, Holland, to ardently Catholic middle class parents. Orphaned at a young age, Ryken was raised by his uncle, who was instrumental in imparting the qualities of faith, zeal, and devotion to duty onto the boy.
Ryken, like most of the early Xaverian Brothers, was trained as a shoemaker. However, Ryken also felt a calling by God which impelled him to work first as a catechist , then in helping to conduct an orphanage, and again in caring for choleraCholera (also called Asiatic cholera is a disease of the intestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. These bacteria are typically ingested by drinking water contaminated by improper sanitation or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially patients in North Holland.
At the age of 34, Ryken went to North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocea and served as a catechist among the missionaries to the Native Americans. During his three year tour, he conceived the idea of starting a congregationA congregation is a group of people gathered together. It has at least three uses. The most common is a congregation as the group of members who make up a local Christian church or Jewish synagogue (or those who are present at a service thereat), as oppos of brotherA brother is a male sibling. See also family slang: bro Brother Industries is a corporation that manufactures printers. External Link http://www. com/ Brother is also a title for male Catholic religious.s to work alongside the missionaryA missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. The English word "missionary" is derived from Latin, the equivalent of the Greek-derived word, priestA priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. Priests have been known since the earliest times and in the simplest societies (see shamas. On returning to Europe he set about planning the establish such a society in Belgium, a country eminent for missionary zeal.
When Ryken journeyed back to the US in 1837, he noticed that the city youth, noticeably the children of immigrants, were even more in need of instruction than the Native Americans. Bishop Rosati of St. Louis encouraged him to found a religious congregation of laymen whose members would labor among all classes of youth. Six other bishops sanctioned his plan to bring religious teachers to the United States.
Mr. Ryken prepared for a journey to Rome to receive the permission and blessing of Pope Gregory XVI by going through a term of probation in the novitiate of the Redemptorist Fathers . This influenced him to model the religious garb of his order after that of the Redemptorists. The spirit of the Xaverian Brothers, on the other hand, can be traced to the influence of the Jesuit confessor and counselor of Mr. Ryken, Father Isidore Van de Kerckhove , who drew up the original rules.
Although many religious institutes were being founded at the time as part of a revival that succeeded the fall of Napoleon I, Ryken's vision was different. He wanted to found a missionary institute rather than a congregation that would address the needs of a specific region. On June 15, 1839, with this ideal and vision, the forty-two year old Ryken went to live in a rented house on Ezelstraat in the centuries old city of Bruges, Belgium. For five long days the founder waited for the arrival of the two companions who had promised to join him in his undertaking: a tailor and a weaver. Unfortunately for Mr. Ryken, his companions would prove less dedicated and resilient than himself and it took a year before better suited candidates were welcomed into the house on Ezelstraat. Despite poverty and hardships, the little band grew gradually stronger. Two primary schools were soon opened in Bruges, and some brothers were sent to a normal school at St Trond for professional training.
By 1841, the community had grown beyond the space available in the little house on Ezelstraat, and Ryken, with financial help from a sympathetic banker, purchased a large estate in a neighboring section of Bruges called " Het Walletje ". The Xaverian brothers began to attract candidates from Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland and France. In 1848, a colony of brothers went to England to open schools in parishes in Bury and Manchester. Eventually, they opened Clapham College , London.