During the first half of the 19th century,
Because of the worsening crisis of faith
in his time,
and because of the growth
of the Church's work in the mission
Pallotti saw the urgent need
to revive the faith of Catholics,
to renew their love
and to unite all in Christ.
To achieve this objective
he considered it indispensable
to secure the collaboration
of all the members of the Church,
both clergy and laity,
and to unify their efforts
in order to promote
with greater effectiveness
the apostolic mission of the Church
Indeed, he was convinced
that all members of the People of God
are called
to share in the apostolate.
He saw this as a duty
flowing from love,
the Lord's greatest command,
whereby everyone must be concerned
for the salvation of his neighbour
as he is for his own.
He also saw that the work of many individuals
would be more effective
if it was integrated and directed
toward a common goal.
Therefore,
he founded the
UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE,
whose special aim was to awaken in all Catholics
a deep conviction of their call to the apostolate
and to renew their love
so that this call would be fully realized.
The Union of Catholic Apostolate
was approved by
Cardinal-Vicar Carlo Odescalchi
on April 4th, 1835,
and by Pope Gregory XVI
in a rescript dated July 11th of the same year.
The Second Vatican Council
confirmed the ideals
which inspired St. Vincent,
namely,
that the apostolate of the Church
is most effective
when all the members are brought
to an awareness of their obligation
to collaborate in her mission.
The charism of Pallotti has become
the heritage of
the Union of Catholic Apostolate.
Its members,
making his ideals their own,
intend to revive
faith and love among Catholics,
to instill in them a deep conviction
of their personal vocation to the apostolate
and to inspire them to fulfill it.
They strive for unity among Catholics,
so that they will integrate
their apostolic efforts
thereby making the Church
more effective in her mission.
They work for Christian unity,
they proclaim the Good News of salvation
to those who have not heard it
and they strive to arouse among Christians
an active interest in the missions.
Moreover,
they undertake social and charitable work
which will help human beings
in all their needs
and assist them
to live in dignity, justice and peace.
Besides securing the resources
that are required
for these apostolic tasks
they ask God's blessing
through
their prayers, sacrifices and good works.
Because the
Union of Catholic Apostolate
wants to help all,
it is open to the cultures of all peoples
and is ready to adapt itself
to the changing conditions of the times.
The needs of the Church
determine the activities of the Union,
for Christ entrusted the apostolate
to the Church,
and from the beginning
Pallotti wanted his foundation
to serve the Church.
The Union of Catholic Apostolate is open
to all the members of the People of God:
i.e. to the clergy,
to Institutes of consecrated life
and to the laity.
These can join
already organized groups of the Union
or they can be aggregated individually.
Religious communities
and already organized groups
can be aggregated as such.
To the Union belong,
by virtue of their foundations:
the community of priests and brothers,
known as
the Society of the Catholic Apostolate;
the Congregation of
the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate:
and the
Congregation of the Missionary Sisters
of the Catholic Apostolate.
With these are associated,
with the necessary approval,
other communities with various names
which profess to be equally inspired
by the ideals of St. Vincent Pallotti.
All of these Institutes,
founded by St. Vincent Pallotti
or formed more recently,
dedicate themselves totally
to the realization
of the tasks of the Union.
All the above mentioned
are true members of the Union.
Animated
by the same spirit
and common apostolic commitment
they form a single moral body
and participate in the spiritual benefits
proper to the Union.
By agreement
the competent superiors
coordinate initiatives
to promote a common spirit
and cooperation in apostolic tasks
with due respect
for the autonomy of the participating groups.
The Community of Priests and Brothers
and the aforementioned two Congregations
of the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate
have the task
of guaranteeing
the unity and apostolic efficiency
of the total Union.
The members
of the Union of Catholic Apostolate
pledge to imitate Jesus Christ,
Apostle of the Eternal Father
(c f. Jn 20:21; Heb 3:1).
In their activities
they are motivated
by the love of Jesus.
Mary, Queen of Apostles,
is the patroness of the Union.
In a unique way
she cooperated with her Son
in His saving mission.
She is an outstanding example
of apostolic zeal
for all the members of the Union.
The Preamble
of the
Union of Catholic Apostolate