For over two months now, the daily reflection has been on the topic of the Youth Congregation that Eugene began in 1813 and to which he dedicated the major part of his time and energy until the end of 1815. From 1816 onwards he divided his time and energy between the establishment and mission of the Missionaries and his youth ministry. For the sake of completion I will dedicate the next few days to finishing this structured presentation before moving on to the activities of Eugene from 1818 onwards.
In order to be effective in its aims, and also to bring together in harmony nearly 300 teenagers and young men, the Youth Congregation needed to be highly organized, and the formation of the young members had to be thorough. The Rule that Eugene wrote for the youth showed the levels of organization:
Article one. The Congregation of Christian Youth is divided into three categories, namely: the class of postulants, the class of those admitted, or probationers, the class of those received [ed. as permanent committed members].
Once the applicant had been accepted as a prospective member, the young person entered into the various phases of formation, as a postulant and then as a probationer, which lasted a minimum of twelve months until he was admitted to full membership. Once fully admitted he entered into the third category, which was divided into two sections:
Art. 2. The third category is divided into two sections. The first section of this third category is made up of those who, having reached the age of eighteen and after having applied and spent the time stipulated by the statutes in the class of probationers, are received permanently with the required formalities. The second section is made up of those who, having not yet reached the age of eighteen after having applied and having spent the time stipulated by the statutes in the class of probationers, are received permanently with the required formalities.
Statuts, Chapitre II – Classes de la Congrégation
The aim of all this was to ensure that each member received the best possible formation and accompaniment according to the needs of his age and state.
“Education is not merely a means for earning a living or an instrument for the acquisition of wealth. It is an initiation into life of spirit, a training of the human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue.” Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit